ELDER EPHRAIM of Arizona Appeared and CALLS US TO REPENTANCE Without Repentance Terrible Events Await Us

We have received the following, published with the blessings of Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Florence Arizona, which has asked us to pass it on to the faithful for their spiritual edification.

“Elder Ephraim of Philotheou, who lived as an ascetic in Arizona, appeared to a woman in Northern Greece, a long-time spiritual daughter of the elder. At the time of the appearance she was with her daughter-in-law; she was not asleep but actually in a state of alertness. At one point the woman was unresponsive, as if in ecstasy,* and this lasted for about 10 minutes, according to her daughter-in-law who was watching her. She did not realize or comprehend the time duration — i.e., for how long the vision lasted. It was something new for her (the content of the conversation) because she has seen the Elder before, after his repose, both in her sleep as well while she was awake. Due to all this (her shock), she contacted her spiritual father and asked whether this experience was real or a deception by the evil one.

She saw Elder Ephraim and he was very sad and was imploring Christ that the ongoing [direction of] events be averted (all this, of course, is in agreement with what the elder said to many while he was alive).

And he told her:
‘Repentance repentance repentance. Christ is very angry...
We people today should not be in this spiritual state we are in...
Huge tribulations are coming, you can not imagine how bad these will be...
Alas to all of you for what awaits you; you must repent as long as there is time...
You need to kneel and cry, to shed tears of repentance, that Christ soften...
This has to do with what is happening in America as well.
Many people will depart through all that is to come, many people will depart (they will die).
You have no mercy among you. You show no mercy to each other.
You are tough towards each other, you stand ready to eat (consume-destroy) each other ....
Tell all of this to your spiritual father and to others ....’

The woman who saw this was a spiritual daughter of Elder Ephraim and was in communication with him often up until his repose. - f. I.

*Translator’s note: The Greek term here is χάθηκε. It was not immediately clear to us if this meant literally or spiritually. We received clarification that it was the latter and have made the change. We have also made other minor changes to improve the English translation and correct typos in the Greek version. 

https://orthodoxethos.com/post/elder-ephraim-of-arizona-appeared-and-calls-us-to-repentance?fbclid=IwAR361kwfj0JwgyqfDZ7sy-2hnbnXKUl6FAZ4mrMVmclCJxXIl09vscxj3H0

Previously, time was at his disposal for years; he , however, wasted it in business, in bars, in cinemas and in every shameful desire. ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

Put your house in order, for you will die: you will live no longer! Then the deception is uncovered, and a person dying realizes what an important role the world played for him.

He feels regret and distress; he yearns for the time that is gone, he would give all his wealth to buy one day in order to repent and receive communion.

Unfortunately, though, not one favor is given to him. Previously, time was at his disposal for years; he , however, wasted it in business, in bars, in cinemas and in every shameful desire.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

How precious is the time of this life! ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

How precious is the time of this life! 

Every minute has great worth, for within one minute we can think so many things, either good or evil. One godly thought raises us to heaven, and one diabolical thought lowers us to hell. So then, behold how valuable every minute in this present life is. Unfortunately, though, we do not think about this, and hours, days, and years pass with no profit—but is it merely with no profit? How much damage we have all suffered—and I, first—without realizing it! But some day, when our soul is about to depart from our body, we shall realize it. But, alas, it will be too late; there is no room for correction then. We must realize this now when we can still make a start. 

We should take advantage of the precious time of our life. Truly blessed is he who compels himself and makes a start, because some day he will become spiritually rich. It is never too late, for the Lord awaits each one of us to awaken so that He may give us work. He waits until the eleventh hour (cf. Mt. 20:6 ). He tries with every means to awaken us.

 I pray that all of us will awaken, light our lamps, and with a vigilant eye wait patiently for the Lord to come, so that we may enter the resplendent bridal chamber of eternal bliss, the festival of the bright angels, to chant with them the resurrectional canticles, which will elevate us from theoria to theoria and to divine ascents! Then—oh, then!—we shall fully realize what a great work it is to compel ourselves in everything and that our superiors did well to push us and grieve us, for we shall say, “Behold what we see now!” Then our thanks to God will have no limits. Then we shall really render thanks worthily to God!


