Schema-Archimandrite Ephraim (Moraitis)

Schema-Archimandrite Ephraim (Moraitis) of Philotheou (1927-2019)

Ephraim may be spelt Ephrem, Efrem.

Early life of Ioannis (John) Moraitis

On 24 June, 1927, Ioannis (John) Moraitis was born in Volos, Greece, on the day of Nativity of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptiser of the Lord John. For this reason, he was given the name Ioannis. It is a widespread custom in the Orthodox Christian Church (in this case the Greek Orthodox Church) that a child be named for one of the saints commemorated on or near the day of birth.

He grew up in poverty and helped his father at work ; but he always tried to emulate the pious life of his mother Victoria (whom he later tonsured to be a nun with the name of Theophano).

Moraitis family

He also received his primary and secondary education in his home city.

At about the age of 14, he began to desire the monastic life, but he did not receive the blessing from his spiritual father to leave and become a monk until he was 19.

Preparation for the monastic path

Once, just a month before he left the world, his friends decided to visit the Elder Joseph the Hesychast on the Holy Mountain of Athos. Ioannis did not have any valuable gift to send with them ; so he sent a small pouch of vermicelli, and he included a note that he had written. When he was unpacking the gifts, elder Joseph said : "This child will become a monk here". When the friends of Ioannis returned and told him these words, he just forgot about it. He had no sense that monastic life would be possible for him, and he knew that he had no blessing for it from his spiritual father.

When Ioannis was a little baby, his mother had a vision, from which she understood that Ioannis would become a monk at Mount Athos. Therefore, during his whole life, she did what she could to prepare him. Keeping this vision in her mind, when he was 19, she finally decided to send him to the Elder Joseph on the Holy Mountain. This time, the spiritual father (a person experienced in prayer who has been given Grace to guide people in Christ) did not object. Moreover, Ioannis had become an adult by this time.

On 26 September, 1947, Ioannis arrived at Mount Athos, and he went to Saint Anna's Skete. At the same time, the Elder Joseph came to know about his arrival from the Holy Forerunner John the Baptist (the patron saint of both Ioannis and of the "kellion" of Elder Joseph). At the pier at Daphne (Dafni), Ioannis met Elder Arsenios who said, "Are you Iannakis from Volos ?" He replied, "Yes, how do you know me ?" Elder Arsenios replied, "Elder Joseph knows that from the Fair Forerunner. He appeared to him today and he told him, ‘I brought to you one lamb. Place him in your sheepfold (enclosure)’".

Saint John the Forerunner Chapel, Small Saint Anne Skete

Thus, Ioannis became a disciple of the Holy Elder Joseph the Hesychast. The Elder and his disciples lived at that time in the Small Saint Anne's Skete. The neophyte quickly discovered that the Holy Elder Joseph was

 a true God-bearer, most experienced in the battle against the passions and the demons.  
 It was impossible for a person to come and stay with him and not be cured of the passions 
 regardless of how many and how strong they were, as long as he was obedient to the Elder.  
 Christ-like obedience is more important than anything else.  He was extremely demanding ; 
 not that he did not know how to forgive mistakes or to put up with weaknesses, but he wanted 
 us to employ all our spiritual and physical powers in our ascetical endeavours, because as 
 he said, 'whatever we do not give to God to us in our ascetical struggles, will be used by 
 the other one [i.e. Satan]'.  Our Lord gives the commandment to love Him with all our soul 
 and all our heart so that the evil one cannot find a place of rest within us.  [ ... ]  We
  would have to stay awake all night in prayer.  That was our "typikon".  He demanded that we 
 struggle (shed our blood)  against sleep and against thoughts ("logismoi").  Even though he 
 was secluded in his cell, he know what was happening and what we were doing.  With a single 
 glance he could read our thoughts.

Monastic tonsure, 1948

The Holy Elder Joseph the Hesychast tonsured Ioannis Moraitis to be a monk in 1948, and the elder gave him the name Ephraim. This name is usually related to Saint Ephraim the Syrian.

Young monk Ephraim

Ordinations

The Monk Ephraim (Moraitis) was subsequently ordained to the Holy Diaconate, and then to the Holy Priesthood on the Holy Mountain.

