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One of the most revered saints of the Russian Orthodox Church, during his lifetime he became famous for the miracles of healing and healing. With his zeal, the Serafimo-Diveevo convent was founded. Ranked among the saints at the beginning of the 20th century.

Childhood and adolescence of St. Seraphim

In the family of a wealthy Kursk merchant, a large factory owner and a contractor for the construction of stone churches and buildings, Isidor Ivanovich Moshnin (in some sources - Mashnin) and his wife Agafya Fotiyevna on July 19, 1754 (according to other sources - 1759), the son Prokhor, who later became one from the pillars of Russian Orthodoxy - the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. The family lived in Ilyinskaya Sloboda, and the boy's pious parents, who were parishioners of the Ilyinsky Church, often took him to services, where Prokhor from early childhood was introduced to faith and love for the Lord. Shortly before the birth of his son, Isidor Ivanovich took a contract for the construction of a temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (now the Sergiev-Kazan Cathedral), but he did not manage to complete the work he had begun, having died in 1960 (1962). They buried him in the Ilyinsky Church and, according to some reports, they buried him near the walls of the temple.

The widow of the merchant, Agafya Fotiyevna, personally supervised the workers and monitored the construction progress. Once, when Prokhor reached the age of seven, his mother took him with her to inspect the almost completely erected church bell tower. Rising to the very dome, she was briefly distracted and released her son's hand. Curious Prokhor quickly ran up to the railing and leaned over it with interest. Two or three seconds were enough for the tragedy to occur - the boy fell down. With her heart ready to jump out of her chest, the mother ran down, with horror imagining the bloodied body of her son on the ground. But what happened below, the heartbroken woman could not call it anything other than a miracle and the Providence of God - her boy, who did not even get a scratch when falling from a great height, was absolutely safe and sound. Agafya, with tears of joy and relief, offering up a prayer to the Almighty, realized that her son was protected by the Heavenly Forces. Possessing a good memory and burning with the desire to learn to read and write in order to read the Holy Scriptures and the Lives of the saints himself, Prokhor quickly mastered the basics of literacy and studied the holy books with pleasure and for a long time, reading them to his relatives and peers.

A few years later, an incident occurred that fully confirmed the mother's guess about the chosenness of her son by the Lord. As a teenager, Prokhor became very ill, and the doctors were powerless to help him. It was then that the Mother of God appeared to Prokhor in a dream, promising to heal him of his illness. Prokhor told his mother about this, and when the procession with the icon of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos soon passed by their house, Agafya brought her son out onto the porch to venerate the miraculous icon. After that, Prokhor was indeed healed, and carefully kept the miraculous vision of the Virgin in his heart. Therefore, when in 1776 he came to his mother for a blessing to set foot on the path of monasticism and go with pilgrims to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the woman not only did not mind, but tremblingly blessed her son, giving him a small copper crucifix, which he wore all his life at the heart as a shrine.

Path to monasticism

In the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Elder Dositheus (the great ascetic of Christianity Dosithea of Kyiv, who dedicated herself to serving the Lord in a male guise) had a long conversation with Prokhor, blessing him on the monastic path and indicating the place of obedience and taking tonsure - the Sarov Hermitage. Returning briefly to his father's house, Prokhor forever said goodbye to his relatives and went to, where he arrived on November 20, 1778. Elder Pachomius, then rector of the Sarov monastery, affectionately received the young man and appointed him Elder Joseph as confessor, under whose supervision Prokhor passed his obediences - he worked in the carpentry, bread, prosphora, was a sacristan, and completely devoted his free time to prayers. Following the example of many monks who retire from the monastery to the forest to pray, the novice Prokhor asked for such permission from Elder Joseph, and since then, after righteous labors in the monastery, he retired to the wilderness and made prayers to the Almighty.

Two years later, the Lord again decided to test Prokhor by sending him a serious illness - dropsy, from which the whole body of the guy swelled up, and he was bedridden for almost three years. Other monks, who fell in love with Prokhor for his gentle disposition, diligence and gentleness, looked after him, never once hearing a murmur from him. Fearing that the help of doctors could not be dispensed with, Elder Joseph wanted to invite a doctor, but Prokhor, having entrusted his soul and body to the Lord, asked not to do this, only to take communion with him. After communion, the Mother of God again appeared to him in a dream with the apostles - St. Peter and John the Theologian, pointing to the patient and saying that he was from their family and touching the side of Prochorus with a rod, after which all the excess liquid poured out of the guy’s body, and soon he was again healthy. And in the place where the Most Holy Theotokos miraculously appeared to Prokhor, the monks erected a hospital church, in which they consecrated the chapel in honor of Zosima and Savvaty, the Solovetsky miracle workers, the throne for which Seraphim made of cypress wood with his own hands and always took communion in this church.

After eight years of obedience, in 1786 the young man accepted monasticism with the name Seraphim. A year later, he was elevated to the rank of hierodeacon by Bishop of Vladimir and Murom Victor (Onisimov) and continued to serve the Lord even more zealously and zealously. The patronage of Father Seraphim was often shown by the Lord and the Incorporeal Heavenly Forces, appearing to him during festive services, which earned the monk even greater love from the brothers and inspired him to even greater zeal in serving the Heavenly Father and the Blessed Mother of God. Every day, after all his labors, the Monk Seraphim retired to the forest and performed prayer vigils all night long.
In 1789, hieromonk Seraphim took custody of the Kazan community (in the future, the Serafimo-Diveevo convent), set up not far from schema-nun Alexandra (Melgunova), and all his life he helped the sisters with spiritual advice and material support.

The exploits of the Monk Seraphim

In September 1793, at the request of the monastic brethren, Bishop Theophilus (Raev) of Tambov and Penza elevated Seraphim to the rank of hieromonk, and already in 1794, after the rector's quiet death, Fr. Pachomius, who blessed the monk for the feat of hermitage, Fr. Seraphim, having also asked for a blessing from the new rector, Fr. Isaiah (Zubkov), retired to a small forest cell, five kilometers away from the monastery, and began to live alone. The monk chose strict asceticism as one of his labors, wearing the same clothes in summer and winter, earning his own food, observing all the fasts and constantly rereading the sacred books. Near the cell of Fr. Seraphim dug out a small garden and started a bee-keeper. Only on Saturday, before the All-Night Vigil, did the hermit come to the Sarov Hermitage, returning to his forest cell after Liturgy and communion of the Holy Mysteries.

Often, while praying, Fr. Seraphim was so deeply immersed in himself that he did not see or hear anything around. At such moments, the infrequent guests of the recluse - Hierodeacon Alexander, schemamonk Mark the Silent, or the monks who brought bread to the monk, quietly retired, fearing to break his silence.