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Man is easily corrupted; he falls easily; ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

Man is easily corrupted; he falls easily; he is changeable, mutable, prone to fall. GOD knows this because HE formed us. HE made us human. But HE also gave us the grace to repent; HE has given us the power to arise. Why didn't you do this? When HE reproves you through your conscience and exhorts you through the Scriptures to repent, and you do not do so, then the condemnation and punishment begin.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Sin, as a hook camouflaged with the suitable pleasure, comes craftily as something sweet and charming.. ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

Sin, as a hook camouflaged with the suitable pleasure, comes craftily as something sweet and charming to the tongue in order to attack the soul.

 However, he who has been lured by the momentary pleasure and its comfort will find it more bitter than poison and more destructive than a pestilent disease in his soul.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Repentance recreates man... ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

To fall and be injured is human, since , even if a man’s life lasted for only one day, his mind is inclined to evil from his youth (cf. Gen. 8:21 ). But to fall and remain fallen is not human. 

Repentance recreates man; it was given to us to cure the soul after baptism. If it did not exist, rarely would a person be saved. That is why, the virtue of repentance is unending as long as man is alive, for only the perfect do not err. 

My children, every time you see your thoughts reproaching you for some sin, immediately take the medicine: repent, weep, go to confession, and behold, you return to your former and better state.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Sin and Repentance.. ( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

To fall and be injured is human, since even if a man's life lasted for only one day,
his mind is inclined to evil from his youth. But to fall and remain fallen, is not human.

Repentance recreates man, it was given to us to cure the soul after baptism. If it
did not exist, rarely would a person be saved. That is why, the virtue of repentance is
unending as long as man is alive, for only the perfect do not err.

My children, every time you see your thoughts reproaching you for some sin,
immediately take the medicine: repent, weep, go to confession and behold, you
return to your former and better state.


  Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Repentance is endless.....

Repentance is endless. All the virtues, by the grace of God, may be perfected by man, but no one can perfect repentance, since we need repentance until our last breath, for we err in the twinkling of an eye. Therefore, repentance is interminable. Oh, how good God is! Justly will my fellow sinners be punished, for they have ignored the infinite compassion of the heavenly Father. Although we err as humans, we are sluggish to say, “I have sinned!” But how can we say this, since we (and I, above all ) are forgetful and lazy and proud, too—mighty obstacles on the road to humility! Christ showed this road to us through His Cross, but unfortunately we voluntarily turn a deaf ear to Him, to our great regret. Time flies, the years roll by, and we are drawing nearer and nearer to eternity. We see this, yet a mental numbness has bound us until we (and I, first ) are thrown into hell! My God, Who has delivered the human race from the enemy’s slavery, deliver us also from the future condemnation when You come to judge the world and render to each according to his works (cf. Rev. 22:12 ). Through your prayers, may I find mercy when my wretched soul is judged, for I am afraid to meet the fearsome Judge because my conscience reproaches me.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Repentance recreates man; it was given to us to cure the soul after baptism

Christ is Risen !

To fall and be injured is human, since—even if a man’s life lasted for only one day—his mind is inclined to evil from his youth (cf. Gen. 8:21 ). But to fall and remain fallen is not human. Repentance recreates man; it was given to us to cure the soul after baptism. If it did not exist, rarely would a person be saved. That is why, the virtue of repentance is unending as long as man is alive, for only the perfect do not err. My children, every time you see your thoughts reproaching you for some sin, immediately take the medicine: repent, weep, go to confession, and behold, you return to your former and better state.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Sin, as a hook camouflaged with the suitable pleasure, comes craftily as something sweet and charming to the tongue in order to attack the soul.

Sin, as a hook camouflaged with the suitable pleasure, comes craftily as something sweet and charming to the tongue in order to attack the soul. However, he who has been lured by the momentary pleasure and its comfort will find it more bitter than poison and more destructive than a pestilent disease in his soul.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Sin , attacks the soul....

Sin, as a hook camouflaged with the suitable pleasure, comes craftily as something sweet and charming to the tongue in order to attack the soul. However, he who has been lured by the momentary pleasure and its comfort will find it more bitter than poison and more destructive than a pestilent disease in his soul.
Elder Ephraim of Arizona

No matter what happened with your parents, confession forgives and erases everything....

