St. Silouan: "Many rich and powerful men would pay dearly to see the Lord..."

The Most-holy Theotokos holding Christ the Lord (source)

  
"Many rich and powerful men would pay dearly to see the Lord or His Most Pure Mother, but God does not appear in riches, but in the humble heart... Every one of the poorest men can be humbled and come to know God. It need neither money nor reputation to come to know God, but only humility."
-St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, I.11,21
  
(source)
  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Akathist to St. Sophrony of Essex

St. Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
Akathist to St. Sophrony of Essex
Translated from the original Greek text, written by an anonymous Athonite Monk, "To the newly-revealed Venerable Elder Sophrony, descended from Russia, who lived in asceticism on Athos, and shown in all things as a spiritual guide in Europe as well, and in Great Britain, showed the ways of godly knowledge in the Holy Spirit, and founded there the Holy Monastery of the Precious Forerunner and Baptist John."
  

Sts. Sophrony of Essex and Silouan the Athonite, from the Monastery of St. John in Essex (source)

  
Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
You were fortified by the Spirit from childhood, O Sophrony, and were zealous for the ways of Christ. You fled the delusion of Asia, and were made beautiful among the sacred monks of Athos, and the light of your philosophy, divine words and books has shown forth from the East to the West.
  
You were shown to all to be a light-bearing guide, O Sophrony, beloved of Christ, (3) and now in the Heavens, you dwell with all the Saints entreating Christ. Do not cease to seek salvation for all who cry out:
Rejoice, you who shown forth in the last years,
Rejoice, you who lived a perfect life.
Rejoice, you who left the land of Russia, O Sophrony,
Rejoice, speaker to Orthodox flocks.
Rejoice, you who beheld the Uncreated Light greatly from childhood,
Rejoice, you who experienced the abyss of darkness and terrible alienation.
Rejoice, you who fled New Age religion as a sparrow,
Rejoice, vessel teaching to all Orthodox teachings.
Rejoice, you who are governed by the Light of Christ,
Rejoice, you who drive far away the darkness of Satan.
Rejoice, O Blessed Sophrony.
  
Having fled Orthodoxy and seeking salvation, you then returned to Christ in truth, and wholly offered your soul to the way of repentance and struggles everywhere, having left Russia and France, you hastened speedily to Athos, crying out: Alleluia.
  
Desiring divine knowledge philosophically, you sought [Truth] in drawing and art, but you later found the divine Giver of Wisdom [Christ] in the monastic life, as you rejoiced in the cenobium as a holy witness of His. Therefore, we cry out to you:
Rejoice, you who hastened to the flock of Christ,
Rejoice, you who fled vain deeds.
Rejoice, you who were zealous for the mindset of obedience,
Rejoice, you who joined the city of Christ.
Rejoice, for you went to the Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Athos,
Rejoice, for you followed the path of this Saint and Martyr.
Rejoice, for you looked upon St. Silouan as your Elder,
Rejoice, for you who beheld monasticism as rising above the passions.
Rejoice, you who had tears of mourning,
Rejoice, you who were set aflame with prayers and nepsis.
Rejoice, you who were not swayed by the bitterness of the demons,
Rejoice, you who were proved a soldier of Christ.
Rejoice, O Sophrony, bearer of pain.
  
To you was given the greatly-multiplied Grace of Monasticism, and later the Priesthood, O Sophrony, and you became a father, and guide and shepherd of monks on Athos, offering the remission of offenses through the power of Christ, to Whom you cried out: Alleluia.
  
Monks readily hastened to gather guidance from you on Athos, O Sophrony, while you desired a deserted place, which you found on the cliffs of Athos, where you dwelt in asceticism, bearing tears, and therefore we say to you:
Rejoice, friend of the wise and of the Saints,
Rejoice, utter enemy of the demons.
Rejoice, minister of the people bearing the name of Christ,
Rejoice, utterly perfect physician of monastics.
Rejoice, you who lived philosophically with nepsis and ceaseless prayers,
Rejoice, you whose nous was enriched with Christ and sacred theology.
Rejoice, you who bore afflictions and pains,
Rejoice, you who endured many illnesses and evils for Christ.
Rejoice, for you were meek and filled with grace,
Rejoice, you who struck the ungraceful demons.
Rejoice, you who lived amidst wars,
Rejoice, you who consumed all the twisted ways of the demons.
Rejoice, O mighty Sophrony.
  
With the zeal of the Divine Spirit, and with grateful obedience of your Monastery, O Sophrony, you left for the land of France, serving the flock of Christ as a spirit-bearer, and you wisely saved souls, singing to the Holy Spirit: Alleluia.
  

St. Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
You traveled to Britain, O Sophrony, preparing a house for the Orthodox by founding the Monastery of St. John the Baptist, giving to drink of strange [good] wine to those of another place and amidst other faiths, and therefore we say to you:
Rejoice, you who lived the Orthodox faith,
Rejoice, you who were shown perfect in deeds.
Rejoice, you who lived as an Equal-to-the-Apostles in Britain,
Rejoice, you who sowed the Light of the Divine Spirit.
Rejoice, you who mystically filled the mountain with monastics,
Rejoice, example for traveling among those of other faiths.
Rejoice, you who abided in the traditions of the Church,
Rejoice, you who fled heresies of other faiths.
Rejoice, spring of water of the Spirit,
Rejoice, unsleeping flame and lamp.
Rejoice, you whose words and deeds shown before all,
Rejoice, you who joined together deeds and words.
Rejoice, O philosopher Sophrony.
  

With your theological tongue, you expressed the theology of Apostles of the Savior of old, and bearing the Divine Spirit like them, you steadfastly led the nations to Christ, preaching repentance, as they cried out with you to Christ: Alleluia.

I honor how Christ bestows equal grace upon the humble mourners of these last days as those of the first, and He lifts us up above all dangerous offenses, O Sophrony, as you said to all, and we say again to you:
Rejoice, imitator of Christ in all things,
Rejoice, you who lived the faith of the Saints.
Rejoice, you who received the Spirit of theologians,
Rejoice, you who lived holy humility.
Rejoice, divine liturgist bearing purity of soul,
Rejoice, struggler cutting off a multitude of temptations.
Rejoice, discerning ascetic and slayer of the passions,
Rejoice, you who wisely governed the nature of the body.
Rejoice, you who kept the light yoke of Christ,
Rejoice, enemy mocking the demons.
Rejoice, you who kept your nous in the tortures of Hades,
Rejoice, you who were lifted up through prayer and hope.
Rejoice, O most-steadfast Sophrony.
  
You obtained a nous of the Venerable Saints, a nous of Christ, as the Apostle Paul, moved by the Spirit, bore pains in his life in the Christ, and through the grace of the Resurrection of Christ, you thusly taught all your children to ever do this, chanting together: Alleluia.
  
You distinguished the worldly sadness of death from the joy-making sorrow of pure mourning, clearly showing the causes of both, the former from love of self, a bitter and atheistic death, while the second, one instead of hope and joy. Therefore, we cry out to you:
Rejoice, O comforting Sophrony,
Rejoice, disciple and rhetor of Christ.
Rejoice, scribe of Christ through the Divine Spirit,
Rejoice, author of wise books for the nations.
Rejoice, you who mystically passed on the life of St. Silouan,
Rejoice, for you showed the way of strict asceticism in secret.
Rejoice, you who passed on the way of the Venerable Athonite Fathers,
Rejoice, you who widened the array of all the Saints.
Rejoice, lifter up from the abyss of offenses,
Rejoice, speedy deliverer of souls.
Rejoice, you who granted freedom to souls,
Rejoice, you who showed the compassion of Christ.
Rejoice, O Sophrony, taught by God.
  
Beholding the rage of the legion of demons at the repentance of your former child, as a good Briton and a faithful servant of Athos, as a priest but afflicted in spirit, you approached St. Silouan for the wounded one, seeking salvation, crying out: Alleluia.
     

St. Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
Showing forth victory of the Spirit, you counselled your prodigal son to return to Christ, and even though he was far from you, and crying out in many ways, you wrote to him extensively of the Orthodox Faith to cast out delusion, as one bearing Christ. Therefore, we cry out to you:
Rejoice, book of repentance,
Rejoice, school of salvation.
Rejoice, you who cast off the coverings of delusion,
Rejoice, you who proclaim divine purity.
Rejoice, enlightener of the young Britain living amidst darkness,
Rejoice, light for the people living in the darkness of the world.
Rejoice, you who were adorned with hesychasm and asceticism,
Rejoice, you who lived hesychastically in the community of the nations.
Rejoice, lifter up from the abyss of heresies,
Rejoice, deliverer for those fallen into schism.
Rejoice, who in secret were mystically lifted up,
Rejoice, you who shine forth with divine Light.
Rejoice, O ever-memorable Sophrony.
  
The whole world has come to know your God-inspired books, which are easily read, but filled with words of wisdom of the ancient Scriptures, along with struggles of the ancient Saints, which we have come to know, as you put deeds together with words, as we chant together: Alleluia.
  
You appeared before everyone in the world, O blessed one, being gladsome with the Uncreated Light, and you interacted with others spiritually as true members of Christ, revealing the Church, from which you are honored, as you hear:
Rejoice, worker of noetic prayer,
Rejoice, mystic of Christ and the Saints.
Rejoice, deposer of atheistic civilization,
Rejoice, you who stand before the Saints with perfect deeds.
Rejoice, you who bestowed godly and continual vigilance,
Rejoice, you who kept an appearance of humility and joy of Christ.
Rejoice, you who mightily cast away laziness,
Rejoice, you who drove out all depression.
Rejoice, our perfect teacher,
Rejoice, defender of the poor and afflicted.
Rejoice, speedy helper towards salvation,
Rejoice, fellow traveler on the light path [of Christ].
Rejoice, O most-famed Sophrony.
 
You cast out fear, and vainglorious and false shame in the face of your mighty humility, and those who were lost in the labyrinth of delusion, having heard your wise sermons taught by God, were led to hymn Christ, singing: Alleluia.
  
You were zealous for the words of the illiterate Apostles, Prophets, and Venerable Saints, O Sophrony, whose former struggles you entered into, as the Savior said, being continually inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we say to you:
Rejoice, you who traveled the narrow path,
Rejoice, you who led to the spacious way of Christ.
Rejoice, you who bore witness with the Martyrs,
Rejoice, you who mystically endured as a Saint.
Rejoice, you who were zealous for the life of the Venerable Savas,
Rejoice, you who kept the strength of Pachomios in many ways.
Rejoice, you who traveled the middle path of Euthymios,
Rejoice, you who were obedient like the most-radiant Theodosios.
Rejoice, follower of the Venerable Saints of Athos,
Rejoice, you who joined the lights of Sinai.
Rejoice, light-bearer for Monastics,
Rejoice, pilot for storm-tossed Ascetics.
Rejoice, O most-venerable Sophrony.
  
You filled the choirs of Monastics and Laity with seed, as they desired to imitate your life that imitates Christ, and all generations have reaped the harvest of Christ, as the pious Orthodox everywhere hasten to chant along with you: Alleluia.
  

St. Sophrony of Essex, holding an icon of his beloved spiritual father, St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  
You ever hasten to multiply steadfastness in soul a hundred-fold, as one of the God-bearing Fathers of the Savior, and an offspring of the Russian Land of St. Sergios, as the founder of Monasteries in the West which have multiplied, as we say to you:
Rejoice, cycle of Monastics,
Rejoice, intercessor for those repenting.
Rejoice, follower of Ascetics of Britain,
Rejoice, fellow traveler with Orthodox Europe.
Rejoice, you who joined the hundred monasteries of the Venerable Columba,
Rejoice, for you possessed many virtues like the Venerable Cuthbert.
Rejoice, fellow mystic with St. Neot of Cornwall,
Rejoice, sharer of the virtues of St. Aidan.
Rejoice, follower of the Venerable Nectan,
Rejoice, equal in way of the Wise Bede.
Rejoice, sharer of the all-joyous Ninian,
Rejoice, you who also joined St. Daniel of Wales.
Rejoice, O most-reverent Sophrony.

You did not fall from divine heights, as one bearing the Grace of humility, as you lived with unfailing love, and you lived as a guide and shepherd, driving away all enemies and demons from us, through the help of the Spirit, O Sophrony, as we hasten to chant together to Christ: Alleluia.
  
Shining with the light of Christ before all, you proceeded to the ranks of all the Saints, with whom your soul has come to dwell, O chaste Sophrony, shining with the Spirit. As you are filled with Him, intercede for those who praise you with these things:
Rejoice, discerning forms of Light,
Rejoice, shower of perfect illumination.
Rejoice, you who dispersed shadows of falsehood,
Rejoice, you who showed the ways of life.
Rejoice, you who continually covered from the darkness of delusion,
Rejoice, you who opened for many the light-bearing way of Christ.
Rejoice, you who burned up the delusion of East Asia,
Rejoice, you who sanctified the lands of Western Europe.
Rejoice, you who honored St. Athanasios the Athonite,
Rejoice, you who kept nepsis like St. Peter [the Athonite].
Rejoice, fellow mystic with St. Martin of Tours,
Rejoice, pointer towards the famed St. Benedict.
Rejoice, O teacher Sophrony.
  
Rejoicing in the Heavens above, you have not abandoned us, O Sophrony, but you pray that we, the poor and afflicted ones who hymn you, might be saved, have become proclaimers of your God-pleasing life, and read your books, bearing the Divine Scriptures, chanting: Alleluia.
  
Into a world frozen by mania against Christ, you have been granted to us as warmth, O Sophrony, as you help us, along with the Saints who everywhere, in all things and always, have taught the ways and words of the One Church, teaching us to say:
Rejoice, founder of the Monastery of the Baptist,
Rejoice, intercessor for our souls,
Rejoice, golden-winged eagle of the Spirit,
Rejoice, you who appear as a lion of Divine Grace.
Rejoice, ox plowing the souls of many Christians,
Rejoice, divine Shepherd, delivering us from evils.
Rejoice, friend of the milk-bearing Saints of the West,
Rejoice, divine nourisher of the Venerable Saints of Britain.
Rejoice, perfect son of St. Silouan,
Rejoice, our Father and all-perfect one.
Rejoice, proclaimer and shower of the light of Christ,
Rejoice, deliverer from darkness and sadness.
Rejoice, God-inspired Sophrony.

O Father Sophrony, who lived philosophically, joining together words and reverent deeds, (3), O theologian of the Divine Light, and worker of joy-making sorrow, pray ceaselessly for nepsis for us, O perfect teacher, as you chant together with the Angels: Alleluia.

And the Kontakion again. 

  

(source)

 

St. Sophrony of Essex (source)

     

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Akathist to St. Silouan the Athonite

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  

AKATHIST TO OUR VENERABLE AND GODBEARING FATHER SAINT SILOUAN THE ATHONITE

Whose memory the Church celebrates on September 24th, the day of his repose

KONTAKION I
O chosen ascetic and earthly angel of Christ, all-blessed father Silouan, most excellent emulator of the fathers of Athos in vigils, fasting and humility! Through thy thirst for God and burning love for Him thou didst acquire abundant grace for thy soul, O most blessed one. Imitating Christ, thou didst crucify thyself with tearful prayer for those languishing in hades, for the living and for those yet to come. Of this thy love deprive us not, who amid the vale of sin ask thine intercession before God and cry out with compunction: Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!
  
OIKOS I
The Creator of angels and Lord of hosts chose thee beforehand from thy mother’s womb, and, as saith the Psalmist, gave thee a deep heart, O God-bearing father Silouan, that as in a most excellent receptacle thou mightest place the uncontainable name of God Most High, and through the power of God and divine grace mightest most earnestly follow the life of the angels. And praising the wondrous struggle of thine earthly labors, we reverently cry out to thee:
Rejoice, fruit of the chaste purity of pious parents;
rejoice, fragrant flower of the unfading beauty of their struggle of faith!
Rejoice, thou who with all thy soul didst love the piety of thy parents;

rejoice, thou who wast pleased to emulate their chastity and love for God!

