Théophane le Reclus
1815-1894 19th century Feast day: January 10
The patience of one who accompanies; prayer learned the way one learns to breathe.
Who was Théophane le Reclus?
A Russian bishop, he left his see at fifty to enter a small monastery and never leave it again. He spent twenty-eight years there, the last twenty-two in complete seclusion, writing letters, one by one, to those who asked him how to pray, never tiring of the same beginning. He also translated the Philokalia into Russian.
In their own words
Prayer is the test of everything; prayer is also the source of all good; prayer is the driving force of everything.
The principal thing is to stand before God with the mind in the heart, and to go on standing before him unceasingly, day and night, to the end of life.
You seek the Lord? Seek, but only within yourself. He is far from no one.