With Elder Nicephorus

Elder Nicephorus, in the world Christos Rupakas, was a native of Piri, a suburb of Thebes. In 1910, having met his fellow countryman Elder Ephraim, he came to the Holy Mountain. At that time, in the wilderness, the ability to craftsmanship, which was necessary for earning a livelihood, was valued, and the novice Christ possessed these abilities. In addition, he was a good psalm,28 zealous for church services, as Father Ephraim told us. In 1924, Father Nikifor was ordained to the priesthood.

Father Ephraim told us in detail about incidents from his life dating back to the time when he was a novice and a novice of his elder. He himself was amazed at the many instances of the intercession of grace, which consoled him, despite his inexperience.

On the descent to the hesychastiry of St. Ephraim the Syrian on Katunaki In the first steps of monastic life, he was helped by reading the books of the Holy Fathers. His elders, and especially Elder Ephraim, were extremely harsh and angry, and due to their illiteracy could not give him proper guidance.

At first, Father Ephraim had many difficulties, because he could not cope with obediences, needlework, and work. For all the work performed by him, the elders recognized him as unfit. But what did a young man of twenty who had recently graduated from the gymnasium know about needlework?

"Well, why have you come here," they said to him, "if you can't do anything?" The blessed one answered: "Bless, elder, by your prayers I will learn."

And indeed, Father Ephraim, who was unaccustomed to such work, learned because he was very capable. "God enlightened me, and I stayed with the elders and endured," he said.

And he described to us the pressure and violence of egocentrism, the first step of self-love, which arose when comparing oneself, educated, with illiterate elders who humbled him with their harsh words.

Then another evil made itself felt – self-will: the very "why", followed by contempt and humiliation. When Father Ephraim attained spiritual success, he was amazed at the wisdom of the Holy Fathers and the accuracy with which they described the destruction of the limbs and the institutions of the opposing law of corruption (Romans 7:23).

At the beginning of his monastic life, Father Ephraim performed great fasting feats. But, due to the weakness of his nature, he could not continue such a fast and fell ill. Thus he was compelled to adhere more to moderation than to severity. And Elder Nicephorus became more lenient in regard to nutrition, although he said as if to himself: "The fathers say: fasting, vigil, prayer, but these young people are looking for food and prayer. Can it be so?" But seeing the zeal of Father Ephraim, obedience and "Joseph's" upbringing,29 which he respected, he allowed relaxation in fasting. In addition, their needlework – making wooden seals for baking prosphoras – was hard work. On animals taken from outside, they had to transport tree trunks through impassable and inaccessible forests, cut them with heavy hand saws, cut them with an axe, process them on a machine with a foot drive and then cut seals by hand. Then, putting the seals on their backs, they had to carry them from the Athonite desert to the sea harbor in order to ensure their entry into the market.

Could the young ascetic Father Ephraim with his weak health be able to do all this, and at the same time strictly observe the word of the fathers about "fasting, vigil, prayer"?

Here I would like to digression by mentioning the introduction of the spirit of "oikonomia"30 into the present epoch, which is not due to the violation of patristic rules and contempt for them, but for the most part due to the diminishment of the natural powers of modern man. In our generation, I watched this change with bewilderment. We, that is, me and my peers, adhered to a certain measure of podvig with patience and without murmuring. Our disciples were unable to bear it, and not at all because of the inconstancy of their aspirations. Although they retained a healthy disposition and zeal, they retreated due to their natural weakness. There were not enough natural forces to seal the will with deeds. But grace did not hide its presence, because their will was according to God.

The blessed elder told us about various incidents from that period of his life when he was left alone with his decrepit elder, Father Nicephorus. He recalled how grace helped him in various ways in the difficulties he encountered.

"Once I was in the forest," he said, "and I was trying to move the thick trunks of trees from which we made seals. But I couldn't do it alone. Then a young man who was passing by the place appeared and readily helped me to finish my work. When I turned around to thank my assistant, he was gone. But he told me that his name was Theodore.