The Key to Good Communication and Good Relationships by Abbott Ephraim of Vatopaidi

Monastery of Vatopaidi, Mount Athos, Greece: 25 Years of Spiritual Effort by Pemptousia

from Pemptousia

This documentary is priceless. It shows not only the daily routine of the monastery but it's history, restoration, and struggles. Particularly moving is the footage of the unjust imprisonment of Abbott Ephraim of Vatopaidi, and his glorious release and return to the monastery. It is not possible to watch this without crying. But they will be tears of joy.

There is a moment when the Abbott is being taken to prison by car; the faithful are lining the street, and suddenly they start screaming..”Axios, Axios, Axios (Worthy, worthy, worthy). In Greece this is proclaimed by the people during the funeral of saints and at the ordination of a deacon or priest. You see, in the eyes of the socialist government of Greece, Abbott Ephraim had done wrong, but in the eyes of the Faithful he was and is a Confessor! Eventually he was freed and vindicated. 

Glory be to God Who is glorified in His saints!

Abbott Ephraim of Vatopaidi has been acquitted!

Archimandrite Ephraim has been acquittedThe Greek Areopag (Supreme Court) has cancelled the decision of the appellate court of Thrace.Please continue reading here.

Glory to God for all things!

Free Abbott Ephraim! Urgent, please sign the petition!

Abbott Ephraim of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi,
Mount Athos, Greece Source

A grave injustice has been committed in Greece! The beloved
Abbott of the Monastery of Vatopaidi, Geronda Ephraim, has
been arrested and imprisoned even though there is no
evidence against him. For more on this story please visit the 
Pravoslavie.ru site.

To sign the petition for the release of Abbott Ephraim please go
here. 

"God-forsakenness" according to Elder Sophrony

‘God-forsakenness’ according to Elder Sophrony
by Archimandrite Ephraim,
Abbot of the Vatopaidi Monastery
from Pemptousia




Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex

In our presentation we will touch upon an issue which may not be readily
acknowledged by those who are not initiated in the existence of divine

Grace. We would actually say that it quite ‘heavy going’ as its title 

reveals: ‘God-forsakenness’. However, it is a particularly important, 

“a crucial”, element in spiritual life. When many people, perhaps most,

will hear what we have to say they will respond: “This is a hard saying; 

who can listen to it?”(John 6, 60) However, Elder Sophrony stressed that

God wishes to see us become perfect just as He is perfect (See Elder 

Sophrony: We shall see Him as He is). The path to perfection necessarily

passes through the Calgary of God-forsakenness.

During the crucial moment of his life when man will adopt a positive stance in the face of the Lord according to His providence, the Lord will reveal Himself in a way which is beyond nature. Having devoted his entire freewill in obedience to the divine commandments, man “walks in newness of life” (Romans 6, 4) and enters a special spiritual realm in which he meets with the Lord, communicates with His Grace and experiences conditions beyond “words and meanings” which he could not previously even imagine. It is at this moment that the Christian beings to experience the spiritual “new life”, life in Christ.

In line with earlier Fathers of the Church, Elder Sophrony describes three stages in spiritual life. He writes: “The total regeneration of the fallen man into the “new” man is accomplished in three stages: The first, the initial, is the stage of the calling and inspiration towards the present battle. The second is the stage where the “perception” of Grace is withdrawn and man is experiencing God-forsakenness…And the third is where the perception of divine Grace revisits and man holds on to it” ( Elder Sophrony: On prayer).

This last stage where divine Grace revisits the faithful is a period of spiritual delight, of perception of Christ’s love and His proximity and of wonderful sentiments in the heart which are inexpressible with worldly, created words. Nevertheless, Elder Sophrony views this gift which was given according to the Lord’s pleasure as the “mammon of unrighteousness” (Luke 16, 9) ( Arch Sophrony: We Shall see Him as He is). The faithful is not able to assimilate divine Grace during this period so that his nature is united with it unto eternity. The faithful must enter into the second stage which is a protracted period of God-forsakenness. (Above: “We shall see Him as He is). The stronger the experience of the first visitation by divine Grace, the more powerful becomes the experience of its desertion. Even the spiritually perfect experience God-forsakenness in a perfect degree, but they recognize and accept the discipline by the Lord and do not grow weary.

In Patristic writings and especially in treatises written by Saints Ammonas, Macarius of Egypt, Diadohos Fotikis, Isaac the Syrian, Maximus the Confessor, John of Karpathos and Simon the New Theologian we encounter the corresponding terms “desertion by Grace”, “loss of Grace”, “diminishing or withdrawal of Grace” or “spiritual change” as indicative of this second stage. It is a rare occasion when the Fathers use this single, strong term: “God-forsakenness”. The first to use this term was Abba Kassianos in the beginning of the 5th Century in his work “Conversations with the Fathers of the desert”. The second one, as far as we know, is Elder Sophrony sixteen centuries later; we believe that he did this in order to stress the painfulness of this condition. In his writings Elder Sophrony also uses the corresponding terms ‘departure’ or ‘loss’ of Grace. We are not able to find any systematic teachings about this stage of “the departure” of Grace in patristic writings. Elder Joseph the Hesychast, St Silouan the Athonite and then Elder Sophrony were the first to extensively describe it.

