In Response To Slander Of Elder Ephraim

[Theo]

Well, I registered to reply. I have been to three of the elder's monasteries. I attended one for nearly a year . At first, mainly for convenience. It was 5 minutes from my home. I converted under the guidance of a priest there, but was chrismated at a parish about an hour away. I have also been to St. Anthony's. I have never encountered any of the things mentioned here or that I have seen elsewhere.
Kollyvas account of St. Anthony's is consistent with my experience. My spiritual father has been very lenient. He has never given me a "rule". His catechism was basically the rubrics of orthodoxy, and teachings about the saints and feast days, and he taught on virtue. I have never seen the protocol or even heard the slightest suggestion of anti-semitism. The monastery I attended has trouble keeping novices, they usually kick them out.

They have helped me also when I was in need, they have delivered food to my house, given me incense and icons and many books. I once asked the priest to order a copy of the psalms (LXX), and they gave it to me. They have even driven out and jumpstarted my car. My spiritual father has helped my marriage when my wife and I were struggling. He has never encouraged us to seperate or any others I know of, it has been the opposite. I am not required to get blessings for marital relations or any other rediculous claim. I am not told to get blessings at all, it is up to me if I want to.

Kollyvas described St. Anthonies to a tee. I met the Elder. He is a very humble man. I did not see the cultish things I have read about. I saw one monk visiting with a family member and holding a baby. Most of the monks looked well fed to me, and I was certainly never famished.
I was not forced into labor either. I began to feel guilty and had to find some work myself to do in the afternoons.

When I was a catechumate I ran into all of these claims and so I was hyper sensitive to any subtlety that would validate them. I never saw anything that would do so. Nothing but hospitality and kindness has been demonstrated and no burdens have been placed upon me, except to fast before receiving communion, and that after I was received into the church to stay away from my wife until after our marriage ceremony which was a week later. I have never received any kind of pennance, and believe me, my first confession was a shocker, and my subsequent confessions are not trifle either.

I am still open to some proof for these claims, but it has never been presented, and I have never seen anything to suggest they are true.

[Kollyvas]

http://joyfullight.blogspot.com/

(Seraphim Larsen's Blog)

Does Elder Ephraim teach anti-Semitism?
As I mentioned earlier, I intend to address the issues raised by David Smith one-by-one.

The first issue he raises is anti-Semiticism. He accuses Elder Ephraim and the Fathers at Saint Anthony's Monastery of being anti-Semites. Such a claim is absolutely unfounded.

It is worth mentioning that the Elder's own personal medical doctor in Phoenix is a Jew. A lawyer that the Monastery uses is also a Jew. In addition, there are a number of Monks who are from Jewish backgrounds, and at least one of the Orthodox Priests who regularly visits St. Anthony's Monastery is a Jewish convert to Christianity. I know two of these people quite well, and they have never complained of any anti-Semitic teaching coming from Elder Ephraim.

Smith provided some quotes from some of Elder Ephraim's writings to try to prove that the Elder is anti-Semitic. For example:

One Sunday, a preacher delivered a sermon on "love your enemies." On the Sunday after, he spoke against alcohol addiction - about the havoc it wrought among the Christian peoples. Incidentally, the infamous Zionists greatly boast about this in their notorious 'Protocols.'

It is important to note, in the quotes cited by Smith, Elder Ephraim speaks against the Zionists, not Judaism or the Jewish people.

Zionism is not equivalent to Judaism -- not at all. Zionism is "an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine, and later for the support of modern Israel" (Merriam-Webster). The ranks of the Zionists have included many who are not even Jewish -- for example, many American Evangelicals identify themselves with the Zionist movement.

Many people of greatly varied political and religious views are opposed to Zionism for many different reasons, and it would be ridiculous to claim that all of them are anti-Semites. There are even Jewish people and organizations that oppose Zionism. Are they also anti-Semites? This is plainly ridiculous.

Thus, there is no foundation at all to the accusation that Elder Ephraim and/or the fathers at Saint Anthony's Monastery are racists or anti-Semites. This accusation simply has no basis.