It is a well-known fact that for three and a half years Saint Seraphim ate only gout grass growing near his cell and fed from the hands of a wild bear and other forest animals that came to his cell. And once, when the evil spirit began to bake and tempt Fr. Seraphim, he took upon himself the difficult feat of being a pillar, and spent a thousand days and nights in prayers on a stone, one of which was in the cell, and the other near it, leaving the place of prayer only for a short rest and meal.

Soon to about. Not only monks began to come to Seraphim, but also lay people who had heard about the wonderful forest hermit, asking him for advice and blessings. He accepted everyone, but soon, being burdened by such a pilgrimage and wanting to live in complete solitude and silence, and having asked for the blessing of the abbot for this, with the help of prayers he blocked the path to his dwelling with branches of centuries-old trees that hid him from prying eyes.

Once with Fr. Seraphim had a tragic accident. Three peasants, having heard that not only the poor, but also wealthy people often come to the monk, decided to rob him. At that time, the monk prayed earnestly, as usual, not paying attention to what was happening around him. The robbers attacked him, but he, being in the prime of life and strength, did not even try to resist them. One of the robbers broke through Fr. Seraphim's head with the butt of an ax, and all three rushed to search the dwelling. Finding nothing but an icon and a small supply of food, the robbers fled in horror from what they had done, and the monk, recovering himself, barely made it to the monastery, where the shocked brethren looked after him for eight days, marveling that he managed to survive after severe wounds. The Blessed Virgin again did not leave Fr. Seraphim, having come to him in a dream. After the touch of the Mother of God, the Monk Seraphim began to get better, but he had to spend almost half a year in the monastery. After this incident, Fr. Seraphim forever remained a little hunched and walked leaning on a stick or staff, but he forgave his offenders, who were soon found, and asked not to punish him.

Returning to his forest cell, in 1807 the monk took a vow of silence, avoiding meetings and communication with people, for which he even stopped attending Saturday vigils in the monastery.

Return to the monastery

Three years later, Father Seraphim had to return to the Sarov Hermitage - his health was undermined (the attack of the robbers was not in vain), but he immediately retired to his cell and did not receive anyone for fifteen whole years. Only in November 1825, after seeing the Ever-Virgin Mary in a dream, at her direction, he interrupted his seclusion and, having ascended the last step of the highest monastic feat - elderhood and possessing the gift of healing and clairvoyance, began to receive monks and laity.

The rumor about Seraphim, the miracle worker of Sarov, was so loud that not only ordinary peasants and the poor, but also people of the upper classes and even the emperor himself came to him for advice and blessing. For all visitors, without exception, the monk had one greeting: "Christ is risen", and he called everyone the same: "My joy." Healing spiritual wounds and bodily ailments, Fr. Seraphim was always friendly and cheerful, for everyone he found a kind word and parting words. The monk considered despondency to be the greatest sin and advised everyone to occupy their hands with charitable deeds, and thoughts with passionate prayers.

Death of Elder Seraphim

In 1831, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Mother of God with the apostles and 12 virgins again came to the elder Seraphim in a dream and, after a long conversation, promised to take him to the Kingdom of Heaven soon. After this meeting, the monk began to talk a lot about his imminent death and he himself indicated the place of burial - at the altar on the southeastern side of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. At his request, the monks placed a coffin in the hallway of the cell, and he stood near it for a long time, offering prayers to the Almighty and preparing to appear before his court.

For the last time, Elder Seraphim came to the hospital Zosima-Sabbatiev Church on January 1, 1833, where, after the service and communion, he said goodbye to the brethren and blessed them. In the early morning of January 2, 1833, a monk, passing by the cell of Elder Seraphim, smelled the smell of burnt paper coming from it. After the monks opened the cell, they saw an amazing picture - all the books and things of Seraphim were already smoldering, his soul flew off to the Lord, and his body was in a kneeling state with prayerfully folded hands.

Canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov

For seventy years after the death of Elder Seraphim, people flocked to the place of his burial, believing that he could alleviate suffering and instruct the true. Long before the official canonization, thrones were set up in the temples in his honor, troparia and biographies were compiled. And after the long-awaited son was born in the family of the emperor, who already had four daughters and dreamed of an heir, after prayers to Seraphim of Sarov, the royal couple believed in the holiness of the elder, a large portrait of the elder Seraphim appeared in the office of Nicholas II, and the Russian people in January 1903 with jubilation he accepted the decision of the Holy Synod on his canonization.

On the birthday of the saint, July 19, 1903, in the presence of the imperial couple, the higher clergy, the nobility and ordinary people, magnificent Sarov celebrations took place on the occasion of the discovery of the holy and multi-healing relics of Seraphim of Sarov. More than 150 thousand people attended the celebrations.

Finding holy relics

In December 1920, by decision of a special commission of the new workers' and peasants' power of cancer with the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarovsky was opened, and in 1922 was transported to Moscow, which was transformed by the Bolsheviks into a museum of religious art.

In connection with the turbulent and tragic events in history over the next seventy years, the relics of Seraphim of Sarov were lost, so they were found only in the fall of 1990. During work in (then - the Museum of the History of Religion) in one of the reserves, relics that did not pass according to previous inventories were discovered. In December 1990, the relics were examined and compared with the act of opening the relics of Seraphim of Sarov in 1920, which confirmed the hypothesis that the relics belonged to the elder Seraphim.

In the early days of February 1991, the holy relics were transported to and carried in a procession to. At the end of July 1991, with a procession, the holy relics of the Sarov wonderworker went to the resting place indicated by the monk himself - the Diveevo Hermitage, where they were met by a large number of believers.

Interesting Facts

In the Kursk Root Nativity of the Theotokos Hermitage, monuments to the Reverend Father Seraphim were erected and consecrated.
A street in the suburbs of the Serbian capital of Belgrade, Batajnice, is named after him.
Since 2007, Rev. Serafim Sarovsky is declared the patron of nuclear physicists, and Belgorod students, according to a survey conducted in 2009-2010 as part of the work “On Student Beliefs and Rituals”, consider him their heavenly intercessor.

With his righteous ascetic life and posthumous miracles, St. Seraphim, the miracle worker of Sarov, has become for the entire Orthodox world, along with the reverend unquenchable light of Christianity, and in our days invisibly protects people from evil and gives hope for salvation and eternal life.

Relevant to localities:

From November 1778 until his death in 1833 he stayed in the Sarov desert and a nearby forest cell, in 1786 he accepted monasticism with the name Seraphim. Hieromonk of the Sarov Monastery (since 1793).

Isidore was a merchant and took contracts for the construction of buildings, and at the end of his life he began the construction of a cathedral in Kursk, but died before the completion of the work. The youngest son Prokhor remained in the care of his mother, who brought up a deep faith in her son.

