Questions and Answers 45 - 47

About Father Ephraim and his Monasteries, 

as well as Elder Joseph the Hesychast

Question 45: I hear conflicting accounts about visiting the monasteries established by Father Ephraim in America. What do you think about these conflicting accounts, and would you consider it safe to visit these monasteries?

Question 46: Thank you for answering my question on your website www.erotapokriseis.com about the future canonization of Elder Joseph the Hesychast, but I must confess I see this as a conspiracy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate against Elder Ephraim of Arizona as to why he has not canonized Elder Joseph yet. Elder Joseph is perhaps the greatest saint of the 20th century, and probably the most significant one of Mount Athos in the 20th century. There is no reason not to canonize him?

Question 47: Would you consider Elder Ephraim of Arizona our greatest living saint?

Questions and Answers 36 - 40

Clerical Homosexuality

Question 36: I have suspicions my priest is a practicing homosexual, though he is married to a wonderful woman. It makes me feel very uneasy. How should I deal with the situation?

Answer: [More details were revealed in the question, which I have left out to protect the identities of certain individuals.] Whether your suspicions are accurate or not, I obviously can't determine, but assuming you are correct, you should know that it is probably more common than you think for a married priest to be a homosexual, practicing or not. If it is something really bothering you, you can try confiding in another local priest or bishop, but this is unlikely to do anything to change the situation, unless your priest is participating in criminal behavior. Plus, as you yourself said, you have no proof, just a lingering suspicion. The Orthodox Church has had a major "problem" of homosexual clerics for many decades now, but it is something still very much "underground" and it is only really known about by those who "know the right people". And many of these homosexual clerics have high positions in the Church, which is why nothing is ever done about the issue unless there is criminal behavior involved. Therefore, if you can ignore it, do so, but if not, get thee to another parish. But I will say, there are some very good priests out there who it appears to me have homosexual tendencies, and unlikely practice it, and we do have saints in our Church that got ordained, unwillingly, who at one time were practicing homosexuals, so don't be too quick to judge. Canonically, however, an adulterous priest of any kind should be defrocked.