He was born as
Simeon Ivanovich Antonov (), of
Russian Orthodox parents who came from the village of
Snovskoye in
Imperial Russia's
Tambov Governorate. According to the biography compiled by Archimandrite
Sophrony (Sakharov), Silouan of Athos worked in his youth as a carpenter in his brother's trade. The heart of Silouan “ignited with love for God” after witnessing the miracles performed at the tomb of . At the age of 27, after a period of military service in the
Imperial Russian Army, he left his native Russia and came to the monastic state of
Mount Athos (an autonomous peninsula in
Greece) where he became a monk at the
Monastery of St Panteleimon, known as "Rossikon": an Orthodox
monastery that houses Russian monks. However, like all of the Athonite monasteries, the Russian monastery was under the jurisdiction of the
Patriarch of Constantinople. There he was tonsured into the great schema and was given the name
Silouan (the Russian version of the Biblical name
Silvanus). Silouan of Athos was physically strong and spent all his nights in prayer. The first “obedience” of Silouan was to work at the mill. Though barely literate, he was sought out by
pilgrims for his wise counsel. Silouan while still alive entrusted his writings to his disciple Father Sophrony, who was still a deacon at that time. Father Sophrony several years later travelled to Paris with the intention to publish the writings of his Elder. The first publication of his writings came out in Slavonic but very soon the book was translated into French and English as well as many more languages later. The text ''
Adam's lament is a poem written by Silouan contained in Part II - Chapter 18 of the book, Silouan the Athonite''. The Estonian composer
Arvo Pärt composed a classical choir piece with the lyrics based on this text. Silouan of Athos was
canonized as a Saint by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate in either 1987 or 1988. The
Moscow Patriarchate canonized Silouan in 1992. == Troparion ==