After the death of her husband, Agafia Moshnina, who continued the construction of the cathedral, once took Prochorus with her there, who, having stumbled, fell down from the bell tower. The Lord saved the life of the future lamp of the Church: the frightened mother, going downstairs, found her son unharmed.

Young Prokhor, having an excellent memory, soon learned to read and write. Since childhood, he loved to attend church services and read the Holy Scriptures and the Lives of the Saints to his peers, but most of all he loved to pray or read the Holy Gospel in solitude.

Once Prokhor fell seriously ill, his life was in danger. In a dream, the boy saw the Mother of God, who promised to visit and heal him. Soon a religious procession with the icon of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos passed through the courtyard of the Moshnins' estate; the mother carried Prokhor in her arms, and he venerated the holy icon, after which he quickly began to recover.

Even in his youth, Prokhor made the decision to devote his life entirely to God and go to the monastery. The pious mother did not interfere with this and blessed him on the monastic path with a crucifix, which the monk wore on his chest all his life. Prokhor with pilgrims went on foot from Kursk to Kyiv to worship the Caves saints.

eldership

On November 25, the Mother of God, together with the two saints celebrated on this day, appeared in a dream to the elder and commanded him to leave the seclusion and receive weak human souls, requiring instruction, consolation, guidance and healing. Having been blessed by the rector to change his way of life, the monk opened the doors of his cell to everyone.

The elder saw the hearts of people, and, as a spiritual doctor, he healed mental and physical illnesses with a prayer to God and a grace-filled word. Those who came to the Monk Seraphim felt his great love and listened with tenderness to the affectionate words with which he addressed people: "My joy, my treasure." The elder began to visit his desert cell and the spring, called Bogoslovsky, near which a small cell was built for him.

Leaving the cell, the elder always carried a knapsack with stones over his shoulders. When asked why he was doing this, the saint humbly answered: "I torment him who torments me."

In the last period of his earthly life, the Monk Seraphim took special care of his beloved offspring - the Diveevo Convent. While still in the rank of hierodeacon, he accompanied the late rector Father Pachomius to the Diveevo community to the abbess nun Alexandra (Melgunova), a great ascetic, and then Father Pachomius blessed the reverend to always take care of the "Diveevo orphans". He was a true father to the sisters who turned to him in all their spiritual and worldly difficulties. The disciples and spiritual friends helped the saint to feed the Diveevo community - Mikhail Vasilievich Manturov, who was healed by the monk from a serious illness and, on the advice of the elder, took upon himself the feat of voluntary poverty; Elena (Manturova), one of the Diveevsky sisters, who voluntarily agreed to die out of obedience to the elder for her brother, who was still needed in this life; Nikolai Alexandrovich Motovilov, also healed by the Reverend. ON THE. Motovilov wrote down the wonderful teaching of St. Seraphim on the purpose of the Christian life. In the last years of the life of the Monk Seraphim, one healed by him saw him standing in the air during prayer. The saint strictly forbade talking about this before his death.

Everyone knew and honored the Monk Seraphim as a great ascetic and miracle worker. A year and ten months before his death, on the feast of the Annunciation, the Monk Seraphim was once again vouchsafed the appearance of the Queen of Heaven, accompanied by the Baptist of the Lord John, the Apostle John the Theologian, and the twelve virgins, holy martyrs and reverends. The Blessed Virgin talked for a long time with the monk, entrusting him with the Diveyevo sisters. Having finished the conversation, She told him: "Soon, my beloved, you will be with us." At this apparition, during the wondrous visitation of the Mother of God, one Diveevo old woman was present, through the prayer of the reverend for her.

Shortly before the blessed death of the Monk Seraphim, a pious monk asked him: "Why don't we have such a strict life as the ancient ascetics led?" “Because,” the elder answered, “we do not have the determination for this. If we had the determination, we would live like our fathers, because grace and help to the faithful and those who seek the Lord with all their hearts are now the same as they were before, for according to the word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8).

Prayers

Troparion for the Repose, Tone 4

From the youth, Christ loved, the blessed,/ and, the one working one, the lustling of one,/ unceasing prayer and labor in the wasteland, was eager for,/ the touched by the pierce of Christ,/ the chosen one was in the same way. / save us with your prayers, Seraphim, reverend our father.

Troparion for glorification, the same voice

From the youth, he loved Christ, the present,/ and that one -to -elaborate was lusting,/ in the empty life of your life, the unceasant prayer and the labor of Christ, the sourteenth, was seduced, in the sordel. imitator, / even so, the chosen one beloved of God's Mother appeared to you, / for this sake we cry out to you: / save us with your prayers, our joy, / warm intercessor before God, / / blessed Seraphim.

Kontakion, tone 2

Leaving the beauty of the world and even the perishable in it, reverend, / you settled in the Sarov monastery / and, having lived there like an angel, / you were many ways to salvation, / for the sake of Christ, Father Seraphim, glorify and heal richly ./ The same cry to you // Rejoice, Seraphim, reverend our Father.

Video

Documentary film "Wonderworker Seraphim of Sarov". Television company "Neofit TV" of the Moscow Danilov Monastery, 2003

Literature

Web portal dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov.

Used materials

Site page Russian Orthodoxy:
"The cenobitic Sarov Hermitage and the memorable monks who labored in it" M .: Sretensky Monastery, 1996, 241 p. pp. 64, 85, 91.
Month page Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy
Venerable Seraphim of Sarov // Page of the website "ABC of Faith"

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was born on July 19, 1754. The parents of the monk, Isidore and Agathia Moshnin, were residents of Kursk. Isidore was a merchant and took contracts for the construction of buildings, and at the end of his life he began the construction of a cathedral in Kursk, but died before the completion of the work. The youngest son Prokhor remained in the care of his mother, who brought up a deep faith in her son.

Schemamonk Elder Dositheus, who was visited by Prokhor, blessed him to go to the Sarov hermitage and save himself there. Returning briefly to his parents' house, Prokhor forever said goodbye to his mother and family. On November 20, 1778, he came to Sarov, where the wise old man, Father Pachomius, was then rector. He affectionately received the young man and appointed Elder Joseph as his confessor. Under his leadership, Prokhor went through many obediences in the monastery: he was the cell-attendant of the elder, worked in the bakery, prosphora and carpentry, performed the duties of a sexton, and did everything with zeal and zeal, serving, as it were, the Lord Himself. By constant work, he protected himself from boredom - this, as he later said, "the most dangerous temptation for novice monks, which is healed by prayer, abstinence from idle talk, feasible needlework, reading the Word of God and patience, because it is born from cowardice, carelessness and idle talk" .

