Elder Sophrony of Essex (1896-1993) Elder Sophrony of Essex was born in Russia, but departed as a young man in 1921 for the intellectual and artistic hubs of Europe. He finally settled in Paris where he found success as an artist. During this time, he engaged in the practices of oriental mysticism. These were years of struggle as he searched for eternal beauty beyond the realities of time and space. Art was his way of accessing the spiritual experiences he had long desired. After some time, he returned to Christianity and became one of the first students of the Orthodox [...]