Rejoice, thou who from childhood wast wondrously filled with the wisdom to

seek joy in God;

rejoice, thou who like a deer didst yearn for the well-spring of grace

divine!
Rejoice, thou who didst sweeten thy youthful mind with the word of God, as with
sweet honey;

rejoice, thou who didst root thy heart wholly in the will of God!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for
the world!   

KONTAKION II

The all-blessed Theotokos beheld thee sunk in the depths of sin, when delight in sin had entered into the belly of thy youth like a fetid serpent; and, grieving maternally, she wondrously cried out to thee: “Most painful is it for me to see thee defiling thyself with sinful acts!” And when thou didst realize that she was suffering for thy falls into sin, thou didst manfully cast the serpent of sin out, vanquishing it by repentance and prayer, and ever chanting to the Lord Who loveth us a hymn of gratitude for His all-pure Mother: Alleluia!    

OIKOS II

The knowledge of God overshadowed thee when thou wast vouchsafed to hear the voice of the Mother of the Lord of hosts, O Silouan chosen of God, and thy heart was filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, by Whose activity thou didst escape the vanity of the world like a doe from a snare, fleeing unto Mount Athos, the garden of the Mother of God who had wondrously summoned thee, that thou mightest cleave unto God with filial love. And, seeing the wondrous intention of the Mistress of the world for thee, we cry out to thee with compunction:

Rejoice, thou who wast called forth from the darkness of sin into the light of the truth of Christ by the all-pure one herself;

rejoice, thou who wast wondrously chosen to be a faithful husbandman of her earthly garden!

Rejoice, succulent grapes of the land of Russia, springing forth in abundance on Mount Athos;
rejoice, untiring conscience who broke the sting of sin by penitent prayer!

Rejoice, thou who didst minister unto God like an angel in the Holy Monastery of Saint Panteleimon; rejoice, thou who by labor, fasting and stillness didst gloriously subdue the enemy who fought against thee!
Rejoice, thou who by humble-mindedness didst trample all the wiles of the devil underfoot;

rejoice, thou who didst gloriously acquire immaculate faith by thy thirst

for God!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION III

The power of the Most High truly preserved thee when the spirit of hades and death attacked thee and assailed thy soul with sinful delusions, O God-loving Silouan. But when thou wast afflicted and didst imagine that God was beyond entreaty, the Lord Who loveth mankind visited thee in the ineffable effulgence of Tabor, O most blessed one, and strengthened thee with the fire of the grace of the Holy Spirit. And receiving a new birth, like Paul, with fear and joy thou didst cry out unto God:

Alleluia!

  

OIKOS III

Possessed of a wealth of grace, thou wast taken up by the Spirit into the heavens, where thou didst hear unspeakable words. Truly, who can describe those joys, O all-blessed father Silouan? For when, beyond the forms of the world, in contemplation of the indescribable beauties of the Godhead, thou wast vouchsafed to gaze upon the face of Christ God Who loveth infinitely and forgiveth all, thou wast filled to overflowing with the ineffable love of God. And, marveling at thine ineffable divine vision, we cry out:

Rejoice, thou who in the struggle of the faith of Christ wast vouchsafed visitation and consolation;

rejoice, thou who wast counted worthy to behold the beauty of His ineffable glory!
Rejoice, thou who by the Holy Spirit wast transported to the heavenly Eden of wondrous beauty;

rejoice, thou who there wast given to drink abundantly of the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter!

Rejoice, partaker of the ineffable beauty of paradise;rejoice, beloved of God who wast favored by Him with compassions of heavenly beauty!
Rejoice, thou who dost earnestly mediate these graces for the whole human race;
rejoice, thou who like an unsleeping guardian dost wake us for the dawn of eternal life!
Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!
    

KONTAKION IVThe devil, the slayer of man, who from time immemorial hath sought to destroy the righteous, loosed a storm of grievous temptations upon thee, O father Silouan, but thou wast taught by the Holy Spirit to keep thy mind in hell but despair not. Anticipating the wiles of the devil by vigilance and humility, thou didst vanquish him; and put to shame by thee, he plainly admitted that he is a liar. Thus didst thou preserve thy soul for God, like a meek dove from the snares, unceasingly chanting unto Him: Alleluia!   

  

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  
OIKOS IV

Hearing of thee that thou wast miraculously summoned from the vanity of the world to the monastic struggle, and that thou didst produce goodly fruit through the grace of God, O venerable one, not only young monks, but elders also, well tried in the struggle, had recourse unto thee and delighted in thy deeds and words as in honey; and thus attaining the angelic life, they emulated the Lord. Wherefore we too, seeing thee adorned with humble-mindedness, cry out to thee with joy:
Rejoice, inexhaustible well of humble- mindedness and chastity;

rejoice, fragrant and unfading lily of the earthly Eden!

Rejoice, thou who with love didst bear the easy yoke of Christ in thy struggle;

rejoice, thou who by prayer didst establish thy mind, heart and will in God!
Rejoice, thou who didst diligently preserve the purity of thy soul and body;

rejoice, thou who by unceasing prayer didst ascend the heights of dispassion!

Rejoice, most earnest follower of the canons of the holy fathers;

rejoice, thou who dost unceasingly proclaim to us the heavenly homeland

and the love of God!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

 

KONTAKION V

The Lord gave thee divine grace as a star pointing the way and enlightening thy mind, O God-loving father Silouan, and thereby He strengthened thee for the struggle of salvation, as He did Elias at the brook Chē΄-rĭth. And, wondrously fed with the inexhaustible treasures of the Holy Spirit, in youth and old age, from the morning watch until night, in thy prayers for the whole world thou didst unceasingly sound forth unto God like a melodious flute: Alleluia!    

OIKOS V

We see thee in thy goodly struggle, O all- blessed father Silouan, seeking the love of God as a babe seeketh its mother’s milk, aflame with His love and crying out with tears: “Be thou mindful of the love of the Lord, O my soul, and warm thou my heart, for who can give me such heat as the love of God, which will give me rest neither by day or by night?” Wherefore, let us constrain our hearts and soften our souls with the warmth of love for Thee, God most compassionate, and let us cry out to Silouan with compunction:

Rejoice, thou who didst constantly thirst for the righteousness of God, more than for sweet honey;
rejoice, thou who didst emulate the angels in thy love for the Lord!

Rejoice, thou who dost offer up the incense of pure prayer like a flame of fire;

rejoice, thou who hast adorned things above and things below with the

beauty of angelic reverence!

Rejoice, for thou didst make thy heart like the bush unconsumed by the fire;

rejoice, for thine arms, like those of Moses for the chosen people, were

stretched forth before the Lord for all!

Rejoice, for thou didst love to desire the judgments of God for all time, and didst seek His statutes.

rejoice, for thou didst unceasingly cry out to Him: O God, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION VI

Thou wast shown to be a constant preacher of stillness, O favored one of God, when lovingly the Lord Who loveth mankind desired to test thee by depriving thee of the visitation of the most Holy Spirit. Sensing thyself bereft of His grace, like Adam who lamented the loss of paradise thou didst tearfully cry out with contrite heart: “O Lord, before Thou didst seek me out and grant me to delight in Thy Holy Spirit, and my soul loved Thee. But now my soul grieveth after Thee.” And thus lamenting, though trusting in the loving-kindness of God, thou didst cry out to Him:

Alleluia!

  

OIKOS VI

Thou didst shine forth as a new beholder of mysteries, O God-loving father Silouan, and by prayer and tears didst again acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, through which thy heart was filled to overflowing with ineffable love. And comprehending the power of this grace, thou didst cry out with the boldness of Elias: “O Lord, not to me alone, but grant the whole world to recognize Thy love and be saved!” And having thee as a tireless advocate before God, we cry out to thee with compunction:

Rejoice, for through the crucifixion of prayer for the dead, the living and those yet to come, thou becamest an open heaven;

rejoice, for by such love thou didst win the kingdom of heaven for thy soul!

