SAINT SILOUAN
AND FATHER SOPHRONY:
News in the Internet (Issue 25)
Electronic periodical bulletin
Holy Father Silouan, pray to God for us!
SERVICE TO OUR HOLY AND GOD-BEARING FATHER
SAINT SILOUAN OF MOUNT ATHOS (September 24)
SAINT SILOUAN OF MOUNT ATHOS (September 24)
VESPERS
On Lord, I have cried, Tone 6.
Rejoice, radiant assembly of monks; sanctified fathers, hasten to honor him who hath preceded you in the way of virtue, Silouan the Athonite, given by God as a model of perseverance, a light for all those who follow Christ, that they may obtain His great mercy.
Rejoice, peoples of the earth, for a luminary hath risen in these latter times, by whom God illumineth all those among you who have been immersed in despondency and in the shadow of death. It is our Father Silouan crying to all: “In the darkness of hell do not despair, but come to the light, to Christ Who granteth His great mercy to all men.”
Rejoice, all ye powers of Heaven, and welcome him who now chanteth with you the praise and glory of God: Silouan, this simple monk of the Holy Mountain, who, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, was given to our time as an apostle and prophet teaching all men by his life and writings, that they may follow Christ Who giveth us His great mercy.
Glory: in the same Tone
Holy Father Silouan, the fragrant odor of thy virtues is poured forth in the Church honoring thee this day; and the angels exult in Heaven, because thy love for God caused thee to shed abundant tears, which irrigate today the desert of human hearts burnt by despair. Thou hast followed Christ and treasured as a precious pearl His holy Name in thy heart; and the Holy Spirit, Who testified to the truth of thy salvation, enabled thee to love all men and wish that they be saved. With thee we honor and bless the Most Holy Trinity, and pray with fervor that we and all peoples of the earth may be given to recognize and honor our God and Lord through the Holy Spirit.
Both Now: Theotokion, in the same Tone
Who will not glorify thee, O Most Holy Virgin, who will not hymn thy most pure giving of birth; the Only-begotten Son, Who hath shone forth from the Father before the ages, hath come also from thee, O Pure One, unutterably incarnate, being in nature God, and having become in nature man for our sake, not divided in two persons, but made known in two Natures without fusion, to Him pray, O Pure and All-blessed one, that there may be mercy on our souls.
Aposticha, Tone 5
Come, all ye peoples of the earth and let us honor in our hymns this son of Russia, Silouan the Athonite, who undertook ascetic warfare in the fervor of the Spirit; he who felt roaring around him the flames of hell; he to whom was revealed the love of the Living Christ, because of which he prayed for you all that you would be given by the Holy Spirit to know your Lord and Creator, your Father and God, Who granteth the world His peace and great mercy.
Verse: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints.
Luminous column of virtue, fighter of the desert, companion of holy monks, protector of all those assaulted by despair, upholder of all those fighting against demons, strong support of those who fall and their recovery: strengthen by thy pleasing prayers to Christ our God those who honor with love the Holy Name above all names.
Verse: Blessed is the man who feareth the Lord, who delighteth greatly in His commandments.
Rejoice, venerable Father, who sojourneth amidst the choirs of angels in Heaven, since on earth thou hast truly been their companion, being judged worthy of the intercession of the Mother of God. Thou didst contemplate through thy fleshly eyes the Living Christ; then, being inflamed with divine love, thou didst submit thyself to the radiant grace of the Holy Spirit, which led thee above the snares and gloomy abysses in the way of blessed felicity; and before tasting death thou didst contemplate the glory of God.
Glory: Tone 8
We venerate thee, Silouan our holy Father, for thou hast taught a multitude of monks, and we have learned to walk in thy straight path. Blessed art thou in thy labors for Christ and in thy victory over the enemy; O friend of angels and companion of the saints on high, with them pray to Christ our God that our souls may be saved.
Both Now: Theotokion in the same Tone
O Virgin unwedded, O Mother of God on high, thou hast ineffably conceived God in the flesh, and being beyond reproach, thou hast granted all purification of our transgression. Accept the supplications of thy servants, and do thou who now receivest our entreaties, pray for us all to be saved.
