Silouan the Athonite

Silouan the Athonite (; January 17, 1866 – September 24, 1938) also sometimes referred to as Silouan of Athos, Saint Silvanus the Athonite or Staretz Silouan was an Eastern Orthodox monk of Russian origin, who was a poet and monk of the St. Panteleimon Monastery.

The life and teachings of Saint Silouan were brought to light by his disciple, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), in his classic book Saint Silouan the Athonite.

Life

He was born as Simeon Ivanovich Antonov , of Russian Orthodox parents who came from the village of Snovskoye in Imperial Russia's Tambov Governorate.

According to the biography compiled by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), Silouan of Athos worked in his youth as a carpenter in his brother's trade.

The heart of Silouan “ignited with love for God” after witnessing the miracles performed at the tomb of .

At the age of 27, after a period of military service in the Imperial Russian Army, he left his native Russia and came to the monastic state of Mount Athos (an autonomous peninsula in Greece) where he became a monk at the Monastery of St Panteleimon, known as "Rossikon": an Orthodox monastery that houses Russian monks. However, like all of the Athonite monasteries, the Russian monastery was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. There he was tonsured into the great schema and was given the name Silouan (the Russian version of the Biblical name Silvanus).

Silouan of Athos was physically strong and spent all his nights in prayer. The first “obedience” of Silouan was to work at the mill.

Though barely literate, he was sought out by pilgrims for his wise counsel. Silouan while still alive entrusted his writings to his disciple Father Sophrony, who was still a deacon at that time. Father Sophrony several years later travelled to Paris with the intention to publish the writings of his Elder. The first publication of his writings came out in Slavonic but very soon the book was translated into French and English as well as many more languages later.

The text Adam's lament is a poem written by Silouan contained in Part II - Chapter 18 of the book, Silouan the Athonite. The Estonian composer Arvo Pärt composed a classical choir piece with the lyrics based on this text.

Silouan of Athos was canonized as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in either 1987 or 1988. The Moscow Patriarchate canonized Silouan in 1992.

Troparion Troparion — Tone 4

"On the path of humility, / by your prayers you received Christ as your Master. / In your heart the Holy Spirit witnessed to your salvation. / Therefore all people called to live in hope rejoice and celebrate your memory! / Holy Father Silouan, pray to Christ God to save our souls."