St. Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894) was born George Govorov in central Russia, near Orlov. His father who was a parish priest sent him to seminary to be trained to be a priest as well. He attended the Kiev Theological Academy, receiving the best theological education available. He took monastic vows, and after the vows and tonsuring, he met the staretz Parthenii at the Kiev Caves Lavra (monastery).

After graduating, he was ordained a priest. He was inspired by the life and teachings of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, who labored to bring the great Patristic teachings to the common people. He spent many years abroad, in Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Mount Athos, the “holy mountain” of monasticism in Greece, and he studied, copied and collected treasures of Patristic writing that he would later translate into Russian, including extensively editing and revising the Russian Philokalia, more than doubling its original size. He became a professor and ultimately dean of the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg.

After returning to Russia, he later became Bishop, first of Tambov, then of Vladimir. But after only seven years as a Bishop, he resigned his position and retired to a monastery at Vysha where he lived simply, secluded in only two rooms, for 28 years, spending his life in prayer and silence.

THE PATH TO SALVATION
A Manual of Spiritual Transformation

St. Theophan the Recluse was a brilliant spiritual psychologist who taught profoundly about the interior life of the spirit and the action of Divine Grace.  The Path to Salvation—A Manual of Spiritual Transformation is his crowning achievement in which he offers precise and detailed instructions on such matters as:

  • How to face and eradicate sin in one's heart

  • How to allow Christ to cleanse and heal the inner man

  • How to find the Kingdom of Heaven within and dwell in the Grace of Christ

THE ART OF PRAYER
An Orthodox Anthology

The Art of Prayer is an anthology compiled from the Greek and Russian traditions consisting mostly of excerpts from the letters of Bishop Theophan the Recluse.