Monastery of the Theotokos and St. Martin

The Monastery of the Theotokos and St. Martin, better known locally as the Monastery of Cantauque, is an Orthodox Christian community set in the countryside of Villebazy, in the Aude department of southern France. It sits in the hilly Hautes Corbières landscape roughly 30 kilometres from Carcassonne, and stands out as one of the very few active Orthodox monasteries in a region shaped almost entirely by Roman Catholic tradition.

Which church does the monastery belong to?

The community falls under the canonical authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church, specifically the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe. That jurisdictional link to Romania, combined with a French-speaking liturgical life on French soil, gives the monastery an unusual cross-cultural identity rarely found elsewhere in the country.

How did the monastery come to be founded?

The monastery was established in 2002 by monks who had previously spent twenty years living in the Holy Land as Greek Catholics before converting to Orthodoxy and settling in the Corbières hills. That background — a community shaped by the Middle East, a change of confession, and eventual resettlement in rural France — gives Cantauque a layered history unlike that of older, more conventional monastic houses.

What is daily religious life like there?

The community is led by Archimandrite Moïse. Services are conducted in French but chanted according to the Greek psaltic tradition, the Byzantine style of liturgical singing, blending a Western language with an Eastern musical framework. French is the working language of the brotherhood, though English, Russian and Romanian are also spoken among the monks, reflecting the international makeup of the community.

What do the monks do besides pray?

The monastery sits on a working agricultural and forestry estate, and the monks combine manual labour with traditional crafts and scholarship. Their activities include beekeeping, farming and forestry work, icon painting and the restoration of old icons, wood engraving, the study of Biblical Hebrew, and psaltic chant. Hospitality toward visitors is treated as a core part of monastic life, and the community regularly welcomes people seeking quiet retreat or simply curious about Orthodox monasticism in this part of France.

What should visitors know before going?

Cantauque lies off the usual tourist circuits, tucked into a quiet stretch of the Corbières hills among vineyards and woodland typical of the Aude countryside. It functions first and foremost as a living monastic community rather than a heritage site or museum, so visits are best approached with the same discretion and respect one would bring to any active place of worship.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the monastery located? In the commune of Villebazy, Aude department, about 30 km from Carcassonne, in the Hautes Corbières hills.

Which Orthodox Church oversees the community? The Romanian Orthodox Church, through its Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe.

When was the monastery founded? In 2002.

Can visitors go there? Yes — hospitality is one of the monastery's core activities, though it remains a working religious community rather than a tourist attraction.

In what language are the services held? Services are held in French, sung according to the Greek psaltic (Byzantine) chant tradition.