Letters of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) to Archbishop of Tambov and Michurinsk Mikhail (Chub)

Abstract

The article examines the correspondence between Archbishop Mikhail (Chub) and Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), a disciple of St. Silouan the Athonite. The author suggests that Archbishop Mikhail (Chub) of Tambov and Michurinsk met Archimandrite Sophrony during the period when the bishop administered the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Germany from August 1957 to March 1959. Archbishop Mikhail brought the first editions of Father Sophrony's main work, "Elder Silouan," to Russia. Several letters from Father Archimandrite to Archbishop Mikhail have survived, some of which are kept in the archives of the Tambov Diocesan Administration. The article publishes two letters devoted to some theological problems and questions of spiritual life that are relevant today.