| Honorific Prefix: | Saint |
| Silouan the Athonite | |
| Birth Date: | January 17, 1866 |
| Death Date: | September 24, 1938 (aged 72) |
| Venerated In: | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Birth Place: | Shovskoye village, Lebedyan County, Tambov Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Death Place: | Saint Panteleimon Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece |
| Canonized Date: | 1987 |
| Canonized By: | Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople |
Silouan the Athonite (Russian: Силуан Афонский) also sometimes referred to as Silouan of Athos, Saint Silvanus the Athonite or Staretz Silouan (January 17, 1866 – September 24, 1938) was an Eastern Orthodox monk of Russian origin, born Simeon Ivanovich Antonov who was a poet and monk of the St. Panteleimon Monastery.[1] The life and teachings of Saint Silouan were brought to light by his disciple, Archimandrite Sophrony (aka Saint Sophrony the Athonite, Saint Sophrony of Essex) in his classic book Saint Silouan the Athonite.
He was born Simeon Ivanovich Antonov, of Russian Orthodox parents who came from the village of Shovskoye in Imperial Russia's Tambov Governorate. At the age of twenty-seven, after a period of military service in the Imperial Russian Army, he left his native Russia and came to the monastic state of Mount Athos (an autonomous peninsula in Greece) where he became a monk at the Monastery of St Panteleimon, known as "Rossikon", an Orthodox monastery that houses Russian monks yet is, as all the Athonite monasteries, under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. There, was given the name Silouan (the Russian version of the Biblical name Silvanus).
An ardent ascetic, he received the grace of unceasing prayer and saw Christ in a vision. After long years of spiritual trial, he acquired great humility and inner stillness. He prayed and wept for the whole world as for himself, and he put the highest value on love for enemies. He became widely known as an elder. Silouan died on September 24, 1938. His memory is celebrated on September 24.
Though barely literate, he was sought out by pilgrims for his wise counsel. Saint Silouan while still alive entrusted his writings to his disciple Father Sophrony, who was still a deacon at that time. Father Sophrony several years later travelled to Paris with the intention to publish the writings of his Elder. The first publication of his writings came out in Slavonic but very soon the book was translated into French and English as well as many more languages later.
The text Adam's lament is a poem written by Saint Silouan contained in Part II - Chapter 18 of the book Saint Silouan the Athonite. The Estonian composer Arvo Pärt composed a classical choir piece with the lyrics based on this text.
Monk Silouan was canonized as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1987.