For the complete article go here.

A Conversation with Elder Sophrony of Essex

Elder Sophrony of Essex


For the complete interview, please visit the Orthodox Blog 
Pemptousia


The abbot of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, Archimandrite Ephraim, spoke with Elder Sophrony of blessed memory at the Holy Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England on 20 September 1992.

From this meeting, one is struck by Elder Sophrony’s spirituality and ascetic vision, and can appreciate the value of his contribution to the contemporary life of the Church.


The abbot of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, Archimandrite Ephraim, in the garden of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex (1992) with Elder Sophrony, among the many pilgrims who found spiritual comfort near the venerable Elder

Elder Sophrony: “O Heavenly King and Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who art in all places and fillest all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life, come and abide in us and cleanse us of all that defileth, and save our souls, oh Thou who are good.” Welcome, holy abbot…

If during our conversation I do anything unusual, please forgive me. These days I don’t hear or see very well.

Archimandrite Ephraim: Considering your age, you’re doing very well.

E.S.: Ninety-six years old…I’ll tell them to bring us the letter from Vatopedi from our archives.

A.E.: Yes, I would like to see it.

E.S.: You know, I’m one of your own.

A.E.: This is a blessing for us.

E.S.: I don’t know. It is a blessing for me, that they gave me leave with such willingness. And circumstances have shown that God blessed it. After I left the Holy Mountain, though, I became very ill. I had a stomach ulcer and I suffered from gastrorrhagia, I was also very poor. I had to undergo a difficult operation, and they had to remove nearly my whole stomach. For twelve years I had great difficulty eating. I got something later on, but it’s fake.

A.E.: It was God’s will, Elder, that you came here.

E.S.: I’ll tell you what, abbot, I’m always afraid to say that something [from God] happens to me, but it seems to me that nothing took place according to how I imagined it, but everything came from God.

A.E.: This is what the conscience of the Church also witnesses to, it seems that it was from God. And that it is a work that has a history behind it. And [this monastery’s] history has been stamped by God, that’s what the facts witness to.

E.S.: Yes, but I am only bold enough to say, “Lord have mercy on me and save me.” Only to a certain extent can I say that it happened according to the providence of God.

A.E.: Elder, your monastery is an oasis in the desert [of a culture] of materialism.

E.S.: We’re just…eh! How can I explain it to you…we’re thankful to those who rule this country, and to the queen, and other officials. But Orthodox life outside of Greece is difficult. Not all of our thought: theological, ascetical…connects with the tradition of the West, with the Catholics and Protestants. But these are the ones who rule this place.

A.E.: From everything I have observed here, Elder, you live wisely. During the years that you have been here, you have acted with great discernment, which is why you’ve been able to help people greatly in hidden ways. And this is a very important thing for a spiritual person.

E.S.: Well…let me tell you. You’re an abbot. And I was, in a certain way, an abbot. And I was always hung from a thread above the abyss, shouting at God for everyone, for everything…because nothing happens by human strength.

A.E.: And I’m sure that you must have had many difficulties here, Elder.

E.S.: Oh…it’s better not to talk about them…. But even this, to a certain extent, is a question for us. Recently, I published a book, a spiritual autobiography [We Shall See Him as He Is].

A.E.: We’ve read it, Elder.

E.S.: Of what interest would a purely factual biography have been? I only recount spiritual events in this book. And the book has appeared, somehow, at just the right time.

A.E.: What you have provided is a living witness.

E.S.: I didn’t write a theological text, I only wrote down my experience, from fear and because I’m bold to say, “Lord have mercy, Lord save me.” But…I don’t understand…. I became ill many times with fatal sicknesses and yet I’m still alive. I don’t know why…

A.E.: The Church needs you, which is why God has extended your life. Your life is a miracle. We are amazed at how you are still living considering the illnesses you have had and still have. Many spiritual people are amazed that you’re still alive.

E.S.: In 1986 they invented a machine that can diagnose cancer and they opened me up and found that I had the worst type of cancer, and they were expecting me to die. There was no chance of an operation, of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or something similar. They left me to waste away…. Six years have passed and I’m living in my seventh year since then, and I don’t know how. After the stomach operation I had, which completely cut up my insides, for twelve years I couldn’t eat. Two years after that, I was a bit better.

A.E.: Your Elder, St. Silouan, wanted you to see his official canonization by the Church.

E.S.: And I don’t know how the providence of Christ made it happen. He placed me at the feet of my Elder. The contemporary spiritual, theological problem concerns the person [πρόσωπο]…I lived completely by revelation. Revelation reveals that “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). If He says, “I am” it means that He is a person. This is why in one of the chapters in the book to which I referred earlier I note that the word “I” has great significance. For it expresses the person. God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Science cannot say this. Only revelation can say this. And we need to base ourselves on revelation, which the Lord never refuted…. So, when I sent the book that is right behind you to His All Holiness [the Ecumenical Patriarch], I didn’t want to write a theological textbook, but simply to describe the experience of an Orthodox monk.


This interview continues here.