We Shall See Him as He is

by Sophrony Sakharov, Rosemary Edmonds (Translator)

“Now at the close of my life I have decided to talk to my brethren of things I would not have ventured to utter earlier, counting it unseemly….” Thus wrote Archimandrite Sophrony, then ninety-two years old, in We Shall See Him as He Is, his spiritual autobiography. In this book, Fr. Sophrony, reveals his own experience of union with God, and the path to that union.

A spiritual autobiography of Elder Sophrony Sakharov of Saint John's the Baptist Monastery in Essex. Widely regarded as a classic of spiritual literature.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Christianity, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Biography

237 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), also Elder Sophrony, was best known as the disciple and biographer of St Silouan the Athonite and compiler of St Silouan's works, and as the founder of the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England.

Reviews

[Lieutenant · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapter about the Hypostatic principle in the human being is exceptional.

[Signe · Rating 5 out of 5]

24 Oct 2019
Update to state that Elder Sophrony will be canonized as a saint by the Orthodox church.

I am surprised it took so long.

This is the work of an Orthodox Christian monastic, so likely will not please those with popular tastes. For one, it is about the renunciation of the self within a monastic setting, which is not a popular practice, nor should it be as these are deep waters and require exceptional navigational assistance. This will be even less useful to those who do not practice or understand the way of the Orthodox Christian life, the prayers, the lived experience of participation in the Sacraments, the unique sort of humble piety.

This work does not engage in religious relativism - or any sort of relativism at all.

This is about the interior life of an ascetic, a glimpse of that which we don't usually see in Orthodox writing. He writes at length of the subtle complexities of the spiritual life in pursuit of the realization of God experienced through theosis, an experience of which is really beyond words or reasoning.


Archimandrite Sophrony was a disciple of St. Silouan the Athonite whose revelation from God as he struggled on the narrow way is often quoted: "keep your mind in hell and despair not" Unfortunately this revelation can be easily misconstrued out of context. The two saint's style of expression are very different.

St. Silouan writes very simply, powerfully and to the point. Archimandrite Sophrony is more intellectual and writes at length.

I find it refreshingly clear on the spiritual life and on parity with my experience of God and this life which led me to Orthodox Christianity. One of my favorite Feast Days is the Transfiguration for just this very beauty that can be glimpsed through the veil.

When the Living God - I AM THAT I AM - enters the heart, the joy thereof is full of Light. He is quiet. He is gentle. I can address Him as 'Thou' and in His 'I' and in my 'Thou' all Being is contained - both God and this world. He is self-existing; He is loving; He is humble. And at the same time He is infinitely powerful. His eyes see and penetrate all that is. 'Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him; [Heb 4.13]. Every moment of my life, my every heartbeat, are all permanently in His hands. My personal being, both temporal and eternal, is entirely from Him, down to the last detail; save for my sins, about which He knows but in which He has no part. When I am in Him, then 'I am' also. But apart from Him, I die. When His Spirit descends on me, I love Him with my whole being. I live this state as if it were my own, not as something existing outside me. But even from my experience I know that this life proceeds from Him. Through His coming within me, therefore through union with Him in the very Act of Being, I live as He does. He is my life: His life in mine. in the hours when He dwells with me, I know that He is Love. A strange, especial love, however, which could in no way come to the mind or heart of man if his reflecting springs from himself as he is now, in his fallen state.

God's love is kenotic. He revealed the secret of His Being when He commanded us to love God the point of hating oneself [cf. Luke 14.26-27 and 33]. He reveals the secret to us not through abstract philosophy but existentially - that is, by so including us in His Being that it become ours. Thus, precisely, is how we live this gift....

...Men seek Truth. A great many love Christ but too often try to reduce the Gospel to the level of ethics. They overlook Christ's pronouncement that only those who 'do his will shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of man or of the Heavenly Father' [cf. John 7.17]. If we really want to fathom the deifying power of the Gospel tidings we must expend far more effort than it takes to acquire everyday practical or scientific knowledge. Neither the reading of a vast number of books nor familiarity with the history of Christianity, or the study of various other theological systems, et cetera, leads to the sought for goal - salvation through knowledge of the 'only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent' [ cf. John 17.3]. Age-old experience of academic theology has shown convincingly that it is possible to acquire wide erudition in the science of theology without having a lively faith - that is, in a condition of total ignorance of God. In such cases, theology becomes an intellectual profession, like jurisprudence which differs in each country in the same way as theology differs in the multitude of confessions divided among themselves.