Troparion, Tone 4
By thy prayers thou didst receive Christ as thy Master on the path of humility; and in thy heart the Holy Spirit witnessed unto thy salvation. For this cause all people called to live in hope are now rejoicing and celebrating thy memory. O holy Father Silouan, pray to Christ to save our souls.
MATINS
CANON TO SAINT SILOUAN
CANON TO SAINT SILOUAN
(Acrostic in the original French service: “Let us bow to Silouan, our blessed Father.”)
Tone 8
CANTICLE I
CANTICLE I
Irmos: LET US SING TO THE LORD WHO LED HIS PEOPLE THROUGH THE RED SEA, FOR HE ALONE IS GLORIOUSLY GLORIFIED.
Refrain: Holy Father Silouan, pray to God for us.
Without help and tears, how can I sing to thee holy Father Silouan, with unclean lips my song of admiration.
With love thou didst follow thy Lord and sail upon the sea to come to the Holy Mountain, to exercise thyself in ascetic labors.
There, thou didst confess all thy sins and abandon thyself to the joy of being forgiven, but immediately the enemy assaulted thee.
Theotokion: Out of His mercy to save me the Word of God hath willed in His goodness to become incarnate, O Virgin Mother, in thy womb.
CANTICLE III
Irmos: THOU ART THE STRENGTH OF THOSE WHO FLEE TO THEE, O LORD, THOU ART THE LIGHT OF THOSE IN DARKNESS, AND MY SPIRIT SINGS OF THEE.
Removing from thy flesh the arrows of demons, thou didst victoriously resist their assaults, acting according to the movement of the Spirit.
None has ever fought like thee, surrounded as thou wast by dark despair, but the Christ of light enveloped thee.
Under the rain of thy tears, thou didst put out the burning flame of passions, and thou didst become a river overflowing with the grace of the Spirit.
Theotokion: Under thy protection I do not fear, pure Virgin, the assault of the enemies. Being strong through thy help, I put to flight their legions.
CANTICLE IV
Irmos: I HAVE HEARD, O LORD, THE MYSTERY OF THY PLAN. I CONTEMPLATE THY WORKS, AND GLORIFY THY DIVINE NATURE.
Illuminated by a burst of contemplation and action, blessed Father, thy heart hath become a pure dwelling of the Spirit.
Love of thy brethren invadeth thy soul, O holy Father, and thy compassion hath spread unto all creation.
Forgetting this earth thou hast elevated thy spirit towards Heaven and endured, venerable Father, the burns of asceticism as divine dew.
Theotokion: A Virgin hath given birth to one of the Holy Trinity, and this mystery hath been revealed to the pure hearted and to little ones.
CANTICLE V
Irmos: RISING EARLY, WE CRY TO THEE, O LORD: SAVE US, FOR THOU ART OUR GOD, AND WE KNOW NO OTHER THAN THEE.
Star among monks, thou hast reached the zenith of temperance. Venerable Father, thou hast appeared pouring on our souls the brilliance of thy purity.
We call thee blessed, venerable Silouan, for, having ascended on the chariot of virtue, thou hast attained unto the farthest reaches of Heaven.
Inflamed by the burning coal of thine impassible heart in ashes, blessed Father, thou hast transformed the dry wood of passions.
Theotokion: We sing to thee, Holy Mother of God, Virgin even after giving birth. On behalf of the world thou truly gavest birth in the flesh to the Divine Word.
CANTICLE VI
Irmos: I WILL POUR OUT MY PRAYER TO THE LORD, AND TO HIM I WILL CONFESS MY GRIEF; FOR MY SOUL IS FULL OF EVIL AND MY LIFE HAS DRAWN NEAR TO HELL, AND LIKE JONAH I WILL PRAY: RAISE ME UP FROM CORRUPTION, O GOD.
O Father, guide me towards the haven of salvation. The drabness of pleasures and the darkness of sin have encircled me. In the light of the Spirit, pour forth thy brightness on my whole being.
