Saint Theophan the Recluse

Theophan the Recluse (Russian: Феофан Затворник, romanized: Feofan Zatvornik), also known as Theophanes the Recluse or the Enlightener Theophan the Recluse of Vysha (Russian: святитель Феофан Затворник Вышенский; January 10, 1815 – January 6, 1894), was a Russian Orthodox bishop and theologian, recognized as a saint in 1988. Born as Georgy Vasilievich Govorov, he became a monk in 1841, taking the name Theophan. He is best known through the books and letters he wrote concerning spiritual life, especially on the subjects of the Christian life and the training of youth in the faith. He also played an important role in translating the Philokalia from Church Slavonic into Russian. The Philokalia is a classic of Orthodox spirituality, composed of the collected works of a number of Church Fathers which were edited and placed in a four volume set in the 17th and 18th centuries. In his works, a persistent theme was developing an interior life of continuous prayer and learning to "pray without ceasing" as St. Paul teaches in his first letter to the Thessalonians. He was born on January 10, 1815, as Georgy Vasilievich Govorov (Russian: Георгий Васильевич Говоров), in the village of Chernavsk, in the Oryol Governorate of the Russian Empire. His father was a Russian Orthodox priest. In 1823, he was sent to study at the Theological College in Livny. The moral and spiritual beliefs in the school was favorable to him. In 1829, Govorov was found among the best students and was transferred to the Oryol Theological Seminary. At the time, Archimandrite Isidore (Nikolsky) was the rector of the seminary, the philosophical sciences were taught by Evfimy Ostromyslensky and the literature teacher was Hieromonk Platon (Gorodetsky), later Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia. He found success in his studies, and he began to consciously work on himself. Already at this time, his characteristic feature was a love of seclusion.