Brief Biographical Memorandum of the Enviable Mother Superior Sister Makaria Despiris(1911-1999)
The most Holy Mother Superior Makaria whose secular name was Margaret Despiris was born on March 12th, 1911 in the village Falatatho of Tenos. Born to a devout family with many children, she was nursed in the Orthodoxy by her pious parents, Marina and Georgios, and particularly by her maternal grandfather, father Antonios, whom she loved dearly.
Her pious mother, as a new Emmelia, was able to offer God two daughters, sister Pelagia and our blessed Mother Superior, and also one son, father Andreas Despiris, who is the only one alive today.
She became a Tentative Nun on December 11, 1930 and was ordained on June 31, 1932 by the enviable Monk Petros Vlotil-dis and was ordained venerable on June 6, 1935 in the Holy Monastery of Saint Ierotheos at Megaris, Attiki.
Our Glorious God, however, was calling her for different conflicts. During the German occupation, at the Averof prison for women in Athens, Makaria was comforting the prisoners and taking tender care of their children.
During the summer of 1935 while visiting Nea Makri of Attiki, she went up the hill to light the oil and candle in the ruins of the old Stavropegial men’s Holy Convent Monastery on the Amomon Mountain, just as it was later miraculously revealed; from that time, internally informed that this is «a sacred site», she remained there until her passing.
She settled in the ruins and lived in her cell in unimagined deprivations, under completely unfavorable conditions. During the night she knitted socks «to establish a livelihood» and during the day she was exhuming the ruins of the small church of Annunciation, for she wanted to find the foundation stones of the Fathers and on them rebuild the Church and monastic cells.
Many times, during the winter, she got sick and stayed in her cell burning with fever without bed covers, without doors or windows. A passing shepherd covered her with his woolen cloak when he realized that a sick person lived in these ruins.
God, however, had the highest honor intended for her, the revelation of the Remnants of the Great Martyr Saint Efraim, the Miraculous, after five hundred years of total concealment.
She describes:
IN THE RUIN OF THE OLD CONVENT
The divine providence led me to the ruins of the old Monastery and as I recalled this event, I thought of times past when scattered everywhere were the holy remnants of Saint whose blood irrigated the tree of Orthodoxy. As I was trying to clean the Holy Monastery from the ruins, I was thinking that I was standing on a sacred site and I was saying to myself, «Please God, enable me your unworthy servant to see one of the Fathers who lived here». A long time went by and I kept praying while a voice inside me was telling me, «Excavate there and you will find what you are looking for» and miraculously, in a mysterious way, it pointed me out to an area in the courtyard of the Monastery. Time was going by and the voice grew stronger and more fervid, urging me, telling me, «Excavate and you will find what you are wishing for». I showed the site to a worker, whom I had called those days for a small repair in the old Abbey. He was not eager to excavate the area where my inner voice was urging me to. He wanted to excavate a little farther, elsewhere. As he insisted, I let him go where he wanted, while I stayed there praying that he would be unable to dig in that area finding only rocks and thus would be compelled to come back to the site that was suggested me by my inner voice. He tried to dig in three or four areas, each time finding rocks and so he came back to the site that I had previously showed him. That area from the fireplace had three small openings, a partly thrown down wall. All these were indicating that this once had been a monk’s cell. These ruins remained to tell us all about the drama that took place here.
We cleaned the area from the rocks and the worker started digging somewhat nervously and angrily. Since I was afraid that he would damage something, I told him «You don’t have to rush, don’t exhaust yourself slow down» but he wouldn’t listen to me. He continued in the same manner, so I told him «Perhaps there is someone buried here and you may cause some damage! Please be careful». He then understood and told me « Do you think that ιt could be true, what you have in your mind? ». I was indeed so sure, as if I could see him. He now continued the sacred exhumation and when he got to a depth of about 170 centimeters, the hoe brought forth light to the head of a man of God. At that very moment, an ineffable fragrance was dispersed all around us. The worker became pale, his tongue twisted, and he lost his voice.
« May I be left alone » I asked him and he went away.