Thy prayer was confident: immediately the storm did stop, the hostile sea grew still, anguish departed from human hearts, and men gave thanks to God for what He granteth unto sinners.
Fill the hearts of those singing to thee, through the stream of thine unceasing prayer, which thou thyself didst receive by unutterable grace from the Mother of God, having become her faithful servant.
Theotokion: Chosen from all eternity, thee we acknowledge as the Ark of holiness, the mercy seat that none has ever touched, the golden candlestand, the living table that hath carried, O Virgin, the bread of our life.
Kontakion, Tone 8
During thy life on earth thou didst serve Christ, following His path and now in Heaven thou dost contemplate Him Whom thou hast loved; dwelling with Him as He promised to His elect, O holy Father Silouan, instruct us in the way that thou hast gone.
Ikos
Thou wast contemplating the icon; and, O marvel, the Living Christ was standing before thee, while thy whole being was covered by the grace of the Spirit. In Him thou didst recognize thy Lord and Savior, and henceforth thou didst strive to walk in His footsteps. Having followed Him thou becamest for all peoples an apostle and prophet, teaching hope and salvation in Christ to all those who follow the way that thou hast gone.
Synaxarion
On this day we celebrate the memory of our venerable Father Silouan the Athonite.
Having followed Christ Whom he kept in his heart,
Silouan the Athonite carried the victory.
He was raised on the twenty-fourth to celestial heights,
By Him Who preserves all men from despair.
CANTICLE VII
Irmos: IN THE FURNACE, THE YOUNG MEN TRAMPLED ON THE FLAMES WITH ARDOR, AND THE FIRE WAS CHANGED INTO A REFRESHING DEW AS THEY CRIED OUT, “O LORD OUR GOD, BLESSED ART THOU THROUGHOUT THE AGES!”
Purified from the stain of passions, shimmering in the brightness of the Spirit, to the immaterial Light thou hast truly gone, blessed Father, in the choirs of ascetics throughout the ages.
Surrounded by the flames of hell roaring against thee, thou didst look to the Lord, Who heard thy voice, O venerable Father, crying: “O Lord our God, blessed art Thou.”
Radiating light, Christ appeared to thee and showed thee the way of eternal blessedness, and in contrition thou didst cry out: “O Lord our God, blessed art thou.”
Theotokion: She is the Virgin who Isaiah, the great prophet, hath indicated in the Spirit and, behold, in her flesh she hath conceived and given birth to God, to Whom we sing: “O Lord our God, blessed art Thou.”
CANTICLE VIII
Irmos: IN HIS WRATH AGAINST THE SERVANTS OF GOD, THE TYRANT OF THE CHALDEANS HAD HIS FURNACE STOKED SEVEN TIMES. BUT SEEING THEM SAVED BY A BETTER POWER HE CRIED: “O YE CHILDREN BLESS YOUR CREATOR AND REDEEMER, YE PRIESTS PRAISE HIM, YE PEOPLES EXALT HIM THROUGHOUT ALL AGES!”
Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord! On this day is exalted Silouan the faithful servant, who loved all creation and cried out: “Come, ye peoples, to the knowledge of your Lord, love Him and serve Him; ye peoples exalt Him throughout all ages!”
Having kept thy mind in hell without despairing, thou hast received the unction of the Spirit as fresh dew. To all men thou dost cry out: “Come, recognize Christ your Savior, your Benefactor; ye priests praise Him, ye peoples exalt Him throughout all ages!”
No one has ever known God without having loved His enemies, thou didst say, O blessed Father, calling thy brothers to observe the commandments of Christ Who forgave His enemies on the Cross: therefore, O ye priests praise Him, ye peoples exalt Him throughout all ages.
Theotokion: Enlighten my darkened mind, O thou who hast conceived and given birth to the Creator of the human race, Who hath become man without being separated from the Father, the sinless Sovereign. For Him the entire creation crieth out: “O ye children bless, ye priests praise, ye peoples exalt Christ throughout all ages!”
