Saint Sophrony (Sakharov)

Holy Schema-Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) (1896-1993) of Essex

Sophrony may be spelt Sofrony, Sophroniy, Sophronios, Sophronius.

Sakharov may be spelt Sacharov.

Starets may be spelt staretz.

Early life of Sergei Symeonovich Sakharov

On 23 September, 1896, Sergei Symeonovich Sakharov was born to Orthodox Christian parents, in Moscow, in the Russian Empire. His father Symeon Sakharov was a merchant.

His nanny, Catherine, was a person of deep and strong prayer. She prayed for a long time in the Temple, and little Sergei sat sometimes at her feet. In such an environment, he simply and naturally prayed. During the first years of his life Sergei was very weak and frequently ill ; but gradually, under the influence of walks with the nanny and prayers, his health began to improve.

As a child, Sergei would pray daily. He later recalled that he would pray for 45 minutes without stress. Even as a child, Sergei experienced the Uncreated Light. Thus, Sergei was raised naturally in the Orthodox Christian Faith, and his very perceptive mind already grappled with large theological questions.

Prayer accompanied Sergei until he was 17 or 18 years old.

At about this time, he became interested in painting, and many people noted his talent as an artist. During this period, without rejecting Christianity, he also became interested in mystical literature (writings about prayer and spiritual experience). He read widely, including the works of such great Russian writers as F Dostoyevsky, N Gogol, A Pushkin, L Tolstoy, and I Turgenev, In this context, he was searching with longing "to penetrate to the heart of divine eternity through contemplation of the visible world". In some ways, this was akin to the method of Aristotle's philosophical inquiry in his study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language (the general framework of philosophy in general).

Sergei Symeonovich fulfilled his compulsory military service as an "ober-officer" (lieutenant) in an engineering corps, into the beginning of World War I.

Higher Education, early world experience

Because of his substantial artistic gifts, Sergei studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg between 1915 and 1917. In this particular environment, and in the context of the quest of his heart, his encounter with the philosophies of Indian culture brought about a change in the tone of his heart. He slipped into the enticing perception that the oriental mysticism of Hinduism and Buddhism were more profound than Christianity. In this intellectual context, he misunderstood the teaching of the Holy Gospels about loving God above all, and he dismissed love as being an appeal to the emotions. He then began to stray away from the Orthodox Faith of his youth.

During 1917, the 2 revolutions took place in Saint Petersburg. The turmoil that followed spread throughout the territory of the former Russian Empire in the form of a civil war which persisted from 1917 until 1923.

Early on, Sergei was

 possessed by an urgent longing to penetrate to the heart of divine eternity through 
 contemplation of the visible world.  This craving, like a flame in the heart, 
 irradiated his student days at the State School of Fine Arts in Moscow.  

From 1920-1921, he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. At that time, his thought moved farther towards oriental mysticism. He accepted the mistaken idea that Christianity's focus on loving and being loved by the Personal God was necessarily limited. Following this misperception, he delved into Indian mystical religions (Hindu and Buddhist) that are based on the “impersonal absolute” (that is, a non-personal ultimate reality). This delving lasted for 7-8 years. In fact, both Hinduism and Buddhism are perhaps more accurately described as being philosophies. Interest in them was quite wide-spread and fashionable in educational institutions and amongst intellectuals and the ruling social elite in Europe and North America at that time.

In his studio in the garret of a tall house in a quiet part of Moscow,

 he would labour for hours on end, straining every nerve to depict his subject 
 dispassionately, to convey its temporal significance, yet at the same time 
 to use it as a spring-board for exploring the infinite.  

Sergei used art (as he later wrote) as a "quasi-mystical" means "to discover eternal beauty", "breaking through present reality [...] into new horizons of being".

He struggled with the question : "If life was generated by the eternal, why did his body need to breathe, eat, sleep, and so on ? Why did it react to every variation in the physical atmosphere ?" He then took up the practice of yoga and its meditative methods. He wished to discover the meaning of human appearance on the earth, and to become united to the original source of life. In fact, without the possibility of returning to unity with the Absolute Source, there was no meaning to life for him at that time.

It was also during this time that Sergei Symeonovich survived 2 arrests by the Soviet Secret Police, the “Cheka”, and incarceration in the prison in their headquarters, the “Lubyanka Building” in Moscow. Having been raised in a privileged family, and not being an active political socialist, he was at risk of being condemned as being anti-Soviet.

In 1921, Sergei left Russia, partly in order to continue his artistic career in Western Europe, and partly because he was not a Marxist Communist. After first travelling to Italy (where he viewed examples of Renaissance art), he next went to Berlin, Germany, and he then settled in Paris, France, in 1922.

Sergei Symeonovich in Berlin, 1922

Paris, 1922

The 1922 arrival of Sergei Symeonovich in Paris offered abundant opportunities to display his works in various artistic exhibitions. He immersed himself completely in painting. While he worked as an artist, he exhibited his paintings in the salons of Paris in the hope of becoming known amongst the connoisseurs. The exhibitions of Sergei's works attracted the attention of the French newspaper and magazine publishers. His work was much appreciated. However, he was growing increasingly exasperated by the inability of art to express the concept of purity. However much he tried, he could not escape this reality. He also came to perceive that rational knowledge was entirely unable to provide an answer to the meaning of life and death : "The finest artifact is worthless when considered against the background of infinity".

In 1924, Sergei suddenly came to the understanding that Christ's precept to love God with all of one's being (see Saint Matthew 22:36-40) was not merely a psychological matter. Rather, it was an ontological matter. This total and complete love was the only way to relate to God. "Prayer to the Personal God was restored to his heart". Love had to be personal by definitional necessity. He comprehended now the contrast between his earlier beguilement by the oriental perception of a supra-personal being (contrary to the Gospel), which had struck him as dark thunder, and the lightning-bright illumination of his heart about the true nature and importance of love in the relationship with God (the opposite of the philosophical systems into which he had for a time previously slipped). "Knowledge could only come through community of being, which meant love". On Holy and Great Saturday of that year, Sergei Symeonovich returned to the Orthodox Christian Faith. On the Feast of Pascha, he experienced the Uncreated Light in a strength unmatched to the end of his life. What he had experienced before this helped him to differentiate between human intellectual light and God's Uncreated Light.

While he was in Paris, Sergei remained torn between art and prayer. He attended a reception for a famous poet who was sharing his verses with the hearers. On his way home, he was wondering how such a wonderful manifestation of one of the noblest forms of human creativity could co-related with prayer. He entered his room, and he began to pray the Usual Beginning prayers. He wrote that

 [...] a fine flame gently flickered over the surface of my face and chest, 
 light as a breath of air, yet not consonant with the Divine Spirit.

As a consequence, Sergei distanced himself from his artwork. He decided to devote his life to God. He decided to embark on a new way of living.

Sergei then became one of the first students of the Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris. He was given a room above the professors where he could pray as usual. He hoped now to learn how to pray, how to understand the right attitude towards God, how to overcome passions, and how to attain divine eternity. He attended the lectures of Father Sergius Bulgakov and of Nicholas Berdyaev (both Orthodox Christian philosophers). Although they both influenced Sergei, the difficulties with each (Bulgakov's sophiology and Berdyaev's anti-asceticism) limited the influence they had on Sergei. He was not finding the full answers to his questions, in part because of the philosophical environment of theological debate. He found there no key to the Kingdom of Heaven. Despite his interest in these matters, he could not continue, because his spiritual life was gravely hindered.

In 1925, having understood this, Sergei left the Institute. Intending now to become a monk, he left Paris, and he departed to Mount Athos, Greece.

Mount Athos, 1926

In 1926 (perhaps as early as late 1925), Sergei arrived at Mount Athos (often called the "Holy Mountain"). As he set foot on the peninsula, he kissed the ground and he asked God to accept him and to lead him. He then entered the Russian Orthodox Monastery of Saint Panteleimon. His intention was to learn how to pray and to have the proper attitude towards God. He hoped to find a mentor, and he threw himself into prayer as he had before. His heart longed to know God and to be with Him entirely. Father Sophrony wrote :

 There on the Holy Mountain I found the circumstances I needed – long church services, 
 for the most part at night ; simple tasks that demanded no intellectual exertion ; the 
 opportunity to live under obedience without having to think about how the abbot and his 
 associates, the monastery elders, regulated the monastery.  Free from all worldly cares, 
 I could pray without interruption, day and night.  Little time was left for reading (half 
 an hour in less than twenty-four hours).  However, the Lord was with me ; and I could 
 not tear myself away from Him even for a moment.  My heart burned constantly ; my mind 
 clung to the rock-face, as it were, of God's world.  
 
 [...] My spiritual father advised me only to read a few pages per day.  To read for a 
 quarter of an hour, half an hour, but being careful to apply in life what I read. 

When Father Sophrony mentioned that he had only a half an hour for reading in a day, it must be kept in mind that his formation included days that were customarily filled with long services (some all-night vigils for feast-days could last for 12 hours). These services are filled with the reading of the Psalter and of the Holy Scriptures, and the many hymns that are sung are full of patristic teaching.

Prayer became everything for him, and he began to pray unceasingly, whether awake or asleep. Now he began to feel anguish and despair about the peoples of the earth who had forsaken God, and who were perishing in their ignorance. He swung between a perception of Divine Light and a perception of Hadēs. Hadēs is often translated as Hell, but this is not an accurate identification. The concept of Hell once was not dissimilar to that of Hadēs, but it became associated with the idea of eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire, and this is not what is referred to by Hadēs, which generally refers to the place or state of the dead.

After his own tonsure as a rasophor, and before the tonsure of Dimitry Shahovskoy, he was photographed at the Saint Panteleimon Monastery along with the monastery's Spiritual Father and others.

Standing are : Rasophor Basil (Krivoshein), Dimitry Shahovskoy (yet a layman), and Monk Sophrony (Sacharov) (right).

Seated are : the monastery's Spiritual Father, Archimandrite Kirik (Maksimov), and Archimandrite Tikhon (Troitsky) (right).

Rasophor Sophrony, 1926

Monastic Tonsure, 1929

In 1929, Sergei Symeonovich Sakharov was tonsured to be a monk of the lesser schema (stavrophor), and he was given the name Sophrony.

Monk Sophrony (Sakharov)

Diaconal ordination, 1930

On 13 May, 1930, the Monk Sophrony (Sakharov) was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirović) of Zhicha, Serbia, in the Old Russikon Skete near the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon (one hour's walk distant).

Bishop Nikolaj was at that time visiting on the Holy Mountain. He made an annual visit to Starets Silouan at Saint Panteleimon’s Monastery. Starets Silouan was present a the ordination, and it was shortly thereafter that Hierodeacon Sophrony met him (at the initiative of the starets).

Old Russikon Skete, Saint Panteleimon Monastey

Diaconal service

It was after his ordination that Hierodeacon Sophrony (Sakharov) met Starets Silouan the Athonite. Starets Silouan had heard of a word that Father Sophrony had spoken to another monk at that monk's request. That correct word was :

 Stand at the brink of the abyss of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little and have a cup of tea. 

