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In this recording, Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou (Orthodox Church of Cyprus) recounts a message he received the next day after the repose of Elder Ephraim of Arizona (✝ December 7, 2019). He also tells us some prophecies of Elder Ephraim regarding the End Times in America.
Audio source: ΟΜΙΛΙΕΣ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΟΥ ΜΟΡΦΟΥ, December 2019, Cyprus
Metropolitan Neophytos:
The strange thing, following his blessed and holy repose which took place yesterday, Sunday, at 7:15am Cyprus time, is the following. On Monday, a man of God whose eyes [of the soul] have been cleansed sent me a message and told me … “My dear brother Neophytos, I saw three wreaths given by the Lord at the glorification of Father Ephraim. The first one was the wreath of the Saint.” Because of the love he showed to the prayer and the Jesus prayer, as I said, he cleansed, and enlightened, and sanctified his heart. That’s the way of the Saints. The way of ascesis. To guard our nous — that’s how you acquire chastity.
A person very close to me, who was married during her life, and now is holy in heaven, appeared to her sister and told her: “Chastity” is not what you think of on earth. “Chastity” is to be watchful of your nous, and before the nous conceives a bad desire, to repent right away. She told [her sister]: “From the moment I was left a widow with four orphans, I watched over my nous. And when I stood before Christ, He said: ‘Myrophora will join the virgins.’ Although, she was married [on earth]. Because she guarded her nous. And I am well aware to the nuns I talk to, here in the Monastery of Panagia Pantanassa. This man of God, [Elder Ephraim], a virgin in body and soul, he was crowned with the wreath of sainthood by God.
The second wreath [Elder Ephraim was crowned with], as seen by this brother in Christ, was the wreath of a martyr. And as it often happens, [Elder Ephraim] was martyred by the envy of monks, priests, abbots, hierarchs … Who is it that often envy us? Who do we [ourselves] often envy? The ones similar, equal to us. That’s also the case with people “in cassocks,” whether they are monastics or remain unmarried in the word. This man [Elder Ephraim] was accused a lot, in Mount Athos, but mostly in America where he built almost twenty monasteries.
There was a strong backlash by the secularized protestant climate of America, [roughly] thirty years ago. We knew these things. Brothers [from America] passed them on to us. How much they strived so that [Elder Ephraim’s] monasteries could preserve an ascetic level. They were filled with American monks and nuns and all services from these English-speaking people to be performed in Ancient Greek and with Byzantine music. This was the condition set by Elder Ephraim himself: “All services must take place in the language of accuracy and theological wisdom [i.e. Ancient Greek] and in the music — not of the Greeks or Byzantines — but as [Alexandros] Papadiamantis puts it: ‘in the music of the Angels.’” The one we heard tonight.
The third wreath was the one of “Equal to the Apostles.” How could he not receive this wreath? At the moment when his arduous apostolic work in the large America continent, Canada, and elsewhere, he managed “to change the climate” of all America. An America who is sinking in secularization, demonism and worship of the flesh to be driven by a mere hieromonk of the Holy Mountain with a weak voice and humility into the ascetic state and the education of purification, enlightenment and holiness. The Orthodox education of our Holy Fathers and Mothers.
Do you know what’s strange? Someone wrote today online: On Tuesday morning, Elder Ephraim, this newly-revealed holy man, — we’re not rushing to canonize him, [besides] the people already have — [Elder Ephraim] appeared to a little child in America and he talked to him in English. The little child saw him crowned with three wreaths on his head and asked him, “Father, what are those three wreaths on your head? I can see three of them.” [He replied]: “The one is the wreath of holy asceticism, the other is for enduring the accusations and slanders [against me], and for forgiving those who accused me, and the third one is [the apostolic one], because of the missionary work I did in your homeland so that you, the new generation of Americans, can become holy.”
Once, when the bishops asked him ironically [while he was in life]: “Why are you building all these monasteries with the nuns and monks, Father Ephraim?” He answered, and this is related to his fourth quality, for which he will receive a fourth wreath by God soon enough: the prophet’s wreath. He and Saint Paisios are the two prophets of our people in the approaching End Times. Elder Ephraim answered: “These monasteries will be the refuge for the next generation of Americans, when the difficult times of decay arrive and America will no longer be a superpower. At that time, many people will take shelter around the monasteries to save their souls, and they’ll be saved. Later, the New Martyrs of American Orthodoxy will come out of these Monasteries.”
Are you listening to how far in time the man of God could see? Dear Abbess, as if today you build a monastery, we perform the services, and in a hundred years’ time new nuns arrive to become new martyrs. One sows, another one reaps. That’s how the providence of the Holy Spirit works. That’s how Father Ephraim worked. That’s how Saint Spyridon worked [whose feast day was on that day]. That’s how we should work, if we want to have a share of the great holiness of Saint Spyridon and the great prophet of the End Times, the Holy, the Martyr, the Equal to the Apostles, Ephraim the newly revealed.