Rejoice, wondrous embodiment of purity of faith and innocence;

rejoice, thou who didst acquire the full forgiveness of Christ for thy neighbors’ falls into sin!
Rejoice, faithful fellow struggler with the saints of God, the wondrous sanctification of the world;

rejoice, faithful novice of the all-blessed Abbess of Athos and receptacle of the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

Rejoice, sweetly melodious harp of Mount Athos, proclaiming the life which is to come;
rejoice, tireless toiler in her garden, who dost strengthen the weak for the struggle!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of 1ove in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION VII

Desiring to reveal in thee a new lamp of grace, O venerable father Silouan, the Lord Who loveth mankind transplanted thee like an olive shoot from the root of the land of Russia to the wilderness of Athos; and, bedewing thee with the grace of the Holy Spirit, He rendered thee most fruitful: for by thy deeds and words, as with life-creating oil, thou didst guide all to purity and chastity, piety and brotherly love. And, bound with the bond of love, and making what is baser subject to that which is higher, they chanted unto God: Alleluia!  

  

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  
OIKOS VII

The Lord revealed thee as a new fellow ascetic of the desert dwellers, a guide and teacher of monks and lay folk, O all-blessed Silouan. For, while yet living in the world, thou didst teach the full forgiveness of Christ to a certain soldier, who was scandalized by the fall of his wife into sin and raged with anger, and thus thou didst preserve the Mystery of Matrimony, the Little Church, from destruction. And calling on monks who had fallen into despondency to acquire peace of soul, and guiding them to the fear of God, thou didst lead them to repentance, and didst thus prepare all to be dwellers in paradise. Knowing thee as one who thus concerned thyself for the salvation of all, with love we cry out to thee as is due:
Rejoice, diligent fellow struggler with the desert-lovers in seeking God;

rejoice, earnest establisher of brotherly love and fervent advocate for all!

Rejoice, faithful companion on the path of life, amid misfortunes and perils;

rejoice, unfeigned servant amid sicknesses and griefs, and sorrows of soul!

Rejoice, proclaimer of the love of God, calling all to reconciliation with God and our neighbors; rejoice, thou who in bearing witness that the Lord is good dost strengthen in the hope of forgiveness souls weakened by sin! 

Rejoice, faithful ascetic of the earthly Eden, tearfully mediating salvation for the world;
rejoice, thou who desirest to descend into hades for all unrepentant sinners;

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of lover in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION VIII

A strange wonder did the Lord reveal to thee, O all-blessed father Silouan, when He miraculously showed thee thy spiritual father, the elder Abraámius, transfigured in His own image and shining more brightly than the eye can bear; and so He hath taught us to treat the Mystery of Repentance with honor. And, seeing thee entrusting thine own will to thy spiritual father as to the Lord Himself, and thus cutting off thine evil desires through humility and repentance, we learn thus to entrust ourselves to the will of God through the pastors of the Church, and so to escape the wrath of God and the coming judgment before our departure, crying out to the triune God: Alleluia!  

  
OIKOS VIII

O all-wondrous favorite of God, who acquired the humility of Christ with all thy heart and soul, and who crucified thyself to the world for Him, thy Beloved, thou didst cry out, weeping: “O Jesus most sweet! Thou hast resurrected my soul, that I may love Thee and my neighbor. Wherefore, grant me to pour forth tears for the whole world, that all men may come to know Thee, that they may delight in Thy peace and behold the light of Thy countenance.” And we who have wasted our life in sins and are saved by thee bless thee thus:
Rejoice, tireless toiler with her who is our earnest helper, in making supplications for the world;
rejoice, thou who, like Jeremiah who wept for the people, hast bedewed the Holy Mountain with tears!

Rejoice, all-wondrous ascetic of Athos, who by thy supplication dost sanctify the whole world;

rejoice, thou who as a solicitous father dost mediate with tears before God for all who are perishing amid sins!

Rejoice, beloved favorite of Christ God, joy and amazement of the angels;

rejoice, radiant effulgence of the North, purely transplanted from Holy Russia to the desert of Athos!

Rejoice, thou who in humility and obedience didst show forth a model of angelic beauty;

rejoice, thou who by the fervor of thy supplication didst desire to make us also dwellings of the divine Spirit!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

   

KONTAKION IX

All the angelic beings and the multitude of ascetics marveled at thy humility and love for mankind, O Silouan our father, when, assuming the position of steward, thou didst emulate the chaste Joseph of Egypt. Having concern not only for the brethren of the holy monastery, but also for the lay workers who toiled there, as sons of God, thou didst cry out in their behalf to God Who loveth each of His creatures: “O Lord, send Thou Thy Holy Spirit, and comfort the troubled souls of these, Thy poor people.” For thus pointing out the beauty of each obedience undertaken with humility of mind, thou didst cry out to God unceasingly: Alleluia!  

OIKOS IX

Even the most eloquent of orators are unable to describe the power of thy love, O all-wondrous father Silouan; for with tears thou didst thirst to extinguish all enmity and disorder among men and to reconcile everyone unto God, crying out to the Master of the world: “O Lord, I yearn to be Thine, and to crucify myself with Thee for the whole world, that all may be saved!” And to the brethren thou didst cry out: “My children, pray for thine enemies, for they are our brethren, our life; and only the devil is the enemy of peace.” And guided by thee toward brotherly love and love of mankind, we cry out to thee:

Rejoice, thou who in thy goodness didst make thyself like Christ on Golgotha;

rejoice, thou who didst crucify thyself for thine enemies, not through thy hands, but thy heart and soul!

Rejoice, thou who carest for thy neighbor and didst not lose the beauty of grace-filled stillness;

rejoice, thou who, loving thy neighbor, didst acquire the power of unceasing prayer!

Rejoice, thou who through fasting and prayer didst utterly deflect the darts of the evil one;

rejoice, thou who hast taught us to overcome the evil wiles and machinations of the devil!

Rejoice, thou who, laboriously grinding thy flesh in the mill of Christ, like sacred grain, didst sweeten thy heart with prayer;

rejoice, thou who with the bread of life didst abundantly feed the workmen

of the garden of the Queen of heaven!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION X

Seeking the salvation of thy soul, and desiring to cleave unto Christ most sweet, thou didst humbly flee from the land of thy fathers to the Holy Mountain, where in abstinence and stillness, industriousness and love for mankind, thou didst acquire angelic beauty, O most blessed one. And thus thou didst attain a goodly end at the all-blessed dawn, when all the desert-lovers of the communities of Athos chant the midnight hymn to the Creator, and didst surrender thy soul, which was nourished by the life-creating Body and Blood of the Lord, into His divine hands, that with all the saints thou mightest unceasingly chant to the Word, Who is holier than the saints: Alleluia!  

  

St. Silouan the Athonite (Source)

  
OIKOS X

In life, faith and love thou wast a most zealous servant of the King of heaven, Whom the cherubim, the seraphim and the councils of the saints glorify, O venerable one; and like a right fragrant lily thou standest with all the elect of the all-pure Theotokos at the throne of the All- holy Trinity. Be thou, O most blessed one, a most zealous mediator before God for the peace and prosperity of the land of thy fathers, and an angel of untiring prayer and a fervent intercessor for the Holy Church, that delivered by thee from tribulations, we may cry out to thee in thanksgiving:

Rejoice, angel of the Russian land, who didst labor most excellently on the Holy Mountain;

rejoice, most fervent advocate, who for us hast crucified thyself with love at the throne of God!

Rejoice, earnest mediator before God for the people of the land of thy fathers;

rejoice, speedy intercessor for the brethren of the garden of Athos who weaken in the struggle!

Rejoice, thou who didst bear without complaint the wounds of thy Lord on thy body;

rejoice, thou who didst entrust to Him thy pure soul, rendered white by tears of repentance!