Starets Silouan invited the new deacon to meet together with him the next day. Father Sophrony was concerned whether he had made a mistake. Starets Silouan assured him that he had not, but that what he had said was beyond Father Vladimir's ability to receive at that time. Starets Silouan's response was in part a pastoral lesson about the need to know the one who receives the word, and a lesson about asking the Lord first. From that second meeting, Starets Silouan shared with the young deacon the experiences of his whole life : what difficult temptations he had passed through. Thus, the starets helped him on his own path. Starets Silouan had recognised that the word given by Hierodeacon Sophrony to Father Vladimir was essentially the same as the word that Christ had given to him : "Keep your mind in Hell and despair not".

Starets Silouan became the greatest influence for Father Sophrony over the course of his life. Saint Silouan, being largely uneducated, had no formal system of theology ; however, his life exuded theology. This expression of theology is what taught Father Sophrony, and what Father Sophrony later systematised. Father Sophrony later said that this encounter, this spiritual relationship, was the greatest gift given to him by God. Primarily, he realised through Starets Silouan that the spirit of repentance by which he was engulfed was unerring and true.

Starets Silouan and Hierodeacon Sophrony, September, 1933

In the fifth year of his monastic obedience, Deacon Sophrony was summoned by Archimandrite Mishael, the Igumen of Saint Panteleimon's Monastery, who gave him the obedience to learn Greek.

 The monastery needed monks who knew the Greek language which was essential for 
 all contacts, both spiritual and official, with the outside world. [...] Stricken 
 with malaria, I struggled against my physical weakness in order to study for as 
 many hours a day as possible. [...]  The abbot's prayer gave me the experience of 
 peace.  My new occupation deprived me of the possibility of praying as I had 
 previously, but Grace in the most wonderful form of a hitherto-unknown peace never 
 left me during the months of my effort to learn Greek.  The months of study were over, 
 and the Lord vouchsafed that I should return again to the desperate prayer of repentance.  

In the context of the heavy demands of his obediences and his study, Father Sophrony mentioned to his elder, Starets Silouan, that having been uplifted at hearing he readings from the works of the Holy Fathers, he felt regret that he had not time nor the strength to study theology. Father Silouan responded :

 You think that is important ?  [...]  In my opinion only one thing is important – humbling 
 oneself, for pride stops us from loving.  

In a similar vein, one time Father Sophrony had 14 functions to perform at the same time. He spoke about it to his spiritual father. He complained to him that he didn't manage to carry out his work : "I have fourteen jobs !" The answer was, "You are wrong ; you've only got one job". Father Sophrony replied, "But no, Father, I have fourteen !" Again, he said, "No, you're only doing one thing at a time. So, do that well, and then go on to the next one".

In 1935, Father Sophrony became seriously ill ; and for a time, he was on the verge of death. Many, including Father Sophrony himself, were certain that he had little time left to live. Nevertheless, by God's mercy and the prayers of Starets Silouan, Father Sophrony recovered, and he was given many more years of life.

Between 1932 and 1946, Hierodeacon Sophrony exchanged letters with Father David Balfour, a Roman Catholic who converted to the Orthodox Christian Faith. These letters revealed Father Sophrony's knowledge of many Fathers of the Church, and the letters forced Father Sophrony to articulate his theological thought and to demonstrate the differences between the Western and Eastern ways of thinking. Many of Father Sophrony's later thoughts would arise out of the same topics that were addressed in this correspondence.

Tonsure to the Great Schema, 1935

On 1 December, 1935, Hierodeacon Sophrony was tonsured to the great schema.

The monastery administration gave a small hut to Schema-hierodeacon Sophrony (Sacharov), a little distance from the monastery, where he could retreat for a few days at at time. Starets Silouan visited him, and he asked about Father Sophrony's experience in prayer. Father Sophrony replied that when he prayed, he had the feeling that the world is forgotten, but that he still had the sense of his body. Starets Silouan then replied : "And is our body not the world ?" (In other words, we are not to treat prayer as though it were Buddhist meditation.)

A question is posed frequently : "Where are we to look for a criterion by which to distinguish genuine communion with God from delusion ?" The response of Starets Silouan is :

 The Lord is meek and humble, and loves His creature.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, 
 there is humble love for enemies and prayer for the whole world.  And if you do not 
 have this love, ask the Lord who said, 'Ask and it shall be given you', and He  will 
 give it to you.  

Father Sophrony amplified this statement :

 I know of no one who so steadfastly, with such truly apostolic conviction – or, to express 
 it more accurately, apostolic knowledge – would have insisted that love for one's enemies 
 is the sole authentic criterion of truth.  [...]  The criterion indicated by Starets Silouan
 is precious because it makes it possible to detect without fail the presence of a will alien
 to God's will [...] who gave us the commandment, 'Love your enemies'.  This commandment [...] 
 is the reflection in our world of the Triune God's all-perfect love, and constitutes the 
 corner-stone of our whole teaching.

Bereavement, 1938

On 15 September, 1938, Father Sophrony visited Starets Silouan as usual early in the morning in the place of his obedience. He was well. However, at another visit after the midday meal when Starets Silouan was in his cell, his appearance had changed, and he admitted that he did not feel well. He then stretched himself on his bed, at which time Father Sophrony suggested that he might better off in the infirmary. The starets was reluctant because of the noise there, but Father Sophrony's intervention with the infirmary resulted in a small, partitioned-off cubicle's being made available to him. Starets Silouan remained there, where his condition slowly deteriorated and where he received the Holy Mysteries daily. Father Sophrony kept him silent company at the entrance to the cubicle.

On 19 September, 1938, Starets Silouan received the last anointing.

On 23 September, 1938, in the evening, the monastery's confessor came to Starets Silouan, and he read the Canon for the Departure of the Soul.

Very early on 24 September, 1938, during Matins, Starets Silouan reposed in the Lord. He had been Father Sophrony’s spiritual father and mentor for 8 years.

Soon after his repose, monks came and vested him in his full monastic habit with his monastic schema visible outside this rason. Then they put on him his mantiya, into which they sewed his body (including his head) ; they laid him on a funeral stretcher, and in the room they served a short panikhida. After this, they brought his body to the infirmary chapel, where the Divine Liturgy was about to begin. They placed his body on a bier for the duration of the Memorial Divine Liturgy. Afterwards, the Psalter was read continuously. After Vespers, they brought his body to the main Catholicon of Saint Panteleimon where the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Monk was served. After this, at 4:00 p.m., the body of Starets Silouan was interred in the monastery cemetery, where another memorial service was sung.

Icon of Saint Silouan, painted by Father Sophrony

Athonite desert, 1939-1946

Following his spiritual father’s instructions, Schema-Hierodeacon Sophrony (Sakharov) received the blessing to leave the monastery’s territory in order to reside in the Athonite “desert”. The term “desert” is used in monastic contexts to describe places which are uninhabited (or nearly so), in which the monk may live in solitude. Many of the monastic settlements in Egypt, Palestine and other places had sparse vegetation, but they were not usually in arid sand. For instance, Saint Mary of Egypt lived in what was called a desert, but which was in fact a wilderness. The forests of northern Russia came to be called a “desert”.

Father Sophrony went first to Karoulia, then he lived in a cave near Saint Paul’s Monastery. His residence in this “cave-desert” lasted through the duration of World War II (1939-1945), and it proved to be a time of such intense prayer that Father Sophrony’s health was affected (it is not uncommon for hermits to forget to eat and drink regularly). Once he entered the cave, away from the constant interruptions of daily coenobitic life and its many services and activities,

 sometimes for weeks he would not rise from the floor to look through the hole 
 of his cave, [to see] whether it was day or night, but he was there, on the 
 floor, weeping, soaking a number of towels.  When he became exhausted, he 
 would sleep there for two hours, wake up and continue weeping.  And this 
 would take place for weeks at a time.  

Moreover, during this time (since he was somewhat aware of the war), he prayed more intensely for all humanity. All his experience in prayer taught him about the interdependence of all humanity. Nevertheless, life in the cave was very difficult. He managed to spend only 3 winters in this cave. The cave was constantly wet in the winter (he would have to carry out about 100 buckets of water from the cave daily for 6 months), and only the chapel outside the cave was ever dry. He put up metal sheeting in order to keep his resting-place from being soaked, but it was always nevertheless very damp. Despite the quantity of water coming into the cave, not much was actually drinkable. He could not light a fire to warm the cave or to dry it. All these conditions contributed to the health difficulties that were developing in him.

Father Sophrony

Presbyteral ordination, 1941

In 1941, Schema-Hierodeacon Sophrony (Sakharov) was ordained to the Holy Priesthood.

Pastoral monastic service

On 15 February, 1942, Hiero-schemamonk Sophrony became a priest in the Monastery of Saint Paul on Mount Athos. He soon became the confessor (spiritual father) in this monastery.

Starets Silouan had predicted that this responsibility would one day come to him, and that he should not demur from giving this sort of service to people. After this, he was called to provide this service to other groups of monks. It was an onerous responsibility, but he felt that he had to share the spiritual knowledge and understanding which had been given to him freely. The onerousness of this responsibility lies in the fact that a proper spiritual father (or mother) must give oneself to the suppliant, and accept that person into one's own life. The deepest feelings have to be shared for the sake of strengthening the one who comes for help. It involves reaching out from oneself, and being truly empathetic. It is costly, and in Christ's love, it can be painful. Nevertheless, Father Sophrony noticed that during the war years, he experienced on the Holy Mountain itself a deeper silence than before. This was due to the strict restrictions on sea-faring traffic in the vicinity of the peninsula.

From 1943 to 1947, he was a member of the Holy Trinity Cell Brotherhood (monks call one another "brother", as female monks call one another "sister") in the New Skete community of Saint Paul’s Monastery.

Departure from Mount Athos, 1947

At the close of World War II, various difficulties arose for monks on the Holy Mountain who were not of Greek nationality. This situation (repeated from time to time) was the consequence of various political factors. It was for this main reason that the Hiero-Schemamonk Sophrony departed from Mount Athos. In addition, Father Sophrony had begun to suffer a deterioration in health.

These are 2 of the possible reasons why Father Sophrony left the Holy Mountain after the war. Further, Father Sophrony hoped to publish the written works of Starets Silouan. Before his repose, Starets Silouan had transmitted to Father Sophrony the manuscripts of his writings, which, after considerable editing, became the basis of Father Sophrony's most famous creation, the book "Starets Silouan the Athonite", a biography of Elder Silouan.

However, it was obvious that this could not be done under the conditions of life on the Holy Mountain.

Paris, 1947

Father Sophrony perceived that he ought to move to Paris, an environment with which he was already familiar. This perception could only have developed in him because of his first having asked the Lord to show him what was blessed to be done (including the publication and the potential study).

It was David Balfour who helped him to acquire the required passport so that he could achieve this move.

