Saint Silouan the Athonite wished to receive a Blessing from Saint John of Kronstadt to become a Monk, and to ask for his Prayers. He travelled to visit him, however Saint John was absent at the time of his arrival. Saint Silouan wrote a note and left it for Saint John, it read… “Father, I wish to become a Monk. Pray that the world does not detain me.” Saint Silouan recalled that the very next day he felt that all round him “the flames of hell were burning.” After many years when Saint Silouan would recount this feeling he said “I still marvel at the power of his Prayer. Almost 40 years have passed, yet I have not seen anyone serve the way he did.”
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