Saint Silouan the Athonite

Silouan the Athonite (Russian: Силуан Афонский) also sometimes referred to as Silouan of Athos, Saint Silvanus the Athonite or Staretz Silouan (January 17, 1866 – September 24, 1938) was an Eastern Orthodox monk of Russian origin, born Simeon Ivanovich Antonov 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) (aka Saint Sophrony the Athonite, Saint Sophrony of Essex) in his classic book Saint Silouan the Athonite. He was born 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 St. John of Sezenovski. At the age of twenty-seven, 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. According to residents, archeologists and pilgrims of Mount Athos, Silouan liked to pray on an oblong roadside stone, which has since been nicknamed “St. Silouan's Bench“. This stone lies on the side of the mountain path to this day. The first “obedience” of Silouan was to work at the mill.