Silouan, an unlettered young peasant from the heart of European Russia, finished his military service in the autumn of 1892 and within a week set off for the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon on Mount Athos. This account of Silouan's life, written by his disciple Archimandrite Sophrony, reveals not only Silouan's personality and teaching, but also the spiritual struggles which truly made him a staretz (i.e., a monk whose God-given wisdom and insight enable him to serve as a spiritual guide for others).