---

David (Nephon) Smith has been writing some things on the Internet about Elder Ephraim and Saint Anthony's Monastery that require a response.

My family and I have been visiting Saint Anthony's Monastery regularly since 1998 and are familiar with the teachings of the Elder, the way of life of the Fathers there, and some of the other Holy Monasteries founded by Elder Ephraim. We know many people who live nearby the monasteries, and countless others (clergy and laypeople) who regularly visit and obtain spiritual benefit.

The statements made by David Smith do not do justice to the real situation at the Monasteries and do not convey an accurate understanding of the Elder's teachings.

It is the intention of this blog to help clear up some of the misunderstandings and to attempt to give a more accurate portrayal of the teachings of the Elder and the way of life encouraged thereby.

It is my sincere wish to help dispel, at least in some small way, the irrational fears circulating in regard to Elder Ephraim and the Holy Monasteries he has established. I also wish, at least in some small way, to help others to understand the great benefit the Elder has brought to us by means of the traditional Orthodox teachings he passes down to us, whether personally, or through his books, or through the Holy Fathers at the Monasteries. There is so much grace available here, so much wisdom and goodness, so much light.

With God's help, it is my intention is to address the issues raised by David Smith on his website, one by one. After this, I hope to write a bit about some topics that may be helpful to obtain a better understanding of what the Gospel and the Holy Fathers actually teach about a number of topics -- topics with which I struggled along my own path as an Orthodox Christian.

Readers may also wish to refer to Michelle Sparrow's excellent blog, Orthodox Patristic Wisdom.

Blog comments that follow the rules of common courtesy and civility are welcome.

Michael said...
Evlogite!
I do not understand all the controvercy concerning Geronda Efraim and the monasteries that God has allowed to flourish in the New World in order to help us spiritually in these difficult days for Orthodox Christianity. Personally, I have never heard anything that was against the truth from any spiritual father or monastic affiliated with these monasteries. Everything that my spiritual father (a parish priest, and spiritual child of Geronda Efraim) has ever told me has been to my benefit spiritually, even though it may have been harsh or difficult for me, a man of the world, to follow. My thinking is this: If God did not want these monasteries here, they would have never taken root. These are multi-million dollar projects that no ONE man could erect without God's help (let alone a pennyless monastic). In the end, those people who don't like Geronda's work should just stay away. It is spiritually harmful to themselves to criticize God's work in such a way.

12/12/2005 11:59 AM

[Kollyvas]

http://sgpm.goarch.org/Monastery/index.php?p=17

“Abba Macarius was asked, 'How should one pray?' The old man said, 'There is no need at all to make long discourses, it is enough to stretch out one's hands and say, "Lord, as You will, and as You know, have mercy." And if the conflict grows fiercer say, "Lord, help!" He knows very well what we need and He shows us His mercy.'”

• Abba Macarius
  Elder Joseph the Hesychast
  Elder Joseph the Hesychast and
  the teaching of mental prayer which flowed from his letters
  by Abbot Ephraim of Vatopaidi Monastery
  The blessed elder Joseph the Hesychast is one of the most important figures of contemporary Athonite monasticism. This monk is sanctified. His life is truly that of a contemporary saint and his disciples have today inhabited nearly half of the Holy Mountain and are responsible for so many other women’s monastery both within and outside of the Greek land.

It is said today by a pious mouth, which speaks the language of the Holy Spirit, that today’s blessed renewal of the Holy Mountain is primarily the common work of Elder Sophrony, elder of the Monastery of the Forerunner in Essex with his excellent book concerning St. Silouan the Athonite, Elder Paisios the ascetic with his blessed presence of the Holy Land, and the disciples of the blessed Elder Joseph the Hesychast. The tree is known by its fruits.