The Name of God is I AM THAT I AM. For man, the image of the All-Highest, this word I is one of the most precious of all, since it expresses the principle of the persona in us. Outside the principle there would be no meaning, nothing. Let each of us hold on to his personal worth, which alone contains the wealth and beauty of our being. In the conditions of our historical existence the struggle to actualize the lofty idea for us of our Creator and God is far from easy. The Lord was pleased to confer on us the light of the revelation of the persona but we were born and left to live among the unwieldy mass of individuals prone to selfishness and pride. But to the persona it is given to embrace all creation in the flame of Christlike love. We are tied to this world as it became after the Fall, and at the same time obliged to wrestle for our freedom in God. Contemporary civilization is individualistic by nature. Individualism is cultivated in all its impassioned aspects. This is particularly obvious in the realm of the arts. Geniuses are acclaimed - originators of one or another particular style. It is the originality, the individuality of the artist that is prized. This is the principle on which our social structure is based. But individuals en masse live in a state of decline and ineludible tragedy. The cult of decline leads to alienation from God - man is reduced when the Divine image is obscured in him. Contrariwise, an assembly of personae is 'the salt of the earth, the light of the world' [cf. Matt 5.13-14]. This is realised in Christ's Church and with particular force in the liturgical act - precisely where the true image of the Holy Trinity is made manifest....

[Nathan Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a phenomenal text! It's a spiritual autobiography of sorts as well as an attempt to articulate the life in Christ, especially the experience of the Uncreated Light in penitent prayer. Very rich, profound meditations on the deepest mysteries of the Christian faith and life in Christ.

[Remon Talaat · Rating 5 out of 5]

هناك كتابات للرؤية..
وهناك كتابات روحية..
وهناك كتابات شخصية..
ولكن هذة الخبرة الشخصية ليست أي من هذة... هذا نوع خاص... ومن يقصد هذا الكتاب بهدف المعرفة.. سُيحبط..

[Mike_msc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Первое впечатление было не самое благоприятное: провокационный заголовок, стилизация языка под писания св. отцов, невозможные высказывания от первого лица "я страдал", "я подвизался" и т. п., причём это не ирония.
Однако к середине книги авторская оптика как-то перестала раздражать и само повествование вышло на первый план: описание духовной жизни конкретного человека, своеобразный мемуар. Собственно мемуаров, описания личного духовного пути, к сожалению, не так много среди православной литературы, обычно люди пишут в данном жанре о внешних событиях своей жизни и о встреченных на жизненном пути людях. Рассказывать о своих духовных переживаниях мешает скромность, в лучшем случае, а в худшем - отсутствие таковых переживаний.

[Dabeshim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare and unique look into the spiritual progress and the direct encounter with the Logos of God by the human soul.

[Joshua Finch]

Read this if you want to see a saint's first person view on how his own repentance took place. May we all find the courage to repent. He was a painter, so using words and underlying philosophic concepts he paints, and returns to certain themes. But I would not say it is poetic, or philosophical per se (although accidentally sometimes it is poetic). It is empirical theology. He saw the uncreated Light. He says so much but there is still so much remaining of mystery. New insights here but the repetition helps to really uncover certain repeated things that wouldn't otherwise be uncovered, like the requirements for being a person, for knowledge, and love.

[Evan Kards · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible read! St Sophrony takes us on a journey, his journey, from death to life. From fallen man to a god by grace, this is an incredible testimony to the abundant mercy of God, to heal man from his fall and restore him to His Divine likeness. The world is indeed indebted to St Sophrony and all the saints, for enduring great sufferings, to be born again as sons of God. They are living witnesses to the truth of the gospel message.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, with deep insights into the spiritual life of Saint Sophrony and practical advise for our own. Great wisdom is to be found here, which I believe will stay with me for years to come.

[Jerry Buccola · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read partially. This is over my head. I'll take it up another time.

[cadfael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goated (in the Christian sense).

[Dylan Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resurrection necessitates our Death.