Saint + Theophan the Recluse
Holy hierarch
Born	January 10, 1815, in Chernavsk, Russia
Died	January 6, 1894
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized	1988, by the Russian Orthodox Church
Feast	January 6 or 10

St. Theophan the Recluse, also known as "Theophan Zatvornik" (Russian: Феофан Затворник), (1815–1894) is a well-known saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born George Vasilievich Govorov, in the village of Chernavsk. His father was a Russian Orthodox priest. He was educated in the seminaries at Livny, Orel and Kiev. In 1841 he was ordained, became a monk, and adopted the name Theophan. He later became the Bishop of Tambov. Image File history File links Feofan. ... This article discusses the process of declaring saints. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are usually depicted as having halos. ... The Russian Orthodox Church (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Catholic Church of Russia, is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The Russian Orthodox Church (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Catholic Church of Russia, is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Livny (Russian: ) is a town in Oryol Oblast, Russia. ... Orel or Oryol (Орёл) is a city in Russia, administrative center of the Oryol Oblast. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Monasticism (from Greek: monachos — a solitary person) is the religious practice of renouncing all worldly pursuits in order to fully devote ones life to spiritual work. ... A mitre is used as a symbol of the bishops ministry. ... Komunalnaya Ulitsa, Tambov Tambov (Тамбо́в) is a city in Russia, administrative center of Tambov Oblast. ...

He is especially well-known today through the many books he wrote concerning the spiritual life, especially on the subjects of the Christian life and the training of youth in the faith. He also played an important role in translating the Philokalia from Church Slavonic into Russian. The Philokalia is a classic of orthodox spirituality, comprised of the collected works of a number of church fathers which were edited and placed in a four volume set in the 17th and 18th centuries. A persistent theme is developing an interior life of continuous prayer, learning to "pray without ceasing" as St. Paul teaches in his first letter to the Thessalonians. The Philokalia (Gk. ... Church Slavonic may refer to: Old Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... The (Early) Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, also known as the First Letter to the Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

Books Written

(partial listing; there are at least ten altogether)

• The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned To It
• The Path to Salvation: a Manual of Spiritual Transformation
• Turning the Heart to God
• Kindling the Divine Spark: Teachings on How to Preserve Spiritual Zeal

Famous Sayings

• "God abandons no one. For Him all are children. None are step-children. And the hard occasions and situations - all is sent for our benefit."
• "Attention to that which transpires in the heart and proceeds from it - this is the chief activity of the proper Christian life."
• "You must watch after yourself."
• "Descend with your attention into the heart, stand there before the Lord and do not admit nothing sinful to enter there. In this is the entire activity of inner warfare."
• "Mercilessness to oneself, readiness to perform any favor to others and the surrender of oneself entirely to the Lord with a prayerful abiding in Him - these are the creators of the spiritual life."
• "You must kill egoism. If you don't kill it yourself, then the Lord, hammer-blow after hammer-blow, shall send various misfortunes, so as to crush this stone."
• "Self-pleasing and self-pity testify that in the heart abides the ego, and not the Lord."
• "Vain fussing about is not made up of many tasks, but of the manner in which they are carried out. When one is being carried out and hundreds jostle in your head. You must chase all those out, and carry out the one task, and do it with your hands at that, while with your mind abide in your place."
• "A Christian without zeal is a poor Christian."

Veneration as a saint

He was canonized by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of 1988. The act of canonization declared that his "deep theological understanding of the Christian teaching, as well as its performance in practice, and, as a consequence of this, the loftiness and holiness of the life of the sviatitel' allow for his writings to be regarded as a development of the teaching of the Holy Fathers, preserving the same Orthodox purity and Divine enlightenment." His feast day is celebrated January 6 or January 10. This article discusses the process of declaring saints. ... A Local Council (LC, formerly Resistance Council -RC) is a form of local elected government within the districts of Uganda. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ...

See also

• Hesychasm
• Theophanes the Confessor, a Byzantine saint

Hesychasm (Greek ησυχασμός, from ησυχία, stillness, rest, quiet) is an eremitic tradition of prayer in Eastern Orthodox Christianity practised (Gk: ησυχάζω: keep stillness) by the Hesychast (Gr. ... Saint Theophanes the Confessor (about 758/760, Constantinople - March 17, 817 or 818, Samothrace) was an aristocratic but ascetic Byzantine monk and chronicler. ...

External links

• (Russian) The Act of Canonization of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Trinity-Sergius Laura, 6-9 June, 1988.