I devoutly kneeled and kissed the Saint’s body and I deeply felt the extent of his torment. My soul filled up with exultation .I found a great treasure. As I carefully started to remove the soil .I was witnessing the harmony of the body that had not changed even though it had been buried here for so many centuries.
As I was removing the soil, it became apparent that he was a clergyman from where his sacred hands were lying. I noticed the hemming of the cassock’s sleeve; it was without the slightest trace of dust, clean and thickly woven in a loom of older times. The thread’s thickness was more than one millimeter. As I continued removing the soil, I found the legs and again the hemming of the cassock was very clean and the soles of his feet hand been imprinted into the ground. I did not know what to do first. whether to cry or to be happy. How was God’s man found buried there? What had happened? What had his eyes seen? I thought something tragic had happened. As I was trying to clean the mud from his finger bones, they shattered, because the rain had saturated the ground all the way down to his grave. I placed them as they were on the opening that was above his grave.
What can I tell you about that rain? It was like Heaven was sprinkling the Saint and his grave was little silver leaves.
On the same night I was reading the Vespers, I was still alone in this sacred place where God led me to serve Him when suddenly I heard footsteps that were set out from the bottom of the grave. They went out into the yard and reached at the door of the church. His footsteps sounded so loud and steady that I felt that it was the only time I had been so scared. I felt my blood benumb in my head and from fright, I did not turn around to look, when I heard his voice tell me:
«How long do you intend to keep me out there? And this one who placed my head like that…!» I then turned around and saw him. He was tall with small round eyes and light wrinkles. His beard was black and a little curly; it covered his neck that was separated here and there. Sidewise, his attire was monastic; there was splendid light on his left hand and his right hand was blessing.
My soul filled with exultation and ineffable joy. I gained some courage and strength; my fear vanished. I felt him, my own and told him, “Please forgive me and tomorrow at dawn, I will take good care of you.”
He immediately disappeared and I went on reading the vespers in peace.
In the morning, after the liturgy at dawn, I took the holy remnants and cleaned them of the soil. I washed them and placed them at the Holy Altar in an old opening. There I lit an oil candle.
That same night, I dreamt of the Holy man of God standing inside the Church and next to Him on His left, I saw a splendid and very beautiful icon of the Saint, the size of Him, which He embraced with one arm. It was made from old silver, hammered by hand, and next to it there was a Church candelabrum, where I lit a large candle of pure wax. At that moment, I heard his voice saying,
«Thank you very much, I am Efraim.»
A long time went by and I wondered about this incident. One evening after the Vespers, as I was closing the doors of the Church I heard three knocks as if from an amber string of beads. I realized that it was the Saint. I went inside the Altar, where I had placed the Holy Remnants. I lit a candle and bowed to offer my respect to Him. But what can I say? How can I describe that heavenly fragrance that was sent up from His Holy Remnants? It was like I was flooded by a real torrent I felt within the Paradise and at the same time, I felt my humility in this grandeur.
Mother Superior Sister Makaria
In 1950, the Enviable Makaria surrounded by the first come nuns, proceeded in the reestablishment of the old and famous Monastery. After innumerable deprivations, labors, and struggles of many years, she elevated the Monastery into a great shrine of the Universal Orthodoxy by the grace of the Miraculous Saint Efraim, as many synchronous intellectual personalities acknowledge.
The «Admirable Pride» of Amomon Mountain, the Great Martyr Efraim the Miraculous by the grace of God and by the tireless efforts of the Enviable Mother Superior Makaria became known nearly everywhere on Earth and like a new Baptismal font of Siloam grants <healing to everyone who asks for it»
The «Mother Makaria» or the «Mother of those in pain» as the faithful themselves were calling her during her entire life in spite of the repeated heart attacks she had suffered, the diabetes and a bullet fragment she had in her abdomen since the German occupation, she served with joy every faithful who came and asked her for Prayer. Nearly day and night, she was praying and advising orphans, widows, divorced, young, and sick one, professionals, laborers, monks and nuns. University professors were asking her to bless their dissertations, educators, their work, and judges their families.