Already in these years, Prokhor, following the example of other monks who retired to the forest to pray, asked the blessing of the elder in his free time to also go to the forest, where he performed the Jesus Prayer in complete solitude. Two years later, the novice Prokhor fell ill with dropsy, his body was swollen, he experienced severe suffering. The mentor, Father Joseph, and other elders who loved Prokhor, looked after him. The illness lasted about three years, and not once did anyone hear a word of grumbling from him. The elders, fearing for the life of the patient, wanted to call a doctor to him, but Prokhor asked not to do this, saying to Father Pachomius: "I have betrayed myself, Holy Father, to the True Physician of souls and bodies - our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother..." , and wished to be communed with the Holy Mysteries. At the same time, Prochorus had a vision: the Mother of God appeared in an indescribable light, accompanied by the holy apostles Peter and John the Theologian. Pointing her hand at the patient, the Blessed Virgin said to John: "This one is from our generation." Then she touched the patient's side with the staff, and immediately the liquid that filled the body began to flow out through the hole formed, and he quickly recovered. Soon, on the site of the appearance of the Mother of God, a hospital church was built, one of the aisles of which was consecrated in the name of the Monks Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky. The altar for the side-altar St. Seraphim built with his own hands from cypress wood and always communed the Holy Mysteries in this church.

After spending eight years as a novice in the Sarov monastery, Prokhor took monastic vows with the name Seraphim, which so well expressed his fiery love for the Lord and his desire to serve Him zealously. A year later, Seraphim was consecrated to the rank of hierodeacon. Burning in spirit, he served daily in the temple, incessantly praying even after the service. The Lord vouchsafed the reverend visions of grace during church services: more than once he saw the holy angels ministering to the brethren. The monk was granted a special blessed vision during the Divine Liturgy on Maundy Thursday, which was officiated by the rector Father Pachomius and Elder Joseph. When, after the troparia, the monk uttered "Lord, save the pious" and, standing in the royal gates, pointed the orarion at the worshipers with the exclamation "and forever and ever," a bright ray suddenly dawned on him. Raising his eyes, the Monk Seraphim saw the Lord Jesus Christ walking through the air from the western doors of the temple, surrounded by Heavenly Incorporeal Forces. Reaching the pulpit. The Lord blessed all those praying and entered the local icon to the right of the royal gates. The Monk Seraphim, looking in spiritual delight at the wondrous manifestation, could not utter a word, nor move from his place. He was taken by the arms to the altar, where he stood for another three hours, changing in his face from the great grace that illumined him. After the vision, the monk intensified his exploits: during the day he labored in the monastery, and spent his nights in prayer in a deserted forest cell. In 1793, at the age of 39, Saint Seraphim was ordained to the rank of hieromonk and continued to serve in the church. After the death of the rector, Father Pachomius, the Monk Seraphim, having his dying blessing for a new feat - wilderness living, also took a blessing from the new rector - Father Isaiah - and went to a desert cell a few kilometers from the monastery, in a dense forest. Here he began to indulge in solitary prayers, coming to the monastery only on Saturday, before the Vespers, and returning to his cell after the Liturgy, during which he took communion of the Holy Mysteries. The monk spent his life in severe deeds. He performed his cell prayer rule according to the rules of the ancient desert monasteries; he never parted with the Holy Gospel, reading the entire New Testament during the week, he also read patristic and liturgical books. The monk memorized many church hymns and sang them during his hours of work in the forest. Near the cell, he planted a vegetable garden and set up a bee-keeper. Earning food for himself, the monk kept a very strict fast, ate once a day, and on Wednesday and Friday he completely abstained from food. On the first week of Holy Lent, he did not take food until Saturday, when he received Communion of the Holy Mysteries.

The holy elder in solitude sometimes immersed himself in inner prayer of the heart to such an extent that he remained motionless for a long time, hearing nothing and not seeing anything around him. The hermit monks, Schemamonk Mark the Silent and Hierodeacon Alexander, who visited him from time to time, finding the saint in such a prayer, with reverence quietly retired so as not to disturb his contemplation.

In the summer heat, the monk gathered moss in the swamp to fertilize the garden; mosquitoes mercilessly stung him, but he complacently endured this suffering, saying: "Passion is destroyed by suffering and sorrow, either arbitrary or sent by Providence." For about three years, the monk ate only one herb, sthnitsa, which grew around his cell. To him more and more often began to come, except for the brethren, the laity - for advice and blessings. It violated his privacy. Having asked for the blessing of the rector, the monk blocked access to women, and then to everyone else, receiving a sign that the Lord approved of his idea of complete silence. Through the prayer of the monk, the path to his deserted cell was blocked by huge boughs of centuries-old pines. Now only birds, flying in multitudes to the saint, and wild animals visited him. The monk fed the bear with bread from his hands when bread was brought to him from the monastery.

