One of the biggest figures in modern Orthodoxy, Elder Efraim of Arizona, falls asleep in the Lord – He was 92
According to the Greek site ProNews.gr, one of the biggest figures in modern Orthodoxy, Elder Ephraim of Arizona, fell asleep in the Lord and left us all full days after a struggle with a disease in recent years as published recently by the International Church News Agency Orthodoxia News Agency.
Along with Saint Paisius and Elder Joseph the Vatopedin, they made up the “holy trinity” of monastic Orthodoxy, and were, with all due respect, the “Big Three” or Orthodoxy. Paisius has already achieved sainthood and the same is expected to happen with with Joseph and with Ephraim, in due time.
According to TheGreekReporter.com, Archimandrite Ephraim of Philotheou, commonly known as Elder Ephraim, was a former abbot of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos and was an Archimandrite. He was also a spiritual guide of several monasteries located on Mount Athos as well as the founder of various monasteries in the States. He lived at St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Florence, Arizona.
Father Efraim left a great spiritual legacy behind and his work touched the lives of millions of Orthodox faithful all over the world. Many, many people have visited the St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Arizona because of the Father and the blessing he has brought there for the faithful.
According to the Monastery’s official website Stanthonysmonastery.org which speaks of the great monastic work that the Father did there, we read the following…
Elder Ephraim, a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast, having restored and repopulated four Mt. Athos monasteries and having established several men’s and women’s monastic communities throughout Greece and North America, transferred six Athonite monks to the Sonoran Desert to start a new monastery. Upon their arrival the fathers began with the necessary construction work, building first the main church, living quarters for the monks, the dining hall, and guest facilities. A vegetable garden, a small vineyard, citrus orchards, and an olive grove dot the landscape. An elaborate system of gardens, pathways, and gazebos with Spanish fountains truly render the monastery and its extensive grounds an oasis in the desert.
The Father was 92. He is now interceding for us in heaven with all the other Saints!
