St. Silouan of Athos and his theological views in the aspect of spiritual perfection and eternal salvation

The article traces the peculiarities of the formation of the soteriological views of St. Silouan the Athonite in the context of his personal spiritual feat. The author emphasizes the direct influence of the events of the ascetic’s life not only on the choice of the monastic path, but also on the specifics of his knowledge of God. The spiritual experience of St. Silouan was based on two experiences that were opposite in essence, but equal in depth: the feeling of a personal meeting with Christ and an acute sense of abandonment by God. Overcoming the painful feeling of separation from God was the main vector of the ascetic feats of the Athonite elder. The teaching of St. Silouan on spiritual perfection and eternal salvation of man is revealed by the author on the material of the few written works of the elder by means of the theological and hermeneutic method. The use of the intertextual method made it possible to substantiate the direct connection of the soteriological views of the ascetic with the spiritual experience of the Orthodox Church and the patristic heritage. The author comes to the conclusion that in the light of the spiritual experience of St. Silouan the Athonite, modem man has the opportunity to objectively assess the true causes of the crisis of modern society, learn to compare subjective judgments with eternal spiritual values and the Gospel moral law. The prayerful union with the Creator, empirically learned by St. Silouan, is a step that transfers man from time to eternity, and the most effective way of communion with the uncreated Divine energies.