Seeing the deeds of the Monk Seraphim, the enemy of the human race armed himself against him and, wanting to force the saint to leave silence, decided to frighten him, but the monk protected himself with prayer and the power of the Life-Giving Cross. The devil brought upon the saint "mental warfare" - a stubborn, prolonged temptation. To repel the onslaught of the enemy, the Monk Seraphim aggravated his labors, taking upon himself the feat of pilgrimage. Every night he climbed a huge stone in the forest and prayed with outstretched hands, crying out: "God, be merciful to me a sinner." During the day, he prayed in his cell, also on a stone, which he brought from the forest, leaving it only for a short rest and refreshing his body with meager food. Thus the monk prayed for 1000 days and nights. The devil, put to shame by the monk, planned to kill him and sent robbers. Approaching the saint, who was working in the garden, the robbers began to demand money from him. The monk at that time had an ax in his hands, he was physically strong and could have defended himself, but he did not want to do this, remembering the words of the Lord: "Those who take the sword will perish with the sword" (Matthew 26:52). The saint, lowering the ax to the ground, said: "Do what you need." The robbers began to beat the monk, crushed his head with a butt, broke several ribs, then, having tied him up, they wanted to throw him into the river, but first they searched the cell in search of money. Having crushed everything in the cell and found nothing in it except an icon and a few potatoes, they were ashamed of their crime and left. The monk, having regained consciousness, crawled to the cell and, suffering severely, lay all night. In the morning, with great difficulty, he made his way to the monastery. The brethren were horrified when they saw the wounded ascetic. For eight days the monk lay, suffering from wounds; doctors were called to him, surprised that Seraphim, after such beatings, remained alive. But the monk did not receive healing from doctors: the Queen of Heaven appeared to him in a thin dream with the apostles Peter and John. Touching the head of the monk, the Blessed Virgin granted him healing. After this incident, the Monk Seraphim had to spend about five months in the monastery, and then he again went to a deserted cell. Remaining bent forever, the monk walked leaning on a staff or hatchet, but he forgave his offenders and asked not to punish him. After the death of Father Isaiah, who had been his friend from his youth, he took upon himself the feat of silence, completely renouncing all worldly thoughts for the purest standing before God in unceasing prayer. If a saint met a person in the forest, he fell on his face and did not get up until the passer-by moved away. In such silence, the elder spent about three years, ceasing even to visit the monastery on Sundays. The fruit of silence was for Saint Seraphim the acquisition of peace of mind and joy in the Holy Spirit. The great ascetic later said to one of the monks of the monastery: "... my joy, I pray you, acquire the spirit of peace, and then thousands of souls will be saved around you." The new rector, Fr. Nifont, and the elder brethren of the monastery suggested that Fr. Seraphim either continue to come to the monastery on Sundays to take part in divine services and communion at the monastery of the Holy Mysteries, or return to the monastery. The monk chose the latter, since it became difficult for him to walk from the desert to the monastery. In the spring of 1810 he returned to the monastery after 15 years in the desert. Without interrupting his silence, he added to this feat a shutter, and, without going anywhere and receiving no one, he was incessantly in prayer and contemplation of God. In seclusion, the Monk Seraphim acquired a high spiritual purity and was vouchsafed from God special grace-given gifts - clairvoyance and wonderworking. Then the Lord put His chosen one to serve people in the highest monastic feat - elderhood. On November 25, 1825, the Mother of God, together with the two saints celebrated that day, appeared in a dream to the elder and commanded him to leave the seclusion and receive weak human souls, requiring instruction, consolation, guidance and healing. Having been blessed by the rector to change his way of life, the monk opened the doors of his cell to everyone. The elder saw the hearts of people, and, as a spiritual doctor, he healed mental and physical illnesses with a prayer to God and a grace-filled word. Those who came to the Monk Seraphim felt his great love and listened with tenderness to the affectionate words with which he addressed people: "My joy, my treasure." The elder began to visit his desert cell and the spring, called Bogoslovsky, near which a small cell was built for him. Leaving the cell, the elder always carried a knapsack with stones over his shoulders. When asked why he was doing this, the saint humbly answered: "I torment him who torments me." In the last period of his earthly life, the Monk Seraphim took special care of his beloved, the offspring of the Diveevo Convent. While still in the rank of hierodeacon, he accompanied the late rector Father Pachomius to the Diveevo community to the rector nun Alexandra, a great ascetic, and then Father Pachomius blessed the monk to always take care of the "Diveevo orphans". He was a true father to the sisters who turned to him in all their spiritual and worldly difficulties. The disciples and spiritual friends helped the saint to feed the Diveevo community - Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, who was healed by the monk from a serious illness and, on the advice of the elder, took upon himself the feat of voluntary poverty; Elena Vasilievna Manturova, one of the Diveevsky sisters, who voluntarily agreed to die out of obedience to the elder for her brother, who was still needed in this life; Nikolai Alexandrovich Motovilov, also healed by the reverend. N. A. Motovilov wrote down the wonderful teaching of St. Seraphim on the purpose of the Christian life. In the last years of the life of the Monk Seraphim, one healed by him saw him standing in the air during prayer. The saint strictly forbade talking about this before his death.

In the last year of his life, the Monk Seraphim began to noticeably weaken and spoke to many about his imminent death. At this time, he was often seen at the coffin, which stood in the hallway of his cell and prepared by him for himself. The monk himself indicated the place where he should have been buried - near the altar of the Assumption Cathedral. On January 1, 1833, the Monk Seraphim came for the last time to the hospital Zosima-Sabbatiev Church for the Liturgy and communed with the Holy Mysteries, after which he blessed the brethren and said goodbye, saying: "Be saved, do not be discouraged, stay awake, today the crowns are being prepared for us." On January 2, the monk's cell-attendant, Father Pavel, at six o'clock in the morning left his cell, heading for the church, and smelled a burning smell emanating from the monk's cell; candles were always burning in the cell of the saint, and he said: "As long as I am alive, there will be no fire, but when I die, my death will open with fire." When the doors were opened, it turned out that books and other things were smoldering, and the monk himself was kneeling before the icon of the Mother of God in a prayer position, but already lifeless. His pure soul, during prayer, was taken by the Angels and flew up to the Throne of God the Almighty, whose faithful servant and servant the Monk Seraphim was all his life.

The name of the Reverend Father Seraphim of Sarov is widely famous throughout Russia. He was born on July 19, 1759 (in some sources - in 1754) in Kursk in the family of a local merchant Isidor Moshnin and Agafia .; in holy baptism he was named Prokhor. Isidore was a merchant and took contracts for the construction of buildings, and at the end of his life he began the construction of a cathedral in Kursk, but died before the completion of the work. Once, when Prokhor was 7 years old, his mother took him to the continued construction of the cathedral. Little Prokhor, having stumbled, fell from the bell tower of the temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh under construction, but remained unharmed. Young Prokhor, having an excellent memory, soon learned to read and write. Since childhood, he loved to attend church services and read the Holy Scriptures and the Lives of the Saints to his peers, but most of all he loved to pray or read the Holy Gospel in solitude.

Being 10 years old, Prokhor became very ill and was dying. In a dream vision, the Queen of Heaven appeared to him and promised to visit and grant healing. At that time, the miraculous icon of the Sign of the Mother of God was carried in a procession around Kursk. When they carried it along the street where the Moshnins' house stood, it began to rain, and they had to carry the icon through Agafya's yard. Then she brought out her sick son, and he venerated the icon, and the icon was carried over him. From that day on, he began to recover rapidly. In 1776, young Prokhor made a pilgrimage to Kyiv to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where Elder Dosifey blessed and showed him the place where he should accept obedience and tonsure. This place was named Sarov desert. Returning briefly to his parents' house, Prokhor forever said goodbye to his mother and family. In 1778, Prokhor became a novice with Elder Joseph at the Sarov Monastery in the Tambov province. Under his leadership, Prokhor went through many obediences in the monastery: he was the cell-attendant of the elder, worked in the bakery, prosphora and carpentry, performed the duties of a sexton, and did everything with zeal and zeal, serving, as it were, the Lord Himself. By constant work, he protected himself from boredom - this, as he later said, "the most dangerous temptation for novice monks, which is healed by prayer, abstinence from idle talk, feasible needlework, reading the Word of God and patience, because it is born from cowardice, carelessness and idle talk" . During these years, Prokhor, following the example of other monks who retired to the forest to pray, asked the blessing of the elder in his free time to also go to the forest, where he performed the Jesus Prayer in complete solitude.

