St. Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center is a ministry of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of San Francisco.  Our primary mission is to serve the needs of Orthodox Christians by hosting camps, retreats and seminars promoting Orthodox religious education and spiritual formation.  In addition, we also open our facilities to host a broad range of other programs, conferences and retreats for worthwhile non-Orthodox organizations.



Perhaps the best summation of the mission of St. Nicholas Ranch is to be found hanging on the mantle in our dining hall:  the large icon of the Hospitality of Abraham and Sarah.  According to the story found in Genesis 18, Abraham and Sarah received three strangers into their tent, offering them food, shelter and companionship.  These three unknown visitors proved to be angelic beings, who by their threeness constitute an Old Testament prefiguration of the Holy Trinity.



In the same way, we believe hospitality to be a sacred obligation:  Whenever we welcome another human being, we receive someone who is created in the image of God.  Our mission at St. Nicholas Ranch is therefore one of hospitality and service in the name of Christ, who said "Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to Me" (Mt. 25:40).d