Mark Clark,

You do a wonderful job representing the treasures of Eastern Orthodoxy. I am a 19 year old male discerning a vocation to the diaconate or the priesthood in the Orthodox Faith (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese).

In response to the questions concerning Father Ephraim, I would like to let you know a little about him. He came from the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos, to the United States for health reasons. Many Orthodox people wanted to establish more monasteries in the United States, for the reason that since the 200s, monasteries formed an incredibly important part of the life of a Christian. It was an escape from the world that we live in so that we may focus on God, rather than on ourselves.

Elder Ephram formed his monasteries in the Athonite Tradition. There is a very regimented schedule, that may shock many people. Monks literally pray for us about 9 hours a day (at least). The predominant language in the monasteries is Greek, as in the Greek Athonite Tradition. As you can see, this is quite frightening to the families of many monks who are converts. Imagine, "My son is speaking Greek, dressing in black, and praying 10 hours a day and he can't marry!" This is why they are seen as cultish, because they are not the "American norm for religion."

I hope that all of you on a journey to the Ancient Christian Faith will recognize Orthodoxy as the faith of the Church. We have many wonderful practices- icons, candles, incense, etc., but the most important thing is that we carry with us the unadulterated faith of Jesus Christ.


Brothers and Sisters, forgive me,

emmanuel