Before he had arrived in Paris in 1947, Father Sophrony had been aware of the many developing resources for publication in Paris. While he investigated these possibilities, he considered returning to the Saint Sergius Theological Institute in order study more for the purpose of refining his ability to write about theological matters. The faculty of the Institute offered the possibility that Father Sophrony sit the examinations of the whole course, and that they provide for his needs. Such an offer would have been made because it was understood that Father Sophrony likely would have come to a good understanding of the Scriptures, the teachings and theology of the Fathers, and of the theology in the liturgical texts which he had sung and recited daily for some years. The examinations would assess whether anything needed to be supplemented.

This was also a time of great tensions in Western Europe between the émigré Russian population who rejected Communism (and with it the Russian Orthodox Church), and those who wished to support the Russian Orthodox Church. Upon his arrival, the administration insisted that Father Sophrony deny (by silence) the Grace present in the Moscow Patriarchate. Father Sophrony refused to do so. Therefore, he did not re-enter the Saint-Sergius Institute.

Father Sophrony then began to work on preparing the first publication of the writings of Starets Silouan. He typed the manuscript, and he then printed it himself on a hand-roneo machine.

Thus, in 1948, Father Sophrony produced the first mimeographed Russian edition of “The Undistorted Image” (the title is “Starets Silouan” in some other languages) about Starets Silouan . Not only did he type and print the book, but he also hand-bound all the copies himself. Within this text, Father Sophrony outlines Starets Silouan’s principles of theology, and he explains many fundamental concepts. Amongst these are : prayer for the whole world ; “God-forsakenness” ; and the idea of all humanity being interconnected. The first publication was of 5,000 copies (now a bibliographic rarity, at the All-Russian State Library of Foreign Literature in the collection of Nikolai M Zernov).

Although Father Sophrony could not but have written this life and teaching of Starets Silouan, he was nevertheless uncomfortable about the project in some ways, as he writes :

 If this teaching were the present writer's, it would not be proclaimed, since it is 
 not justified by my life and would not pass muster.  But in this instance my work 
 can be likened to that of a postman delivering a letter he has not written.  
 
 [...] I had to overcome no little embarrassment before deciding to write the present 
 Life because the circumstances obliged me not to conceal my closeness to the sainted 
 father.  I am sure that whoever knew him and knows me will protest indignantly, 'How 
 dare you write about the Staretz ?'  And who did not know him but knows me, or has 
 just seen me, will remark scornfully, 'If the disciple is like this, the teacher could 
 not have amounted to much'.  
 
 I realise that the name of the great Staretz is degraded by having such a biographer and 
 witness.  But there was no other solution. [...] I should have preferred to conceal myself 
 and publish this work anonymously in order not to belittle the great Staretz by my own 
 inadequacy.  But this could not be – I thought it essential to take on the responsibility 
 and testify to him.  In part-justification of my temerity I will say that the wishes and 
 urgent requests of many people impelled me to do so, as well as the obedience laid on me 
 by my spiritual father, a wise staretz now still flourishing – Hieroschemamonk Pinuphrius.  
 Nevertheless, I had a long struggle with myself because spiritual writings contain an energy 
 of a particular kind.  Whoever dares to write is the first to be judged by his words, and so, 
 naturally, I accept the abuse I merit, and know that I shall be condemned by God and man.  
 My conscience is slightly eased, however, by the fact that the present book contains no ideas 
 of my own – it is based entirely on homilies pronounced by the Staretz and discussions with 
 him and my other preceptors.  I am afraid, nevertheless, that as one lacking spiritual 
 intelligence (cognition), I have not avoided errors in my account of the Staretz' life and his 
 holy teachings – errors which I beg my readers to attribute entirely to me, so that the 
 Staretz' image, stamped by his sainted life and sacred word, be not dishonoured.  

In the context of a century characterised by despair, Father Sophrony had been particularly concerned to share the exhortation of Starets Silouan, to "keep your mind in Hell and despair not". He exhorted us to recall that despite the horrible conditions around us, the Lord loves us and saves us. Father Sophrony was acutely aware that Starets Silouan had spent his life interceding intently for the world because of his love for God, and he was certain that Starets Silouan's prayers bore fruit in many who were not even aware of it.

Rosemary Edmonds wrote :

 The author believes ardently in the perfectibility of man, and with loud and tidal words 
 stokes our fires.  He declares roundly, over and over again, that prayer is the surest way 
 to true knowledge of God.  God for him is presence, manifesting Himself in all things.  
 We all possess a divine spark.  Our freedom is in direct proportion to the degree of 
 consciousness possessed by us.  Only the Eternal can give meaning to live.  The collapse 
 of an absolute value leads to the collapse of relative values.  When God collapses, so does 
 honour, honesty, loyalty and the like.  A culture, a civilisation can only be as strong as 
 the inner lives of its people.  The only revolution that we should be thinking about is a 
 personal, private, moral one.  

During this time, because of the immense amount of work and stress involved in this labour of love, Father Sophrony came to suffer from such a serious stomach ulcer that he had to undergo major surgery which removed most of his stomach and joined the remainder to his esophagus. Since this occurred, his return to Mount Athos became both impractical and impossible. Because of this, he could eat very little, and he had to eat several times a day. There was also doubt that he would live long.

Therefore, Father Sophrony settled in the “Russian Home”, a home for the elderly, in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, which is beside the Russian Orthodox Cemetery. This is in suburban Paris. There, as soon as he had recovered a little, he began serving in the chapel of the retirement home, and other residents participated. In the course of this, he taught them how to pray the "Jesus Prayer". They were also asking various questions, so they spent time with him and they learnt from him. Father Sophrony also assisted the local priest by serving as the Father Confessor in the Cemetery Temple of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

In 1950, Father Sophrony was working with Vladimir N Lossky on the “Messager de l’Exarchat du Patriarche Russe en Europe Occidentale”, which he continued to do until 1957. Vladimir N Lossky influenced Father Sophrony's thought on many contemporary concerns, while complementing Father Sophrony's work on Trinitarian thought and its application to the Church and to humanity. However, Mr. Lossky did not perceive the idea of God-forsakenness in a positive perspective, as did Father Sophrony.

In 1952, Father Sophrony produced a second edition in Russian, professionally produced, of “The Undistorted Image”, about Starets Silouan, which brought much acclaim both to Starets Silouan and to Father Sophrony. In response to Vladimir Lossky's criticism that he could find no theological value in the saint's works, Father Sophrony included a theological introduction to Starets Silouan's writings. Immediately after the professional publication, the work began to be translated into various languages. In 1958, the first (somewhat abbreviated) English edition was published. Translation continued in French, German, Greek, and Serbian. Excerpts were published in yet more languages before fuller translations appeared.

The reaction of the ascetics of the Holy Mountain was of extreme importance to Father Sophrony. As Rosemary Edmonds wrote :

 They confirmed the book as a true reflection of the ancient traditions of 
 Eastern monasticism, and recognised the Staretz as spiritual heir to the 
 great Fathers of Egypt, Palestine, Sinai and other historic schools of 
 asceticism dating back to the beginning of the Christian era.  

The publication in 1952 of “The Undistorted Image” was followed by the arrival of various younger people who had read the now-published book. As time passed, the circle of spiritual children and disciples in the retirement home gathered around Father Sophrony increased, and some were tonsured to be monks.

In 1952, Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirović) was in London in order to sanctify the Serbian Temple of Saint Sava. At this time, Father Sophrony asked for Vladika's opinion about the book, because he had received an opinion from Father Justin (Popović) that the writings of Saint Silouan were like those of Saint Symeon the New Theologian. When Vladika heard this, he considered this briefly and prayerfully, and he responded : “No, no. He is greater. His word is healing”.

Father Sophrony, 1952

On 25 April, 1954, the Schema-Hieromonk Sophrony (Sakharov) was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite.

Amongst the younger people who approached Father Sophrony were those who became tonsured as the monks Iriney, Symeon and Prokopy. The very first to be tonsured was Monk Symeon (Bruschweiller). The 3 made makeshift quarters in a stable near the home ; they lived on the leftovers of the residents, and they participated in the two daily services (each lasting 3 hours). Later, there were also some young women who would come to participate.

Thus, during 1956, on the Colar farm, in the “Russian House”, Archimandrite Sophrony began to establish an informal monastic community. Before long, however, the younger ones began to ask about the possibility of establishing a formal monastic community. Father Sophrony informed them that it was not possible to accomplish this in France, mostly because of the policies and restrictions of the French government.

By 1958, friends had begun to look elsewhere in other countries for potential properties. After much prayer and searching, a property in the East Anglia region of England (northeast of London) was found. It was Rosemary Edmonds who had been able to find this place where they might settle. It was situated at Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, in Essex. Father Sophrony was taken to inspect the property. The old Anglican church and rectory had been for sale for a long time. This community alone was interested, and they could manage the reduced purchase price of the rectory alone (the church building required many special permissions to be sold to non-Anglicans). The main building, named “The Old Rectory”, was formerly the residence and office of the cleric who served this nearby “All Saints Church”. The house, constructed several hundred years earlier, was built on oaken logs which rested upon the ground, and the walls were very thick. After more prayerful consideration, Father Sophrony and the community decided to establish there.

However, this was a time when immigration to England was very difficult because of the "Cold War", and because Father Sophrony honestly had said that their aim was to be able to pray, and that they could not contribute to the British economy. The matter had to be entertained in Parliament, particularly because the request would involve some ecclesiastically-owned property. Permission was granted at the last moment, but in such a manner as to be obviously a miracle.

When the move became possible, most of the older monks and nuns at the "Russian House" in Paris felt that it would be too difficult for them to move. Therefore, Father Sophrony left a hieromonk (priest-monk) to care for them. The remainder of the group, which included 2 elderly nuns besides the younger monks, prepared to move to England. They numbered 6 persons in all.

Move to Maldon, Essex, England, 1959

In 1959, the Community of Saint John the Baptist was formed at this site, under the omophorion of Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh (of the Russian Orthodox Church).

At the beginning, the Old Rectory contained most of the monastic life and activity. The upper living-area was divided in half. The 2 nuns lived in one part, and the 4 men lived in the other part.

The beginning of their life there presented many difficulties. There was very little money available. They had to grow food for themselves (as they continued always to do, even after their resources improved somewhat) ; but during the early years, the most common food was potato-and-nettle soup for their one meal per day. Because they were undiscovered for a time, they managed to live very quietly and prayerfully. Of course, handiwork such as iconography was involved, besides prayer, services and reading.

One of the difficulties faced by this community in its earliest years is seldom mentioned. In those days, when there were 7 persons representing already 7 nationalities and languages, there were not available liturgical texts in all these languages (except for Old Church Slavonic and old Greek, which no-one spoke). Furthermore, their poverty was such that purchasing any service books available would have been a prohibitive expense. Father Sophrony deduced that the simplest way to cope at that time was to focus on the repetition of the "Prayer of Jesus" which could be said in every language. The reciting of this prayer in the place of the canonical services is an old eremitical custom. Thus, they continued as they had begun in France, and for the same reasons.