Two years later, the novice Prokhor fell ill with dropsy, his body was swollen, he experienced severe suffering. The mentor, Father Joseph, and other elders who loved Prokhor, looked after him. The illness lasted about three years, and not once did anyone hear a word of grumbling from him. The elders, fearing for the life of the patient, wanted to call a doctor to him, but Prokhor asked not to do this, saying to Father Pachomius: "I have betrayed myself, Holy Father, to the True Physician of souls and bodies - our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother..." , and wished to be communed with the Holy Mysteries. At the same time, Prochorus had a vision: the Mother of God appeared in an indescribable light, accompanied by the holy apostles Peter and John the Theologian. Pointing her hand at the patient, the Blessed Virgin said to John: "This one is from our generation." Then she touched the patient's side with the staff, and immediately the liquid that filled the body began to flow out through the hole formed, and he quickly recovered. Soon, on the site of the appearance of the Mother of God, a hospital church was built, one of the aisles of which was consecrated in the name of the Monks Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky. The altar for the side-altar St. Seraphim built with his own hands from cypress wood and always communed the Holy Mysteries in this church. After spending eight years as a novice in the Sarov monastery, Prokhor accepted monasticism in 1786 with the name Seraphim, which so well expressed his fiery love for the Lord and his desire to serve Him zealously. A year later, Seraphim was consecrated to the rank of hierodeacon. Burning in spirit, he served daily in the temple, incessantly praying even after the service. For 6 years he was almost continuously in the ministry. God gave him strength - he almost did not need rest, often forgot about food and regretfully left the Church.

The Lord vouchsafed the reverend visions of grace during church services: more than once he saw the holy angels ministering to the brethren. The monk was granted a special vision of grace during Passion Week during the Divine Liturgy on Maundy Thursday, which was officiated by the rector Father Pachomius and Elder Joseph. When, after the troparia, the monk uttered "Lord, save the pious" and, standing in the royal gates, pointed the orarion at the worshipers with the exclamation "and forever and ever," a bright ray suddenly dawned on him. Raising his eyes, the Monk Seraphim saw the Lord Jesus Christ walking through the air from the western doors of the temple, surrounded by Heavenly Incorporeal Forces. Reaching the pulpit. The Lord blessed all those praying and entered the local icon to the right of the royal gates. The Monk Seraphim, looking in spiritual delight at the wondrous manifestation, could not utter a word, nor move from his place. He was taken by the arms to the altar, where he stood for another three hours, changing in his face from the great grace that illumined him. After the vision, the monk intensified his exploits: during the day he labored in the monastery, and spent his nights in prayer in a deserted forest cell. In 1793, at the age of 39, Saint Seraphim was ordained to the rank of hieromonk.

In 1794, he left the monastery for silent deeds in the desert and began to live in the forest in a cell 5 km from the monastery. Here he began to indulge in solitary prayers, coming to the monastery only on Saturday, before the Vespers, and returning to his cell after the Liturgy, during which he partake of the Holy Mysteries. The monk spent his life in severe deeds. The cell of the Monk Seraphim was located in a dense pine forest, on the banks of the Sarovka River, on a high hill, 5-6 versts from the monastery, and consisted of one wooden room with a stove. He performed his cell prayer rule according to the rules of the ancient desert monasteries; he never parted with the Holy Gospel, reading the entire New Testament during the week, he also read patristic and liturgical books. The monk memorized many church hymns and sang them during his hours of work in the forest. Near the cell, he planted a vegetable garden and set up a bee-keeper. Earning food for himself, the monk kept a very strict fast, ate once a day, and on Wednesday and Friday he completely abstained from food. On the first week of Holy Lent, he did not take food until Saturday, when he received Communion of the Holy Mysteries. The holy elder in solitude sometimes immersed himself in inner prayer of the heart to such an extent that he remained motionless for a long time, hearing nothing and not seeing anything around him. Hermit monks, Schemamonk Mark the Silent and Hierodeacon Alexander, who visited him from time to time, finding the saint in such a prayer, silently retired with reverence so as not to disturb his contemplation. In the cold season, the monk gathered branches and brushwood and chopped firewood with his ax to heat his cell. In the summer heat, the monk gathered moss in the swamp to fertilize the garden; mosquitoes mercilessly stung him, but he complacently endured this suffering, saying: "Passion is destroyed by suffering and sorrow, either arbitrary or sent by Providence." For about three years, the monk ate only one herb, which grew around his cell. To him more and more often began to come, except for the brethren, the laity - for advice and blessings. It violated his privacy. Having asked for the blessing of the rector, the monk blocked access to women, and then to everyone else, receiving a sign that the Lord approved of his idea of complete silence. Through the prayer of the monk, the path to his deserted cell was blocked by huge boughs of centuries-old pines. Now only birds, flying in multitudes to the saint, and wild animals visited him.

The Life tells of a case where the monk fed a bear with bread from his hands. In 1807, Seraphim took upon himself the monastic labor of silence, trying not to meet or communicate with anyone. For 3 years the Monk Father Seraphim spent in complete silence, not speaking a word to anyone. Seeing the deeds of the Monk Seraphim, the enemy of the human race armed himself against him and, wanting to force the saint to leave silence, decided to frighten him, but the monk protected himself with prayer and the power of the Life-Giving Cross. The devil brought upon the saint "mental warfare" - a stubborn, prolonged temptation. To repel the onslaught of the enemy, the Monk Seraphim aggravated his labors, taking upon himself the feat of pilgrimage, wishing to imitate St. Semion the Stylite. Every night he climbed a huge stone in the forest and prayed with outstretched hands, crying out: "God, be merciful to me a sinner." During the day, he prayed in his cell, also on a stone that he brought from the forest, leaving it only for a short rest and refreshing his body with meager food. Thus the monk prayed for 1000 days and nights. The devil, put to shame by the monk, planned to kill him and sent robbers.

One day robbers attacked him in the forest. The monk at that time had an ax in his hands, he was physically strong and could have defended himself, but he did not want to do this, remembering the words of the Lord: "Those who take the sword will perish with the sword" (Matthew 26:52). The saint, lowering the ax to the ground, said: "Do what you need." The robbers began to beat the monk, with the butt of an ax they crushed his head, broke several ribs, then, having tied him up, they wanted to throw him into the river, but first they searched the cell in search of money. Having crushed everything in the cell and finding nothing in it except an icon and a few potatoes, they were ashamed of their crime and left. The monk, having regained consciousness, crawled to the cell and, suffering severely, lay all night. In the morning, with great difficulty, he made his way to the monastery. They did not find anything for themselves in the cell. Later, these people were identified, but Father Seraphim forgave and begged them not to punish them.

