Elder Ephraim of the Skete
of Saint Andrew
~ A great monk of Mount Athos,
threw off his robe and went out into the world, to live his life.
He lived a prodigal life
with many carnal sins and finally got married. He had 2 boys and one day went
with his family to swim in the sea.
On the beach, as he was
lying under the umbrella, his little boy said to him:
– Dad, what is this cross
on your chest? And the red letters on it, what do they say?
The father was shocked by
his son’s revelation. He asked them to return to their home and there he locked
himself in his room and cried all night…
The next day he confessed
and the spiritual father told him:
– Christ, even though you
have denied Him repeatedly and consciously, still loves you undiminished! As
infinitely as He loved you when you were a monk, He loves you even more now!
These words struck him in
the heart. That is why he revealed the whole truth to his wife and they agreed
to divorce by mutual consent. He returned to the monastery, while his wife
later became a nun, provided she first settled their children.
After 17 years, the son of
the monk who had seen the letters on his father’s chest visits Mount Athos and
specifically the monastery where his father was a monk, without knowing it.
He goes to the abbot of the
monastery and asks to confess. After the confession, he asks the abbot:
– Father, I am looking for
my father. He became a monk and for so many years, I do not know where he is.
Can you help me?
The abbot understood whose
son this child was and tried diligently to hide his tears of emotion and said
to him:
– My child, sit here today
and I will inform you and I will tell you tomorrow.
The abbot went to the monk
– the father of the son, to inform him and said to him:
– My child, your little son
came to the monastery and is looking for you. Would you like to see him?
He, obviously moved and at
the same time troubled, said to him:
– Elder, I saw my guardian
angel and he revealed to me that in 3 days I am leaving for the other world!
Tell my child that he will
see me in 3 days! And when I sleep, then you will reveal to him that I was his
father! Because I want to set a rule for myself, for all that I did in my life…
The monk’s act is an act of
perfect repentance and his refusal not to see his child is supreme love!
The abbot went to the
child, convinced him to stay another 3 days in the monastery. At the funeral
that took place in 3 days, the son attended and confessed to the abbot:
– Elder, this is the first
time I have seen such a funeral! This monk is a holy relic! He is a monk!
And when they buried him,
the abbot made the great revelation to his son:
– My child, this monk… was
your father!!!
