Silvanus of Tabennisi,
Hermit (AC)
4th century. Saint
Silvanus was an actor who abandoned the world to become a monk at Tabennisi
under Saint Pachomius. For some time he led an undisciplined life, trying to entertain
the other monks and often transgressing the rule of silence. Pachomius
endeavored to reform him by remonstration, prayers, sighs, and tears, for his
poor soul. It was a fruitless endeavor for a long time, but Pachomius persisted
until one day he explained to the impenitent Silvanus the dreadful judgments
which threaten those that mock God.
From that moment Silvanus
began to lead a life of great edification to the rest of the brethren and began
to bewail his past misdemeanors. When others entreated him to moderate the
floods of his tears, "Ah," said he, "how can I help weeping,
when I consider the wretchedness of my past life, and that by my sloth I have
profaned what was most sacred? I have reason to fear lest the earth should open
under my feet, and swallow me up, as it did Dathan and Abiron. Oh! suffer me to
labor with ever-flowing fountains of tears, to expiate my innumerable sins. I
ought, if I could, even to pour forth this wretched soul of mine in mourning;
it would be all too little for my offenses."
His sentiments of
contrition helped him so to progress in virtue that the holy abbot proposed him
as a model of humility to the rest. After eight years in this penitential
course, God had called Silvanus to himself. Saint Pachomius was assured by a
revelation, that his soul was presented by angels a most agreeable sacrifice to
Christ. The saint was favored with a spirit of prophecy, and with great grief
foretold the decay of monastic fervor in his order in succeeding ages. He is
especially honored among the Greeks (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
In art, Saint Silvanus is
a hermit watering flowers. He is venerated by the Greeks (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0515.shtml
et https://citydesert.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/silvanus-hermit-of-tabennisi/
Saint Silvanos of
Tabennisi, the Former Actor Who Had the Gift of Tears
St. Silvanos of Tabennisi
(Feast Day - May 15/28 )
Paralipomena
From the Life of Holy
Pachomios
Ch. 2
Once there was a brother
called Silvanos, who had been wearing the monastic habit for twenty years. He
was originally an actor. In the beginning of his renunciation he was extremely
vigilant about his soul, spending all his time in fasting and frequent prayers
and in all humility. But after a long time had elapsed, he began so to
disregard his own salvation that he wanted to live softly and enjoy himself,
and even fearlessly declaimed among the brothers improper quips from the
theater.
Our holy father Pachomios
called him in and in the presence of the brothers ordered him to be stripped of
the monastic habit, to be given secular clothes, and to be expelled from the
monastery by the brothers. He fell at Pachomios' feet and entreated him saying,
"Father, if you forgive me this once, and do not expel me, you will cause
me to do penance for the things in which I have showed negligence, so that you
shall rejoice at the change of my soul."
The Holy Man answered
him, "You know how much I have borne with you, and how much I have
admonished you, even beating you many times. I am a man who does not want to
stretch out his hand with this intent, and when I was obliged to do this in
your case, I suffered more in my soul through sympathy than did you who were
being beaten. I thought to beat you for the sake of your salvation in God, so
that by this means we might be able to correct you from your error. Now if you
did not change when I admonished you, and did not improve when I exhorted you,
and did not fear when I beat you, how is it possible for me to forgive you any
more?"
Silvanos multiplied his
entreaties and promised to amend in the future. Then the Great Man asked
sureties from him, that after he was forgiven he would no more continue the
same behavior. And when a certain Petronios made himself a surety for him the
things he had promised, the Great Man forgave him. Silvanos, having received
remission, so struggled with all his soul that he became a pattern of every
virtue of piety to all the brothers, small and great.
The outstanding
achievement among his virtues was his absolute humility and the tears that
flowed from his eyes unceasingly. When he was eating with the brothers he was
unable to control his weeping, and his tears were mingled with his food. And
when the brothers told him that he should not behave like that in the sight of
strangers, he would affirm strongly, "I have often wanted to control my
tears for this reason, and I was not able." Then the brothers said,
"It is possible for him who is pricked by compunction to weep by himself
and to do likewise when he is at prayer with the brothers. But when someone
eats at table with the brothers, it is possible for his soul to weep
continually without those visible tears. Therefore we want to know what thought
keeps you so ceaselessly soaked with tears that many of us seeing you are
turned from eating to satiety."
