The Very Reverend Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou), Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, Essex

Archimandrite Zacharias was born in 1946 in Rizokarpaso of Cyprus, the easternmost Greek settlement, where he completed his basic education.

In 1964 he went to England, where he pursued studies in Chemistry. His meeting with the holy Elder Sophrony—the disciple and biographer of Saint Silouan the Athonite—was a true landmark in his spiritual path. Soon he followed Elder Sophrony and settled at the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex, England.

Archimandrite Zacharias studied theology at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius in Paris and at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he received his PhD. His dissertation was entitled, “The Realization of the Hypostatic Principle in the Theology of Elder Sophrony”. In 2013 he was declared emeritus professor of the Theological School of Saint Tikhon in Pennsylvania, USA, for his spiritual service to the flock of the New World.

As a hieromonk he lives in the monastery of his repentance, where he serves as spiritual father and minister of the word of God for the members of the brotherhood and for many others. He has translated from the originals the writings of Saint Silouan and the works of Elder Sophrony into Greek and has presented their rich theology to the Orthodox world through books, articles, and participation in conferences.