"Keep your mind in Hell and despair not"
St. Silouan, was born in 1866, of
devout parents who came from the village of Sovsk in the Tambov
region. At the age
of twenty-seven he received the prayers of St. John of
Kronstadt and went to Mt. Athos where he became a monk at the
Russian monastery St. Panteleimon. He received from the
Holy Theotokos the gift of unceasing prayer, and was given the
vision our Lord Jesus Christ, in glory, in the church of
the holy Prophet Elijah adjoining the mill of the monastery. After the
withdrawal of that first grace, he was oppressed by profound
grief and great temptations for fifteen years, after which he
received from Christ the teaching, "Keep thy mind in hell, and
despair not." He fell asleep in the Lord
on September 24, 1938
Saint Silouan Writings:
On the Will of God and Freedom
A short
internet page cannot contain the whole life of such an
enlightening holy man as St. Silouan the Athonite. For a full
understanding of his life and teaching I highly recommend the
books
"Saint Silouan the Athonite" by Archimandrite
Sophrony Sakharov and published by the monastery of St. John the
Baptist, Tollefhunt Knight Essex (ISBN 0 951 2786 8 1) or two
shorter books by the same author "The Monk of Mount
Athos" and the "Wisdom of Mount Athos"
and "The Monk of Mount Athos" both published
by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press
On the Net:
Saint Silouan Pages - Continually updated
On the Love of Enemies by Jean Claude Larchet
But I say to you love your enemies also by Jean Claude Larchet