Archimandrite Zacharias

Archimandrite Zacharias was born in 1946 in the town of Rizokarpaso in Cyprus.

In 1964, after competing his secondary education, he moved to England, where he commenced his studies in chemistry. His meeting with Saint Sophrony, in 1967, the disciple and biographer of Saint Silouan the Athonite was to become the main turning point in his spiritual path. Soon afterwards he decided to follow Elder Sophrony by joining the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex, England.

Father Zacharias studied theology at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius in Paris and at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Between 1996-1999, he worked upon his doctorate at Aristotle University under the supervision of Professor Georgios Mantzarides, which was entitled, The Realisation of the Hypostatic Principle in the Theology of Elder Sophrony. Soon after it was published with the title Christ our Way and Our Life, A Presentation of the Theology of Archimandrite Sophrony. In 2013, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Theological School of Saint Tikhon in Pennsylvania, America, for his spiritual ministry to the flock of the New World.

Father Zacharias has lived all his monastic life in the monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex where he serves as a spiritual Father and minister of the word of God to his brethren and the people that come to him. One of the most notable functions he had in the monastery is his collaboration with Elder Sophrony in translating the writings of Saint Silouan into Greek from the original Russian and later the translation of the writings of Father Sophrony. He currently presents the rich theology that he received from his Fathers through his books, articles and presentations at conferences.