We firmly believe that the return of Athos to interiority and prayer and generally to Hesychast Theology is due largely to the presence of the sanctified Elder Joseph the Hesychast. As you will know from all that has circulated up to now about the blessed Elder Joseph, he was a man who did not possess the skill of worldly things, was not even a beginner among them. He studied to the second grade. And it is easy to see this if you look at a copy of one of his handwritten letters. But as a possessor of the fullness of divine grace, having achieved by full enlightenment of his grace-filled mind to ascend to the highest steps of Theology and become a perfected theologian. For we know that a theologian is not one who has studied in the modern Theological Schools but one in whom speaks God the Logos. Theology is a gift of the Holy Spirit. The blessed elder wrote concerning this, “When in obedience and stillness one purifies the senses and calms the mind and cleanses the heart, then he receives grace and enlightenment of knowl edge. He becomes all nous, all clarity, and filled with theology such that if three were writing they could not keep up with the flow. He spreads peace and complete inactivity of the passions throughout the body.”

Theology according to the venerable Elder and generally in the Holy Fathers is a fruit of the divine Grace within us. Therefore the Holy Fathers view the monasteries of the desert as universities. The letters of the venerable Elder are true theological essays but are written without the canons of syntax and orthography. Searching the letters of the blessed Elder Joseph, anyone can well comprehend the great grace with which this perfected Athonite monk sent them. All the more so we who are his spiritual descendants and have the further fortune to have among us our Elder. He was among the spiritual children of the ever-memorable Elder and very often brings up something spiritual concerning his elder, Elder Joseph the Hesychast.

And we find ourselves in the place above all of the Orthodox Tradition, the Sacred Athos, where the love of the Mother of God pleads for us. We who live in the Theotokos-protected Monastery of Vatopaidi by the extreme tolerance of the great God, live the true meaning of the Orthodox Tradition.

Today much is said and emphasized concerning the Orthodox Tradition, and rightly so. But it is difficult in our days to find tradi tional people according to the fullness of the Orthodox sense. It is said that traditional people are those who study traditional - patristic books, and this is not wrong. But truly traditional people are those who have received the Orthodox life from people who possess it and can pass it on simply and unmistakingly.

Thus, for all our baseness, we experience this situation and we know personally the great blessing it is to receive directly the experience and skill of the Orthodox life. When our Elder narrates something to us of his spiritual father, our ‘papou’ as we call him, that is for us a great blessing, a spiritual harmony; it is a joy and happiness.

When one receives first hand the experience of the Holy Spirit, he senses in a intense manner that the Gospel is not something that happened ‘at that time’ but is a continuous life, in which is confirmed that ‘Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and to the ages.’

As one studies the correspondence of the blessed Elder Joseph, the first thing noticed is his desire, his nostalgia, his pure wish to tell his fellowman to concern himself with the prayer of Jesus. Because when he came to Athos, he set as his aim to live like the old ascetics as he had read in the book of that day, Kalokairini, containing the lives of the saints.

The whole of the venerable Elder’s life was his continual meditation in the Prayer of Jesus. He tried to apply the command of Paul, “pray without ceasing”.

Every evening he had as his rule to occupy himself with the prayer of Jesus unwaveringly for six continuous hours. He left this precise method in one of his letters. “I knew a brother, who for six hours brought his mind down into his heart and did not permit it to go out from the ninth hour of the afternoon (about 3 pm) until the third hour of the night (about nine pm). He had a clock that struck the hours. And he became drenched in sweat. When he got up, he worked our the remainder of his debt.” This manner of spiritual work, learned from the Fathers, shows great mental strength and a high spiritual condition. For it is truly rare, especially in our days, to find a mind that can pray unwaveringly for such a long time. The blessed Elder said that to accomplish such a great spiritual feat a person must compel himself in prayer and he emphasized: “Say the prayer all the time. don’t rest your mouth at all. Thus it will become habitual in you and the mind will receive it.

The Hesychast Elder is one of the contemporary Athonite Elders who taught the details of the practice of noetic prayer, not only to monastics but also to the laity. According to the Elder, all people, without reference to their way of life, wherever they find themselves, and whatever they do, can undertake noetic prayer. The blessed elder wrote concerning this, “The practice of noetic prayer is to constrain yourself to say continually the prayer unceasingly with the mouth. Attend only to the words - ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’. And you will experience sweetness as if you had honey in your mouth.”