Father Sophrony at work in the Old Rectory

Eremitic nature of the community

Because of Father Sophrony’s eremitical formation on the Holy Mountain, he lived his life in the manner of a hermit. Those who joined him lived in essentially the same manner. Although the community was cœnobitic in its essence, it functioned, nevertheless, as a "hesychasterion", and it continued to do so (despite the steadily increasing number of pilgrims who later began to arrive).

Fathers Zacharias, Symeon, Sophrony, Kyrill, Rafael

From the beginning, the monastery consisted of both monks and nuns (a characteristic that has continued to the present), and Father Sophrony was the first abbot. That the community came to be what has been historically called a “double monastery” is a controversial matter for some, who then criticised it as being irregular (on the basis of a canon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787). Nevertheless, there was no other practical way in which to care for those who had been given to him by the Lord. There were precedents in Christian history in various parts of the Orthodox Christian world. In England in particular, there are examples of double-monasteries from long ago, led by : Saint Hilda of Whitby in Yorkshire ; Saint Etheldreda in Ely, Northumbira ; Saint Hildelith of Barking. In Europe, there were communities led by Saints Willibald and Walpurga ; Saint Anthusa of Constantinople. Saints Basil the Great and Pachomius the Great had established such communities, as had Saint John Cassian and Saint Caesarius of Arles.

Regardless, the community was established in this manner by the blessing of a bishop (who may have applied “economia” because of the situation and the need). From the beginning, the male and female monks have occupied distinct and separate quarters. Food was taken in the same refectory (again for practical reasons) and the services were offered in common in the Temple. Parenthetically, it is helpful to recall that in East Anglia, long before the 1054 Schism, there had been many monasteries and many saints, all a part of the undivided Orthodox Christian Church.

The Old Rectory, Tolleshunt Knights by Malden ; The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist within the Old Rectory

Eventually, the monastery was discovered by Cypriot immigrants of London. As a consequence of this discovery, there began a steadily increasing flow of pilgrims. For the sake of the survival of this small monastic community, their comings and goings had to be regulated by Father Sophrony. Because of the nature of their life, the pilgrims tended to appear principally on Sundays. They participated in the Divine Liturgy, and then Father Sophrony began to teach them more about their Orthodox Christian Faith and about how to pray. This established the pattern for such visits which continued thereafter. As the number of pilgrims increased, Father Sophrony would receive them in confession throughout the day, and the nuns in particular would care for the women and children.

The arrival of so many pilgrims caused further challenges to the community, besides the fact that the community itself had begun to grow (particularly amongst the women). It had become necessary to construct another building, but the fact that the monastery was situated in a "green-belt" made any such construction extremely difficult. Permissions were very, very difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, contrary to the expectations of all, the County Council finally gave permission for the construction of a new quarters for the nuns.

Move to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 1965

In 1965, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow, the monastery moved under the omophor of Archbishop Athenagoras (Kokkinakis) of Thyateira and Great Britain, and hence into the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. At that time, it added the title 'Patriarchal' to its name. Later, the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated the monastery to 'Stavropegic' status. After this, the monastery was officially called Stavropegial.

People from all over the world, from Japan to Canada, eventually began to visit the monastery and to benefit from the Grace in the spiritual son of Starets Silouan.

By this time, with the appearance of so many visitors, it became necessary again to approach the County Council. After long conversations and negotiations, permission was granted to build a refectory near the Old Rectory. For the same reason, it was necessary to construct a sufficiently accommodating Temple, and since the County Council could see the obvious need, permission was again granted. Furthermore, some persons began to buy property near the monastery, and the monastery itself had to purchase some houses in the nearby town in order to accommodate visitors.

Throughout all the steps of the development of the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, not only could Starets Sophrony see the action of Divine Providence, but he also constantly pointed out this fact to those around him.

Father Sophrony remained in this monastery for the rest of his days : first as the abbot ; then from September, 1974, as the spiritual elder (“Starets”, “gerontos”) of the monastery.

At some time after this (after 1967), the very old church building, All Saints Church, which is situated about 1 kilometre away from the Old Rectory with which it had been associated, was given to the monastery to use. This building, mostly of 12th century construction, was built of field-stones, and has a Saxon foundation of several centuries earlier. The building had been declared redundant to the Church of England on 24 February, 1967. The Temple was then blessed, and they began to pray in it in the warmer seasons. Meanwhile, the monks and nuns began slowly to repair and renovate the building. Amongst its historic details is the effigy of a 14th century knight in the north wall. A cemetery surrounds the building, as is common in Britain.

All Saints Temple, Tolleshunt Knights by Malden ; the entrance to All Saints Temple

All Saints Temple interior ; Altar and iconostas of All Saints Temple

In 1973, a more complete translation of the life of Saint Silouan, under the title “Monk of Mount Athos : Staretz Silouan (1866-1938)”, was published, followed in 1974 by the publication of “Wisdom from Mount Athos”, both of which were related to the writings of Saint Silouan. Then Starets (Elder) Sophrony began to publish his own works. He published “His Life is Mine” in 1977, and “We Shall see Him As He Is” in 1985. This last book, a very frank, open spiritual autobiography, was published to mixed responses. In the West, it was generally well-received. However, in Russia, it was generally criticised. Some of the criticism was so stinging (these criticisms were written before "perestroika" developed there) that this, along with increasing illness, discouraged Elder Sophrony from writing again. Regardless, his health was by this time weakening.

Maxime Egger (in a preface to a work about the sayings of Father Sophrony) commented :

 To experience the true dimensions of the Divine energy and Divine breath which animate 
 his words, one must have seen Father Sophrony speaking, seen his loving look embracing 
 his brothers and sisters in prayer. [...] The word of Father Sophrony, being nourished 
 by the Word of God, and by the writings of the ascetic Fathers, is in the true sense 
 evangelical and 'philokalean'.  Born from the heart, it is not addressed to the reasoning 
 intellect, but to that 'fine point of the soul', the hidden heart of man.  It is the fruit 
 of the Holy Spirit, and it is the seed of life in the Spirit.  Springing from the invocation 
 of the Name, it is itself prayer and an invitation to prayer.  [...]  A seed can only take 
 root and bear fruit in a soul prepared to receive it.  Everything depends on our capacity 
 to listen, our desire to be transformed, a willingness to say yes.  [...]  As Saint Gregory 
 Palamas said in the 14th century, 'Every word can be contested by another word, but what 
 word can contest against life ?'  

In his comments about the importance of intercession for the whole world, Archimandrite Sophrony reported that Staretx Silouan had said with regard to the intercession of holy people :

 Because of these people, I believe the Lord preserves the world, for they are precious in His 
 sight, and God always listens to His humble servants and we are all of us all right because of 
 their prayers. [...] Prayer keeps the world alive and when prayer fails, the world will perish. 
 [...] 'Nowadays', perhaps you will say, 'there are no more monks like that to pray for the whole 
 world'.  But I tell you that when there are no more men of prayer on earth, the world will come 
 to an end and great disasters will befall.  They have already started.  

Father Sophrony further commented, with regard to holy people :

 A single saint is an extraordinarily precious phenomenon for all mankind.  By the mere fact of 
 their existence – unknown, maybe, to the world but known to God – the saints draw down on the 
 world, on all humanity, a great benediction from God. [...] The saints live by the love of Christ.
 This love is Divine strength, which created, and now upholds, the world, and this is why their 
 prayer is so pregnant with meaning.  Saint Barsanuphius, for instance, records that in his time 
 the prayers of three men preserved mankind from catastrophe.  And thanks to these saints – whom 
 the world does not know of – the course of historical, even of cosmic events, is changed.  So 
 then, every saint is a phenomenon of cosmic character, whose significance passes beyond the bounds 
 of earthly history into the sphere of eternity.  The saints are the salt of the earth, its 'raison 
 d'être'.  They are the fruit that preserve the earth.  But when the earth ceases to produce saints, 
 the strength that safeguards it from catastrophe will fail.  

Archimandrite Sophrony at work on a mural

About the book, “We Shall see Him As He Is”, Archimandrite Sophrony wrote that

 [...] I’ve been writing my whole confession of my whole life. 
 It shows all the most important things from my life in God [...]. 

Archimandrite Sophrony wrote in simple language about his life in God in such a way that it is made clear even to people who consider themselves to be unbelievers. His writing is driven by the fire of “the love of Christ” which “is love that surrounds the whole world” and every person.

Schemanun Elizabeth

The Schemanun Elizabeth was the senior of the female monks in the community. She had been a part of the community from its beginning. Despite her considerable suffering from arthritis, she lived her life filled with Christ's love. She clearly followed the same path as did Archimandrite Sophrony.

Mother Elizabeth and Canadian Monk, 1977

Glorification of Saint Silouan, 1987

In 1987, the Ecumenical Patriarchate glorified Starets Silouan the Athonite to be a saint.

This event was no doubt helped by the publication of Archimandrite Sophrony's works about Starets Silouan beforehand.

On 1 August, 1990, with the blessing of Starets Sophrony, the Monastère Saint Silouane was established in Saint-Mars-de-Locquenay, in Northwest France. The abbot was and is Archimandrite Syméon (Cossec), now a bishop.

Later in 1990, with the blessing of Starets Sophrony, a monastic community was founded in Canada, and named for Saint Silouan the Athonite.

In 2015, Archbishop Kyrill (Dmitriev) blessed the establishment of the Monastery of Saint Silouan in Sonora, California, USA.

Icons of Saint Silouan the Athonite : (a) by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sacharov) (old refectory mural) ; (b) by Igumen Vladimir (Lysak)

Steady life of the community

During the time when Father Sophrony led the community as its abbot, he made some adjustments to the manner in which daily services were offered. The changes were made in order to accommodate the fact that the community was formed from monks and nuns of many nationalities who were living their lives together, and keeping fundamentally focussed on interior prayer. Therefore, according to the Hieromonk Peter (Pruteanu)  :

 He implemented what is called by some ‘perhaps the most radical 
 liturgical reform of the 20th century’.  

However, his action was not as radical as some may suppose.

Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) and some of the brotherhood, 1990

During the early 1990s, Igumen Ilarion (Alfeyev) was studying at Oxford University in England, and he visited Starets Sophrony and the monastery many times. The supervisor of his doctoral studies was Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Dioclea, himself a regular visitor at the monastery.

Igumen Ilarion (Alfeyev)

From its beginnings, the monastery had both monks and nuns, due to Elder Sophrony’s being unable to oversee 2 separate communities. This was also because it was very difficult to find a place for even one community. Even as one community, the poverty in which they lived was intense. They grew their own food as much as possible.

