St. Theophan the Recluse
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
We call St. Theophan, whose memory we commemorate today, a “recluse”. Indeed, he spent a significant part of his life in seclusion without human contact. At the same time, he himself used to say that the reason for his seclusion was not ascetic at all, and he did not go into seclusion for the reasons that ancient saints—for example, the fathers of the Kiev Caves Lavra—did. Why did St. Theophan go into seclusion then? He did it so that nothing could distract him from engaging in writing church books, from composing the works that we still use today.
Indeed, if St. Theophan had continued his ministry as an ordinary bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church of that time, he probably would not have stood out in any special way. In fact, we still remember his name precisely thanks to what he wrote during the period of his seclusion. His works, What Is Spiritual Life and How to Attune Oneself to It, The Path to Salvation, commentaries to the Psalms and to the Epistles were the fruit of his life in seclusion, and St. Theophan left them behind to us.
Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)
And in this regard, I would like to say something about reading Patristic works. Now each one of us has a huge treasury of Patristic wisdom in front of them. Even the previous generation—people who lived in the twentieth century—did not have the opportunity to use Patristic works in such numbers. In the Soviet Union it was very difficult to obtain even the Holy Scriptures, to say nothing of the Church Fathers! And now we can read both the Holy Scriptures and Patristic works very easily. And we don’t even have to take up a book to do it—we can find all of this on our cellphones. But back then, when such books were sparse, people often appreciated them much more than we do now. We know how, during times of persecution, Soviet believers could rewrite one of the Gospels or some Patristic book that fell into their hands overnight. People were conscious that otherwise they would never be able to read and use this literature.
And now the whole treasure house of the Holy Spirit is open before us, and the only question is whether we make use of it or not. After all, everything that the Holy Fathers, including St. Theophan the Recluse, wrote is the fruit of their life in the Holy Spirit. That’s precisely why St. Theophan retired to live a solitary life and celebrated the Divine Liturgy daily—so that he could write his works not just from human reflection (even if a very wise one), but from the Holy Spirit. And, being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, he left behind his commentaries to us, his instructions on how we should work our salvation. Similarly, other Church Fathers, enlightened by God, wrote their works as well.
And if we want to be saved, to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, then reading these works is necessary for us. And St. Theophan’s writings here may be the easiest to read, at least at the beginning, because much of what he wrote is intended for people who are beginning to live a spiritual life. Notably, his writings are addressed to everyone—not just those who live in monasteries. His work, What Is the Spiritual Life and How to Attune Oneself to It, sets forth spiritual life very clearly, very simply and in order, making it accessible to everybody.
And may this day, the feast of St. Theophan the Recluse, once again encourage us to read works of the Holy Fathers, to be enlightened through them, and to learn through them how we can live in the Holy Spirit. And may God grant that through the prayers of St. Theophan the Recluse, enlightened by his legacy and the legacies of other saints, we may not be deprived of the Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.
