At one point, Elder Ephraim came out of the cell where he was hearing confessions and asked the young American:
– “My child, do you have a good phone? A modern, up-to-date one?”
– “Why do you ask, Elder?” the young man replied in surprise.
– “Because I would like you to call a monastery on Mount Athos for me. I need to speak with one of the monks there,” answered the Elder.
The Elder gave him the monastery’s phone number and said:
– “My child, call in about an hour. When you get through, give me the phone so I can speak.”
Indeed, an hour later, the young man called the monastery on Mount Athos and, speaking in English, told the monk who answered that Elder Ephraim from Arizona wished to speak with them.
As he was saying this, the young American was walking toward the Elder’s cell to hand him the phone.
The monk from Mount Athos was puzzled by the call and said to the young man:
– “But Elder Ephraim is here in our monastery, and in fact, he wanted to speak with you!”
The young American was stunned.
Then, from the other end of the line, he heard the Elder’s voice:
– “Come on, my child John (that was his name), this is why I asked you to call — so that we could speak! I am on Mount Athos, and you are in Arizona!
Now you see what Orthodoxy is, and what the Grace of the Holy Spirit truly means! We will talk again soon, John.”
The Elder said this and hung up.
John was shaken to his core — he was speechless!
When he finally recovered a bit from the shock, he opened the door of the confessional… and Elder Ephraim was not inside.
He ran to his friends and began recounting what had just happened.
When he finished his story, Elder Ephraim suddenly appeared, coming out of the confessional, and said to him:
– “John, come here, my child, I want to see you.”
…
That event became the reason the young man abandoned worldly life and became a monk at the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Arizona.
Elder Ephraim of Arizona.
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