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Prot. Dionysius Dunaevsky. An arrow in silence: where Abba Silouan stayed when his cell was burningtranslated

July 16, 2026 · 1 min read

📷 Guy Fawkes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The sun was setting, coloring the dry rocks of the Skete desert with crimson. Abba Silouan stood in his cell, built of rough, unhewn stones. His hands were folded crosswise on his chest, his eyes were closed, and his mind was completely absorbed in secret prayer. For him at that hour there was neither the ground under his feet nor the stifling heat of the evening - the soul of the old man stood before the Throne of the King of Glory.

Suddenly the pre-sunset silence was broken by a frantic, wild cry. From behind the dunes, raising clouds of dust, a horde of nomadic Moors rushed out. They raided defenseless abodes, sparing no one on their way. There was the roar of breaking doors, the sound of iron and the frightened cries of young novices fleeing for their lives.

One of the barbarians, with a drawn curved sword and a torch in his hand, ran into the cell of Abba Silouan. The nomad expected to see an old man gripped by horror, begging for mercy or trying to hide the meager monastery vessels.

But the old man didn’t even move.

He stood in the middle of the cell, straight and motionless, like a statue made of ancient basalt. His breathing was even and quiet. The enraged Moor, shouting, swung his sword over the head of the righteous man, but the blade stopped a hair's breadth from his gray hair...

Source: Site: Иваново-Вознесенская епархия · Read the full story →

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إلياس نصار

This description reminds me of how our father used to say that true prayer makes a person not even feel the fire around him. Imagine, the sword was hanging above his head and it moved.

حنا معلوف

Yes, Elias, your father said important things. I remember when I burned a block of wood in the oven at home while I was standing praying the evening prayer. I did not feel the smoke until after I finished. Did your father mean such situations or were there other stories you heard from him?

جيسيكا نصار

Yes, Elias, what your father said is absolutely true. I remember when I was praying early in the morning and forgot to put the pot on the fire. The rice burned, and I only felt the smell of the fire after I finished praying. Did your father tell you a specific story about one of the sheikhs who lived it?

ريتا حداد

Yes, a similar thing happened to me once when I was baking bread and forgot the oven. The loaf turned out completely burnt after I finished my prayer. But my father did not tell me a specific story about a sheikh who lived it. He only said that true prayer takes you to another place. Have you tried this more than once?

ميشيل حداد

Yes, Rita, this type of prayer really takes you to a place where you feel the world around you. One time, I was praying after work at the hospital and forgot to boil water on the fire. When I finished, I found it floating and I felt nothing. Your father said nice things, but have you tried feeling like this during service at home or only at church?