Epiphanios of Mylopotamos ( el, Επιφάνιος ο Μυλοποταμινός, translit=Epifanios o Mylopotaminos; born 1956, Nikisiani,

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

; died 11 December 2020, Mylopotamos,

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

), also known as Epifanios Mylopotaminos, was a Greek Orthodox monk and chef. He is best known for publicizing the gastronomy and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

of Mount Athos to the wider world.

Life

He was born and raised in Nikisiani,

, northern Greece in 1956. He became a monk at

in 1973. Initially, he was a monk at the Monastery of Agiou Pavlou. In the 1980s, he also lived briefly at the

Monastery of Saint Catherine Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

of Egypt. He went to Mylopotamos in 1990 and bought the area for 2 million

drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...

, or about 6,000 euros, from the Monastery of

Great Lavra The Monastery of Great Lavra ( el, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας) is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasiu ...

. Since 1990, Father Epiphanios has lived in the Skete of St. Eustathius, a dependency of the Monastery of

located in Mylopotamos. 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. He died from cancer on 11 December 2020 at the age of 64.

Publications

Epiphanios' best-known book is ''The Cuisine of the Holy Mountain Athos'' (). 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.

References

{{Authority control 1956 births 2020 deaths Athonite Fathers Eastern Orthodox monks Greek chefs Greek winemakers People from Kavala (regional unit) People associated with Great Lavra People associated with Agiou Pavlou Monastery