Venerable Sophrony (Sakharov) of Essex

Saint Sophrony (born Sergei Semyonovich Sakharov; 22 September 1896, Moscow – 11 July 1993, Essex, England) is one of the most revered Orthodox ascetics of the twentieth century, disciple and biographer of Saint Silouan the Athonite. Trained as a painter, he underwent a spiritual crisis in his youth that turned him toward the Christian faith. In 1925 he entered the Russian Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos, where in 1930 he met the Elder Silouan, who became his lifelong spiritual father. He was tonsured a monk in 1927 and ordained hierodeacon in 1932 and hieromonk in 1941. After Silouan's death he compiled his life and teachings into the book "Saint Silouan the Athonite," which brought the elder worldwide fame and paved the way for his glorification. After the Second World War he moved to France and then England, where in 1959 he founded the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights, Essex, which he guided until his death. On 27 November 2019 he was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople among the venerable saints.