This fiery path was not short. For fifteen years Father Silouan continued to weep in his heart, suffering as the grace of God was weakened by the swings of changing human nature. This continued until he gained the power to ward off what had previously struck him hard with a single movement of his mind, not expressed outwardly.
SOLITUDE ON THE OLD MOUNTAIN RUSIK
As the visitations of grace grew in strength and duration, Silouan’s gratitude to God also grew in his soul: "O Lord, how can I thank You for this new, inscrutable mercy; to the ignorant and to the sinner You are revealing Your mysteries. The world is perishing in the fetters of despair, and to me, the last and worst of all, You reveal Eternal Life. Lord, I cannot keep this to myself, let the whole world know You."
Gradually his prayer becomes filled with sorrow for the world that does not know God. "To pray for people is to shed blood," the Elder, taught by the Holy Spirit to love Christ, once said. "The world is still standing through prayer. When prayer falters, THE WORLD WILL PERISH." Seeking for silence and solitude, he besought his Egoumenos (Abbot) to give him a blessing to go to the Old Rusic hermitage (Stary Rusik).
This hermitage is located in the mountains, about 250 meters above sea level, East of the Monastery and within an hour and ten minutes’ walk. The fasting discipline there was stricter than in the monastery. This place was deserted and silent, which is why the monks desiring more solitude for the "NOETIC DOING" of the JESUS PRAYER sought to go there. In the southeast of the fraternal house there still stands the now dilapidated KALIVA (hut) built by Saint Silouan. It is a simple hut, now called "THE MONK’S HUT" by the Athonite monks.
According to the accounts of the Venerable’s disciple, Father Sophrony (Sakharov), Saint Silouan spent his time on Athos not only in prayer, but also "mowing hay, chopping trees, and preparing firewood for the winter." In the short breaks between prayers and obedience, the Geronda (Elder) looked at the clouds, the sea, the mountains, the forest and any single tree with a great sense of beauty. He stopped to contemplate the visible beauty and the word of God in it.
One of the peculiarities of monastic prayer on the Holy Mountain is the Vigil in the second half of the night and vigilant all-night prayer on the most important feast days. Venerable Silouan was physically strong and slept intermittently from an hour and a half to two hours a day. In 1911 he was tonsured into THE GREAT SCHEMA. The Great Schema is the highest rank of monasticism and the final state of a monk’s spiritual development. It is also a distinctive vestment worn only by the highest degree of monastics in Orthodox Christianity, emblematic of their monastic habit. Each successive grade is given a portion of the habit, the full habit being worn only by those in the highest grade.
Since ancient times Monks have spoken of the Great Schema as the culmination of Monkhood, wherein the Monk loves God with a perfect love in accordance with the Holy Gospel command, WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND [Matthew 22:37].
It is not known how long he stayed in the Old Rusik and when, with the blessing of his Geronda, he returned to the coenobitic monastery. Here the Venerable Silouan was entrusted with the duties of the monastery steward. There were about 200 monks under his command. He was a man of remarkably soft heart, tender love, extraordinary sensitivity and responsiveness to all sorrow and suffering. After going around the workshops, the Geronda (Elder) would go to his cell to weep "FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD." The constant, deep spiritual weeping of his heart, aching for his workers, was growing to Adam’s lament for the whole perishing world. "The Lord has pity on everyone," the Venerable once said, filled with the Spirit of Christ.
To the north of the Transfiguration building there were houses with cells occupied by the brethren working in the tannery, locksmith, blacksmith and other worksh41ops located there. Itis believed that Saint Silouan also lived here, on the second floor. Ater the 1930’s and until his death, the Geronda worked in the monastery food store.
Atter the Revolution of 1917 (especially in the 1920’s and 1930’s) the Monastery experienced significant financial difficulties. However, it was at this time that a remarkable spiritual flower blossomed in the monastery – the Venerable Silouan, who ascended to the height of dispassion and pure love of God and neighbor. In 1930, Saint Silouan met the 34-year old monk Sophrony (Sakharov) and became his Spiritual Father and confidant. In 1932 Father Sophrony became a hierodeacon, and in 1941 a hieromonk. Before his death, Venerable Siluan passed on to Father Sophrony his writings, which became the basis of Father Sophrony’s most famous work, the book titled Saint Silouan the Athonite.
The book Saint Silouan the Athonite in many respects contributed to the glorification of the Venerable Silouan of Athos in 1987-1988. Despite the small amount of information about the Saint’s visible life, Father Sophrony was able to portray the spiritual image of the Elder Siluan, a theologian as a witness for God and a "knower of God."
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Elder Siluan reposed at 2 A.M. on September 24, 1938 in the Monastery hospital. After the peaceful death of Saint Silouan, miracles began to occur from his holy relics. The modern-day Saint, Elder Siluan, sometimes called "THE OLIVE BRANCH FROM THE ROOT OF THE RUSSIAN LAND," was glorified as a Venerable fifty years after his death. One can venerate the holy relics of the Saint to the intercession Church of the Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos. September 24, the day of the Saint’s repose, is now celebrated at Saint Panteleimon Monastery as a PANIGIRI (celebration) (one of the monastery’s main feasts). A solemn all-night vigil is performed, lasting about 10 hours.
A prayer to Saint Silouan:
O Venerable Father Silouan, now you live in heaven and see the
Lord, whom your soul has come to love while you were still on
earth. We ask you to pray for us, so that we too may love the
Lord and bring repentance, in which He is pleased. Amen.
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 