Niphon of Prodromos

Venerable Niphon of Prodromos, a hieroschemamonk, is regarded as the first and true founder of the Romanian Skete of Prodromou on Mount Athos. He was born in Vaslui County, of poor and very devout parents, and on Athos was given the monastic name Niphon. In the world he is also known as Nifon Ionescu.

In 1826 he joined the community of Archimandrite Irinarh Roseti at Horaița Monastery, where he was tonsured a monk with the name Nathanael. In 1840 he left for the Holy Mountain with the monk Nectarios of the same monastery. They first struggled at Koutloumousiou, then bought a cell in the Skete of Saint Anne, where Father Nathanael was tonsured into the great schema with the name Niphon. In 1852 the two hieromonks laid the foundation of the church of the Prodromou Skete, and in 1860 the new church was consecrated by the bishop Isaiah Vicol.

As abbot, Niphon built an infirmary, appointed brothers to care for the sick, and opened a school of psaltic music, led by Nectarios Crețu, famous throughout Athos. Under him the skete knew the most peaceful and flourishing time of its history. In 1870 he stepped down and returned to Romania, to the Bucium Skete in Iași, a metochion of Prodromou, but after some years he went back to Athos and withdrew with his disciple to a cave by the sea, twenty minutes from the skete he had founded. He gave up his soul into the Lord's hands in 1901, at the age of 94.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate placed him among the saints on 18 October 2025, together with Nectarios the Protopsaltes, and the Romanian Orthodox Church commemorates him on 13 July (new style).