There are no resident bishops on the Holy Mountain. Therefore, monasteries must obtain the permission and blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople for the ordination, wait until a bishop visits, and then the ordination can be accomplished.

Elder Saint Joseph and brothers, Father Ephraim at right

Father Haralambos, Elder Saint Joseph, Father Ephraim

Pastoral-monastic service

The life of Father Ephraim in the brotherhood under Elder Joseph was very austere (in self-denial having minimum possessions, and eating the minimum possible) and ascetical, and the Hieromonk Ephraim made great spiritual progress under his holy elder’s guidance and formation.

In his book, Elder Ephraim thanks Elder Joseph for his severe but very proficient teaching. Only after leaving the world did Ephraim understood his own very strong pride.

In the world, Father Ephraim had lived a chaste and pious life and he was thinking highly of himself because of this. Only in the presence of Elder Joseph did he begin to see the activity of pride in himself. He was made aware of this particularly when the Elder Joseph made comments about his behaviour. For 12 years, Father Ephraim heard his actual name spoken from Elder Joseph only twice : all other times he used only ridiculing names and adjectives. This was done in order to subdue the pride. Father Ephraim wrote later that he knew that all this was necessary for him to overcome the poison of pride in his heart, and that Elder Joseph did this with love for the sake of his cleansing. Furthermore, behind his back, the Elder Joseph constantly blessed him. Father Ephraim came to know about this from other people later in his life. It is important to understand that during the daily confession of thoughts, the Elder Joseph never spoke sharply to his disciples. (Confession of thoughts at the end of every day is the revealing to the spiritual elder the presence, nature and activity of thoughts during the previous day. The elder is responsible for helping the monk to discern and to regulate thoughts.) The Elder Joseph described to him in detail the origin of thoughts and mistakes in such a way that the disciple Ephraim thought that Elder Joseph knew him better than he knew himself.

Their way of life was the way of silence, which Father Ephraim found salvific. Elder Joseph was mostly silent, and his disciples learnt also to be silent. In this silence the heart is prepared to hear the Lord and to do His will. The Elder was very strict about the silence, which he would often enforce even when a brother had to go out of the enclosure on an errand. Father Ephraim recalled that when he neglected to maintain the silence by using even only a few words, his discipline was 200 prostrations.

Elder Saint Joseph with brotherhood (Father Ephraim, second left)

At a time when the rigours of living amongst the rocks and crags of the Holy Mountain at Small Saint Anne's Skete (with its cold and rough climate) had begun to break down the health of the 6 disciples of the Elder Joseph (of whom Father Ephraim was the youngest), Elder Joseph perceived in his heart the blessing from the Lord to move down lower on the mountain. This sort of group is generally referred to as a "synodia" (which in Greek means "those walking together on the same road"). Whole monasteries may be so called. They settled at New Skete before 1959. There, the climate was milder, and all except the Elder recovered their health.

Pascha, 1959, at New Skete

Abbot of the Philothoeu Monastery, 1973

After Elder Joseph's repose in 1959, the Hieromonk Ephraim continued to live in asceticism for many years until eventually he became the abbot of the Holy Monastery of Philotheou in 1973.

Young abbot of Philotheou

There, he was able to revive the spiritual life of the community in only a short time. Due to the reputation of the now Elder Ephraim, the monastery's brotherhood grew rapidly. Elder Ephraim was asked by the Holy Council of Mount Athos (an administrative body with representatives from all 20 monasteries) to revive and expand several other monasteries on Mount Athos which had a dwindling number of monks. These monasteries were : Xeropotamou, Konstamonitou, and Karakallou. He was also asked to repopulate the Great Lavra, but this he declined. (That he declined this request indicates that he prayerfully perceived that he did not have God’s blessing to do this, not because he personally did not want to do it.) The 5 monasteries continued under his spiritual guidance throughout his life.

Along with the monasteries on Mount Athos, there are several other monasteries in Greece that were under Elder Ephraim's spiritual guidance : the Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner in Serres ; the Monastery of Panagia the Directress in Portaria (Volos) ; the Monastery of the Archangel Michael, on the island of Thasos (this monastery is a formal metochion of the Philotheou Monastery).

In 1979, Elder Ephraim became ill, and he needed a surgery. Then his spiritual children from Canada offered to provide the surgery in Canada. The Elder agreed. As soon as he arrived in Canada and he began his examinations with the doctors, he started at the same time to hear confessions, to admonish, and to teach expatriate Greeks. His pastoral activity was followed by invitations from the USA.