In the Saint John the Baptist Monastery in Essex, England, where monks and nuns of different nationalities had arrived and had been accepted into the community, Father Sophrony replaced the services of morning and evening prayer, and the canonical hours in their customary form, with 2 daily services (about 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening). The morning service retains elements of Matins, and the evening service retains elements of Vespers. These services consist principally of the slow and careful recitation of the “Jesus Prayer” by various persons, one at a time, in their own mother language. Although at first this “revolution” seemed strange and perhaps even scandalous to some, the criticism soon subsided, and after a while this practice began to be adopted in other communities. It is useful to keep in mind that with such a communal recitation of the “Jesus Prayer”, the ending of the prayer was adjusted. Instead of the customary “have mercy on me, the sinner”, the conclusion was usually “have mercy on us”, and sometimes “have mercy on us, and on Your world”.

Interior of the Temple of Saint John the Baptist (east and west views), not during service-times

Elder Sophrony wanted to be sure that his community would not only have outward conformity, but that it would also have its focus on inner asceticism. The typikon of the monastery provides for the repetition of the Jesus Prayer for approximately 4 hours per day, and the Divine Liturgy 3 or 4 times per week. This was inspired by Starets Sophrony's experience in the Athonite desert. There was a precedent in Athonite skete practice as lived by Saint Nicodemus the Athonite and Saint Paisius (Velichkovsky). Another reason for the manner in which the community worships and prays is to be as inclusive as possible regarding the many different nationalities from which the monks and nuns have come. The “Jesus Prayer” is recited in many languages. Each person knows the prayer well in his/her own language, and it is easy for the monastics to hear this prayer and to pray the prayer in their own languages in their hearts. The recitation can serve as a sort of “stimulus” to the prayers of those hearing it.

By 2000, it had become possible to purchase the farm across the road from the monastery. This would allow for the establishment of the nuns in completely distinct quarters, where they could live all together instead of being scattered in various buildings. However, although the Lord provided the means, it took a long time both to acquire the required permissions and to achieve the reconstruction and renovations. Arcimandrite Sophrony responded joyfully, "When we bought the farm, we bought our lungs. We can breathe now".

As his grand-nephew, Archimandrite Nicholas (Sakharov) wrote,

 Fr. Sophrony attempted to restore the deepest principles of monastic life, so as to avoid 
 distorted conceptions of the coenobitic life and its purpose. His main concern was primarily 
 inner asceticism : inner perfection is more valuable than perfect outward conformity.  The 
 monastery does not have a written code of monastic rules, which would regulate the hours 
 of sleep, fasting, etc.  His teaching was largely focused on cultivation of the mind and the 
 heart.  While he was far from indifferent to everyday details and mundane tasks, he tended 
 to integrate them within the wider spectrum of his theological framework.  

As Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou) wrote about Starets Sophrony,

 Elder Soprhony is fit to interpret St. Silouan because he has the same spirit.  Through his 
 own personal experience, he re-reads, that is to say, he re-cognises the spiritual life of 
 the saint.  In other words, his experience was the repetition of that of the saint.  In the 
 life of the saints, 'repetition' or 'copying' is the most creative act : it is the mystery 
 of the Tradition of the Holy Spirit.  The way to the acquisition of this holy Tradition was 
 first indicated by the great Apostle Paul, 'Be imitators of me, even as I am of Christ' 
 (1 Corinthians 11:1).  

As Archimandrite Zacharias has further commented, Starets Sophrony had one main desire. Having been convinced that the word of God for this generation had been given through Starets Silouan, Father Sophrony desired to share this word with the whole world. One day, Father Sophrony had asked Father Zacharias to write down some of the comments he had made about the significance of Starets Silouan. Father Zacharias asked what he could possible write. Father Sophrony responded firmly, "Repeat what I have said". This made it clear to him that this was the responsibility of all the disciples of Starets Sophrony, and therefore of Starets Silouan : to pay attention to the Divine word given through these elders. Father Sophrony had delivered not his own teaching but the teaching of his elder to his disciples. Their responsibility was to perpetuate the sharing of this word given by God to the world, and to help this word grow through their own lives, writings and obedience in Christ. Taking into account the humility of Starets Sophrony, Father Sophrony was a faithful transmitter of this word ; but the transmission was enriched by the Lord's action through him in the process. Father Zacharias referred to the Epistle of Jude 1:3 as the foundation of this sharing. The words of Saint Silouan express further the purpose : that all the nations of the world might know the Lord and His love by the Holy Spirit.

Father Zacharias mentioned that, in fact, the teaching of Saint Silouan gives to answers the urgent questions and difficulties of his generation, and the succeeding generations. His teachings give the criteria by which the authentic knowledge of God in the Orthodox Church may be determined. Most significantly for our time, he had said that the criterion for the presence of the Holy Spirit, the criterion of the truth, is love for one's enemies (see Matthew 5:44).

Archimandrite Sophrony's love for the Lord was such that for him there was (rightly) nothing greater nor more important than the Divine Liturgy, his preparation for each celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and his participation in the Divine Liturgy. Father Zacharias (Zacharou) said about him :

 On the day before celebrating, he would fix his mind on it, and was in eager anticipation 
 of it.  He was nearly ninety-seven years old, and celebrated the Liturgy two months before 
 he died.  Every time was like his first.  He had such an expectation that when he would come 
 before the altar, he would be rapt in God.  For him everything else was a preparation for the 
 Liturgy.  Even unceasing prayer of the heart was but a preparation for a good presentation 
 before the altar of the Lord.  

Rosemary Edmonds had commented that when it became possible, Father Sophrony had transferred almost all responsibilities regarding the life of the monastery to other monks so that he could devote his energy to the Divine Liturgy.

In answer to a question about what Father Sophrony was like towards the end of his life, Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou) replied :

 If I wanted to ask him something, and he was asleep, I only had to shake his 
 armchair, and he would open his eyes and say "Shto ? What ?"  And in a 
 twinkling of an eye I would have a word that really informed the heart.  We 
 had such access to him, but we never lost sight of the fact that he was 
 different, that he was 'a man of God' ; all his being was rapt in God.  
 
 Very noble and kind as he was, whenever he was speaking with me in Russian or 
 in Greek, he would never address me in the singular, but always in the plural 
 [formal]. [...] He was strict with us when he perceived pride in us, because 
 he knew that if he did not 'service us', we would have a crash.  Otherwise, 
 he was very loving and very kind. [...] 
 
 As Saint Silouan's word was perfect, because it was given by the Holy Spirit, 
 similarly, the word of his disciple was from God.  He would always ask God in 
 prayer for a word, and would conceive in his heart a word pleasing to God and 
 salutary to his brethren. [..] Whenever I went to accompany him for the few 
 minutes' walk from his house to the monastery, in order to receive someone who 
 had come to see him, I would look to profit by asking him something about myself, 
 but he would not let me, saying, 'Ask me no questions now.   Now my mind is in 
 that person'.  He was praying all the time for the meeting with that person 
 to be blessed.  He did not want to be distracted for a moment.  

Father Zacharias elaborated that during his last years, Father Sophrony spent a considerable amount of time in his armchair because of his weakness. On various occasions, either Father Zacharias or one of the other 3 who would be hearing confessions would be presented with a question which required a word from Starets Sophrony. They would come to Father Sophrony's small house on the edge of the community in order to ask. While he was thus resting in his armchair and he was perceived to be sleeping, they would shake his chair in order to get his attention.

 We then presented him with the question that had arisen.  He would open his eyes 
 and almost immediately the answer would flow from his mouth.  It was a marvellous 
 and wondrous event.  His voice came from beyond, from Heaven.  The Grace that was 
 in his words would inform and irresistably convince not only our own hearts but 
 also the hearts of the people who had sought the will of God, and to whom we 
 transmitted his words.  
 
 The great miracle that impressed me (living near Father Sophrony) more than anything 
 else, was the word of God coming from his mouth, and the energy of Grace with which 
 it was loaded.  We had seen so many miracles when he was praying for people, and none 
 of us cared for that, because he himself did not pay attention to them.  But we were 
 all astonished, amazed, at the word proceeding from his mouth.  

During the course of the years preceding his repose, Father Sophrony gave talks to his monastic community on a regular, weekly basis. Because of the polyglot nature of those who visited (reflecting the polyglot makeup of the community), when Father Sophrony spoke in Russian (the monks generally had learnt Greek and Russian), one of them would give a translation of what Starets Sophrony was saying to those visitors and retreatants (several groups of them, each with a translator). These talks provide valuable evidence of the full merging of his dogmatic and ascetic understanding. His Testament (issued in 1991) sets the trinitarian model as a principle of life for the monastic community. It was his final written theological farewell to his spiritual family. This principle underlies the life not only of a monastic community, but also of Christian community life in general.

 In his Spiritual Testament delivered to us on the Feast of Saint Antony in 1991, 
 Archimandrite Sophrony pointed to the fact that humankind is one being in many persons 
 in the image of God who is one God in three persons.  In God’s Name, each of us is the 
 centre of all and everyone and everything is for us.  In the Name, we surrender 
 ourselves in self-emptying kenosis to all those whom we love as our very life.  This 
 antinomic vision of monastic life sees it as an outpouring of love of brethren and 
 sisters, answering God’s love for us.  It is not an institutional, impersonal way of 
 life but is radically person-centred, springing from divine love which is personal, 
 healing and radically liberating.  This hypostatic or person-centred monastic legacy 
 envisions everything from within the mystery of the Holy Name.  It is not personalist 
 in a secular or existentialist sense, which hates human nature.  It lives within the 
 Patristic balance of wholesome nature and sound personhood.  Monastic life is lived 
 from within the truth of the Name as an ineffable mystery, transfigured by the uncreated 
 light of deifying glory.  

Archimandrite Sophrony's hermitage at the Saint John the Baptist Monastery

In a letter dated 27 April, 1991, Archimandrite Sophrony (at the age of 95) described his condition in this way :

 I myself have malignant cancer.  I just don't know when I’m going to die.  I don’t have 
 much strength.  Days and nights pass in the fight against pain.  I spend most of my time 
 in bed or in a comfortable chair.  I haven’t served Liturgy for a long time.  I don’t own 
 my feet.  I don’t walk alone.  I can’t turn around the chair and things like that : 
 natural my age. [...] I’m all out of strength.  

Several weeks before the time of his repose, Starets Sophrony received all the members of the community, one-by-one, during the course of many days. He received each one in the kitchen of his cell.

The monastery had been informed that the only way that it could bury people on its property was to build an underground crypt. The community then proceeded to build one. About 2 weeks before the time of his repose, Starets Sophrony asked Father Zacharias how long it would be before the crypt would be ready. Father Zacharias replied that it would take about 2 weeks more, and that the expected completion date was 12 July, 1993. Father Sophrony, standing at the door of his cell, and looking towards the crypt, replied that for him it was difficult to wait even an hour, since he knew that his time had come, and that he had to go. Nevertheless, he was obedient to his brothers and sisters in the community, and he waited as long as he could.

A week before is departure, he was already keeping to his bed. Four days before his departure, his eyes were closed most of the time, and he did not speak to anyone. Nevertheless, his face was luminous, and he seemed to be in a state of focussed attention, much as he would be when he was serving the Divine Liturgy.

Repose, 1993

On 11 July, 1993, Elder Sophrony reposed. He was ready. However, the tomb itself was still being readied.

