All who wish to visit must follow these new rules and guidelines:

1. St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey offers two distinct retreat houses for overnight retreats, each catering to specific types of retreats:

 —-> St. Moses Retreat House:

• Exclusively for male individuals.
• Families with only male members (without female family members).
• Single priests (unaccompanied by female family members).

—-> St. Mary Retreat House:

• Exclusively for female individuals (attending with groups).
• Families with both male and female members.
• Priests accompanied by female family members.

—-> Check-In and Check-Out Information for Retreat House Rooms:

• Check-in time: Begins at 3:00 pm on the day of arrival at the Monastery.
• Check-out time: EXACTLY at 11:00 am on the day of departure from the Monastery.
• This schedule ensures that the fathers responsible for the retreat house have sufficient time to prepare the rooms for the next retreatants.

—-> Room Sharing Information:

• Due to the limited number of rooms available in the retreat house, all retreatants may have to share rooms with each other, with a maximum of 4 retreatants per room.
• Due to the limited number of rooms available in the retreat house, all visiting priests may have to share rooms with other priests, with a maximum of 2 priests per room.

2. All daytime visitors & overnight retreatants (including individuals, families, and groups) MUST register online to come for a daytime visit or an overnight retreat, without exceptions.

3. No internet WiFi network is available on the Abbey’s grounds.

4. The Abbey is open for daytime visitors (including individuals, male or female, or families) between the hours of 4:00 am to 10:00 pm. Only individuals who are registered and staying overnight at the Abbey may remain after 10:00 pm.

5. All female daytime visitors are allowed to visit the Abbey for ONE DAY ONLY PER VISIT and leave at the end of the day by 10:00 pm.

Any Female Daytime visitor who wishes to visit the Abbey for 2 consecutive days or more (while staying outside overnight), MUST be accompanied for the whole duration of her stay by:1) A Priest, 2) Her father, 3) Her husband, 4) Her brother – only if he is 18 years of age or older, 5) Her son – only if he is 18 years of age or older, 6) Her son in law.

6. Any Female retreatant is allowed to stay for an overnight retreat at the Abbey ONLY when accompanied for the whole duration of her stay by: 1) A Priest, 2) Her father, 3) Her husband, 4) Her brother – only if he is 18 years of age or older, 5) Her son – only if he is 18 years of age or older, 6) Her son in law.

7. Consequences for Female Visitors Rule Violations:

Families or groups who disregard the female visitors rule after agreeing to it, or attempt to seek exceptions for any reason, will face consequences:

“Immediate ban from visiting the Monastery for a minimum period of one year.”

By purchasing tickets, families and groups acknowledge their commitment to these rules. Exceptions will not be granted under any circumstances, including ticket-related concerns. Please ensure compliance before booking.

8. The maximum stay for any overnight retreat is two weeks. If you need to stay more than two weeks in the Monastery, you MUST obtain a written permission from His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (bishop@suscopts.org).