After a 16-year stay in his desert in 1810, Father Seraphim returned to the monastery, but went into seclusion for 17 years until 1825, not going anywhere and gradually weakening the severity of his seclusion. For the first 5 years, no one saw him, and even his brother, who brought him meager food, did not see how the elder took it. Then the holy elder opened the cell door, and everyone could come to him, but he did not answer the questions of those who needed him, taking a vow of silence before God and silently continuing his spiritual work. There was nothing in the cell, except for the icon of the Mother of God, in front of which a lamp was glowing, and a stump of a stump that served him as a chair. An unpainted oak coffin stood in the entryway, and the elder prayed near it, constantly preparing for the transition from temporary to eternal life. After 10 years of silent seclusion, by the will of the Most High, Saint Seraphim again opened his mouth to serve the world.

On November 25, 1825, the Mother of God, together with the two saints celebrated that day, appeared in a dream to the elder and commanded him to leave the seclusion and receive weak human souls, requiring instruction, consolation, guidance and healing. The doors of his cell became open to everyone - from the early liturgy until eight o'clock in the evening. The elder saw the hearts of people, and, as a spiritual doctor, he healed mental and physical illnesses with a prayer to God and a grace-filled word. Those who came to the Monk Seraphim felt his great love and listened with tenderness to the affectionate words with which he addressed people: "My joy, my treasure."

The love with which the saint was filled attracted everyone to him. By this time, he already possessed insight: he saw the spiritual dispensation, thoughts and life circumstances of each person. Most importantly, the will of God regarding everyone was revealed to him, so that his advice was accepted as from God Himself. Among the many visitors, noble persons and statesmen appeared to Saint Seraphim, to whom he gave appropriate instructions, teaching them fidelity to the holy Orthodox Church and fatherland. The elder and members of the royal family, including Emperor Alexander I, visited.

But he didn't accept everyone. They say that one day, shortly before the Decembrist uprising, a certain Guards officer came to the elder. The elder drove him away, saying at the same time: "Come, whence you came." Later it turned out that this officer was from among the Decembrists and the so-called Masons, who decided to receive a blessing for the upcoming uprising. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov banishes the Decembrist:

There is also a story about how the Monk Seraphim of Sarov allegedly told the mother of Kondraty Ryleev that it would be better if her son had died in infancy than ended his life on the gallows. Seraphim-Diveevo Women's Monastery During the last period of his earthly life, Saint Seraphim took special care of his beloved child, the Diveevo Convent.

He was a true father to the sisters who turned to him in all their spiritual and worldly difficulties. The disciples and spiritual friends helped the saint to feed the Diveevo community - Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, who was healed by the monk from a serious illness and, on the advice of the elder, took upon himself the feat of voluntary poverty; Elena Vasilievna Manturova, one of the Diveevsky sisters, who voluntarily agreed to die out of obedience to the elder for her brother, who was still needed in this life; Nikolai Alexandrovich Motovilov, also healed by the reverend. N. A. Motovilov wrote down the wonderful teaching of St. Seraphim on the purpose of the Christian life. The Last Years In the last years of the life of the Monk Seraphim, one healed by him saw him standing in the air during prayer. The saint strictly forbade talking about this before his death. The Most Holy Theotokos visited the saint saint 12 times. In 1831, he was honored with a vision of the Mother of God surrounded by John the Baptist, John the Theologian and 12 virgins, which was, as it were, an omen of his blessed death and imperishable glory awaiting him.

Death The elder died in 1833 in the Sarov Monastery in his cell while kneeling in front of the lectern while praying. On January 2 (according to the old style), the monk's cell-attendant, Father Pavel, at 6 o'clock in the morning left his cell, heading to the church, and smelled the smell of burning coming from the monk's cell. Candles were always burning in the saint’s cell, and he said: “As long as I am alive, there will be no fire, but when I die, my death will open with fire.” When the doors were opened, it turned out that books and other things were smoldering, and the monk himself was kneeling before the icon of the Mother of God of Tenderness, but already lifeless. His hands, folded crosswise, lay on the lectern, on the book, according to which he performed his prayer work, and on his hands was his head. Thus, Elder Seraphim ended his earthly wandering and rested in God forever. The body of the monk was placed in an oak coffin prepared by him during his lifetime and buried on the right side of the cathedral altar. The news of the death of the holy elder quickly spread everywhere, and the whole neighborhood of Sarovskaya quickly flocked to the monastery. The grief of the Diveyevo sisters, who lost their beloved spiritual father and trustee in him, was especially heavy. For 8 days the relics of the saint stood in the temple; and, despite the extreme stuffiness from the multitude of people and candles, during all these days of farewell, not the slightest smell of decay was felt. January 9 was the funeral. When Father Seraphim's confessor, Father Hilarion, wanted to put a permissive prayer in his hand, it opened itself. Witnesses of this miracle were Father Abbot, Treasurer and others. A former novice of the monastery, later a sacristan of the Nevsky Lavra, Archimandrite Mitrofan, also saw this, and later reported about the sign. After the funeral, the body of the Reverend was interred in the place indicated by him, near the cathedral, where he rested until the glorification in 1903, that is, 70 years. Reverence and glorification In the course of 70 years from the date of the death of the Monk Seraphim, Orthodox people in multitudes came with faith to his grave and through prayer received miraculous healings from various diseases of the soul and body. By 1895, a special commission (established in 1892) recorded 94 cases of miraculous signs and healings performed through the prayers of Elder Seraphim; and this is only a small part of all the miracles that were known at that time.

The cell in which St. Seraphim died entered the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, founded in 1867 and consecrated during the canonization of the saint in 1903. In this cell, in bronze showcases, are stored: the mantle of St. Seraphim and his black cloth cap, an iron cross worn around his neck, hair of Father Seraphim, leather rosary-ladders, the Gospel read by him before his death, a part of the stone on which he prayed a thousand nights, a bench made by his hands, the wall of a tiled stove with a stove bench has been preserved intact. In 1891, a chapel was built over the tomb of the monk.