On that day (Sunday), during the early Divine Liturgy, which was served by Father Zacharias in the small, old chapel in the Old Rectory, Archimandrite Kyrill came to the Altar at the moment of "Holy Things for the Holy". No words were necessary, although tears told all. The first panikhida was served at the end of this service. Father Kyrill did the same after the second Divine Liturgy in the catholicon of the monastery.

Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) in repose

The body of Starets Sophrony remained openly in the midst of the Monastery Catholicon of Saint John the Baptist during the following days during all the services. As is customary, the Holy Gospels were read continuously between the services.

On 14 July, 1993, the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Monk were served in the monastery Temple.

These services were attended by monastics from around the world.

After the funeral services, the body of Archimandrite Starets Sophrony (Sakharov) was entombed in the crypt which had just then been completed.

Tomb of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) (centre)

Glorification, 2019

In October, 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew I (Archontis) announced the intention of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to proceed with the glorification of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov).

On 27 November, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced the glorification of the Elder Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) as a saint of the Orthodox Christian Church.

Feast-day

The Feast-day of Saint Sophrony (Sakharov) is celebrated on 11 July, the date of his repose.

Tropar Tone 4

O Holy and God-bearing Elder, Father Sophrony,

you were revealed to be the beloved son of the Holy Elder Silouan.

O bearer of the Mind of Christ,

you have shone forth in the world through the wisdom of your words.

Through your God-inspired life, you guide us to the Light of God.

Tropar Tone 3

O Holy and God-bearing Elder, Father Sophrony,

full of Grace and truth,

you have been revealed to be a light amongst the godly.

You became a prophet in our times :

you beheld Christ the Word,

and you made known to us the ways of salvation.

Unceasingly intercede with the Saviour on our behalf,

that He give us His great mercy.

Kontak Tone 3

O Holy and All-blessed Father Sophrony,

with longing, you sought the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Having become a partaker of the Divine nature,

you became all fire.

As much as it is humanly possible to bear it,

you saw the Light of Christ our God,

and you were filled with much Grace :

you thoroughly illumine the Church, O God-inspired one.

Saint Sophrony of Essex

Reflections

Archimandrite Hierotheos (Vlachos), who had regularly spent several weeks in the monastery annually, upon hearing of the repose travelled immediately from Greece to England. When he entered the Temple, and came into the presence of the body of Starets Sophrony, he was struck by the atmosphere of profound peace. He immediately commented to Father Zacharias, "If Father Sophrony is not a saint, then there are no saints".

Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou) commented on the atmosphere in the presence of the body of Starets Sophrony in the Temple, as he said that it felt like Pascha.

During those days of waiting, others monks had arrived in order to see Father Sophrony, but they did not find him alive. Soon after the repose of Starets Sophrony, a family arrived from Thessaloniki with their 13-year-old child, who had a brain tumour, and who was preparing for a surgery the following day. The family's physician was with them. A monk from the Simonopetra Monastery suggested that the boy be made to go under the coffin. Father Zacharias said that if he did this, then it could appear that the monastery was merely promoting the sanctity of Father Sophrony. Therefore, the Athonite monk took the boy by the hand, and guided him to pass underneath the coffin. The surgery followed on the next day as scheduled, and no tumour at all was found. The surgeons then commented that the diagnosis had been mistaken. However, the physician from Greece had with him the X-ray plate which clearly showed the tumour. He said that we know very well what such a "mistaken diagnosis" means.

On one occasion, Father Kyrill was accompanying Starets Sophrony on a visit to man whose face had been deformed by a stroke. There was a possibility that he would die. Father Sophrony began to pray for him. While Father Sophrony was saying the prayers, Father Kyrill noticed that the man's face was returning to normal. There was great gratitude to the Lord.

On another occasion, a man who was ill was compelled by his mother-in-law and his wife to receive prayers from Father Sophrony. The man had not been healed after the first prayers. This second time, after Father Sophrony had prayed and had seen that there was no physical change, he commented to the man that the monks were only priests, and not miracle-workers. The man responded with joy that although his body remained as it was, his heart and soul had been healed. This sort of healing brought greater joy and gratitude to Father Sophrony's heart than even a physical healing (which healings were not uncommon).

During the development of his spiritual life, Starets Sophrony was certainly aware of the writings and teachings of Saint Bishop Ignatiy (Brianchinov), who, in his writing about the Prayer of Jesus wrote :

 Let us not be scared, practitioners of the prayer of Jesus, either by winds or waves ! 
 By winds I mean diabolic thoughts and imaginings, and by waves the revolt of the passions 
 aroused by thoughts and reveries.  From the midst of the most furious storm, with 
 perseverance, courage and weeping you will cry to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will 
 rebuke the winds and waves.  

A Greek Orthodox bishop in Canada, the Vicar-Bishop of Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas), Bishop Christophoros (Rakintzakis), expressed his gratitude to God for Saint Sophrony during a conversation with a Canadian cleric. He related to him that he had gotten to know the Essex community and Saint Sophrony while pursuing post-doctoral studies in England. He also said that it was Father Sophrony who blessed him to consider the Priesthood. Those who met Bishop Christophoros were able to sense the spiritual relationship between the bishop and Starets Sophrony.

Eventually, in the context of the increase in the number of the women's portion of the monastery, it became possible for the monastery to purchase the farm directly across from it on Rectory Road in Tolleshunt Knights (obviously with the help of many benefactors). This farm had a productive orchard, which the monastery has maintained, and some buildings which were able to be converted into monastic quarters. It was to these buildings that the women monks moved, once all this had been achieved. One of the buildings became a greatly-enlarged refectory for the monastic community. The old refectory began to be used for visitors and guests. During the lifetime of Starets Sophrony, the monastery had already been faced with receiving (every weekend, and on feast-days), a large number of pilgrims. They arrived principally by bus (and also by car) from London and from other cities throughout the British Isles. To accommodate this influx, more than one Divine Liturgy would be served on Sundays in particular so that the monastic community might be able to maintain its integrity, and also to care for the visitors. This situation continued and increased after the repose of Starets Sophrony.

Despite the disturbance to silence for the monks, and the flurry of activity that each arrival brings, the monks give educational talks and spiritual support (and food) to the many pilgrims, and the pilgrims help the community economically.

Women's quarters

Community details

Archimandrite Sophrony had been given by God a high intelligence. However, what is particularly notable in him is that his intellect was subject to, and guided by the heart. It was in his heart that he constantly experienced the Lord’s love. It is because of this, for instance, that when a person was in his presence, the Lord’s love and the Lord’s peace were sensed readily by the person who was near him. This love and peace were, in fact, communicated to the person who was near him. This is also a reason why his writing is so remarkable and so helpful. He was a living example of the activity of the love of which Saint Silouan spoke and wrote.

One might say that upon encountering Starets Sophrony, and seeing his life, it was clear that in him, the presence and operation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (see Isaiah 11:1-2) were noticeable ; and at the end of his days, the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23) was almost palpable, particularly in love, joy and peace. As one pilgrim wrote :

 When Father Sophrony came to the common meals, everyone would be at their places 
 around the tables, which were set up in the shape of a horse-shoe.  He walked slowly 
 around one side of the horse-shoe to reach his place.  During my visit, there were 
 several times upon entering the dining-hall and beginning this walk, that he put 
 his hand over his heart, smiled a very big smile, and gazed upon those present with 
 an expression of deep love which cannot be put into words.  The atmosphere around 
 him seemed to be altered, and he appeared to be enveloped in something.  This lasted 
 until he reached his place ; then he put his hand down to his side and returned to 
 normal.  [...] The first time I went to the monastery in Essex, I happened to cross 
 paths with Father Sophrony out-doors.  He looked upon me with so much love that it 
 seemed that he wanted to die for me – yet we had never met ! [...]  When I actually 
 did meet Father Sophrony for the first time, I was helping with work around the new 
 church and moving some earth with a wheel-barrow.  Father Sophrony was walking towards 
 me on the same pathway, and talking to one of the sisters.  He suddenly stopped talking, 
 turned to me, and stared.  His face was still and devoid of any expression.  He then put 
 his right hand over his heart, and bowed to me.  There was a measureless love in that 
 smile of his and a joy which drew my hear to him like a magnetic force.  When he bowed 
 his head, peace flowed from him and took up abode in my soul.  [...] There was an 
 extraordinary peace about Father Sophrony.  One could see this with one's eyes and feel 
 it with one's heart.  Even while he was talking causally, or smiled, or chuckled a little 
 at something humourous that may have occurred, one could actually see that he was in a 
 state of peace.  It seemed to be the primary state of his soul.  [...] Father Sophrony 
 was in such a deep state of peace that it was like a force-field around him which nothing 
 could penetrate.  

It may be useful to recall that the sort of peace to which this reference points is mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the context of Philippians 4:6-7 (the peace which surpasses all understanding). This peace comes with being filled with Divine love.

People who have met him would be aware that he spent a long time and frequently shedding tears of repentance. At the same time, it was openly visible how full of joy he was, and what humour he expressed. Indeed, he had expressed to someone that humour is a gift of God for us because of the pain of life. His words and his life express what Saint John of Sinai wrote in Step 7 of "The Ladder of Divine Ascent", on Mourning, :

 Hold fast to the blessed and joyful sorrow of holy compunction.

At the time of Father Sophrony's repose, there were 25 monastics in the monastery, a number that has remained steady since then, with some increase.

Mother Elizabeth, the very beloved, respected, and eldest of the female monks, reposed on 24 July, 1993. This was in accordance with Elder Sophrony's words that he would repose first, and that she would repose soon afterwards.

After the repose of Mother Elizabeth, Mother Philareta became the senior of the women monks.

After the repose of Archimandrite Sophrony, the abbatial responsibilities were then formally shouldered by Archimandrite Kyrill. He had already been made the administrator of the monastery by Father Sophrony. Archimandrite Kyrill then served as the abbot of the double monastery until early 2019, when he retired due to the weakness of his age. Archimandrite Kyrill, who had been a member of this community for many decades, and who was a close disciple of Saint Sophrony, had originally come to live with the community from his home in Australia. He proved to be a kind and firm father for the brotherhood and sisterhood, much as Father Sophrony had been. Upon his retirement in 2019, he continued his life in the community as a spiritual father.

Archimandrite Kyrill ; Father Kyrill, Archimandrite Sophrony, Archimandrite Symeon

Archimandrite Symeon (Bruschweiller) was the eldest of those who came to Father Sophrony at the beginning. A recent convert to the Orthodox Faith (and having read "The Way of a Pilgrim"), he was the first to join Father Sophrony in the “Russian Home” by the Russian Cemetery at Ste-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris, and he was a co-founder of the Monastery in 1959. He was the translator of Elder Sophrony's works from Russian into French. He was the founder and president of the Association of Saint Silouan the Athonite. Archimandrite Symeon (Bruschweiller) reposed in Christ on 20 August, 2009.

