Venerable (Monastic) 20th century

Sophrony of Essex

1896 – 1993

Also known as Elder Sophrony · Sophrony Sakharov · Sergei Sakharov · Sophrony of Tolleshunt Knights

A Russian-born artist who returned to Orthodoxy, became a monk on Mount Athos under St Silouan, and founded the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, England (1959). His writings on prayer and the vision of God shaped modern Orthodox spirituality.

Feast Day

July 11

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

Hymn / Apolytikion Icon gallery Video / Media

Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Sophrony the Athonite, of Essex

Life

Sophrony of Essex (born Sergei Symeonovich Sakharov, 22 September 1896, in Moscow) was a Russian-born monastic of the twentieth century, the disciple and biographer of St Silouan the Athonite, and the founder of the Monastery of St John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights in Essex, England. Trained as a painter in his youth, he is best known for his writings on prayer and the vision of God, which had a wide influence on modern Orthodox spirituality. He was glorified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2019.

Born into a large Orthodox family, the future monk studied art at the Academy of Arts and the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture before leaving Russia after the Revolution. Settling in Paris in 1922, he pursued a career as a painter and exhibited at the Salon d'Automne (1923) and the Salon des Tuileries (1924). According to the accounts of his life, a period of experimentation with Eastern mysticism and a growing disillusionment with art gave way to a return to Orthodoxy around 1924, after which he briefly attended the St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute before departing in 1925.

He came to Mount Athos and entered the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon, where he was tonsured Sophrony and ordained deacon in 1930. There he became a disciple of St Silouan the Athonite, whom his biographers describe as the decisive and lifelong influence on his spiritual life. After Silouan's death in 1938 he withdrew into the Athonite desert, living for a time as a hermit at Karoulia, and was ordained priest in 1941. He later returned to France to publish and circulate Silouan's writings.

In 1959 he founded the Community of St John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights, Essex, a monastery housing both monks and nuns. It came under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1965 and was subsequently elevated to stavropegic status. Sophrony reposed there on 11 July 1993. On 27 November 2019 the Ecumenical Patriarchate entered him among the saints, appointing his feast day on the day of his repose, 11 July.

Timeline 10 moments Read Hide

1896 Born in Moscow Born Sergei Symeonovich Sakharov on 22 September into a large Orthodox family.
1922 Settles in Paris After leaving Russia, he pursues a career as a painter and exhibits at the Paris salons.
c. 1924 Returns to Orthodoxy After experimentation with Eastern mysticism, he returns to the Orthodox faith.
1926 Enters Mount Athos Joins the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon and is tonsured Sophrony.
1930 Ordained deacon; meets St Silouan Becomes the disciple of St Silouan the Athonite, his lifelong spiritual influence.
1938 Death of St Silouan After the elder's repose, Sophrony withdraws to the Athonite desert and edits his writings.
1941 Ordained priest Ordained to the priesthood while living the eremitic life on Athos.
1959 Founds the Essex monastery Establishes the Community of St John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights, Essex.
1993 Repose Dies at Tolleshunt Knights on 11 July.
2019 Glorification Canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 27 November, with his feast on 11 July.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Artist in Paris and return to Orthodoxy

Before his monastic life, Sakharov was a trained painter. After fleeing Russia in the wake of the Revolution, he settled in Paris in 1922 and exhibited his work at the Salon d'Automne in 1923 and the Salon des Tuileries in 1924. Accounts of his life record a preceding period of experimentation with Eastern religion lasting several years, accompanied by existential crisis.

His biographers connect his return to Orthodoxy, around 1924, with a reflection on the divine name revealed to Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM.' The accounts associate this turning with an experience of the Uncreated Light on Holy Saturday of that year, which Sophrony later described in terms drawn from the hesychast tradition. He attended the St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute briefly before leaving in 1925, finding formal academic study uncongenial.

Mount Athos and St Silouan

Sophrony entered the Monastery of St Panteleimon on Mount Athos in the mid-1920s, received monastic tonsure, and was ordained deacon in 1930. There he became the disciple of St Silouan the Athonite, a Russian peasant-monk of the same monastery. The relationship was brief in years but formative: after Silouan's repose in 1938 Sophrony gathered and edited the elder's writings, and his subsequent published account of Silouan's life and teaching established both men's reputation beyond Athos.

Following Silouan's death, Sophrony withdrew into the more solitary life of the Athonite desert, living for a period as a hermit at Karoulia and near the Monastery of Agiou Pavlou, and was ordained priest in 1941. He served as a spiritual father to other monks during these years.

The monastery in Essex and his writings

After leaving Athos, Sophrony returned to France, where he prepared the first editions of his book on St Silouan, working in the same period alongside the theologian Vladimir Lossky. In 1959 he founded the Community of St John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights in Essex, England, a monastery that from its beginnings included both monks and nuns. The community passed under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1965 and was later granted stavropegic status.

Sophrony's principal writings include his account of St Silouan, later published in English as Saint Silouan the Athonite; His Life Is Mine (1977); We Shall See Him As He Is (1985); and the posthumously published On Prayer. His teaching centred on prayer, the vision of God, and the experience of divine abandonment and its overcoming, themes he drew from his years under Silouan and from his own ascetic life.

Works & Further Reading Read Hide

Notable Works

Saint Silouan the Athonite — His account of the life and teaching of his elder, first circulated in Russian in the late 1940s and later widely translated.
His Life Is Mine — A work on the spiritual life.
We Shall See Him As He Is — An autobiographical and theological reflection on the vision of God.
On Prayer — A collection on prayer, published posthumously.

Notes

Born in Moscow, 1896; reposed in Essex, Jul 11, 1993. Disciple and biographer of St Silouan the Athonite. Glorified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2019.

Sources: OrthodoxWiki; Wikipedia; OrthodoxCanada; Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Ecumenical Patriarchate glorification (2019)