Epiphanios of Mylopotamos (Greek: Επιφάνιος ο Μυλοποταμινός, romanized: Epifanios o Mylopotaminos; born 1956, Nikisiani, Kavala; died 11 December 2020, Mylopotamos, Mount Athos^[1]), also known as Epifanios Mylopotaminos,^[2] was a Greek Orthodox monk and chef. He is best known for publicizing the gastronomy and viticulture of Mount Athos to the wider world.^[3]

Life

He was born and raised in Nikisiani, Kavala, northern Greece in 1956.^[4] He became a monk at Mount Athos in 1973.^[2] Initially, he was a monk at the Monastery of Agiou Pavlou.^[5] In the 1980s, he also lived briefly at the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. He went to Mylopotamos in 1990 and bought the area for 2 million drachma, or about 6,000 euros, from the Monastery of Great Lavra.^[4]

Since 1990,^[2] Father Epiphanios has lived in the Skete of St. Eustathius, a dependency of the Monastery of Great Lavra located in Mylopotamos.^[6] He spent most of his time at Mylopotamos, where he helped restore the monastic buildings. There, he built and maintained a vineyard and winery and was responsible for making Mylopotamos wine well-known across the world.^[2]

He died from cancer on 11 December 2020 at the age of 64.^[2]

Publications

Epiphanios' best-known book is The Cuisine of the Holy Mountain Athos (ISBN 9789603983354). The book, originally written in Greek (title: Μαγειρική του Αγίου Όρους), has been translated into various languages, including English, Russian, Bulgarian, and Romanian. The book contains more than 120 recipes and many full-page photographs.^[7]

References