The Development of Monastaries in North American

By Elder Ephraim

The Holy Mount Athos in Greece has been the home of monasteries for over one thou- sand years. This peninsula located in northern Greece is considered the bulwark and pinnacle of Orthodox monasticism. Within this spiritual escarpment, Elder Ephraim, a priest-monk for the past 50 years, has served as an elder for almost forty years and became the abbot of the Holy Monastery of Philotheou in 1973. In 1979, he made a brief visit to Canada and the United States for health reasons. During this visit, he met many pious Orthodox Christians who were thirsting for his spiritual guidance and paternal counsels. All who met him were sad to see him go back to the Holy Mountain and flooded him with letters urging him to return. Because of their zeal and need for spiritual help, Elder Ephraim realized that it was God's will for him to return to the United States the next year, and since then he has made annual trips to the United States and Canada.

Most of his time was spent traveling to Greek Orthodox Churches in various cities across the two countries, where people waited their turn to spend a few minutes with him, to confess and seek guidance in difficult situations they were facing.

As the years passed, the amount of time Elder Ephraim was spending in the United States and Canada increased out of necessity, due to the steady growth in the number of his spiritual children. Nevertheless, he continued to be the abbot of the Sacred Monastery of Philotheou. He is also the spiritual Elder of three other monasteries on Mount Athos and eight women's monasteries throughout Greece. His reputation as a grace-filled confessor compels people worldwide to visit him, and his spiritual children number in the tens of thousands, both lay people, monastics, and priests.

With the blessing of the Archbishop of America and the local Metropolitans, as well as by the appeal of the Orthodox faithful in the United States and Canada, the Elder was allowed to begin the work of establishing monastic communities in North America. These communities serve to provide spiritual guidance and help preserve the Holy Traditions of the Church through an exemplary Christian life and devotion to God. Also, by hand-picking with special care worthy successors (Abbots and Abbesses), the Elder has ensured the continuity and success of this apostolic work to serve the Church and her needs.

Elder Ephraim since 1989, founded fourteen monasteries in the United States and Canada under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Archdioceses of America and Canada. His work is recognized by the entire Church, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who recently visited two of these monasteries. Also, the Archbishop of Greece and thirty hierarchs recently visited the Elder's women's monastery in Serres, Greece, and they all enthusiastically praised the Elder's work in Greece and America. All monasteries continue to flourish and are listed in the order of their chronological development on the next page.