Saint Silouan the Athonite
THE YOUTHFUL YEARS
When young Simeon was 4 years old, his father hosted a man in their home. This man sold books and seemed very well educated. Their conversations were very interesting. Among other things, Simeon heard him mentioning religion. He argued that God does not exist and that Christ is not His one and only Son. The stranger asked, "Where is this God of yours?" and young Simeon thought: "When I grow up, I will go around the world to search for the Lord." When the man left the house, Simeon complained to his father, who threw away from the little boy's soul every doubt.
As he grew older he showed special devotion to the Lord, prayed tirelessly, wept and felt the desire for the monastic life growing within him. He began to beg his father to let him go to the Lavra of the Caves in Kiev. However, his father wouldn’t permit that: "First you will complete your military service and then you will be free to go."
He became a handsome, brave and strong young man. He worked as a farmer and often consumed large amounts of alcohol. Despite that, the intervention of the Virgin Mary herself and of Jesus Christ never let him abandon his pious nature. As a soldier, he was always loved by everyone. Indeed, as he used to say:
"I am thinking: we are now sitting in a tavern, eating, drinking vodka, listening to music and having fun, and in Athos they are awake. They will pray all night long. Who will give a better answer to the Lord when the final Judgment comes, them or us?"
His mind never left God. He was always sending donations to the monasteries of Athos and, after completing his military service, he asked Saint John of Kronstadt to bless him in order to become a monk. In the letter he left to Saint John he wrote:
"Father, I want to become a monk - pray that the world does not delay me".
Returning to Saint Petersburg, he felt for the first time that "the fire of hell raged around him". He returned home for a week and then retired to Mount Athos.
THE ARRIVAL ON MOUNT ATHOS
Simeon arrived on Mount Athos in the autumn of 1892, where he began his ascetic life in the Holy Monastery of Saint Panteleimon. According to Mount Athos’ traditions, as a new novice, Simeon had to spend a few days in complete rest, remember the sins of his previous secular life and then write them down in order to confess them. In his confession, the elder Simeon wished to be relieved of the heavy burden, wished to confess all the deeds of his life and begin in peace his monastic ascetic life.
As a monk he prayed unceasingly, either alone in his cell or participating in the services. He fasted, took communion, read and obeyed. There had passed three weeks, when one evening, the elder Simeon, while praying in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary, he felt the prayer entering his heart. He then began to pray without ceasing day and night.
DEMONIC ATTACKS AND THE APPEARANCE OF JESUS CHRIST
As the months passed, the evil attacks and temptations became more and more frequent to the old man. He was experiencing an abandonment from God and his fortitude was shaken. That evening, during the service in the church of Prophet Elijah, the old man saw Jesus Christ in the flesh. He was standing to the right of the Beautiful Gate, in front of the icon of the Savior. He appeared to the young novice, filling him with light and with the grace of the Holy Spirit. This appearance of the Lord was a milestone in the life of the Saint.
Archimandrite Sophronius (Sakharov) writes about Saint Silouan the Athonite the following:
"In his effort to maintain the grace given to him by Jesus Christ, Saint Silouan reached measures that for other people seem unbearable and cruel. One might even get the impression that this kind of ruthlessness towards himself looks like a perversion of Christianity. But this is not the case. The soul that has known God, that has been lifted up in contemplation of the eternal light of the world, and then has lost that grace, is in a state that cannot be grasped by one who has not experienced it. The grief of the soul is unbearable; it experiences a peculiar metaphysical pain. For a man who has seen the light of primordial existence, who has experienced wholeness, the joy and unspeakable sweetness of God's love, there is nothing else in this world that tempts him. In a sense, earthly life becomes for him a burden, without joy. He seeks again the life which he has been given the opportunity to experience."
Fifteen years after the Lord's appearance to Saint Silouan, the following event occurred. One night, when Saint Silouan used to fight demons, when his sincere prayer was escaping human limits, the old man got up to do penance. He then saw that the demon himself had appeared before him, expecting the saint to bow to him as well. The saint asked the Lord for help to enlighten him and give him a prayer capable of making the demons disappear. The Lord's answer was not long in coming. The voice echoed in the soul of the Saint: "Keep your mind in hell, and do not despair."
SAINT SILOUAN SEEKING THE LIGHT
After the first appearance of the Lord to Saint Silouan the Athonite, his soul was filled with a mysterious light. When this light disappeared, the monk began to be tormented by thoughts of how to bring it back.
Through sincere prayer the believer is initiated into the greatest mysteries of the spirit. By lowering his mind to the heart, he begins to extend beyond the limits of his physical and material existence. He converses with his soul, with his spirit, and discovers that the eschatological destiny of men is no longer alien to him; it seems inseparable from his own personal existence.
MEMORIES OF SAINT SILOUAN THE ATHONITE
As Archimandrite Sophronius describes, Saint Silouan had a dynamic and austere appearance. His gaze was calm, but it showed off his strong personality, deep knowledge of truth and certainty of faith. He inspired peace and goodness.
As far as his education was concerned, Saint Silouan the Athonite did not know much. He had attended only two grades of school. However he read tirelessly and followed with attention what was said during the night services.
When Saint Silouan was decided to take care of the financial affairs of the monastery, he returned from the abbot to his cell and prayed that God would help him to fulfill the demanding job he was asked to do. After a long prayer, the Lord's answer sounded silently in his soul: "Keep the grace given to you." Then Elder Silouan realized that keeping grace is more important and valuable than anything else in the world.
Elder Silouanos rested in peace on September 24, 1938. In 1987 the Patriarchate of Constantinople announced him as a Saint of our church.
