ST. ANTHONY’S MONASTERY, FLORENCE AZ
ELDER EPHRAIM OF ARIZONA AND MONASTICISM IN AMERICA
One of the great stumbling blocks in the development of Holy Orthodoxy in America in the twentieth century has been the lack of monastic communities. As a Greek Orthodox priest who has traveled extensively to the monastic communities of Greece and the Holy Land, I have always felt that the presence of monasticism in America was vital for the Church to truly flourish. Ever since Holy Orthodoxy was established in North America by the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska there has never been an organized and sustained effort to establish monastic communities in our midst. This changed about twenty years ago when the Elder Ephraim arrived in North America from Mount Athos. I would like to share with you the history of this development in the recent past.
ELDER EPHRAIM OF ARIZONA AND MONASTICISM IN AMERICA
One of the great stumbling blocks in the development of Holy Orthodoxy in America in the twentieth century has been the lack of monastic communities. As a Greek Orthodox priest who has traveled extensively to the monastic communities of Greece and the Holy Land, I have always felt that the presence of monasticism in America was vital for the Church to truly flourish. Ever since Holy Orthodoxy was established in North America by the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska there has never been an organized and sustained effort to establish monastic communities in our midst. This changed about twenty years ago when the Elder Ephraim arrived in North America from Mount Athos. I would like to share with you the history of this development in the recent past.