One who wants to practice noetic prayer systematically should not wait for particular moments which he sets aside for the prayer. The sanctified Elder, as a teacher of prayer, empha sizes: “Always say the prayer: sitting or in your bed or walking or standing. ‘Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all things,’ says the Apostle. You should not only pray when you lie down. It wants struggle: standing, sitting. When you tire, sit down, and then stand again. If you eat or work, don’t stop the prayer.”

The prayer, according to the blessed Elder, is the breath of life for the soul. And he advised concerning it: “Let ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’ be as your breath” (Presuppositions of the Prayer: The Warfare of the Devil in this Work).

Therefore, great are the gifts, great the consolation, outstanding the sweetness, indescribable the happiness, inexpressible the joy, deep the peace, infinite the love which are received on account of the prayer of Jesus.

The chief message of the Holy Mountain to the pious people of God is: As much as you can, say the prayer. Whatever we say, whatever we explain, is incapable by words to express the depth and breadth of the good results of the prayer of Jesus. To whom is due all glory, honor and worship to the ages. Amen!

5 Comments »
By Matthew

November 13th, 2004 at 11:18 pm
This is such a beautiful article. And you see the theological vision of Elder Joseph by reading his letters…they are so wonderful. His advice and prayers have greatly helped me in my own spiritual life. I find his words to be particularly applicable to those of us struggling in the world to maintain prayer through our daily routines.
Through the prayers of our Elder Joseph and all the saints, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.

By Liza

January 7th, 2005 at 1:09 am
Site is fantastic - more of the same please!! Keep up the great work
Liza Murey’s Personal Homepage

By Frank Clark

January 27th, 2005 at 1:27 am
This a wonderfull admonition to all and within everyone’s grasp.
And let us remember that the prayer can be silent. Praying at anytime even while eating, “as our breath” .

By Paul Cooper

April 24th, 2005 at 1:33 am
The Holy Elder Joseph transcended time itself and reached far back in his soul to become like the one he so diligently sought, that being the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Prayer of Jesus brought him closer and closer, which each breath, until he is now in the presence and comfort of the Holy Trinity. May we all attain the dedication of The Prayer as the Elder Joseph did.

By Ksenia

August 4th, 2005 at 7:51 pm
I appreciate the previous comment. Elder Joseph and fellow-ascetic Elder Ephraim have helped me through some rough times, and offer encouragement in good times. They help me see my sins, offer contrition and saving tears I know I wouln’t have had without their help, because they are so close to the Mother of God. They offer instant humility, because you can’t go higher than them, or have more experience in fighting, or have sufferred more. You also sense their expansive love which includes you. It is easy to feel isolated out here. Out here in the boonies anything you try to do stands out, is not normal, and that can be a temptation. Also, we don’t have any Fathers here. We have to do everything carefully by books and prayer. A missionary-minded Elder should get on the internet and let people come to him with questions. St. Herman, St. Juvenal, and their group had boats, so they used them, and we have the internet available. I like the tone of this site. It is mostly concerned with prayer, and passing on the treasures of Orthodoxy.

[Kollyvas]

http://www.innerlightproductions.com/th ... ec1398.htm

Directions on the Life in Christ -- pt. 1
Today we will begin a series of thoughts taken from St. Anthony, one of the greatest saints of the Egyptian Desert who flourished in the third and fourth centuries. This series will focus on St. Anthony's teachings regarding the Life in Christ and how one must cultivate and nurture both the body and the soul for spiritual growth and discipline.

