Cañones, New Mexico, October 14, 2026
Photo: Nepsis Blog
Hieroschemamonk Silouan (Lightle), abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael in Cañones, New Mexico, reposed in the Lord on the night of Monday, October 12, following a long battle with cancer.
Fr. Silouan had previously suffered from stage 4 cancer in 2006 but recovered.
The Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of the South announced his repose, saying he faithfully served the Orthodox Church for many years and dedicated his life to prayer, monastic obedience, and the spiritual care of the brotherhood entrusted to him. As abbot, he played an important role in the development and growth of the monastic community in northern New Mexico.
Photo: holyarchangelmichael.org
The monastery was established as a skete in 1993 and was designated a monastery in 2009. Under Fr. Silouan’s leadership, the community grew into a brotherhood of twelve monks.
His Grace Bishop Gerasim of Fort Worth, locum tenens of the Diocese of the South, attended the funeral, which was served yesterday, joining the brotherhood in prayer for their departed abbot, who was then laid to rest in the monastery cemetery.
May Fr. Silouan’s memory be eternal!
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Last year, OrthoChristian reported on a talk that Fr. Silouan gave in Romania on the asceticism of the Romanian saints in the communist prisons:
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