Rejoice, faithful husbandman of the garden of Christ, who wast summoned by the Lord to Sion on high;

rejoice, for, crowned there with glory and honor, thou holdest converse

with the saints and angels!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION XI

A right laudatory hymn do we offer thee, O father Silouan, favorite of God; for with burning love for the Lord Who hungered for the salvation of the world and put the devil to shame by His humility, thou didst faithfully follow Him, and adorned with the right fruitful gifts of the Holy Spirit, didst perfume the wilderness of Athos with pure prayer, graciously showing us the ideal of the angelic life. For thus likening the Holy Mountain to paradise, thou didst put the enemy to shame, and didst acquire the kingdom of heaven for thy soul, struggling to cleave unto God with love, and crying out to Him: Alleluia!  

OIKOS XI

In our days— during thy lifetime and after thy death—the Lord hath revealed thee to the whole world as a bearer of the light-bestowing light and grace of the Holy Spirit, that, gazing upon thee, who art resplendent in the incorrupt beauty of thine earthly struggles and offerest supplications for us like the cherubim at the throne of God, we are assured of our hope of salvation and most diligently follow thy right moral life. Sweetly do we submit our will to the love of God, that thus the glorification of the name of the Lord, Who loveth us, may be made steadfast in our bodies and souls. Wherefore, strengthened by thee in faith, with love we cry out to thee:

Rejoice, thou who by the struggles of a right moral life dost strengthen us in love of God;

rejoice, zealous denouncer of immorality, who teachest us to preserve the Mysteries and canons of the Orthodox Faith!

Rejoice, thou who wast earnestly zealous to embrace the desert-dwelling of Peter the Athonite in fasting and stillness;

rejoice, thou who didst faithfully emulate Abba Athanasius in care for the goodly morals of monastics!

Rejoice, new luminary of the Faith, who in our days dost point out the true path to God;

rejoice, thou who bearest true witness unto all concerning the abundance of the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Orthodox Church!

Rejoice, faithful servant of Christ, who standest as is meet before the throne of His glory;

rejoice, thou who dost earnestly ask for us a peaceful ending to our life and a good defense before the fearful Judgment Seat of Christ!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

   

KONTAKION XII

Christ our God poured forth the indescribable power of grace upon thee, O venerable one, that in the heavens, where everything liveth and moveth in the joy of the Holy Spirit, He might show thee to be in the choir of Athonite ascetics, offering up supplications with all the saints in behalf of all born on earth. And knowing thee to be thus, we pray: Pour forth fervent prayer unto the Lord, O most blessed one, that, moved to mercy, He may make His Holy Church steadfast forever, for our salvation, may preserve in every way the desert-lovers of the earthly Eden, and strengthen them, that the name of God may be glorified forever by those on earth and those in heaven, who chant: Alleluia!  

OIKOS XII

Hymning thine all-glorious memory, O God- bearing father Silouan, as is meet we bless the pangs and labors which thou didst most diligently endure in vigils and fasting with all the chosen ones of the Mother of God. For who can reckon the labors and sighs we tearfully offer up in prayers for the world, and whereby the Lord changeth His wrath over our sins into mercy, and in His love for mankind doth not disavow the oath He swore, that the Holy Church will be established until the end of time? Wherefore, thankful for this thine intercession, we cry out to thee with compunction:

Rejoice, diligent follower of the leading of the Holy Spirit;

rejoice, thou who dost gaze upon the face of Christ, the Peace and Wisdom of God!

Rejoice, humble ascetic of Christ, joy and boast of the Mother of God, before all those in heaven and those on earth;  

rejoice, tireless advocate for the world, our consolation and hope of salvation!

Rejoice, heir of the kingdom of Christ, who didst adorn Mount Athos with thy struggle;

rejoice, faithful mover of our salvation, who hast sanctified for us the path which leadeth to God!

Rejoice, gilded clarion proclaiming the glory of God with all the saints and angels;

rejoice, thou who wast crowned by God with a diadem of immortality, and in thy supplications hast not forsaken us!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION XIII

O all-wondrous Silouan, favorite of God, gracious scion of the land of Russia, boast and adornment of the desert-lovers of Mount Athos! Accept from us this meager entreaty, and ask thou of Christ our God, Who was crucified for the world, that He may have mercy on all of us, His children, and may bind us with the grace of the Holy Spirit in the bond of His love, and may lead us to Himself by the judgments which He knoweth, that by thy supplications we may appear unashamed on the day of judgment before the face of His glory, and may be vouchsafed with all the saints and angels to chant the hymn of victory: Alleluia!   

(Kontakion XIII is recited thrice, whereupon Oikos I and Kontakion I are repeated.)

   

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

 

________________________________________________________________________

A PRAYER TO OUR VENERABLE FATHER SILOUAN THE ATHONITE

 

(Which prayer is said kneeling.)

Let us pray to our venerable father Silouan.

O holy father Silouan, pray unto God for us.

O all-wondrous father Silouan, favorite of God! By the grace given thee by God to pray with tears for the whole world — the dead, the living and those yet to come — never cease to make entreaty to the Lord for us who earnestly fall down before thee and with compunction beseech thine intercession. Move thou to prayer, O most blessed one, the earnest Helper of the Christian race, the all-blessed Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary, who wondrously summoned thee to be a faithful husbandman in her earthly garden, where the chosen of God implore Him to be merciful and long-suffering toward our sins, that He not be mindful of our injustices and iniquities, but that in His ineffable goodness our Lord Jesus Christ may take pity and save us in His great mercy. Yea, O favorite of God, with the all-blessed Mistress of the world, the most holy Abbess of Athos, and the holy ascetics of her earthly portion, ask of the Word, Who is holier than all the saints, that Mount Athos and its God-loving desert-dwellers may be preserved in peace from all misfortunes and the assaults, of the enemy, that, delivered by the angels from evils, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit in faith and brotherly love, until the end of time they may offer up supplications for the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, and may show unto all the path to salvation, that the earthly Church and that of heaven may unceasingly glorify the Creator and Father of lights, illumining and sanctifying the world in the eternal righteousness and goodness of God. For the peoples of the whole world ask, a prosperous and peaceful life, the spirit of humble-mindedness and brotherly love, good morals and salvation, and the spirit of the fear of God, that the hearts of men may not be infected with malice and iniquity, which are able to uproot the love of God in men and cast them into God-opposing enmity and fratricide, but that the name of God may be sanctified in the power of divine love and righteousness on earth and in heaven, that His holy will may be manifest, among men, and that peace and the kingdom of God may

reign on earth. Likewise, O favorite of God, for our homeland, beg the peace we desire and the blessing of heaven, that, protected by the almighty veil of the Mother of God, it may be delivered from wrath, famine, plague, earthquake, flood, fire, the sword, foreign invasion, civil war, sudden death, and from all enemies, visible and invisible; and thus, through the power of the life-giving Cross, may be the most sacred dwelling- place of the all-blessed Theotokos until the end of time, and may be established in the superabundant love of God. And for all of us who are sunk in the darkness of sin, who have neither fervent repentance nor the fear of God, and thus immeasurably offend the Lord Who loveth us, O most blessed one, ask of our most compassionate God that He divinely visit and enliven our souls with His omnipotent grace, and that He abolish in our hearts all malice and the pride of life, despondency and negligence. Again we pray that when we are fortified by the grace of the most Holy Spirit and warmed by the love of God, we may be strengthened in love of mankind and our brethren, in humble-mindedness and prayerful crucifixion for one another and for all, and in the righteousness and grace-filled love of God, and may draw nigh unto Him like children: that thus doing His most holy will, we may tread the path of this transitory life unashamed, in all piety and purity, and with all the saints of the heavenly kingdom may be vouchsafed the wedding-banquet of the Lamb. From all those in heaven and on earth be glory, honor and worship unto Him, and His unoriginate Father and His all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

Amen.

  

APOLYTIKION

Tone 3

The work of the Archimandrite Zacharias

Having knowledge of the Holy Spirit, thou didst attain unto Adam’s lamentation and didst yearn after Christ insatiably. Keeping thy mind steadfastly in hell thou didst show love for us men that was past nature. Holy Father Silouan, ever pray unto God that we be granted great mercy.

