Six centuries ago, on 5 May 1426, Saint Ephraim the New surrendered his soul after enduring prolonged and brutal torture for the Orthodox faith.
Saint Ephraim was born in Greece on 14 September 1384 and was left fatherless at a young age. At the age of 14, he entered monastic life at the Monastery of the Annunciation, built on the site known as the Mount of the Immaculate Ones, near Nea Makri.
In 1425, at the age of 41, he was captured by Ottoman forces that had invaded the region, while the other monks of the monastery were put to death.
For eight months, he was subjected to severe torture in an attempt to force him to renounce the Orthodox faith. He ultimately died as a martyr, hanged upside down from a tree, pierced with a burning rod and flayed.
Discovery of His Holy Relics
After more than five centuries during which the monastery lay abandoned, the monastic settlement was reopened in 1945 by the nun Makaria, who built a small cell among the ruins and restored the church.
Five years later, following apparitions to several faithful and to Eldress Makaria, his holy relics were uncovered on 3 January 1950.
Since then, countless miracles have been attributed to his intercession, and Saint Ephraim the New has become widely known as a swift helper and healer of illnesses.
He was canonised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, at the request of the Church of Greece, on 2 March 2011, with his feast day observed on 5 May.
Particles of the holy relics of Saint Ephraim the New are also preserved at the Radu Vodă Monastery and at the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest.
Photo: Basilica.ro
