The annual gathering of monastics of the Polish Orthodox Church was held September 3–4 at the Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Zverki, with this year’s meeting dedicated to Elder Ephraim of Philotheou, one of the best-known figures of modern Athonite monasticism.

Elder Ephraim played a significant role in the revival of monastic life on Mount Athos in the second half of the 20th century and later helped bring the Athonite monastic tradition to North America.

Monks and nuns from monasteries across Poland took part in the gathering, along with a special guest from the United States, Hieromonk Ephraim (Pounan), abbot of St. Peter Monastery in Montana and a disciple of Elder Ephraim.

The meeting was opened by Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, who stressed the importance of monasticism for the contemporary Church and urged monastics to remain faithful to their vocation, including during difficult periods.

The first day focused on the life and spiritual legacy of Elder Ephraim. Hieromonk Ephraim spoke about his spiritual mentor and shared personal memories of his life. Particular attention was given to the tradition of hesychasm, the Orthodox ascetic practice centered on prayer and inner stillness that Elder Ephraim inherited from his own spiritual father, Elder Joseph the Hesychast.

Other presentations examined Elder Ephraim’s role in the revival of monasticism on Mount Athos during the second half of the 20th century, as well as the transmission of Athonite spiritual traditions to the United States and Canada.

According to the Polish Orthodox Church, this year’s gathering was the 27th in the series. Next year’s meeting is planned to focus on Saints Silouan the Athonite and Sophrony of Essex. It will be held at the Monastery of Saints Martha and Mary on Grabarka Holy Mountain, marking the 80th anniversary of the monastery.

Elder Ephraim (Moraitis), also known as Ephraim of Philotheou and Ephraim of Arizona, was born in 1928 in the Greek city of Volos. In 1947, he went to Mount Athos and became a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast, one of the most influential spiritual fathers of 20th-century Greek monasticism.

Following Joseph’s death in 1959, Ephraim continued his monastic life and in 1973 became abbot of Philotheou Monastery. Under his leadership, monastic life at the monastery experienced a significant revival. He later contributed to the restoration of several other Athonite monasteries, including Xeropotamou, Konstamonitou and Karakallou.

Toward the end of the 20th century, Elder Ephraim began bringing his spiritual experience beyond Greece. After visiting Canada and the United States, he moved to North America in the 1990s.

With his involvement, numerous male and female monastic communities were established in the United States and Canada. In 1995, he founded St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Arizona, which became one of the major centers of the Athonite monastic tradition in North America.

Over the course of his ministry, Elder Ephraim founded or provided spiritual guidance to nearly two dozen monasteries and monastic communities for men and women across the United States and Canada.