No matter what happened with your parents, confession forgives and erases everything, my dear brother in the Lord. Recall how much the prodigal son sinned (vid. Lk. 16:19-31 ), and how much he grieved his father with his reckless life. But when he repented, at once his father’s arms opened and the past was wiped out as if it had never happened. So the cure for your sad parents has already occurred, for the change of your life to a spiritual life has rectified everything. Now that they are in the true life, they are informed by God about the change of your lifestyle and your repentance, for them. If, when we sin against our true Father, God, He forgives us no matter what we have done, how much more so will our parents be pleased, there in the true life, where they see things clearly. They know human weakness and how easily youth slips, and they are aware of the great master of evil, the devil, who was the cause for all the troubles. Instead, they will be thankful to you that through you they receive aid from God. Remain fully at peace, my brother. Walk the path of repentance with a peaceful mind, and do not let the past trouble you. “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil. 3:14 ), we should look to the goal of our salvation. As soon as man says, “I have sinned!” God forgives him immediately and overlooks his sins. How much did blessed Augustine grieve that holy mother of his! Nevertheless, what sanctity and eros of God he attained later! With repentance everything is corrected. There is nothing that overcomes the compassion of God. “He is merciful to the last and provides for the first; to this one He gives, and to that one He shows kindness” (Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom ). The love of God covers and corrects everything. No one is sinless except for one-God.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

How precious is the time of this life!

How precious is the time of this life! Every minute has great worth, for within one minute we can think so many things, either good or evil. One godly thought raises us to heaven, and one diabolical thought lowers us to hell. So then, behold how valuable every minute in this present life is. Unfortunately, though, we do not think about this, and hours, days, and years pass with no profit—but is it merely with no profit? How much damage we have all suffered—and I, first—without realizing it! But some day, when our soul is about to depart from our body, we shall realize it. But, alas, it will be too late; there is no room for correction then. We must realize this now when we can still make a start. We should take advantage of the precious time of our life. Truly blessed is he who compels himself and makes a start, because some day he will become spiritually rich. It is never too late, for the Lord awaits each one of us to awaken so that He may give us work. He waits until the eleventh hour (cf. Mt. 20:6 ). He tries with every means to awaken us. I pray that all of us will awaken, light our lamps, and with a vigilant eye wait patiently for the Lord to come, so that we may enter the resplendent bridal chamber of eternal bliss, the festival of the bright angels, to chant with them the resurrectional canticles, which will elevate us from theoria to theoria and to divine ascents! Then—oh, then!—we shall fully realize what a great work it is to compel ourselves in everything and that our superiors did well to push us and grieve us, for we shall say, “Behold what we see now!” Then our thanks to God will have no limits. Then we shall really render thanks worthily to God!

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

How precious is the time of this life!

How precious is the time of this life! Every minute has great worth, for within one minute we can think so many things, either good or evil. One godly thought raises us to heaven, and one diabolical thought lowers us to hell. So then, behold how valuable every minute in this present life is. Unfortunately, though, we do not think about this, and hours, days, and years pass with no profit—but is it merely with no profit? How much damage we have all suffered—and I, first—without realizing it! But some day, when our soul is about to depart from our body, we shall realize it. But, alas, it will be too late; there is no room for correction then. We must realize this now when we can still make a start. We should take advantage of the precious time of our life. Truly blessed is he who compels himself and makes a start, because some day he will become spiritually rich. It is never too late, for the Lord awaits each one of us to awaken so that He may give us work. He waits until the eleventh hour (cf. Mt. 20:6 ). He tries with every means to awaken us. I pray that all of us will awaken, light our lamps, and with a vigilant eye wait patiently for the Lord to come, so that we may enter the resplendent bridal chamber of eternal bliss, the festival of the bright angels, to chant with them the resurrectional canticles, which will elevate us from theoria to theoria and to divine ascents! Then—oh, then!—we shall fully realize what a great work it is to compel ourselves in everything and that our superiors did well to push us and grieve us, for we shall say, “Behold what we see now!” Then our thanks to God will have no limits. Then we shall really render thanks worthily to God!



Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Repentance recreates man; it was given to us to cure the soul after baptism.....

To fall and be injured is human, since—even if a man’s life lasted for only one day—his mind is inclined to evil from his youth (cf. Gen. 8:21 ). But to fall and remain fallen is not human. Repentance recreates man; it was given to us to cure the soul after baptism. If it did not exist, rarely would a person be saved. That is why, the virtue of repentance is unending as long as man is alive, for only the perfect do not err. My children, every time you see your thoughts reproaching you for some sin, immediately take the medicine: repent, weep, go to confession, and behold, you return to your former and better state.
Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Sin, as a hook camouflaged with the suitable pleasure, comes craftily as something sweet and charming to the tongue in order to attack the soul.

