Archbishop Elpidophoros: Elder Avvakum was a man of quiet prayer

During his visit to Mount Athos in 2013, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said, “Mount Athos is a living Byzantium, over which no historical and social processes have dominated.” As the largest Christian ascetic community on earth, it has experienced little change over the centuries of its existence. No matter what dramatic events are taking place in the world around it, the Holy Mountain abides, the center of Orthodox Christian monasticism. For centuries, men have come to its slopes to achieve personal salvation and set an example for others.

Over its thousand-year history, Mount Athos has revealed to the world a great number of holy ascetics. We know some of them by name, but only God knows the spiritual achievements of all. The lives of these spiritual athletes are examples for our edification and salvation. One was the schema monk Avvakum (known in the world as Andrei Vakarov), whose 125^th Anniversary will be celebrated this year.

Fr. Avvakum was a true witness for Christ, a spiritual elder, a modest ascetic, and a strict practitioner of prayer and fasting. He was a disciple of St. Silouan of Athos and a fellow monastic of many other Athonite ascetics of the mid-twentieth century, such as St. Paisios of Mount Athos and St. Sophrony of Essex. Miracles that occurred through the prayers of Fr. Avvakum reveal his holiness today. His recovered head has an amber-wax color, similar to that of St. Joseph the Hesychast. According to an Athonite tradition, this indicates that the monk was a righteous person during his lifetime.

Spiritually Elder Avvakum was a man of quiet prayer. Like a glowing lamp in front of an icon, he was inconspicuous to others. The life of Father Avvakum was, however, visible to his contemporaries. It was full of spiritual labors in the vineyard of Christ. His greatest accomplishment was the preservation and prevention from closure of the Athonite monastery of St. Panteleimon. The elder put much work into this endeavor, first as an administrator and then as the representative (Antiprósopos) for the monastery to the Athonite Holy Community (Hiera Koinotis), the central governing body of the Holy Mountain.

In the mid-20^th century, it appeared that the monastic communities of Mount Athos were in a permanent decline and would eventually cease to exist. The turning point was the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Holy Mountain in 1963, which saw the start of its revival. The visiting Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras was accompanied by the Elder Avvakum (whom he knew personally) during his visit to the Holy Mountain.  There was a special moment during those celebrations when Patriarch Athenagoras visited St. Panteleimon Monastery. After celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral, he met with the few surviving monks of the community. His All-Holiness was informed about the desperate situation St. Panteleimon was facing at that time. He assured the elderly brethren of his help in overcoming their difficulties. Due to the assistance of Ecumenical Patriarchate and the efforts of Father Avvakum, the monastery, which was then on the verge of closing, began a revival and is thriving today.

The legacy of those two spiritual leaders is of great historical importance, especially for the Orthodox faithful in America today. Before his election to the Throne of Constantinople, Patriarch Athenagoras served as Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese in the United States for almost twenty years, reorganizing and increasing the number of its parishes threefold. Schema monk Avvakum’s relics, except for his head, were transferred from the Holy Mount Athos to the Monastery St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Ft. Myers, FL, USA.  Many of the faithful continue to receive miraculous assistance from the prayers of the Elder through the veneration of his relics.

Through his holy intercessions, may all readers of his life be edified and strengthened in their spiritual journey.

 Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis),

Archbishop of America