An Antiochian Elder Ephraim?

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Fr. Ephraim in Canada

• Elder Ephraim Kyriakos visit to Canada +
  By Nabil Semaan

During the month of October 2005, Bishop Alexander of Ottawa hosted Elder Ephraim Kyriakos, the abbot of Archangel Michael monastery in Bakaata (Baskinta), Mount Lebanon.
Elder Ephraim studied Theology in St. John Damascene seminary in Balamand, and then left to the Holy Mount Athos to become a monk. After several years in St. Paul monastery in Athos, he returned to Lebanon, and with the blessing of Metropolitan Georges Khodr who helped tremendously the monastic life in Lebanon to flourish, founded his brotherhood in the Archangel Michael monastery in Bakaata. In addition to being a spiritual father to several monasteries and many people among them bishops, priests and laymen, Elder Ephraim is very active in the Antiochian Church, by giving speeches and translating many patristic books from Greek. His personality is characterized by humility, poverty and tireless work in the Church despite his age.
With the blessing of Metropolitan Philip and Bishop Alexander, Elder Ephraim visited East of Canada last October for one month. He came to visit his spiritual children in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. He arrived on the 27th of September 2005, to Montreal international airport and was hosted by Bishop Alexander of Ottawa. The Fellowship of St. John the Divine of St. Mary Church in Montreal prepared a welcome dinner to Elder Ephraim, presided by Bishop Alexander.
The next day he left to Halifax for one week, where Father Maximos Saikaly hosted him. In Halifax Elder Ephraim held morning and evening daily prayers in the Church, and also an all-night vigil. During the day he heard confessions and visited his spiritual children. He also gave several talks on different occasions.
On the 6th of October he came back to Montreal for two weeks, where Father Michel Fawaz hosted him. His program in Montreal was not different from the one in Halifax. On the 7th of October, he held an all-night vigil for the feast of St. Pelagia in St. Mary’s Church. He held also the daily prayers: Orthos, followed by a Bible contemplation, and Vespers. The rest of the time he was with his many spiritual children. He gave twice talks to the St. John the Divine fellowship and to the Antiochian women of St. Mary’s Church. He participated in the Saturday vespers in St. Nicholas and St. George Churches as well as the Sunday Divine Liturgy.
During his stay in Montreal, he visited for 3 days the Greek monastery of Virgin Mary in Lachute. This monastery, whose abbess in Mother Theckla, is a Metochion (Dependency) of St. Anthony the Great monastery in Florence, Arizona, USA, whose spiritual father is elder Ephrem Philotheou, the disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesycast. In Lachute, Father Ephraim celebrated an all-night vigil in both the Arabic, Greek, and English languages.
After Montreal, Elder Ephraim left to Toronto for one week, where Father Iskandar Younes hosted him. There also, daily prayers, visits, all-night vigil and talks were held. From Toronto, he left to Ottawa for one week, where Bishop Alexander invited him to speak to the clergy during their autumn retreat. From Ottawa he came back to Montreal, where he left to his monastery in Lebanon on the 1st of November.
Wherever Elder Ephraim goes, he sprinkles the divine flame of the love of God in all who confessed to or even just meet him. Special thanks to Metropolitan Philip and Bishop Alexander for blessing his visit to Canada, and God grant them, as well Elder Ephraim, many years.

Fellowship of St. John the Divine
Birth of the Theotokos - Virgin Mary Church, Montreal

Note 1: You can read Fr. Ephraim's full biography here.
Note 2: Click here to read in Arabic a sermon by Metropolitan George Khodr on August 15, 1974 on te occasion of the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, and the ordination of Fr. Ephraim to the Deaconate.

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http://www.antiochian.org/fellowship/canam/frephraim

Fr. Ephraim Kyriakos

Biography of Fr. Ephraim Kyriakos
By: Fr. Mark Arsenios Wyatt

Archimandrite Ephraim Kyriakos

Father Ephraim Kyriakos is from Rashaya, Lebanon, he was a graduated engineer in the late 60's from the Jesuit University of Beirut and worked for a few years before leaving his family's house to study Orthodox Theology at Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology at Balamand University (Al-Koura, North Lebanon). He completed his studies there and continued at the Theological Academy of Thessaloniki, Greece.

While in Greece, he also decided to fulfill his calling to monasticism and become a monk. He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Athos (Greece) and stayed a few years there in Saint Paul's Monastery. He was under the direction of his spiritual father there, Elder Parthenios, who is the Abbot of that monastery until this day, and is a well-known and respected Holy Father of the Orthodox Church. Father Ephraim was tonsured a monk by the hand and blessing of Father Parthenios and he was given the name "Ephraim" after the widely revered Saint Ephraim the Syrian. This was an honor for Father Ephraim, since both he and the Saint he was named after are from the Middle East.

Father Ephraim was asked by the Antiochian Patriarch, His Beautitude ELIAS IV (Mouawad), to return to Lebanon and reopen Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology, as it was closed during the Lebanese civil war, and work as Dean. He did so from 1979-1981, where he surrendered his position to Archpriest Michel Najm.

Father Ephraim then founded his own monastery in Nahr Baskinta, under the jurisdiction of His Eminence Georges Khodre, Metropolitan of Mount Lebanon. The monastery is located nearly 1200 meters above sea level and is called “Holy Archangel Michael Monastery”, and Father Ephraim is still presently the Abbot there and now has several monks under his spiritual direction. He recently established a new Church, which was consecrated also by Metropolitan Georges, as an attachment to the Monastery, and is reserved for a more quiet setting for his brotherhood to pray alone. The Patron Saint of this Church is St. Ephraim the Syrian.

Fr. Ephraim has also published and translated many theological and spiritual books into Arabic over the years; books including the Patristic Commentaries for the Gospel & Epistle Readings for Sundays and Feast Days, the Teachings of St. Ephraim the Syrian and the Letters of Elder Paisios the Athonite, enriching Orthodoxy for the faithful Arabic readers. He also continues to write articles for Orthodox periodicals and magazines, as well as providing an annual publication by his monastery containing many spiritual topics in both Arabic and English.

Even though Fr. Ephraim is Abbot of his own monastery and serves the spiritual needs of the neighboring village, he still spares time to give lectures and frequent visits to the students and his spiritual children of Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology, as well as many other monasteries and parishes in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. And also as far west as North America, where we are spiritually blessed with his holy presence this year at our Clergy Retreat.

May God grant Fr. Ephraim many more years to continue his ministry here and abroad, and may he remember us all at the Holy Altar in Archangel Michael Monastery.
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