Untiring in the service of the Divine word, strictly devoted to the Orthodox worship, «she was nourished with the liturgical life, the study of the divine word, the unceasing prayer and the silence.>
Laconic with an expression of «gladsome-sorrow» diffused on her sweet and tender face, and full of love and humility gaze, she was trying to conceal the rich virtues that God, the Great Donor, had surrounded her with.
Her profound faith, the nobility and her mild nature, the discretion, the forbearance, the pardoning her <without limits philanthropy» and her endless love to «all people» definitely marked her Holy Figure.
Until 1980 without financial resources, she was supporting an orphanage of about 70 school age children giving them shelter, food, clothes and elementary education. Those children who progressed in education were able to enter the Highest Educational Institutions thank to her and today they acknowledge that «she was satisfying them out of nothing,» In order to come out against all their needs, she used to organize exhibitions of needlework in front of the Zapion mansion of Athens without sparing time, labor, and distances.
Without an education from a University, she published text of the Fathers, «Ascetic Words of Vasilios the Great.»She also wrote Supplicatory Canon and Divine Service of Salvation for her Saint Efraim, whom she loved dearly.
His miracles she registered and gradually published in ten volumes in order to support and strengthen the faithful. She was also engaging in Hagiography of Sacred Figures of Orthodoxy.
She answered a great number of phone calls and letters from the faithful on a daily basis while she was earnestly pray-ing and patiently crossing, with a piece of the Saints Remnants, the pious who were asking for her prayer.
She performed individual and group christenings of people from Northern Epirus who for two years stayed with their families in the Monastery’s quarters.
Her mellifluent mouth, endlessly, until her last breath was praising God, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Efraim, to whom she dedicated «our whole life.»
She did not live to the official recognition of her Great Saint while her constant longing was that she would be the one to take in her hands from the Patriarchate the much desired Patriarchal Deed proclaiming His Holiness.
Our Glorious God allowed her at a very old age to lift a heavy cross. She did it with patience and silence. She faced the disease patiently like a blessing from God.
The day before her passing away, in the presence of a priest, she chanted Resurrectional Hymns from her bed of suffering.
Her end was absolutely calm and sacred as she had predict-ed it more than a decade ago. Her Holy Soul surely guided by the Great Martyr Saint Efraim the Miraculous after she received Holy Communion, flew to Heaven where she belonged. It was Friday April 23, 1999 at 2:20 in the afternoon, the day of the Great Martyr Georgios the Trophies Bearing. Immediately an unspeakable fragrance surrounded her Venerable Body in the hospital room where she was being treated where the attending doctors and nurses and members of her attendance in tears «marveled» at what was taking place.
The media, T.V. and press, announced the passing away of the already Enviable Sister Makaria Mother Superior of the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and of Saint Efraim in Amomon Mountain, Attiki.
Her Venerable Body was placed on display for three days out of respect in the Holy Monastery where by the Grace of God, she was the founder and the Mother Superior for half a century. For this Monastery she consumed herself until her end remaining loyal in the service of the Incarnate Word, the Crucified Love.
Thousands of people paid their respects and about five thousand followed the procession to her last home, in spite of the heavy down pour. There were all the people, a great number of nuns and priests, the local authorities, the Metropolitan of Thessaliotis Mr. Kleopa; the very Reverend Bishop of Diavlias Mr. Damaskinos Karpathakis officiated. He with the rest of the speakers spoke highly about «this great figure of monarchism», the <humble and benevolent Mother Superior»> of Saint Efraim.
They respectfully placed her Sacred Body in the out of the way grave that she had prepared some years ago in an area of the Holy Monastery where she would be able to «hear the psalmodies and view the glorious and wonderful miracles that Saint Efraim performs to the faithful who come to His Monastery,»
Mother Makaria, may your Heavenly life be angelic as your earthly life was and you Holy Prayer that «given to the Ecumenical Orthodoxy the Great Martyr Saint Efraim» may always bless us, forgive us, and enable us to the Heavenly Kingdom. Amen
May your memory be eternal our most respectable and loved Mother
