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.

> tried to bring him comfort and comfort, but this did not solve the problem. One elder, having come to their cell3, persuaded Father Procopius to agree to the operation, assured him that he would recover completely, saying that he himself had the same ailment, but after the operation he no longer experienced any pain. With the blessing of the brotherhood, Father Procopius began to prepare for a trip to Piraeus4, where he had relatives.

Father Ephraim prayed incessantly for the elderly monk, because he had not left the Holy Mountain for about forty years and was completely incapable of traveling the world alone. Intensifying his prayer for the departing Procopius, Father Ephraim saw his entire trip as if on television: when he sailed from Daphne,5 when he arrived in Piraeus, when he was admitted to the hospital.

В день операции он убедил отца Никифора совершить над отцом Прокопием Елеосвящение6 , потому что тот испытывал <как говорил отец Ефрем.— Ред.> сильную боль. Даты они записали. Когда отец Прокопий через месяц вернулся, то они убедились в том, что события развивались именно так, как был извещаем об этом отец Ефрем. --- 1) С кит Святой Анны (греч.

Άγίας Άννης ) — скит во имя праведной Анны на юго-западном побережье Святой Горы; как и Катунаки, административно относится к Великой Лавре. 2 Старец Иосиф Исихаст был погребен в Новом Скиту на месте своей кончины. Позже над его могилой была возведена часовня. 3 Келиями (греч. κελλία)

на Святой Горе называются не только комнаты для монашествующих, но и отдельно стоящие строения, обычно это двух- или трехэтажные здания, с храмом внутри, расположенные на земле какого-либо монастыря и являющиеся его собственностью. 4 Пирей — афинский порт. Раньше это был отдельный населенный пункт, пригород Афин, ныне — один из районов греческой столицы.

5 Дафни — одна из главных бухт Святой Горы, порт, куда прибывают суда с материка. 6 Здесь идет речь о практике заочного совершения Таинства Соборования.   — Когда я приехал в Пирей, — рассказывал отец Прокопий, — я растерялся. Смотрю направо-налево и не знаю, куда идти. Внезапно появились двое похожих друг на друга молодых людей и, взяв мои вещи и сказав мне, что зовут их Феодоры, проводили меня.

Когда они привели меня к дому по тому адресу, который я им дал, они показали мне дверь, поставили вещи и попрощались со мною. Я обернулся, чтобы поблагодарить их, но они исчезли, и больше я их не видел. Это были святые Феодоры, которых своей молитвой послал мне отец Ефрем вместо себя, чтобы они сопровождали меня. Отец Прокопий почил в 1968 году после непродолжительной старческой болезни, оставив нам пример трудолюбия и послушания.