The brother acted on the advice of the divine Niphon, and, indeed, was accepted into the monastery; then, after some time, according to the prophecy of the monk, he was elected ecclesiarch and, finally, abbot. Grateful for the advice of the Monk Niphon, he sent him everything necessary for cell life. To our God, who gloriously glorifies His saints, be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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St. Ephraim of Serbia, patriarch († 1400, commemorated June 15)
Blessed Ephraim, who was the third patriarch of the Serbian Church, was the son of a priest contemporary with King Milutin; Even in his young years he felt an attraction to monastic life. His parents wanted to see him married, but he disappeared from their house and, finding the hermit Vasily, began to live with him in fasting and prayer, and soon took a vow of monasticism with him. His parents, having learned about his whereabouts, wanted to take him away from the hermit, but he fled to Athos and hid there in one of the monasteries. During military troubles, Ephraim and his disciples moved to the Ibrovo Monastery in Serbia; Here he was also abbot, but not for long. Having venerated the shrines of the Patriarchate, he settled in a secluded place near the Decani Monastery and lived here as a strict hermit. After the death of Tsar Dushan, the unrest of anarchy began and then robberies appeared. The hermit Ephraim was beaten half to death by bad people who forced him to share money with them. Patriarch Savva, successor of St. Ioannikis, the first Patriarch of Serbia, took the elder to the patriarchate and appointed a cave cell for him; the great faster came to life and recovered here.
The pious Prince Lazar sent an embassy to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a request to end the disputes that were taking place regarding the Serbian Patriarchate. Peace has been restored with the Greek Church. It was necessary to calmly elect a new patriarch to replace the deceased Savva. Then, unfortunately, there were quite a few seekers of the patriarchal see in Serbia. After a general prayer, the council of Serbian bishops in the city of Peci elected the “Reverend Hermit Ephraim” as patriarch, an old man adorned not only with gray hair, but also with high virtues. Blessed Ephraim, who did not at all expect such an election and was brought to the council to explain the election to him, wept bitterly and begged to be relieved of his difficult lot. The council answered: “He who is designated by God is to be consecrated.” It was October 3, 1375, in memory of St. Dionysius the Areopagite. Following this, Ephraim was ordained patriarch and then crowned Prince Lazar with the crown of the Serbian rulers. It was not in vain that blessed Ephraim cried so much that they were conferring a high rank on him.
The time was difficult: many disorders arose in the Church during the breakdown of civil government. Just as not all regional rulers willingly submitted to Prince Lazar, so not all bishops and other clergy obeyed Patriarch Ephraim, despite his high spiritual life. Accustomed to a quiet, solitary life, burdened by the disorder of affairs, St. Ephraim refused the busy position of ruler of the Serbian Church. In 1382, he dedicated Blessed Spyridon to his place, and he himself began to live in solitude in the Arkhangelsk monastery of Tsar Dushan. People of spiritual life highly respected Blessed Ephraim even in his solitude, recognized him as an experienced mentor and teacher, and willingly followed his advice.
Blessed Spyridon, who cared for the monastic monasteries, died in 1388 almost at the same time as the blessed Prince Lazar, who fell on the Kosovo field.
Since after the death of Spyridon and Prince Lazar the time was extremely troubled, they begged Blessed Ephraim to govern the Church again until the election of a new patriarch. Thus he again governed the Serbian flock for quite some time, to the consolation of the best people.
A wondrous ascetic, meek as an angel, he died on June 15, 1400, at the age of 88, under the successor of Patriarch Daniel, Savva. His relics rest in the great patriarchal church.
18
St. Leonty the Farsighted, Athonite († 1605, commemorated June 18)
Our venerable father Leontius was from Argos of the Peloponnese, and asceticised for St. Mount Athos, in the monastery of St. Dionysius. During the sixty years he spent in the monastery, he only entered it once and once left it, i.e. was worn out upon his repose. For the height of his life, he was awarded the gift of clairvoyance and prophecy, and after his death he exuded myrrh from his divine relics, as Malaxa, the archpriest of Nauplia, relates. The Monk Leonty departed to the Lord in 1605, on March 16, being 85 years old.
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St. Paisiy of Hilendar (Athos), Bulgarian († after 1762, commemorated June 19)