St. Silouan the Athonite

By: Jude Namee

Saints come from many backgrounds. Sanctity is not reserved for the children of kings or those with easy backgrounds. Holiness is the one life aspiration open to all. 

Good parenting does matter, however. The knowledge that parenting can be a pathway to sanctify should encourage, not discourage us. As we pray for Christ’s mercy daily, we can hope that joys and sorrows of parenting can lead to our salvation. A good and happy childhood is a wonderful gift to a child, but growing up in a sanctified childhood is a remarkable heritage. Saintly parents oft produce saints. 

Saint Constantine College is happy to publish this series of articles by Jude Namee on the parents of saints. These articles are written by a young person reflecting on one of the many paths the good God has given us to Paradise. I commend these to you as a thoughtful start to many hours of possible meditation. May we read these and be encouraged in our parenting if we are parents, or in our prayers for our parents if we are still young. We ask for the intercession of these saintly parents!

JMNR

In contrast to most of the saints discussed here, St. Silouan’s mother was not the primary spiritual influence in his life. His father, rather, was the one who carefully formed him the Orthodox Faith – and he did quite a good job, considering the scrapes the young Silouan got into.

When St. Silouan was a child, a peddler visited his house and, among other things, said that God didn’t exist because one couldn’t see Him. Now, this is obviously untrue (both that God doesn’t exist, and that we can’t see Him – He appears quite frequently, considering He’s the Lord of the Universe), but Silouan was young and didn’t know this. He had a difficult time with this lie of the peddler, and told his father, “You make me say my prayers – but he says there isn’t a God.” His father replied, “I thought he was a wise man but he turned out to be a fool. Don’t take any notice of what he said.” Prudent instruction from the father; however, St. Silouan was not convinced until much later in his life.