ANOTHER APOLYTIKION

Tone 4

The work of the Hieromonk Paul

By prayer thou didst receive Christ for thy teacher in the way of humility, and the Spirit bare witness to salvation in thy heart; wherefore, all peoples called unto hope, rejoice in the day of thy memorial. O sacred father Silouan, pray unto Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.

(source)

 

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

     

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

St. Silouan the Athonite: "She is our joy and our hope!"

The Most-holy Theotokos and Christ, "More Spacious than the Heavens" (source)

  
A remarkable and incomprehensible thing. [The Theotokos] lives in the Heavens and ceaselessly beholds the Glory of God, but she does not neglect us poor ones, and she embraces with her compassion the whole earth and all the faithful. This Spotless Mother of His the Lord gave to us. She is our joy and our hope!
-St. Silouan the Athonite

(source)

Most-holy Theotokos save us!

Saint Sophrony of Essex (+ July 11, 1993)

Elder Sophrony of Essex (1886 - July 11th, 1993) (source)

  
Archimandrite Sophrony was born in 1886, to Orthodox parents in Tsarist Russia. From childhood he showed a rare capacity for prayer and as a young boy would ponder questions heavy with centuries of theological debate. A sense of exile in this world spoke of an infinite always embracing our finitude. Prayer entails the idea of eternity with God. In prayer the reality of the living God is yoked with the concrete reality of earthly life. If we know what a man reverences, we know the most important thing about him- what it is that determines his character and behavior. The author of His Life is Mine was early possessed by an urgent longing to penetrate to the heart of divine eternity through contemplation of the visible world. This craving, like a flame in the heart, irradiated his student days at the State School of Fine Arts in Moscow. This was the period when a parallel speculative interest in Buddhism and the whole arena of Indian culture changed the clef of his inner life. Eastern mysticism now seemed to him more profound than Christianity, the concept of a supra-personal Absolute more convincing than that of a Personal God. The Eastern mystic’s notion of Being imparted overwhelming majesty to the transcendental. With the advent of the First World War and the subsequent Revolution in Russia he began to think of existence itself as the cause of all suffering and so strove, through meditation, to divest himself of all visual and mental images.
  

His studio was at the top of a tall house in a quiet part of Moscow. There he would labour for hours on end, straining every nerve to depict his subject dispassionately, to convey its temporal significance, yet at the same time to use it as a spring-board for exploring the infinite. He was tortured by conflicting arguments: if life was generated by the eternal, why did his body need to breathe, eat, sleep, and so on? Why did it react to every variation in the physical atmosphere? In an effort to break out of the narrow framework of existence he took up yoga and applied himself to meditation. But he never lost his keen awareness of the beauty of nature.

  

Saint Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
    Daily life now flowed on the periphery, as it were, of external events. The one thing needful was to discover the purport of our appearance on this planet; to revert to the moment before creation and be merged with our original source. He continued oblivious to social and political affairs- utterly preoccupied by the thought that if man dies without the possibility of returning to the sphere of Absolute Being, then life held no meaning. Occasionally, meditation would bring respite with an illusion of some unending quietude which had been his fountain-head.

The turmoil of the post- Revolutionary period made it increasingly difficult for artists to work in Russia, and in 1921 the author started to search for ways and means of emigrating to Europe- to France, in particular, as the centre of the world for painters. En route he managed to travel through Italy, looking long at the great masterpieces of the Renaissance. After a brief stay in Berlin he finally reached Paris and flung head, heart and soul into painting. His career made a satisfactory start: the Salon d’ Automne accepted his first canvas and the Salon des Tuileries, the elite of the Salon d’ Automne, invited him to exhibit with them. But on another level all was not going as he had expected. Art began to lose its significance as a means to liberation and immortality for the spirit. Even lasting fame would be but a ludicrous caricature of genuine immortality. The finest artifact is worthless when considered against the background of infinity.

Little by little it dawned on him that pure intellection, an activity of the brain only, could not advance one far in the search for reality. Then suddenly he remembered Christ’s injunction to love God ‘with all thy heart, and with all thy mind’. This unexpected insight was as portentous as that earlier moment when the Eastern vision of a supra-personal Being had beguiled him into dismissing the Gospel message as a call to the emotions. Only that earlier moment had struck dark as a thunderclap, while now revelation illuminated like lightning. Intellection without love was not enough. Actual knowledge could only come through community of being, which meant love. And so Christ conquered: His teaching appealed to his mind with different undertones, acquired other dimensions. Prayer to the Personal God was restored to his heart- directed, first and foremost, to Christ.

  

Elder Sophrony (rear), depicted with his spiritual father, St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  
    He must decide on a new way of living. He enrolled in the then recently opened Paris Orthodox Theological Institute, in the hope of being taught how to pray, and the right attitude towards God; how to overcome one’s passions and attain divine eternity. But formal theology produced no key to the kingdom of heaven. He left Paris and made his way to Mount Athos where men seek union with God through prayer. Setting foot on the Holy Mountain, he kissed the ground and besought God to accept and further him in this new life. Next, he looked for a mentor who would help extricate him from a series of apparently insoluble problems. He threw himself into prayer as fervently as he previously had in France. It was crystal-clear that if he really wanted to know God and be with Him entirely, he must dedicate himself to just that- and still more entirely than he had to painting in the old days. Prayer became both garment and breath to him, unceasing even when he slept. Despair combined with a feeling of resurrection in his soul: despair over the peoples of earth who had forsaken God and were expiring in their ignorance. At times while praying for them he would be driven to wrestle with God as their Creator. This oscillation between the two extremes of hell on the one side and Divine Light on the other made it urgent that someone should spell out the point of what was happening to him. But another four years were to pass before the first encounter with the Staretz Silouan which he quickly recognised as the most precious gift Providence ever made to him. He would not have dared dream of a such a miracle, though he had long hungered and thirsted after a counselor who would hold out a strong hand and explain the laws of spiritual life. For eight years or so he sat at the feet of his Gamaliel, until the Staretz’ death when he begged for the blessing of the Monastery Superior and Council to depart into the ‘desert’. Soon after, the Second World War broke out, rumours of which (no actual news filtered through to the wilderness) intensified his prayer for all humanity. He would spend the night hours prone on the earth floor of his cave, imploring God to intervene in the crazy blood-path. He prayed for those who were being killed, for those who were killing, for all in torment. And he prayed that God would not allow the more evil side to win.

  

Elder Sophrony with various pilgrims to his Monastery, including Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, Metropolitan Athanasios of Lemesou, Elder Zacharias of Essex, and Elder Kirill (source)

  

During the war years the desert felt remarkably more silent and withdrawn than of wont, since the German occupation of Greece bared all traffic on the sea around the Athonite peninsula. But the author’s total seclusion ended when he was urged to become confessor and spiritual father to the brethren of the Monastery of St Paul. Staretz Silouan had predicted that he would one day be a confessor and had extorted him not to shrink from this crucial form of service to people- service which necessitates giving one-self to the supplicant, accepting him into one’s own life, sharing with him one’s deepest feelings. Before long he was called to other monasteries, and monks from the small hermitages of Athos, anchorites and solitaries turned to him. It was a difficult and heavily responsible mission but he reasoned to himself that it was his duty to try and repay the succour which he had received from his fathers in God, who had so lovingly shared with him the knowledge granted to them from on High. He could not keep their teaching to himself. He must give freely of what he had freely received. But to be a spiritual counselor is no easy task: it involves transferring to others attention hitherto destined for oneself, looking with imaginative sympathy into other hearts and minds, contending with my neighbour’s problems instead of my own.

  

Elder Sophrony as a young monk on Mount Athos (source)

  
    After four years spent in a remote spot surrounded by mountain crags and rocks, with little water and almost no vegetation, the author assented to a suggestion from the Monastery of St Paul to move into a grotto one their land. This new cave had many advantages for an anchorite-priest. There were many hermits in the desert and they tended to settle close to one another, though hidden from sight by bounders and cliffs. Here, besides being completely isolated, there was a tiny chapel, some ten feet by seven, hewn out of the rock-face. But winter was a trying time. The first downpour would flood the previously dry cave and then every day for perhaps six months he was obliged to scoop up and throw outside some hundred buckets of water soaking his cough. Only the little chapel stayed dry. There he could pray, and keep his books. Everywhere else was wet. Impossible to light a fire and warm up something to eat. In the end, after the third winter, failing health compelled him to abandon the grotto which had afforded the rare privilege of living detached from the world.

