After a short time, the elder reposed, full of days and mature in age, and his place was taken by Hieromonk Nicephorus. In 1935, the young elder2 Ni-kyphorus, when tonsured into the great schema, named Longinus Ephraim in honor of the Monk Ephraim, --- 1) And the syhastyrium (Greek ησυχαστήριον — literally: "place of silence") — usually a cenobitic monastery (

on Athos, as a rule, it is a solitary cell), built by some private owner on his land and by virtue of this having almost complete independence from the authority of the diocesan bishop and great freedom in his internal order. 2) «... a young elder..." — an elder on Athos is called not only a wise ascetic of advanced years, but also simply the head of the brotherhood, which is Father Nikephoros here.

  to whom the church of their hesychastiria was dedicated. The piety and attentiveness of the young monk in the spiritual life were soon appreciated by his elder. The following year he was ordained to the priesthood and since then has been known as Father Ephraim of Katounak. Father Ephraim was older than us, and he had met our venerable Elder Joseph the Hesychast earlier.

He clung to him with all his soul, not only following his advice, but also, as far as possible, imitating him. Father Ephraim was not with us1 all the time. Thus did the Divine Providence govern everything. He lived on Katunaki according to the rule of Elder Nicephorus, following the tradition of the local hermit. Worthy of our attention is the heroic striving of Father Ephraim to combine two images of monastic life: hermitage and coenobial, which he fulfilled with unsurpassed zeal, perseverance, and patience.

And he was helped by Divine grace, which he restrained by obedience and the rejection of his own will, as the Tradition of the Fathers teaches. When we, by the grace of Christ, in the summer of 1947 entered into obedience to our Elder, Father Ephraim was our priest,2 and we accepted him as our genuine, unanimous and like-minded brother. Our venerable Elder explained to us the purpose of the monastic life and led us to it, instructing us with an all-consuming love for God, and not with attention to the rules and places of residence, depending on the circumstances.

What more obligatory commandment is given to man than that which speaks of love for God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mk. 12, 30)? This is the first and main lesson that our Elder taught us, tirelessly instructing us on the path to success. In this study, our co-worker and companion of our own free will was our most prudent brother, Father Ephraim.

More mature in years and experience, he was always distinguished by accuracy in the fulfillment of obedience, but not with fear and slavishness, but with love for the Elder Father who gave the order. Explaining the word of the Lord to the disciples, that he who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me (Luke 10:16), he constantly emphasized the importance of complete obedience to the elder, as to Christ Himself.

He explained to us the essence of obedience with clarity and in detail, using many examples, and taught it. In my poor opinion, he should have been called "Father Ephraim the Novice" and not Katunaksky, because he justified the name Novice in practice. We and other fathers keep in mind many of his sayings about obedience. All of them correspond to Divine Revelation and the teaching of the Holy Fathers, for, according to both logic and natural laws, the practical act of recreating and saving the "fallen and corruptible" is a return to the original position of dependence and obedience, in accordance with the image of our Renewer and Saviour, Who, although in no way less than the greatness of the Father,3 was obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:11). 8)

in order to convince us by our very deeds that without obedience to God there is no hope of salvation. --- 1 That is, with the brotherhood of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. 2 At that time, the brotherhood of Elder Joseph the Hesychast did not have its own priest who could celebrate the Liturgy, therefore, at the request of Elder Joseph and with the consent of Father Nicephorus, this obedience was performed by Father Ephraim. 3 See: Phil. 2, 6.

  Father Procopius and St. Theodore In their brotherhood was Father Procopius, in the world Panayot Bakas, who was a novice all his life. He came to Athos a little later than Elder Nicephorus and never sinned in obedience, working hard at all the hard work. Father Procopius loved and listened to Father Ephraim very much, because he always supported him when their elder showed excessive strictness.

Until old age, Father Procopius was ready for any kind of work. He revered obedience and showed zeal in the performance of his duties; for younger monks, Father Procopius was a role model. In the past, a difficult obedience in the desert of Mount Athos was to carry a load on one's shoulders, moreover, on bad and steep roads.

And in this, Father Procopius left a memory of himself as a true and hardworking ascetic, who remained so until his very old age. Thanks to the integrity of his character and good will in following the patristic tradition, which he had from the beginning, he soon felt grace and became a good example of the life of an Athonite desert monk.

For some time he was tormented by thoughts of leaving Elder Nicephorus, for he had a really difficult character, sometimes simply unbearable. Father Procopius went in the direction of the skete of St. Anna1, but soon returned thanks to the admonition of his elder. Once, when the battle became very strong and thoughts of leaving the elder began to gain the upper hand, he told Father Ephraim about this, and he advised him to go to the New Skete2 and venerate the grave of Elder Joseph in order to receive an answer. Father Procopius listened to the advice.

As soon as he bowed down and prayed, asking for Divine help, he immediately felt a fragrance and thoughts of leaving retreated forever. From the great labors and because of the excessive weight of the loads that Father Procopius carried constantly, he developed a hernia, and a bilateral hernia. He tried in every way to find relief for himself, but he could not. Father Ephraim heated bricks <for compresses. — Ed.