“Do you mean by perspicacity a form of prophecy?” Eleni asked.
“No. Prophecy is a more developed and important gift. Perspicacity is one of the first and simple gifts of the Holy Spirit, which allows the person to see through you and read your soul, as it were.” I understood Fr. Maximos to mean that such a person is gifted with heightened intuitive abilities to understand others.
As an example of what he meant, Fr. Maximos went on to tell us of an experience he had on Mt. Athos when he first encountered the legendary Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, who had a reputation for possessing not only perspicacity but also many other, more “advanced” gifts of the Spirit.
“As I recall, it was in 1976, during my second visit to Mt. Athos, when I decided to visit Papa Ephraim at Katounakia, that rough and inaccessible region of the Holy Mountain. I was eighteen and a half years old, and I went along with classmates of mine who had been there before. I was very reluctant to join them because my first visit to Mt. Athos wasn’t pleasant. But that’s another story. I was really afraid of what I would encounter. And those blessed friends of mine insisted on going to that remote part of Athos, which hovered over those terrifying precipices. I pleaded with them to at least stay at a regular monastery. But they were fixed on going to Katounakia, where the hermits lived. On the way, they shared some truly wild stories.
A certain university professor went to see Elder Ephraim, and the moment the elder set eyes on him he began to tell him his sins. They also gave the example of a visitor whom the elder supposedly kicked out of the room. Stories like that continued until I became petrified with fear. I implored them. ‘Isn’t there a more normal human being to go visit?’ I felt as if my soul was going to come out of my body! Walking on those rocky mountains wasn’t easy. I had heard of that other terrible place on Mt. Athos, the Karoulia, where people had to go down with chains because the caves of the hermits were not accessible in any other way.
“So I went to Katounakia fearful and trembling. My great anxiety was that Elder Ephraim was going to spill out all my sins in front of my classmates. That would have demolished me. On top of everything else, my friends told me that Elder Ephraim was very tall, like a giant, and that his face shone like the sun. In my imagination I had already built him up into an extraterrestrial being who would know everything about me and humiliate me in public. In reality, Papa Ephraim proved to be a very charismatic elder. Because of my fears, I remained at the end of the line to get his blessing. He was the way they had described him: tall, with a shining face, filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
“The first in my company introduced himself ‘Father,’ he said and kissed his hand.’ I am Nikos.’ The elder simply said, ‘Welcome, Niko. Please sit down.’ Another one introduced himself:
‘My name is Aristoteles.’ ‘Welcome, Aristotele. Please sit down.’ The third said, ‘I am Kostas,’ and kissed his hand. ‘Welcome, Kosta. Please sit down.’ God almighty, I said to myself He is not saying anything to anybody. I was worried he was waiting to unleash all his wrath on me. Fortunately, the one who followed Kostas offered .the elder a box of kourambiedes [popular sugar-coated pastries]. We wanted to bribe him so that he would not be so rough with us. The elder gave him a severe, dismissive look, and I saw my friend’s hands trembling. Elder Ephraim asked, ‘What are these?’ My friend mumbled ‘Kourambiedes.’ ‘Kourambiedes!’ the elder repeated and shook his head disapprovingly. And then he said severely, ‘Do you know what place this is?’ My friend replied with a barely audible voice, ‘Yes, Father. Katounakia.’ ‘We don’t eat kourambiedes at Katounakia. Throw them out the window immediately.’ My friend froze. We did not expect such a reaction. So with trembling hands he rushed to throw them out the window. I thought, now he will throw us all out the window. I was the last one who went in. I made a bow in front of the elder and kissed his hand. As I did that he grabbed my hand and declared triumphantly, ‘Ahaaa! Finally we caught the thief!’ “
Once our laughter subsided, Fr. Maximos continued his narration. “I could barely stand on my feet. I thought I was going to faint from fear. I was perspiring profusely even though it was the heart of winter. He looked at me with a penetrating look, turned his head, and said ‘Hmm ….’ while looking at the others. ‘This one,’ he told them, ‘is from our lineage.’ ‘Oh,’ I replied and sighed with relief. ‘Father, are you by any chance from Cyprus?’ I asked. I was so naive. The elder raised his hand and replied, ‘You are asleep! You are asleep!'”
Fr. Maximos did not elaborate other than to say that from that day on Elder Ephraim became one of his dearest elders and offered him spiritual instruction during his years on Mt. Athos. He also mentioned that, during that first meeting, Elder Ephraim told him details about his life that he could not have known through ordinary means. This confirmed for Fr. Maximos Elder Ephraim’s reputation, that he was richly endowed with gifts of the Spirit.
~Adapted from Kyriacos C. Markides, Inner River: A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Christian Spirituality