It was now that the idea came to him of writing a book about Staretz Silouan, to record the precepts which had so helped him to find his bearings in the wide expanses of the spirit by instructing him in the ways of spiritual combat. To carry out this project he would have to go back to the West- to France, where he had felt more at home than in any other country in Europe. His first intention was to stay for a year but then he found that he would need more time. Working in difficult conditions, he fell dangerously ill and a serious operation left him an invalid, causing him to lay aside all thought of returning to a desert cave on Mount Athos.

The preliminary edition of his book concerning Staretz Silouan he roneo-typed himself. A printed edition followed in 1952. Thereafter the translations began: first into English (The Undistorted Image), then German, Greek, French, Serbian, with excerpts in still other languages. The reaction of the ascetics of the Holy Mountain was of extreme importance to the author. They confirmed the book as a true reflection of the ancient traditions of Eastern monasticism, and recognised the Staretz as spiritual heir to the great Fathers of Egypt, Palestine, Sinai and other historic schools of asceticism dating back to the beginning of the Christian era.

  

Elder Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
    Archimandrite Sophrony felt convinced that Christ’s injunction, ‘keep thy mind in hell, and despair not’, was directed through Staretz Silouan to our century especially, drowned as it is in despair. (Are not the ‘perilous times’ come, ‘when men shall be lovers of their own selves…unthankful, unholy…trucebreakers, false accusers…despisers of those that are good…lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof…ever learning, and never able to come to knowledge of the truth?). He believed, too, that as Staretz had prayed for decades with such extraordinary love for the human race, entreating God to grant all mankind to know Him in the Holy Spirit, so men would love the Staretz in return. The Russian poet Pushkin claimed that no monument would be necessary to keep alive remembrance of him- his fellow countrymen would no long cherish his memory for he had sung of freedom in a cruel age, of mercy to the fallen. Had not the Staretz in his humility rendered a still nobler service to humanity? He taught us how to drive away despair, explaining what lay at the back of this terrible spiritual state. He revealed to us the Living God and His Love for the sons of Adam. He taught us how to interpret the Gospel in its eternal aspects. And for many he made the word of Christ real, part of everyday life. Above all, he restored to our souls a firm hope of blessed eternity in the Divine Light.    

Throughout the book “His Life is Mine”, Archimandrite Sophrony reflects the teaching of his spiritual father. Not all of it will be intelligible at first perusal- in fact, it is not easy reading on any reckoning. Form must be sacrificed to content when the translator is caught in the uncomfortable limbo between languages; and in a work of this kind the author is so often speaking across a semantic chasm. Few of us have any inkling of the life described in these pages. But close study will make us familiar with the Athonite ascetic’s manner of living, and then we can with profit try to apply some of the lessons learned to our own case. Grace, which is God’s gift of holiness, depends upon man’s attempt at holiness.

  

The Katholikon of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist founded by Elder Sophrony in England. Many of the icons were painted by Elder Sophrony's own hands (source)

  
    In 1959, accompanied by his disciples, he left for England, where he founded the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist. Having been a coenobitic monk and a hermit, he was now ‘a witness to the light’ (cf. John 1:7,8) at the heart of the world. In 1993, 11th July, Elder Sophrony humbly and peacefully rendered his soul to God.

[There are a number of possible reasons as to why Elder Sophrony left Mt Athos. It may have been due to his deteriorating health, or to publish St Silouan's works, or to complete his theological education; it may simply have been due to the problems of being a non-Greek on Mt Athos after the close of World War II. Nonetheless, Elder Sophrony felt compelled to move to Paris, where Balfour helped him gain a passport. The faculty of St Sergius Institute allowed Elder Sophrony to sit the examinations of the whole course and provided for his needs; however, upon his arrival, the faculty insisted that Elder Sophrony deny, by silence, the grace present in the Moscow Patriarchate. Elder Sophrony refused to do so and therefore did not reenter the Institute. Elder Sophrony settled in Russian House, an old-age home, in St Genevieve-des-Bois, where he assisted the local priest and acted as the father confessor. He had a major operation on a stomach ulcer.
  

Elder Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
The next year, Elder Sophrony produced the first mimeographed edition of Staretz Silouan on hand-roneo. Within this text, Elder Sophrony outlines St Silouan's principles of theology, and he explains many fundamental concepts, among them prayer for the whole world, God-forsakenness and the idea of all humanity being interconnected.

1950 sees Elder Sophrony working with Vladimir Lossky on the Messager de l’Exarchat du Patriarche Russe en Europe Occidentale, which he did until 1957. Lossky influenced Elder Sophrony's thought on many contemporary issues while complementing Elder Sophrony's work on Trinitarian thought and its application to the Church and humanity; however, Lossky would not talk about a deified human nature, nor about the idea of God-forsakenness in a positive view, as Elder Sophrony did.

In 1952, Elder Sophrony produced a second edition, professionally done, of Staretz Silouan, bringing much fame to both St Silouan and Elder Sophrony. Based on Lossky's criticism that he could find no theological value in the saint's works, Elder Sophrony included a theological introduction to St Silouan's writings.

By 1958, Elder Sophrony had a number of people living near him, seeking the monastic life. A property at Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England was inspected, and the next year the Community of St John the Baptist was formed at this site, under the omophorion of Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh. The monastery had both monks and nuns, something that has continued to the present, and originally had six members. In 1965, the monastery would move under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, adding the title 'Patriarchal' to its name. Later, the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated the monastery to 'Stavropegic'.
  

Elder Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
In 1973, a more complete translation of the life of St Silouan, under the title Monk of Mt Athos, was published, followed by the publication of Wisdom of Mt Athos, the writings of St Silouan. Elder Sophrony seemed to move to his own works after this, publishing His Life is Mine in 1977 and We Shall see Him As He Is in 1985. This last book, a very frank, open spiritual autobiography, was published to mixed reviews: where the West generally enjoyed the book, the Russians generally criticized it. Some of the criticism was so stinging that it, along with increasing illness, discouraged Elder Sophrony from writing again.

In 1987, the Ecumenical Patriarchate glorified St Silouan the Athonite, no doubt assisted by his fame from Elder Sophrony's works.

The monastery had been informed that the only way that it could bury people on its property was to build an underground crypt, which it proceeded to build, and to which Elder Sophrony said that he would not repose until the crypt was ready. Then, having been told of the expected completion date of July 12, Elder Sophrony stated that he "would be ready". On the 11th, Elder Sophrony reposed; and on the 14th was his funeral and burial, attended by monastics from around the world. At the time of Fr Sophrony's repose, there are 25 monastics in the monastery, a number that has remained steady since then.
  

Icons of St. Silouan the Athonite and Elder Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
Mother Elizabeth, the eldest nun, reposed soon after, on the 24th. This was in accordance with Elder Sophrony's words that he would repose first, and she would repose soon after.
On Prayer, a book containing Elder Sophrony's writings on prayer, particularly the Jesus Prayer, was published posthumously. (source)]

Today, the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist is a place where hundreds of pilgrims from all over the world are welcomed; it is not only one of the main centres from which Orthodoxy is radiated in the West, but also one of the strongest affirmations of the universality of Orthodoxy.

 

The grave of Elder Sophrony in the Monastery of St. John (source)

     
Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov (2001) (2nd ed.) His Life is Mine. Introduction. New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov (1998) Words of Life- preface. Essex: Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist.

(source)

On November 27th, 2019, Elder Sophrony was officially canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
  

Saints Sophrony of Essex and Silouan the Athonite (source)

Selected Quotes of Elder Sophrony

"No one on this earth can avoid affliction; and although the afflictions which the Lord sends are not great men imagine them beyond their strength and are crushed by them. This is because they will not humble their souls and commit themselves to the will of God. But the Lord Himself guides with His grace those who are given over to God's will, and they bear all things with fortitude for the sake of God Whom they have so loved and with Whom they are glorified for ever. It is impossible to escape tribulation in this world but the man who is giver over to the will of God bears tribulation easily, seeing it but putting his trust in the Lord, and so his tribulations pass."

