Nepsis Vigil for Saint Silouan the Athonite

On Wednesday, 23 September 2026, Nepsis Switzerland held the traditional vigil in honour of Saint Silouan the Athonite at the Romanian Orthodox Parish in Baden.

The service, which included Vespers with the Litiya, Matins and the Divine Liturgy, was celebrated by Father Ștefan, the coordinator of Nepsis Switzerland, together with Father Adrian Anca, the parish priest of the Baden community, in the presence of the neptic young people and of the faithful who had come to the vigil.

In his homily, Father Ștefan recalled the spiritual bond between Nepsis Switzerland and Saint Silouan, born in 2020 at the MOREOM Nepsis Youth Congress in Bern. At that time, at the urging of His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif, the young people prayed to the Saint for help in organising the Congress under the conditions of the pandemic. Since then, the father showed, the association has shared in the love of Saint Silouan and celebrates him every year.

Starting from the interpretation of Saint Sophrony the Athonite, the father spoke about the word that the Lord revealed to Saint Silouan when he asked Him what to do so that his soul might be humbled: “Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.”

According to Saint Sophrony, the struggle against pride, the subtlest of the passions, is the last and most painful step of ascetic effort. The ascetic descends with his mind into hell, where the passions are burned away, but he does not fall into despair, because he knows how much the Lord loves him. In this sense, the father recalled the testimony of Saint Silouan: “The Lord Himself taught me the way of humility: keep your mind in hell and do not despair. This is how the enemy is defeated.”

Nepsis Switzerland thanks the Baden parish and the parish priest Father Adrian Anca for their hospitality and for concelebrating.

Through the prayers of Saints Silouan and Sophrony the Athonites, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.