Hieromonk Ambrose of Esphigmenou (1901-1987)

He was born in the village of Temelikoí of Amasya in Pontus in 1901, his secular name being Alexandros Charalambidis, son of Petros. From a young age, he yearned for monastic dedication. He eventually came to the Holy Mountain in 1931. He lived the coenobitic life at the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra. He was tonsured a monk on Great Thursday of 1933 by the abbot Kaisarios Vourliotis (1895–1969), formerly of Dionysiou Monastery. He was ordained deacon and presbyter during the feast of the monastery of Saint Magdalene the Myrrhbearer. In 1940, he departed for the Skete of Saint Basil.

Thereafter, he went out to various cities of Macedonia as a modest, devout, and reverent Hieromonk. However, the powerful experiences he had from the all-night vigils, the studies, the supplications, and the struggles on the Holy Mountain did not allow him to remain in the world. He returned to the all-beautiful Garden of the Theotokos. In the Skete of Saint Anna and in Katounakia, he left behind sweat and tears. The elder fathers of Agia Anna and Katounakia speak with reverence of his struggles, his simplicity, and his gentle goodness.

The last decade of his life he spent at the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou. Always obedient, a willing servant, and a lover of the services. Old age confined him to the bed of suffering. Yet he never complained, never became despondent in the least, but endured his cross with joy. When asked how he was doing, he would reply: “As God wills.” He constantly had “Glory to Thee, O God” on his lips. Until his final hour, he prayed unceasingly.

He fell asleep in the Lord peacefully and calmly, having received the immaculate Mysteries, on May 15, 1987, shortly before the beginning of the vigil for the feast of the Ascension. The abbot of the monastery, Euthymios († 1999), said that it was a rare case for a brother of the monastery to repose during the feast, perhaps even a unique one. He was buried after the founders’ memorial service and was laid to rest in the monastery’s cemetery—he who had lived with continual ascetic struggle and unceasing prayer.

 

Source: Monk Moses the Athonite, Μέγα Γεροντικό ενάρετων αγιορειτών του εικοστού αιώνος ["Great Gerontikon of Virtuous Athonites of the Twentieth Century"], Volume III, 1984–2000, pp. 1195–1196.