Saint Silouan the Athonite Archives

The Third Wednesday of Great Lent: Saint Silouan, the Great Spiritual Figure of the 20th Century

04/03/2024

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on September 25, 2021 Alexandros Christodoulou Saint Silouan the Athonite Saint Siouan- Symeon Ivanovich Antonov, before his tonsure- was born in 1866 into a peasant family in the Tambov region of Russia. From the age of four he began wondering: ‘Where is this God? When I grow up, I’ll travel the whole world looking for Him’. When he was a little bit older he heard about the life of a holy

The Radical Nature of Christianity (2)

06/14/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on March 2, 2022 George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The rejection of Christ, but also his acceptance by many, is an enduring phenomenon which can be seen in our own age, too. He himself said to his disciples: ‘If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they have obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also’ (Jn. 15, 20). The world in general

The Non-Orthodox

01/27/2021

What about people who are not Orthodox? By Abbot Tryphon, November 11, 2019 It is always a pity when people who claim to be Orthodox make judgements against fellow Christians. In the tradition of Orthodoxy, wherever we find beauty and truth, it is of God, and it is our calling, as Orthodox Christians, to rejoice when we see others have at least some portion of the Truth. Slamming others for what they do not have,

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part X

07/13/2015

By Harry Boosalis Before concluding, there is one final, yet very important point which makes St. Silouan’s teaching so relevant for today. And this is the special emphasis he places on the theme of depression and despair within the spiritual struggle. Interestingly enough, this warning against the danger of depression and despair was written probably around the early 1930s. As Orthodox believers, we must be fully aware of the many dangers that await us as

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part IX

07/06/2015

By Harry Boosalis The passion of pride seduced even Lucifer, who was created as the greatest and most glorious angel. Pride is thus the primordial cause of the fall of creation. Infiltrating even unto the heights of the angelic hosts, pride remains the main cause of man’s sin and his separation from God. It is pride and pride alone that transformed Lucifer into Satan. St. John Climacus mentions that a proud man needs no demon;

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VIII

07/01/2015

By Harry Boosalis Be assured that troubling and sinful thoughts will assail everyone making any sort of spiritual progress—especially if there is any progress in prayer—and this is even more true the further one advances. The important point is not to become dejected, and not to allow these troubling thoughts to destroy our inner peace, and thus hinder our pursuit of prayer. St. Silouan teaches, “Should an intrusive thought approach, there is no cause to

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VII

06/22/2015

By Harry Boosalis Saint Silouan offers another very practical point of advice that is most relevant for those of us struggling in contemporary society. As regards his entire teaching, this advice is directed not only toward monks, but in general to all believers who are striving to progress in prayer. He warns against the danger of outside thoughts that come from excessive reading of newspapers and ‘shoddy’ books, as well as being ‘curious to know

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VI

06/15/2015

By Harry Boosalis One of the more crucial components of our spiritual life is proper training in the development of good spiritual habits. Habit is a second nature. This is why it is imperative that we train ourselves in the ways of spiritual warfare. Saint Silouan writes, “Train yourself to cut off an intrusive thought immediately … Be at pains over this, so that you acquire the habit. The soul is a creature of habit:

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part V

06/08/2015

By Harry Boosalis Logismoi, or these ‘evil thoughts’, may be manipulated to stir up anxiety and anger aimed against those people with whom we are closest. This often includes friends, relatives, fellow members of a parish community, as well as those with whom we are sacramentally linked or have spiritual bonds—even our own clergy and others who work for the Church. Whether well founded or not—and usually they are not—these logismoi can end up as passions of

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part IV

06/02/2015

By Harry Boosalis According to St. Silouan, and our entire Orthodox tradition, spiritual life entails spiritual warfare. This is a primary point that we must fully acknowledge and accept as we strive to live our lives in Christ. For the majority of believers, this spiritual warfare refers primarily to the encounter with evil thoughts. For example, St. Philotheos of Mount Sinai teaches, “It is by means of thoughts that the spirits of evil wage a

Archive

The Third Wednesday of Great Lent: Saint Silouan, the Great Spiritual Figure of the 20th Century

The Radical Nature of Christianity (2)

The Non-Orthodox

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part X

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part IX

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VIII

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VII

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VI

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part V

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part IV

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