Sin, as a hook camouflaged with the suitable pleasure, comes craftily as something sweet and charming to the tongue in order to attack the soul. However, he who has been lured by the momentary pleasure and its comfort will find it more bitter than poison and more destructive than a pestilent disease in his soul.
Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Confession forgives and erases everything .....

No matter what happened with your parents, confession forgives and erases everything, my dear brother in the Lord. Recall how much the prodigal son sinned (vid. Lk. 16:19-31 ), and how much he grieved his father with his reckless life. But when he repented, at once his father’s arms opened and the past was wiped out as if it had never happened.

So the cure for your sad parents has already occurred, for the change of your life to a spiritual life has rectified everything. Now that they are in the true life, they are informed by God about the change of your lifestyle and your repentance, for them. If, when we sin against our true Father, God, He forgives us no matter what we have done, how much more so will our parents be pleased, there in the true life, where they see things clearly. They know human weakness and how easily youth slips, and they are aware of the great master of evil, the devil, who was the cause for all the troubles.

Instead, they will be thankful to you that through you they receive aid from God. Remain fully at peace, my brother. Walk the path of repentance with a peaceful mind, and do not let the past trouble you. “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil. 3:14 ), we should look to the goal of our salvation.

As soon as man says, “I have sinned!” God forgives him immediately and overlooks his sins. How much did blessed Augustine grieve that holy mother of his! Nevertheless, what sanctity and eros of God he attained later! With repentance everything is corrected.

There is nothing that overcomes the compassion of God. “He is merciful to the last and provides for the first; to this one He gives, and to that one He shows kindness” (Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom ). The love of God covers and corrects everything. No one is sinless except for one-God.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Counsels from the Holy Mountain
Chapter Three
On Sin, Repentance, Mourning, and Tears

The virtue of repentance

The virtue of repentance can never be perfected because man can, even with his thoughts, sin at the final moment.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Let us sincerely repent; let us confess frankly and in detail.

Let us sincerely repent; let us confess frankly and in detail. Let the tribunal of God and His decision preoccupy us continuously, and let us say, “I wonder, shall I be saved or shall I face the torments of hell?” Now is the time we must shed tears of repentance—in fact, constantly. 

Ah, how much we should be preoccupied by the question of how white and clean our soul is! We must purify it; otherwise, we shall be unable to present ourselves before Christ as we are now. Meditation on death should not escape us at all during our monastic routine.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Counsels from the Holy Mountain
Chapter Three
On Sin, Repentance, Mourning, and Tears

No matter what happened with your parents, confession forgives and erases everything..

No matter what happened with your parents, confession forgives and erases everything, my dear brother in the Lord. Recall how much the prodigal son sinned (vid. Lk. 16:19-31 ), and how much he grieved his father with his reckless life. But when he repented, at once his father’s arms opened and the past was wiped out as if it had never happened. 

So the cure for your sad parents has already occurred, for the change of your life to a spiritual life has rectified everything. Now that they are in the true life, they are informed by God about the change of your lifestyle and your repentance, for them. If, when we sin against our true Father, God, He forgives us no matter what we have done, how much more so will our parents be pleased, there in the true life, where they see things clearly. They know human weakness and how easily youth slips, and they are aware of the great master of evil, the devil, who was the cause for all the troubles. 

Instead, they will be thankful to you that through you they receive aid from God. Remain fully at peace, my brother. Walk the path of repentance with a peaceful mind, and do not let the past trouble you. “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil. 3:14 ), we should look to the goal of our salvation.

 As soon as man says, “I have sinned!” God forgives him immediately and overlooks his sins. How much did blessed Augustine grieve that holy mother of his! Nevertheless, what sanctity and eros of God he attained later! With repentance everything is corrected. There is nothing that overcomes the compassion of God. “He is merciful to the last and provides for the first; to this one He gives, and to that one He shows kindness” (Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom ). 

The love of God covers and corrects everything. No one is sinless except for one-God.



Elder Ephraim of Arizona
Counsels from the Holy Mountain
Chapter Three
On Sin, Repentance, Mourning, and Tears