The surgery was successful. For more than a month, Elder Ephraim had stayed in North America, and he met various representatives of the Greek community. He came to understand clearly that the spiritual life amongst the families of Greek immigrants had been disrupted. People remained for a long time without the healing sacrament of confession. Some of them were burdened by grave sins. Some, totally unprepared, were receiving the Mystery of Holy Communion. Some did not keep the canons of the Church, nor had they been properly taught what they are. They forgot the pious Orthodox way of life, the Greek national traditions of their forebears, and they had become accustomed to a base and sometimes vicious life. Father Ephraim decided to go to North America more and more often. He first visited believers in parishes in Canada, particularly in Toronto, London, Vancouver, Montréal. London, Ontario, was an early focus for his spiritual and pastoral labours. Then he was invited to the USA. Ultimately, the council of the Holy Mountain warned him that he could not continue in this manner, and that he must choose between the Holy Mountain and America.

The Elder Ephraim began to pray, and it was revealed to him that his place was to be in America. He decided to move to the USA for the sake of the spiritual care of his flock, and for the revival of spiritual life in the Greek communities of North America.

At first, the Episcopal Synod of the Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America resisted this, and Elder Ephraim sought help from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. As Elder Ephraim recalled : "I was received here with great love and genuine understanding". A year later, under the personal patronage of the Patriarch of Constantinople, the problem of jurisdiction was resolved. Elder Ephraim honourably returned to his mother Church and he was given the right to establish monasteries in Canada and the USA. He then proceeded to establish 17 monasteries throughout North America, always after receiving permission from each Greek bishop of the area. Each of monasteries founded by Archimandrite Ephraim is accountable to the metropolitan in whose territory the monastery is located.

Archimandrite Ephraim serving

Founding monasteries in North America

In Canada, 2 women’s monasteries were founded. The Holy Monastery of the Virgin Mary the Consolatrice, the first Greek Orthodox monastery is in Quebec, near Brownsburg. It was founded in 1993, and it is situated 1½ hours' drive northwest of Montréal or the same distance northeast of Ottawa. Founded at about the same time at Bolton, Ontario, was the Saint Kosmas Aitolos Greek Orthodox Monastery. This is not far from Toronto. Both are under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada and Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas). A third monastery, this one for men, was founded near Picton, Ontario, at about the same time. However, this monastery was eventually merged with the Holy Trinity Orthodox Monastery, at Smiths Creek, Michigan. The first monastery in the USA that was established by Elder Ephraim was that of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Pennsylvania, near the city of Pittsburg.

The main monastery has the name of Saint Anthony the Great and is located in the middle of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. It was established in the summer of 1995 in the name of Saint Anthony the Great. The closest town is Florence, Arizona.

By 1995, Archimandrite Ephraim resided at the Monastery of Saint Anthony most of the time. He arrived in the desert with 5 monks. There was no electricity, no water, no building materials. Regardless, the Elder was not afraid of difficulties, and he urged the brethren not to despair and to trust in the Lord. Elder Ephrem heard the ringing bells of Mount Athos in that place, and he saw his Elder, Joseph the Hesychast there. (He heard and saw them in a spiritual manner.) Thus, he understood that they should build the monastery on this property. He said : "We came to build the Temple and the monastery and, for our diligence, God will bless our work". Soon, people began to donate money and materials ; the main Temple was built in only 4 months. The whole territory was planted with olive and citrus trees. The Lord provided.

Elder Ephraim

Monastery of Saint Anthony

The founding and construction of the Holy Monastery of Saint Anthony began in 1995. The monastery is a male community, and it consists of approximately 35 monks. The abbot of the monastery in 2019 is the Hieromonk Paisios, who came from Mount Athos.

The monastery now has an area of 2,000 acres (809 hectares) and it is visited daily by many pilgrims from all over the world.

Monastery of Saint Anthony, Arizona, entrance

The Monastery of Saint Anthony is a monastic community which has 5 Temples : Saint Anthony and Saint Nektarios (the "catholicon") ; Saint Nicholas (which is stone-built) ; Saint Seraphim ; Saint Demetrios ; Saint John the Baptist ; Saint Panteleimon, and Saint George. Besides these, near the monastery on a hill, there is the chapel of the Prophet Elias (similar to the Temples of Santorini, Greece, with colours of blue and white).

