Small icon (lithograph) of Saint Silouan the Athonite, on hard MDF with matte varnish.
Dimensions: 7 x 12 cm.
Brief life of Saint Silouan the Athonite
Saint Silouan the Athonite was a modern Russian monk who spent most of his life on Mount Athos and became renowned for his profound humility, simplicity and unceasing prayer. He was born in Russia in 1866 and was given the name Simeon Antonov at baptism. As a young man, he worked as a carpenter, yet from an early age he possessed a deep love for God and a sincere desire for the spiritual life. In 1892, he traveled to the Holy Mountain of Athos and entered the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon, where he remained for nearly the rest of his life as a monk. Both within the monastery and during periods of solitary ascetic practice, he devoted himself to prayer, fasting and humility, engaging in a lifelong spiritual struggle to draw closer to God.
Saint Silouan taught that true Christian life is founded upon humility and unwavering hope in God's mercy. He is especially remembered for his counsel that a person should remain humble and never fall into despair, even in the midst of the greatest trials. His spiritual wisdom, born of deep personal experience, continues to inspire Orthodox Christians throughout the world. His life and teachings became widely known through the writings of his spiritual disciple, Archimandrite Sophrony, who lived alongside him and faithfully recorded his spiritual experiences in the book Saint Silouan the Athonite. Through this work, Saint Silouan's teachings reached the entire Orthodox world and have since become a treasured part of modern Orthodox spiritual literature.
Saint Silouan reposed in the Lord on Mount Athos in 1938 and was glorified by the Orthodox Church in 1987. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on September 24.