Archimandrite Symeon

Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou) was another monk who had arrived to struggle together with Starets Sophrony at about the same time as the arrival of Archimandrite Kyrill. He was given the blessing to succeed Archimandrite Sophrony as the spiritual father ("dukhovnik") of the community. Later, he was given the blessing to give talks outside the community and abroad. Father Zacharias was a disciple of Starets Sophrony for 27 years.

Archimandrite Zacharias

Archimandrite Raphael (Noica) was another monk who lived in the community with Starets Sophrony and the others. In 1993, he returned to Romania, where he lived as a hermit in a “hesychasterion” near the top of a mountain, in the Carpathian Mountains. A disciple of Elder Sophrony since the beginnings of Essex Monastery, he translated Elder Sophrony' writings into the Romanian language.

Archimandrite Rafael

Archdeacon Prokopy, prosphora-baker, was one of the original 6 disciples, whose humility has kept him nearly invisible to many, but whose love for the Lord is palpable.

Sister Magdalen, a noted speaker, is the author of “Children in the Church Today & Conversations with Children : Communicating our Faith”. She is a long-time member of the community. She is also a mosaic iconographer. Within the community, she has constantly listened to and spoken with visitors and retreatants, and cared for and educated children. She had been teased about how many questions she asked ; but another sister could respond that she thus had a wealth of answers.

Sister Magdalen

Archimandrite Nicholas (Sakharov), grand-nephew of Elder Sophrony, arrived at the monastery in Essex near the end of the life of Starets Sophrony. After a time, Father Nicholas wrote the book “I Love, Therefore I Am”, which was a consideration of the writings of Saint Silouan and Saint Sophrony.

In the book, he cited Saint Sophrony's influence on several Russian thinkers, particularly his philosophy of “the knowing heart”, which was contrasted to the “self-aware thinking mind in Hegel”.

Hieromonk Nicholas

In the late 1970s, a Canadian man was a part of the community for several years, and he contributed his youthful strength to the construction works in progress at the time. However, his underlying medical condition eventually required that he retire to the Holy Mountain, with Father Sophrony’s blessing.

Many others from Canada have visited the monastery for shorter or longer periods of time.

The successor to Archimandrite Kyrill was the Hieromonk Peter (Vryzas). In early August, 2019, he was elected to become the abbot by the members of the monastery ; and on 26 August, 2019, Archbishop Nikitas (Lulias) of Thyateira and Great Britain installed him officially as Abbot of the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist.

Archimandrite Peter

At the same time, Archbishop Nikitas elevated Abbot Peter (Vryzas) to the dignity of archimandrite.

After having laboured in monastic obedience for 17 years already, the new abbot began these responsibilities still as a relatively young monk. He was a disciple of Elder Zacharias (Zacharou), who was himself a close disciple of Saint Sophrony. Father Peter was born in Greece in 1977. He joined the monastery in 2002 at the age of 25. His Ph.D. thesis, about the mystery of receiving and transmitting the word of God in the teachings of Father Sophrony, was published as his first book.

Archbishop Nikitas (Lulias) and the two communities, 2019

Various refectory views

Prayers of Archimandrite Sophrony

 "Prayer at Daybreak"
 	
 O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things, who of Your inscrutable goodness called me 
 to this life ; who bestowed on me the Grace of Baptism and the Seal of the Holy Spirit ; 
 who imbued me with the desire to seek You, the one true God : hear my prayer.   
 
 I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom, no strength except in You, O God.  Because of my 
 unrighteousness, I dare not raise my eyes to You ; but You said to Your disciples, 'Whatsoever 
 you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive', and 'Whatsoever you shall ask in my Name, 
 that will I do'.  Therefore, I dare to invoke You : Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit. 
 Teach me to pray aright.  Bless this day which You give unto me, Your unworthy servant.  By the 
 power of Your blessing enable me at all times to speak and act to Your glory with a pure spirit, 
 with humility, patience, love, gentleness, peace, courage and wisdom, aware always of Your presence. 
 Of Your immense goodness, O Lord God, show me the path of Your will, and grant me to walk in Your 
 sight without sin.  O Lord, unto whom all hearts be open, You know what things I have need of.  
 
 You are acquainted with my blindness and my ignorance ; You know my infirmity and my soul's corruption ; 
 but neither are my pain and anguish hidden from You.  Therefore I beseech You, hear my prayer, and by 
 Your Holy Spirit, teach me the way wherein I should walk ; and when my perverted will would lead me 
 down other paths, spare me not, O Lord, but force me back to You. 
 
 By the power of Your love, grant me to hold fast to that which is good.  Preserve me from every word or 
 deed that corrupts the soul ; from every impulse unpleasing in Your sight and hurtful to my brother-man.  
 Teach me what I should say and how I should speak.  If it be Your will that I make no answer, inspire me 
 to keep silent in a spirit of peace that causes neither sorrow nor hurt to my fellow man.  
 
 Establish me in the path of Your commandments, and to my last breath let me not stray from the light of 
 Your ordinances, that Your commandments may become the sole law of my being on this earth and in all 
 eternity.  Yea, Lord, I pray to You, have pity on me.  Spare me in my affliction and my misery and 
 hide not the way of salvation from me.  In my foolishness, O God, I plead with You for many and great 
 things.  Yet am I ever mindful of my wickedness, my baseness, my vileness.  Have mercy upon me.  
 Cast me not away from Your presence because of my presumption.  Rather, increase in me this presumption, 
 and grant unto me, the worst of men, to love You as You have commanded, with all my heart, and with all 
 my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength : with my whole being. 
 
 Yea, O Lord, by Your Holy Spirit, teach me good judgment and knowledge.  Grant me to know Your truth 
 before I go down into the grave.  Maintain my life in this world until I may offer unto You worthy 
 repentance.  Take me not away in the midst of my days, nor while my mind is still blind.  When You 
 shall be pleased to bring my life to an end, forewarn me that I may prepare my soul to come before You.  
 Be with me, O Lord, at that dread hour and grant me the joy of salvation.  Cleanse me from secret faults, 
 from all iniquity that is hidden in me ; and give me a right answer before Your judgment-seat — Yea, Lord, 
 of Your great mercy and immeasurable love for mankind.  

As a guide and a support for us all, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) of blessed memory wrote the following prayer for an abbot and/or a spiritual father. Whether or not we are a priest, we would all do well to read this prayer every morning and every evening (perhaps adjusting the words appropriately), and at any other time, so that we are never off guard :

 Morning prayer of an abbot or spiritual father :
 
 O Lord  Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour, You have taken me from the vanity of  this world.  
 You have set me in the service of Your heavenly Mysteries.  You have given me the blessing  
 to announce the ways of Your salvation to my brethren.  O King  Eternal  and without beginning, 
 I pray to You : Heal me from the death of sin which has attacked me, and by the strength of 
 Your Holy Spirit render me capable of accomplishing this service. O Giver of Light, illumine the 
 eyes of  my heart and my soul by the uncreated Light of Your Commandments, that I may comprehend  
 in what manner I must speak to my brother, for whom You have spilt Your blood on Golgotha.  By the 
 goodness of Your Holy Spirit, direct my feelings and my thoughts ; and by fear of You, guard me 
 that I do not deviate from that pure stream which flows from before the ages.  Purify my heart 
 from every stain, that I may become worthy to hear Your still small Voice, and to be obedient 
 with humility to this Voice.  And when I open my mouth, make me capable of receiving from You 
 a word which is in harmony with You, and which is saving for Your people.  You that are the living 
 and true Way, do not let me in any way betray Your Truth.  Guard me from any misplaced movement 
 of my heart and from every mistaken word, that my service may be in all ways holy and irreproachable  
 before Your eyes.  Yes, O Good Shepherd, who have given Your life for us, give me a broken heart 
 and tears of compassion for every one who comes to me.  Grant me to rejoice with those rejoicing, 
 and to suffer with those afflicted, and to console by every means the suffering souls of Your people.    
 Grant me the strength to carry always and to the end with gentleness and patience the burden of 
 Your spiritual lambs, in a spirit of discernment and sympathy and evangelical love ; and thus may 
 only this thought live in me : that all, by repentance, may be saved by You, and in You, our 
 incomprehensible Lord, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.  Amen. 
 (La paternité spirituelle - La prière, pp. 42-43.)

Sayings of Saint Sophrony

 • No-one on this earth can avoid affliction ; and although the afflictions which the Lord sends are not 
 great men imagine them beyond their strength and are crushed by them. This is because they will not 
 humble their souls and commit themselves to the will of God.  But the Lord Himself guides with His Grace 
 those who are given over to God's will, and they bear all things with fortitude for the sake of God Whom 
 they have so loved and with Whom they are glorified for ever.  It is impossible to escape tribulation in 
 this world but the man who is giver over to the will of God bears tribulation easily, seeing it but putting 
 his trust in the Lord, and so his tribulations pass.  
 
 • There are three things I cannot take in : nondogmatic faith, nonecclesiological Christianity and nonascetic 
 Christianity. These three - the church, dogma, and asceticism - constitute one single life for me. 
 - Letter to D Balfour, 21 August, 1945.
 
 • If one rejects the Orthodox creed and the eastern ascetic experience of life in Christ, which has been 
 acquired throughout the centuries, then Orthodox culture would be left with nothing but the Greek minor [key] 
 and Russian tetraphony.  - Letter to D Balfour.
 
 • There are known instances when Blessed Starets Silouan in prayer beheld something remote as though it 
 were happening close by ; when he saw into someone's future, or when profound secrets of the human soul 
 were revealed to him. There are many people still alive who can bear witness to this in their own case 
 but he himself never aspired to it and never accorded much significance to it.  His soul was totally 
 engulfed in compassion for the world.  He concentrated himself utterly on prayer for the world, and in 
 his spiritual life prized this love above all else. - Saint Silouan the Athonite, p.228.
 
 Circumstances of life
 
 • Depending on how a person lives, the external circumstances of his life are affected.  Sometimes, 
 because of our internal mistakes or, conversely, corrections, our external living conitions change 
 for the worse or the better [...] .
 
 • Before you do anything, you have to wait for the Lord to give you the strength to do so. For example, 
 if we have a desire to go to the Holy Mountain, but do not have the strength to do this, then even if 
 we do it, we will not get any benefit.  
 
 • If God expects something from us, He gives us energy, and Grace, and strength to do it.  
 
 On family life
 
 • On the choice of a life partner, the elder said : 'To make a choice, you need prayer.  To make the right 
 choice and for God to give the right person, you need a strong prayer'.   
 
 • The blessing and prayer of the mother plays a big role in the child’s life, as the mother usually prays 
 with pain.  And the prayer that is done with pain has a special power.  
 
 • It is of great importance that the child is benefitting from praying parents, and that the mother 
 was praying when the child was still in the womb.  
 
 • When people marry and God gives them children, they must glorify God.  If God does not give children, 
 they must accept this fact in the world and not be discouraged. 
 
 • One woman asked the elder what milk she would feed her child : her own or a cow’s milk.  The elder replied, 
 'Who gave birth to him : you or a cow ?' 
 
