The elder Schema monk Siluan died on September 24, 1938, and in 1998 the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople canonized him. The name of the Monk Silouan the Athonite was included in the months of the Russian Orthodox Church on September 24. Since then, he has been revered by the Orthodox, and almost half a century of his life in the monastery has become an example of asceticism, humility, meekness and love for others.
Siluan of Athos (worldly name - Simeon Antonov) was born in 1866 in the Tambov province into a family of devout peasants. From childhood, his life was connected with the temple - there Simeon learned to read the Church and concentrated prayer, and later read the "Lives of the Saints." At the age of 19, the young man decided to become a monk, but his father did not allow this, sending his son into the army. But he nevertheless became a monk - after the service, in 1892 Simeon went to Greece and was accepted as a novice at the Russian Panteleimonov monastery on the Athos peninsula ("Holy Mountain"). In 1896 Simeon received the name Silouan and was tonsured into the mantle, and in 1911 - into the schema.
On the day of commemoration of the Monk Silouan the Athonite, priests in churches remind of the life of the saint, reading prayers dedicated to him during the Divine Liturgy. These can be either short prayers (ikos and kontakions), or whole akathists - hymns of praise in honor of the saint, which include 25 short kondaks and ikos.
And the main celebrations of this day, dedicated to Elder Silouan, are held in the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos. This peninsula is one of the main holy places for the Orthodox, which is revered as the earthly Lot of the Mother of God. The ascetic lived there for 46 years, and this day of the Orthodox church calendar for the monastery is a panigir - the main holiday of the monastery. By September 24, pilgrims and specially invited guests gather there according to the new style.
On the eve of the evening, a solemn all-night vigil begins, which ends at dawn. Divine Liturgy is served in two places - the Intercession Church and the paraklis (small chapel) of St. Silouan the Athonite, which is located outside the monastery walls. The solemn divine service is headed by specially invited bishops, and besides pilgrims, monks from the surrounding Orthodox monasteries and settlements are present at it - there are several dozen of them on Athos.