  

"There are three things I cannot take in: nondogmatic faith, nonecclesiological Christianity and nonascetic Christianity. These three - the church, dogma, and asceticism - constitute one single life for me." - Letter to D. Balfour, August 21, 1945.

  

"If one rejects the Orthodox creed and the eastern ascetic experience of life in Christ, which has been acquired throughout the centuries, then Orthodox culture would be left with nothing but the Greek minor [key] and Russian tetraphony." - Letter to D. Balfour.

  

"There are known instances when Blessed Staretz Silouan in prayer beheld something remote as though it were happening close by; when he saw into someone's future, or when profound secrets of the human soul were revealed to him. There are many people still alive who can bear witness to this in their own case but he himself never aspired to it and never accorded much significance to it. His soul was totally engulfed in compassion for the world. He concentrated himself utterly on prayer for the world, and in his spiritual life prized this love above all else." -- St Silouan the Athonite, p.228.

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Additional Quotes of Elder Sophrony from his book His Life is Mine

Elder Sophrony of Essex (source)

  

"In Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit God gave us the full and final revelation of Himself.  His Being now for us is the First Reality, incomparably more evident than all the transient phenomena of this world.  We sense His divine presence both within us and without: in the supreme majesty of the universe, in the human face, in the lightning flash of thought.  He opens our eyes that we may behold and delight in the beauty of His creation.  He fill our souls with love towards all mankind.  He indescribably gentle touch pierces our heart.  And in the hours when His imperishable Light illumines our heart we know that we shall not die.  We know this with a knowledge to prove in the ordinary way, but which for us requires no proof, since the Spirit Himself bears witness within us.

"For us, Christians, Jesus Christ is the measure of all things, divine and human.  "In Him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead" (Col 2:9) and of mankind.  He is our most perfect ideal.  In Him we find the answer to al our problems, which without Him would be insoluble.  He is n truth the mystical axis of the universe.  If Christ were not the Son of God, then Salvation through the adoption of man by God the Father would be totally incomprehesible.  With Christ man steps forward into divine eternity."

(source)

  

Elder Sophrony of Essex (source)

  

"We Christians accept the wondrous gift of life with thanksgiving.  Called by Christ, we strive for the fullest possible knowledge of the Primary source of all that exists.  From our birth onwards we gradually grow and enter into possession of being.  Christ is for us "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  With Him our path lies through a great and intricate spiritual culture: we traverse cosmic chasms, more often with much suffering but not seldom win rapture as understanding increases.  For a while the growing process is bound up with our physical body; but the time soon comes when, liberated from terrestrial chains, mind and spirit can continue their progress towards the Heavenly Father.  We know  that He loves us and because of this love reveals Himself to us without limit.  It may still be only partly, but we know that in Him is our immortality; in Him we shall arrive at everlasting Truth.  He will grant us with indescribably joy of sharing in the very Act of the Divine creation of the world.  We hunger for complete unity in Him.  He is Light, Beauty, Wisdom, Love.  He gives the noblest meaning to our life and the bliss of boundless gnosis.

 

"...true contemplation begins the moment we become aware of sin in us... To apprehend sin in oneself is a spiritual act, impossible without grace, without the drawing near to us of Divine Light.The initial effect of the approach of this mysterious Light is that we see where we stand "spiritually" at the particular moment.  The first manifestations of the Uncreated Light do not allow us to experience it as light.  It shines in a secret way,  illuminating the black darkness of our inner world to disclose a spectacle that is far from joyous for us in our normal state of fallen being... We become acutely conscious of sin as a sundering from the ontological source of our being.  Our spirit is eternal but now we see ourselves as  prisoners of death.  With death waiting at the end, another thousand years of life would seem but a deceptive flash.  

 

"Live-giving faith consists in unquestionaling belief in Christ as God.   Only when Christ is accepted as perfect God and perfect Man does the plentitude of spiritual experience described by the apostles and fathers become possible.

 

"Of all approaches to God prayer is the best and in the last analysis the only means."

(source)

  

Elder Sophrony of Essex (source)

  
Elder Sophrony (+1993) of Essex, spiritual child of St Silouan the Athonite, gave this prayer to his own spiritual children, to be said ‘on rising from sleep.’ This version of the prayer is adapted from Hesychia and Theology by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, who writes, ‘If someone reads this prayer in the morning with contrition and attention, the whole day will be blessed.’
  

Prayer at Daybreak
to be said each day on rising from sleep

Eternal King without beginning, You who are before all worlds, my Maker, Who have summoned all things from non-being into this life: bless this day that You, in Your inscrutable goodness, give to me. By the power of Your blessing enable me at all times in this coming day to speak and act for You, to Your glory, in Your fear, according to Your will, with a pure spirit, with humility, patience, love, gentleness, peace, courage, wisdom and prayer, aware everywhere of Your presence.

Yes, Lord, in Your immense mercy, lead me by Your Holy Spirit into every good work and word, and grant me to walk all my life long in Your sight without stumbling, according to Your righteousness that You have revealed to us, that I may not add to my transgressions.

O Lord, great in mercy, spare me who am perishing in wickedness; do not hide Your face from me. And when my perverted will would lead me down other paths, do not forsake me, my Savior, but force me back to Your holy path.

O You Who are good, to Whom all hearts are open, You know my poverty and my foolishness, my blindness and my uselessness, but the sufferings of my soul are also before You. Wherefore I beseech You: hear me in my affliction and fill me with Your strength from above. Raise me up who am paralyzed with sin, and deliver me who am enslaved to the passions. Heal me from every hidden wound. Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit. Preserve me from every inward and outward impulse that is unpleasing in Your sight and hurtful to my brother.

I beseech You: establish me in the path of Your commandments and to my last breath do not let me stray from the light of Your ordinances, so that Your commandments may become the sole law of my being in this life and in all eternity.

O God, my God, I plead with You for many and great things: do not disregard me. Do not cast me away from Your presence because of my presumption and boldness, but by the power of Your love lead me in the path of Your will. Grant me to love You as You have commanded, with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength: with my whole being.

For You alone are the holy protection and all-powerful defender of my life, and to You I ascribe glory and offer my prayer.

Grant me to know Your truth before I depart this life. Maintain my life in this world until I may offer You true repentance. Do not take me away in the midst of my days, and when You are pleased to bring my life to an end, forewarn me of my death, so that I may prepare my soul to come before You.

Be with me then, O Lord, on my great and sacred day, and grant me the joy of Your salvation. Cleanse me from manifest and secret sins, from all iniquity hidden in me; and give me a right answer before Your dread judgment-seat.

Amen.

(source)
  
Here one can find many books written by and about Elder Sophrony.
  

Saint Sophrony of Essex (source)

 
Hymns to Saint Sophrony

Apolytikion in the First Tone. The three great lights.
O pure rose from your Mother Russia, O Father Sophrony, the protector of your British Garden of love and grace, who wisely moves those pure in heart like babes against the darkness, illumining them with fiery stylus of the Spirit, the great theologian and standing first with good deeds, teaching and writing divine and universal translations. As he is a friend of the Lord, let us honor him, as His holy disciple and Saint, that he might protect those who love him as an offering.

Kontakion in the First Tone. Your tomb, O Savior.
As a queen bee, O Father, you gave birth to the rational bees gathered around you into the honeycomb of Light, O Father, and gathered the honey of incorruption and the pure beeswax fashioned by your God, exalting the isle of Britain, O Venerable Sophrony.

Megalynarion.
O universal Father Silouan, come and teach the Truth to the people, together with Sophrony, and intercede on behalf of all and together with all the Saints of Athos.

Taken from a Greek devotional Paraklesis to Elder Sophrony here.

Icon of The Mystical Supper painted by Elder Sophrony in his Monastery in Essex (Source)

  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!