 On food
 
 • Food gives energy to the body.  We need it to work hard and have the strength to pray.  In praying, 
 the energy of food is converted into spiritual energy.  For those who pray a little, the excess energy 
 of food is transformed into passion and gluttony.   
 
 On communicating with other people 
 
 • If someone is tempted to communicate with us, it is preferable to move away from them.  
 
 • Audacity is often a burning fire. That's why simplicity is required, not audacity. 
 
 • If you want not want to harm someone, do not tell him that he has a beautiful voice or praise him for 
 some virtue.  
 
 • Even the committed are harmed when they hear praise. 
 
 • We must respect the freedom of another person. What is done by coercion will not be present in time 
 or eternity. 
 
 On the Grace of God
 
 • When the Grace of God comes to us, we already live here in the dimension of eternity.  
 
 • The most important thing in spiritual life is to strive to receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit.  
 It will change our lives (primarily internally, not externally).  We will live in the same house, 
 in the same environment and with the same people, but our life will be different.  But it is possible 
 only under certain conditions : if we find time to pray fervently, with tears in our eyes.  In the 
 morning, ask for God's blessings so that the prayer of faith will define our whole day.  
 
 • Life without Christ is tasteless, sad and hopeless. 
 
 On prayer 
 
 • We can love others through praying for them. To understand what another person lives, you should 
 pray for him with all your heart. Then we can see his needs, looking for a way to ease them. 
 
 • Thoughts that come during prayer reveal the strongest passions that hold us.  Then we will be subject 
 to a feat and a decisive struggle for healing from these passions.  First of all, it is necessary 
 to confess to the spiritual father and seek guidance.  Thus prayer discovers passions, and repentance 
 by Grace heals them. 
 
 • One brother complained to the elder that he misunderstood the books of the holy fathers.  The elder 
 replied, 'When we read the writing of a holy father, we must pray to this holy father to understand 
 his word in the way that the author himself understood his word.  
 
 On peace in the heart 
 
 • It is better to prefer small spiritual work, but with peace in the heart, than to strive for much 
 and to lose the peace in the heart. 
 
 • It is better to be spiritually lower, but with peace in the soul, and joy will be higher.  
 
 On verbosity
 
 • The Holy Fathers did not look for many words.  Having received a single spiritual word, they went 
 into the wilderness and lived for many years, feeding on this single word and trying to fulfil it.  
 We speak and hear many words, but we do nothing to fulfil them.  Verbosity weakens us spiritually.  
 
 • By talking about things that are not personally known and exceeding our understanding, we erect 
 an insurmountable barrier (wall) that prevents us from experiencing it. 
 
 On spiritual birth and death
 
 • The spiritual birth of man shakes the whole world, just as everything around it shakes when the 
 plane breaks the sound barrier.  
 
 • A man who goes to God, after death and leaving his physical bodily shell, like the launching 
 of a spaceship, will take off in a powerful impulse to God.  If a person constantly aspires 
 to God, then by death he will rush to God like a rocket.  
 
 • Fascinated by the love of God, leaving the body, the soul will go to God ; or, the opposite : 
 having pushed away from God, it will move 'into the outer darkness' - to the endless torments 
 of the state opposite to love.  
 
 • I read about one accident at an aviation plant.  An engineer was testing the jet engine of a 
 plane.  He carelessly stepped into the airstream which caught and lifted him high off the ground.
 Seeing what had happened, his assistant quickly switched off the engine.  The mechanic fell to 
 the ground, dead.  
 Something similar happens to the man of prayer : after being caught up into an other sphere 
 he returns to earth "dead" to much that is of this world.  A new life full of light has 
 manifested itself in him, and now the infantile pastimes which occupy the vast majority cease 
 to hold any interest or attraction for him.  
 

South wall of the monastery Temple ; the old rectory ; the newer refectory with the library upstairs

Another monastery Temple

Google aerial view of the monastery (excluding All Saints Temple)

Writings

• “The Undistorted Image: Staretz Silouan, 1866-1938” (Bedfordshire, England : Faith Press, 1958). ASIN : B0007IXVB0. (First published in 1948, reprinted in 1952)

• “The Monk of Mount Athos : Staretz Silouan 1866-1938” (Crestwood, NY : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997). ISBN : 091383615X.

• “Wisdom from Mount Athos: The Writings of Staretz Silouan 1866-1938” (Crestwood, NY : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1975). ISBN : 0913836176.

• “His Life is Mine” (Crestwood, NY : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2001). ISBN : 0913836338.

• “We Shall See Him As He Is” (Platina, CA : St Herman Press, 2006). ISBN : 978-1-887903-13-1.

• “Saint Silouan, the Athonite” (Crestwood, NY : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1999). ISBN : 0881411957.

• “On Prayer” (Crestwood, NY : St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1998). ISBN : 0-88141-194-9.

• “On Pride”.

• “Correspondence with Archpriest Georges Florovsky”.

• “Letters to loved ones : Correspondence with the family of Archpriest Boris Stark”.

• “The Unity of the Church in the Image of the Unity of the Holy Trinity : Orthodox Triadology as the Basis for Orthodox Ecclesiology” (Originally published in 1950 in the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, nos. 2-3.)

• "Words of Life", translated by Sister Magdalen from "De Vie et d'Esprit" (Switzerland : Sel de la Terre, 1992) (Tolleshunt Knights : Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Essex, 1998). ISBN : 1-874679-16-9.

• La Félicité de connaître la Voie” (Genève, Suisse : Éditions Labor et Fides, 1988). ISBN : 2-8309-0124-X.

Partial bibliography of writings about Saint Sophrony by various authors :

• (Bruschweiler), Archimandrite Symeon, “The Quest for Divine Eternity : Memories of Archimandrite Sofrony”

• Conchinsky, Deacon George, “Theological Existentialism of Archimandrite Sofroniy (Sakharov)”

• Duhalich, Archpriest Michael G, ‘A modern-day Saint and his Disciple : Saint Silouan and Father Sophrony’ in “Alive in Christ : The Magazine of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania, Orthodox Church in America”, vol. 13, no. 3 (1997), pp. 55-61.

• Electronic periodical bulletin “Saint Silouan and Father Sophrony : News in the Internet”

• Hieromonk Gregory, ‘Archimandrite Sophrony Falls Asleep In The Lord’ in “Alive in Christ : The Magazine of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania, Orthodox Church in America”, vol. 4, no. 2 (1993), pp. 60-61.

• (Sakharov), Hierodeacon Nicholas V, “I Love Therefore I Am” (Crestwood, NY : St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2003). ISBN 0-88141-236-8.

• …… “The main Milestones of the theological Formation of Archimandrite Sofroniy (Sakharov)”

• …… “The Teaching of Archimandrite Sofrony about old Age : old Age and Obedience in the Theology of Archimandrite Sofrony (Sakharov)”

• Veniamin, Christopher, ‘“Theosis” in Saint Silouan the Athonite and Starets Sophrony of Essex’ in “Alive in Christ : The Magazine of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania, Orthodox Church in America”, vol. 13, no. 3 (1997), pp. 22-27.

• (Vlachos), Metropolitan Hierotheos, “Outline of Fr. Sophrony’s Theological Formation by Hieromonk Nicholas (Sakharov) ‘I Know a Man in Christ : Elder Sophrony the Hesychast and Theologian’” (Levadia, Greece : Holy Monastery of the Birth of the Theotokos, 2015). ISBN : 960-7070-89-5.

• “(Vorobyov), Abbot Nikon, “about the book of Hieromonk Sofroniy ‘The Elder Silouan’”

• (Wafidis), Schema-archimandrite Emilian, “Elder Sofronius of Essex”

• (Zacharou), Archimandrite Zacharius, “Christ, our Way and our Life : Introduction to the Theology of the Elder Sophronius (Sakharov)” (South Canaan, PA : STS Press, 2003). ISBN : 1-878997-74-2.

• …… “The Enlargement of the Heart” (Dalton, Pennsylvania : Mount Thabor Publishing, 2012).

• …… “Food for Monks”.

On 10 July, 2015, Olga Rozhneva published a collection of sayings by Saint Sophrony.

References

Orthodoxwiki biography

Wikipedia biography

Russian Wikipedia biography

Alphabet of Faith biography and bibliography

Additional information :

Aldea, Leonard-Daniel, “Ecclesiology of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov)” (Durham E-Thesis)

Noica, Rafael, “Symeon Bruschweiler” (Bucharest, Romania : Editura Anastasia, 1994). ISBN 10 : 9739638767 ; ISBN 13 : 9789739638760. (in Romanian)

Păunoiu, Augustin, “Symeon from Essex, face of divine love” (9 January, 2010)

Prokurat, Michael ; Golitzin, Alexander & Petersen, Michael, eds., “The A to Z of the Orthodox Church” (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 289. ISBN : 978-0-8108-7602-6.

Roshneeva, Olga, “Life without Christ is Tasteless, Sad and Hopeless : Elder Sophronius and his Sayings”

Sister Gabriella, “Painting as Prayer : The Art of Sophrony Sakharov” (Tolleshunt-Knights, Essex, UK : Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, 2017). ISBN : 978-1-909649-12=5.

Announcement about the glorification of Elder Sophrony

Wikipedia article about the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist

Orthodoxwiki article about the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist

Metropolitan Evlogiy (Georgievsky)

Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom)

Archbishop Athenagoras (Kokkinakis)

Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)

Metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeyev)

Metropolian Hierotheos (Vlachos)

Orthodoxwiki article about the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Orthodoxwiki article about the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain

List of writings by Archimandrite Sophrony and about Archimandrite Sophrony

Video/Audio Archimandrite Sophrony prays 100 Jesus Prayers (recorded during a service)

Life, Repose and photos of Saint Sophrony

Findagrave article about Saint Sophrony

YouTube video : Archimandrite Sophrony speaks about the repose of Saint Silouan

Video of Archimandrite Nicholas (Sakharov)’s talk about Saint Sophrony

Video of Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)’s talk about prayer

Description of All Saints Church, Rectory Road, Tolleshunt Knights, Essex

Reference to the Old Rectory in the “Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain”, vol. 27, p. 246.

Church of All Saints : British Listed Building in Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex

Repose of Archimandrite Symeon Bruschweiler on 21 August, 2009

Wikipedia article about Rosemary Edmonds

3 September, 2009, article about a visit of Archimandrite Symeon (Bruschweiller) to Putna Monastery, Romania

“Father Symeon from Essex tells us what the Threats to the Church Today are” (28 May, 2008)

Video about Archimandrite Rafail (Noica) spoken with Archbishop Andrei of Alba Iulia (with links to others)

Romanian Wikipedia article about Archimandrite Rafail (Noica)

Romanian Orthodoxwiki article about Archimandrite Rafail (Noica)

Photos of the Hieroschemamonk Raphael Noica (St. Silouan the Athonite Skete, Lazesti, Alba County)

Walking video at the monastery