CANTICLE IX
Irmos: EVERY EAR WAS ASTONISHED AT THE INEFFABLE CONDESCENSION OF GOD; FOR THE MOST HIGH WILLED TO COME DOWN UNTO A BODY AND BECAME MAN IN A VIRGINAL WOMB. ALL WE THE FAITHFUL MAGNIFY THEE, O PURE MOTHER OF GOD.
Magnify, O my soul, Silouan who hath found the source of all good and the accomplishment of his desire, wherein resounds praise and festivity, delighting in the heavenly habitations.
By the sweat of thy brow, by thy sorrows, thou hast procured for us the sweetness of thy help; and thou hast driven away the bitterness of our passions. Thy relics burst forth with healings for us, purifying our souls of the gangrene of evil.
Royally Christ hath crowned thee, for thou hast conquered the prince of this world and his armies. In the choir of holy monks thou art counted: with them intercede before Christ that He deliver from trials those who honor thee, O holy Father.
Theotokion: As the dawn drives away the darkness, thou hast put an end, O divine Bride, to the ancestral curse, having given birth to the Infinite within the limits of the flesh; thou hast renewed nature and its laws and reunited by a marvellous mediation that which of old had been separated.
Exapostilarion, Tone 3
Desiring to live an angelic life, thou didst withdraw on the Holy Mountain; and thou didst serve thy brothers and wast watchful in prayer, having subdued the passions of the flesh; therefore, thou didst become, O Father, like the angels.
Lauds, 4 stichera, Tone 4
Silouan, venerable Father, having taken on thy shoulders the yoke of Christ, thou didst follow Him on the Holy Mountain, exhausting thy body by ascetic labors and keeping prayer deep in thine heart. O boast of the ascetics and joy of all the monks, we sing to thee and honor thee in faith.
Silouan, venerable Father, thou wast like a marvellous plant in the Garden of the Mother of God, the Most Pure One Who deigned to impart in thy heart unceasing Prayer as a rich sap that vivifies all lovers of the Holy Name of Jesus. In irrigating by thy tears the earth dried up by passions, in nurturing in thyself all the virtues in humility, and in not fearing the impetuous storms of demons, thou hast flourished beneath the Sun of Righteousness, Christ, and thou wast not shaken by the enlivening breath of the Spirit. Thou hast produced fruits in abundance: therefore we celebrate thee with love.
Assembled in faith we honor thee, Silouan, as an ascetic of Christ; and we believe that in truth He appeared to thee as thou wast standing before His holy Icon, smitten by despondency which drove thee to say: “God is inexorable!” But He showed thee in the Holy Spirit His mercy and an assurance of thy salvation. Pray, O blessed one, Him Whom thou didst recognize then as thy Savior and Lord, to grant salvation to those who sing thy name.
O holy Father Silouan, thou hast been a tree growing in the vast sylvan abodes of all the monks of the Holy Mountain, and thou hast bowed under the breath of the Holy Spirit which filled thy life with knowledge and love of Christ our God. Intercede before Him that He may grant to our souls the radiant grace of His Spirit, and that He may have mercy on those who sing to thee.
Glory: Tone 6
Venerable Father, thou hast prayed for all the people of the earth, who on this day have heard the renown of thy righteous deeds, through which thou hast found in Heaven the reward of thy labors. Thou hast endured the assaults of the demons, taking pity on them; and now thou hast joined the choirs of the angels, having imitated their pure life. In the boldness thou now hast before Christ our God, ask of Him peace for our souls.
Both now: Theotokion, in the same Tone
Rejoice, radiant candlestick, more brilliant than the rays of the sun; rejoice, pure Sovereign Lady, who hath delivered us from the ancient curse. Thou art the hope of the hopeless, summoning to God the human race. Rejoice, brilliant palace of the Great King, fertile mountain from which came the Redeemer; rejoice divine and beautiful lamp of the Word of God; rejoice, all luminous lantern and throne of fire.
(Translated from the French by Fr. Nicholas Giroux)
1. Sylvanus is the Latin form of the name Silouan.
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