Saint Paisius Orthodox Women's Monastery

About this church

Saint Paisius Orthodox Women's Monastery in Arizona is an English-speaking women's monastery under the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America. The sisterhood began in northern California in the early 1990s and settled permanently in Arizona in 2000. The main church, or catholicon, is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos and has side chapels for St. Paisius and the Optina Elders and for Holy Hierarchs John of San Francisco and Nikolai Velimirovich. The Divine Liturgy is served several times each week along with the full cycle of church services, and memorial services are held every Saturday at the cemetery chapel.

Visitors are asked to contact the monastery in advance, including for day visits and trips to the on-site bookstore, which carries Orthodox books, icons, crosses, and candles. The visitor guide asks for modest dress, with long skirts and head coverings for women and long pants and sleeves for men, and notes that paths on the grounds are gravel. Guests are asked to attend all services, with men on the right side of the nave and women on the left, and catechumens remain in the narthex. The sisters support themselves by publishing books and akathists and making prayer ropes sold through an online gift shop. Call for service times.

Researched from the church’s official website and reviewed October 5, 2026. Sources: Monastery overview and jurisdiction · Visitor guide: dress, services, conduct · On-site bookstore and phone

Location