He answered those who
were questioning him, "Do you not want me to weep when I see holy men
waiting upon me, the very dust of whose feet I am not worthy? Ought I not to
mourn for myself, when I, a man from the theater, am being waited on by such
holy men? I weep, therefore, brothers, fearing to be swallowed up like Dathan
and Abiram, especially because when I had come from ignorance to knowledge I
did not care for my soul's salvation, so that I fell into the danger of being
expelled by the brothers and I had to give sureties with awful oaths that I
would no longer disregard my life. For this reason I am not ashamed to continue
this behavior. I know my sins, indeed, for which, even if I could give my soul,
there is no grace for me."
As he was struggling in
this manner, the Great Man bore testimony about him before all the brothers,
saying, "Behold, brothers, I bear testimony before God that from the time
this community came into existence, among all the brothers who have been with
me, there has been no one who has completely copied my example, save only
one." When the brothers heard this, some of them thought that the one man
of whom he spoke was Theodore, others Petronios or Hoersiesios. And when
Theodore asked the Holy Man about whom he said this, the Great Man did not want
to say. But as he persisted, along with the other great brothers, entreating
him to let them know who it was, the Great Man answered:
"If I knew that he
about whom I am going to speak would become vainglorious for being praised, I
would not have commended such a man. But since I know that when he is praised
he rather humbles himself and thinks scorn of himself all the more, I will,
before you all, call him blessed, so that you may imitate his example. You,
Theodore, and all those like you who are striving in the monastery, have bound
the devil like a sparrow placing him under your feet, and daily you trample him
down like dust. But if you neglect yourselves, the devil under your feet will
rise up and flee, and he will again make war against you. As for the young
Silvanos, who but a short time ago was about to be expelled by me from the
monastery for his negligence, he has so completely subjugated the devil and
slain him, that the devil will never be able to approach him, for he has
utterly vanquished him by his very great humility. When you humble yourselves,
you do so as men who have works of righteousness and are augmenting their
virtue, relying on what you have already done. As for this man, the more he
struggles, the more he declares that he is unworthy, thinking from his whole
soul and mind that he is useless and contemptible. This indeed is why he is
always on the verge of tears, belittling himself utterly and saying that he is
unworthy even of visible things. You outdo him in your knowledge and endurance;
but he has surpassed you in humility. And nothing so weakens the demon as
humility coming from active power from the whole soul."
When he had struggled in
this manner for eight whole years, he completed his contest, laying down his
life. The servant of God testified of his departure that an endless throng of
holy angels took his soul with great rejoicing and psalmody, and brought it to
God as a choice sacrifice, and as a marvelous incense offering to God found
among men.
From Pachomian Koinonia,
Vol. 2.
SOURCE : https://www.facebook.com/groups/Cathedral.Of.Saint.Markella/posts/10162268972700728/
Silvanus (ook Silouan)
van Tebennisi, Egypte; woestijnmonnik; † eind(?), 4e eeuw.
Feest 15 mei.
Hij was toneelspeler of
wellicht eerder nog pantomimespeler. Hij genoot grote populariteit vanwege zijn
gave om alles en iedereen na te bootsen. Maar hij werd gegrepen door het ideaal
van de woestijnvaders. Hij sloot zich aan bij Pachomius de Grote († 347; feest
14 mei), bij wie hij twintig jaar leerling bleef. Door een ongehoorzaamheid
werd hij door Pachomius verstoten uit zijn gemeenschap. Later bekeerde hij zich
en leidde een streng leven van boete en gebed. Hij had - zo zei hij - heel wat
om voor te boeten!
[101a; 102; 139; 140; Dries van den Akker s.j./2009.07.26]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://www.heiligen.net/heiligen/05/15/05-15-0400-silvanus.php
Saint Silvanos of Tabennesi, The Former Actor Who Had the
Gift of Tears : https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2018/05/saint-silvanos-of-tabennisi-former.html