BEGIN: In my opinion the grace of the Holy Spirit most readily fills those who undertake spiritual work wholeheartedly and determine from the very beginning to stand firm and never to give ground to the enemy in no matter what battle, until they conquer him. However, the Holy Spirit, Who has called them, at first makes all things easy for them, in order thus to sweeten the beginning of the work of repentance, and only later shows them its ways in their full truth (arduousness). Helping them in all things, He impresses on them what works of repentance they should undertake, and lays down the form and limits both as regards the body and the soul, until He brings them to complete conversion to God, their Creator. For this purpose He constantly urges them to give exertion to body and soul in order that both alike, being equally sanctified, should equally become worthy heirs of eternal life; to exert the body in constant fasting, work and frequent vigils, and the soul, in spiritual exercises and diligence in all forms of service (and obediences) performed through the body. This (to do nothing carelessly, but always with care and the fear of God) should be zealously observed in all work done with the body, if we wish it to bear fruit.

Leading the repentant man to undertake spiritual work, the Holy Spirit, Who called him to repentance, also grants him His comforts and teaches him not to turn back nor be attached to anything of this world. To this end, He opens the eyes of the soul and gives her to see the beauty of the purity reached through the works of repentance. In this way He kindles in it zeal for complete purification both of itself and of the body, that the two may be one in purity. For this is the aim of the teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit - to purify them completely and bring them back to their original state, in which they were before the Fall, by destroying in them all adulterations introduced by the devil's envy, so that nothing of the enemy should remain therein. Then the body will become obedient to the dictates of the mind in all things, and the mind will masterfully determine its food and drink, its sleep and its every other action, constantly learning from the Holy Spirit to "keep under" the "body, and bring it into subjection" (I Corinthians 9:27) as did Apostle Paul.

It is known that the body has three kinds of carnal movements. The first is a natural movement, inherent in it, which does not produce anything (sinful, burdening the conscience) without the consent of the soul and merely lets it be known that it exists in the body. The second kind of movement in the body is produced by too abundant food and drink, when the resulting heat in the blood stimulates the body to fight against the soul and urges it towards impure lusts. Wherefore the Apostle says: "be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess" (Ephesians 5:18). In the same way the Lord commands His disciples in the Gospels: "take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness" (Luke 21:34). And those who are monks, and are zealous to achieve the full measure of sanctity and purity, should take particular care always to keep themselves such that they can say with the Apostle, "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection" (1 Corinthians 9:27). The third movement comes from the evil spirits, who thus tempt us out of envy and try to weaken those who have found purity (who are already monks), or to lead astray from the path those who wish to enter into the door of purity (that is, those who are as yet on the threshold of monkhood).

However, if a man arms himself with patience and an unswerving faithfulness to the commandments of God, the Holy Spirit will teach his mind how to purify his soul and body from such movements. But if at any time he weakens in his feeling and permits himself to neglect the commandments and ordinances he has heard, the evil spirits will begin to overpower him, will press upon all parts of the body and will befoul it by this movement, until the tormented soul will not know where to turn, in its despair seeing nowhere whence help could come. Only when sobered, it returns again to the commandments and, shouldering their yoke (or realising the strength of its obligations), commits itself to the Holy Spirit, it regains a salutary disposition. Then it understands that it should seek peace solely in God, and that only thus is peace possible. END.

from "Early Fathers from the Philokalia," translated by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, (London: Faber & Faber, 1981), pp. 39-40.

[尼古拉前执事]

Kollyvas, please post articles that do not have to do directly with geronda Ephraem in a new thread titled with an appropriate subject to the topic of those articles. Thank you.

[尼古拉前执事]

Among the current updates from the POEM website ( http://www.concernedpoem.com/ ) was this information: An NBC Investigative Report on the Fr. Ephraim Monasteries will air in Tucson AZ on February 7th and 8th at 10 PM. (KVOA Eyewitness News, Channel 4) After the report is aired, it will be available at this link ( http://www.kvoa.com/ ) under the menu item "Investigators." POEM reports that both Father Ephraim and Metropolitan Gerasimos declined to be interviewed on camera.

[Kollyvas]

I think what would be appropriate now would be to investigate just what kind of organization poem is, what are its views on Orthodoxy, who runs it, and WHERE it gets its money from. Tucson is a liberal hub in AZ. It's quite possible that certain agendized persons with fanciful tales of antisemitism could have found an ear. I would posit that ANY organization acting in such a way as to silence Traditional Orthodox witness has no good intent...
R