With the active participation of Emperor Nicholas II, Saint Seraphim was canonized as a saint in 1903. The canonization was scheduled for July 19, 1903, on Father Seraphim's birthday. At least 100 thousand people gathered in Sarov from all over Holy Russia. Before canonization, events were held to acquire the holy relics. In 1903, on the eve of the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, by order of the Holy Synod, with the approval of Tsar Nicholas II, the tomb of the Reverend was examined, and from under its arch the coffin-deck was removed, in which Father Seraphim was buried:

The coffin with the remains of Father Seraphim was transferred from his resting place to the hospital church of Sts. Zosima and Savvaty, in the altar of which it was supposed to make the washing of the honest relics of Father Seraphim. This transfer did not escape the gaze of the pilgrims who had already gathered in Sarov and made a deep impression on everyone. The coffin was brought through the northern doors into the altar, and here the ablution was performed and the relics were transferred to a new cypress coffin. Participation in the ablution was taken by: Archimandrite Seraphim (Chichagov), dean of the Tambov Cathedral Priest T. Pospelov, hieromonk of Sarov - the dean of the monastery, under the personal guidance of Metropolitan Anthony (Vadkovsky) of St. Petersburg. Those present at the opening of the lid of the coffin testified that the honest relics of the monk were wrapped at the time of burial in a monastic robe, and a felt cockle was placed on his head. Father Seraphim lay in a coffin on oak shavings, which is why all the contents in the coffin, due to their tannic properties - both the most honest relics, and gray hair on his head, beard and mustache, and all the attire of the reverend: linen, linen cassock, mantle, epitrachelion and cockle - all turned into one color, reminiscent of a crust of black rye bread. It is also known that from the very beginning of the washing of the holy relics, a fragrance, the smell of carnation flowers and fragrant linden honey, began to spread in the altar, clearly perceptible by all those present. The July day was clear, sunny, hot and the church windows were wide open. It was thought that the grass was being mowed somewhere nearby and this fragrance is produced by cut flowers and fresh hay.

With the singing of the litia, the procession moved around the Assumption Cathedral. With the flickering of thousands of candles, with the miraculous service and the singing of the metropolitan St. Petersburg, the bishops of Tambov choirs, with a general fiery prayerful mood, and most importantly - with the grace of the holy saint of God Seraphim, there was such a prayerful upsurge that it was impossible to resist tears. The event was accompanied by many miraculous healings of the sick, who arrived in Sarov in large numbers. The relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov It was known that St. Seraphim predicted that his relics would be found, and then, in the time of persecution for the Christian faith, they would be lost again, as exactly what happened later. Soon after the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks unleashed an unprecedented persecution of Orthodoxy. A blasphemous campaign was unleashed to open and confiscate holy relics. Special commissions, which included representatives of the clergy for the sake of appearance of legality, opened shrines with holy relics, drew up protocols on their examination, and then took away the holy relics in an unknown direction. Sometimes pious Orthodox Christians managed to hide particles of holy relics in their homes, some of the holy relics were secretly kept by the clergy, but most were desecrated. On December 17, 1920, the relics of Seraphim of Sarov, kept in the Diveevsky monastery near Arzamas, were opened, and on August 16, 1921 they were closed and taken away. It is known that in the late 1920s. the relics of the Seraphim were exhibited for viewing in the Moscow Passion Monastery, where at that time an anti-religious museum was organized. The relics were there until 1934, when the Strastnoy Monastery was blown up. After that, the traces of the relics disappeared. But in January 1991, in the vaults of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, which was located in the building of the Kazan Cathedral in Leningrad, the relics of St. where the tapestries were kept, they found relics sewn into matting. When they were opened, they read the inscription on the glove: "Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!" The specialists who performed the inspection testified to the feeling of grace and the fragrance of the relics that they had to examine. After the examination, there was confidence that these were indeed the relics of St. Seraphim.

Now the relics of the Monk Father Seraphim of Sarov are in the Sarov Monastery (the monastery of the Holy Dormition Sarov Hermitage) in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. monastery (metro station "Novokuznetskaya", Sadovnicheskaya st., 6). The days of memory of St. Seraphim of Sarov are celebrated on January 15 and August 1 (according to the new style).

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov, a miracle worker, who before his tonsure bore the name Prokhor, was born on July 19, 1759, into a pious merchant family from the city of Kursk. From childhood, his life was marked by the signs of God's mercy. Even as a child, he accidentally fell from the bell tower of the temple, but remained unharmed. Then, as a youth, he fell seriously ill, but the Mother of God in a vision promised his mother that he would be healed, and when he was applied to the Kursk Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, he quickly recovered.

Mother blesses Prokhor to the monastery

At the age of seventeen, the young man finally decided to leave the world, and his mother blessed him with a simple copper cross, with which he did not part until the end of his life. For two years he labored in the Sarov Assumption Hermitage, famous for the strictness of fulfilling the monastic charter, and then on August 18, 1786, he received tonsure with the name Seraphim, which means "fiery." Almost immediately he was elevated to the rank of hierodeacon, and then hieromonk.

After this, the monk took upon himself the feat of hermitage, cutting down for himself a cell on the river Sarovka. Experiencing temptations from the devil, Saint Seraphim aggravated his feat and for a thousand days and nights with upraised hands he prayed on the stone: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Then the devil, powerless to spiritually depose the ascetic, advised the robbers to attack him and inflict mortal wounds on him with an axe. But even after that, he was healed by the Mother of God, and he forgave the captured robbers without malice.

Upon his recovery, the monk undertook the feat of silence for three years. For his deeds, the monk was vouchsafed the gifts of clairvoyance and miracle-working, and after a long retreat he began to receive all who came to him for advice and consolation. The monk accompanied his instructions with healings, prophecies and miracles. The main gift that he received for his boundless love for God is an all-encompassing love for his neighbors. "Christ is risen, my joy!" - with these words, the god-bearing elder met everyone who came to him.

Artist Pavel Ryzhenko

The Monk Seraphim based his simple words of edification on Holy Scripture and the writings of the Holy Fathers. Especially honored Seraphim of Sarov holy champions and zealots of Orthodoxy, and he called on everyone who came to keep an unshakable faith in God. The monk lovingly persuaded many schismatics to abandon their delusions. In 1833, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov reposed in peace with the Lord and was found already lifeless in kneeling prayer before the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”, before which he prayed all his life. But even after his death, many miracles were performed on the grave of the monk, which were carefully collected by their witnesses, and in 1903 the monk was canonized as a saint.

The knowledge that any trials come to us from God, tireless feat and inexplicable, all-encompassing love for every person made the monk a great ascetic, whose name shone throughout the country. Today, believing people continue to flock to the relics of the saint, who, through the prayers of the monk, receive help from God.

On August 1, according to the new style, the Orthodox Church celebrates the uncovering of the incorruptible relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, which occurred in 1903, 70 years after his death. On January 15 we celebrate the repose of St. Seraphim of Sarov. On the same day, in 1991, after the Soviet era, the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov were miraculously rediscovered. These days, in churches and monasteries throughout Russia, a festive service is performed, and men bearing the name of the reverend celebrate their name days.

Articles and memoirs about St. Seraphim of Sarov

. Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) about the Monk Seraphim of Sarov.
. Article by Alexei Ilyich Osipov, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy.
Detailed Life of Saint Seraphim.
known from childhood to every Orthodox person.
. N. Aksakova writes.

. Description of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Convent.
. Sermon on the Monk Seraphim by St. John of Shanghai (Maximovich), delivered in 1928.
famous elder and our contemporary, Archimandrite John (Krestyankin).
An excerpt from the book of Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov).

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