The monastery offers rations for the poor and created a foundation for poor and abandoned women in the city of Tucson, Arizona.

Monastery of Saint Anthony, Arizona

The monks from Greece are few. The majority of the monks are made up of American-born Orthodox Christians of various nationalities, and from those who have been received into the Orthodox Christian Church. The language of the services is Greek. All the monks learn the Greek language and Byzantine music.

The monks follow and apply precisely the Byzantine services, the traditions, the vigils, the prayers and the life according to the "typikon" and schedule of Mount Athos.

In 1998, Archimandrite Ephraim edited and published through the monastery a book of letters by the Elder Joseph the Hesychast : "Monastic Wisdom : the Letters of the Elder Joseph the Hesychast".

Elder Ephraim

Brotherhood at Saint Anthony Monastery

Later life

Elder Ephraim developed a reputation of being a Grace-filled confessor, a true Athonite elder, and had thousands of spiritual children around the world, including monastics, clergy, and laity. He was considered by many to be the first to establish an authentic Athonite monastery on American soil. In the course of his life, Elder Ephraim founded 17 monasteries in the USA and Canada for women and for men, and also a nursing home.

In October, 2019, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Patriarchate of Constantinople glorified Archimandrite Ephraim's elder, the Schema-monk Joseph the Hesychast of Mount Athos, to be a saint.

Repose, 2019

On Saturday, 7 December, 2019, at 10:00 p.m., Elder Ephraim (Moraitis) fell asleep in the Lord.

On Wednesday, 11 December, the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Presbyter were offered at Saint Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Arizona. The services were presided by Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) (the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), and he was assisted by many other bishops and clergy.

After the conclusion of the funeral, his body was interred in the monastery’s cemetery.

The Holy Elder in repose

Reflections

During the period of his service in North America, Archimandrite Ephraim (Moraitis) served under the blessings of 4 successive archbishops of America.

The many monasteries founded by the Elder Ephraim (Moraitis) are not the very first Greek Orthodox monasteries established in the USA. Before this, several had been established, which do not necessarily follow the Mount Athos order, and they do not necessarily use only the Greek language. At least one of them uses a great amount of English. Archimandrite Ephraim did not indicate that the life of the monasteries under his care would always use the Greek language only, but rather that it would be necessary at the foundation.

Archimandrite Ephraim was a centre of some controversy. When he was hearing confessions, it was his custom in the treatment of sins to apply the canons of the Church with strictness ("akriveia"). This was essentially his formation under the Elder Joseph. However, many people felt that the treatment was too burdensome. Therefore the Elder was sometimes criticised by those who were of the opinion that it would be better to modify the prescribed treatment by using "economia". Such a difference of disposition between the way of strictness and the way of "economia" may be found throughout the Orthodox Church because of the differences in human beings.

A report was published on the internet, “Elder Ephraim miraculously prevents plane crash, reports say”. It was published at Larnaca, Cyprus, on 19 October, 2017. According to the information reported, the former abbot of the Athonite monastery of Philotheou miraculously appeared to prevent a plane crash on a flight from Larnaca, Cyprus to Haifa, Israel.

Olga Rozhneva published an article on 20 December, 2016, “How I wound up in the Arizona Desert with Elder Ephraim”.

Writings

• "Counsels from the Holy Mountain : Selected from the Letters and Homilies of Elder Ephraim" (Florence, Arizona : Saint Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery, 1999). ISBN 0966700031.

• "My life with Elder Joseph" (Moscow : Akhtyr Holy Trinity Monastery, 2012). (in Russian)

• "Sermons of Elder Ephraim of Mount Athos".

• "On the World and Family"

• (editor) "Monastic Wisdom : the Letters of the Elder Joseph the Hesychast" (Florence, Arizona : Saint Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery, 1998). ISBN : 0-9667000-0-7.

Writings about the Elder Ephraim by various authors

• History of the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Monastery in Harvard, Illinois, with a brief biography of Father Ephraim

• "Saint Anthony Monastery in Arizona" by Hierodeacon Nikon (Gorohov). (part 1). (in Russian)