И. В. Преображенский. Открытие святых мощей преподобного Серафима, Саровского чудотворца

I. Surroundings of Sarov. – Sarov Hermitage. – Cases of miraculous healings Был знойный июльский полдень (15-е число), когда мы подъезжали к Саровской обители. Our road ran through the forest along the river bank. Satis (we approached from the eastern side). В обыкновенное время дорога эта служит почти исключительно для сообщения с Саровским монастырем хутора, принадлежащего Понетаевскому монастырю и называющегося «Царскою Дачею» (подарком). And now there was no movement of carriages along it; but there were quite a few pedestrians with sticks and knapsacks on their shoulders. Sarov is not yet in sight; он за чащею леса, но путники двигаются к нему с такою же сосредоточенностью, с таким же благоговением, как будто бы они входили уже в церковь, шли по паперти церковной. Ведь путь этот уже в такой местности, которая вдоль и поперек исхожена святым человеком, великим угодником Божиим. Эти сосны и березы, стесняющие дорогу, невольно кажутся как бы одушевленными свидетелями его подвигов. Невольно сравниваешь эти могучие деревья с поставленными пред святою обителью свечами желтого и белого воска. А каковы леса, окружающие Саров, можно понять, если мы скажем, что леса близ Петербурга или Москвы пред Саровским лесом кажутся состоящими как бы из прутиков. The pine trees there stand exactly like columns. Лес, подобный Саровскому, ныне редко можно встретить, и эта редкость также едва ли не только около монастырей. Our monasteries know how to take care of their forests; и едва ли не тут главная причина, почему Министерство земледелия и государственных имуществ, когда встречается к тому возможность, охотно наделяет монастыри лесными угодьями. From the “Tsarskaya Dacha” to Sarov - about fifteen miles; judging by the time we spent on the road, we should have already arrived at the monastery. Но его все не видать. Involuntarily, the gaze is directed more and more intently forward, into the gaps between the tree trunks; The impatience to see the monastery as soon as possible is growing. We begin to ask the travelers we meet: “How far is it to Sarov?” “No, it’s close, now,” they answer us. Возница понукает коней. Едем еще минут 5–10... “Look, look, here comes Sarov!” – воскликнул мой спутник. No matter how much we expected to see Sarov, nevertheless, to see it all at once, in all its beauty and in all its grandeur, was a complete, amazing surprise for us. Not to bare your head, not to make the sign of the cross at the sight of the white walls of the monastery, its high green and golden domes, would be direct violence against oneself... There was no more than a mile left to the monastery; but the forest still continued and more than once covered the monastery: it approaches almost the very walls of the latter. The hotel where we stayed is located outside the walls of the monastery, opposite its eastern gate. Not far from this hotel, under a hill, along the banks of the Sarovka River, there is a road to the holy spring and to the Far Hermitage (to the first from the monastery about two and a half miles, and to the last about four). Continuous lines of pilgrims moved back and forth along this road. But now we were not interested in them: we were drawn to the monastery, to its shrines. Not feeling any fatigue, although we were on the road from 5 a.m. to 12 and drove nonstop for about 50 miles, we headed to the monastery. Behind its gates, a rather large area opened up before us, almost entirely lined with two-story white buildings. In the row of buildings on the left side (south; we entered from the east) rises a large brick building. This is not yet consecrated, a new church, built in memory of St. Seraphim. Previously, there were monastic cells in its place, but they were broken; Only one cell of the monk was left, in which he lived, carrying out his great feats of seclusion, silence and eldership, and in which he died (January 2, 1833). This cell, left untouched, was now located in the new church itself, in its southwestern corner. Below we will talk about this cell. In the middle of the fence there are two large cathedral-churches - a cold one and a warm one, one in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and the other in honor of the Life-Giving Source. In the western wall of the monastery there is a holy gate and a majestic bell tower. We have not yet heard a ringing sound on it. At the altar of the Assumption Church, on its right (south) side, there is a glass chapel; a crowd of people crowds in front of her. This is the site of the grave in which the remains of St. Seraphim rested for 70 years. The chapel is closely adjacent to the church, so that the lower parts of the two windows of the altars (main and side) are under the roof of the chapel, and from these altars its entire interior is visible. The grave itself is a crypt. Now three sides of this crypt and the top are lined with marble (the bottom remains the same, lined with large bricks), and the fourth side is open and obscured only by glass. They go down to this side of the crypt along a conveniently arranged staircase. The crypt was still empty. Along the entire facade of the western side of the church, in large black letters, there is a line with instructive and impressive words: “The Father created this house, this house the Son established, this house the Holy Spirit renew.” The church itself is three-altared, similar in appearance to ancient Moscow churches. The painting in it is very ancient, deteriorated and faded over time. In the northwestern corner of the monastery square is the Church of Saints Zosima and Savvati. This church was locked and its windows were covered. The relics of the saint were temporarily placed in it. There are people fervently praying near the walls of this church. Here the frantic screams of the demon-possessed woman, who was placed in the vestibule of the church, in front of its locked doors, struck the ears. There were cases that just touching the door lock calmed hysterical patients and even healed them from illness. It was not possible to examine the monastery and its churches in detail (besides the named churches, there are others in it) during the celebrations. Everywhere was crowded, and you constantly had to rush to be in time for one or another moment of celebration. We had barely had dinner when the bell rang for the all-night vigil. The mighty, thick, velvety sound of the huge (1500 pounds) monastery bell positively shook the air. We believe that he deeply shook the hearts of thousands of pilgrims. There are masses of them before our eyes. And these masses immediately began to move. Those lying and sitting immediately stood up; everyone crosses themselves reverently; many knelt down and bowed to the ground. Dear and delightful for the soul of a truly Russian, Orthodox person, is the sound of the gospel bell... It is not surprising that the Russian people love the church bell so much and reverence it so much, decorate it with patterned beauty, raise it to a high, unique bell tower, and are proud of it... In the hotel, where we returned late in the evening, and near it, under the pine trees, around the tables for tea, there was a lively conversation. Its subject was the great signs of God's mercy that took place in Sarov. Everyone was in a hurry to tell each other about this or that miracle, which the speaker either himself was an eyewitness, or which he managed to learn about from others who also directly observed the truly wondrous deeds of God. Cases of miraculous healings through prayers to the saint of God were numerous and varied (especially at the “holy spring”). They continue to this day. However, not all of these cases become known and are recorded by persons specially appointed for this recording. Just two days before our arrival in Sarov and on the very day of our arrival, that is, on the 13th, 14th and 15th, the following cases of miraculous healings were recorded. On the 13th, four cases of healing were confirmed after bathing at the spring. A peasant of the Sardovskaya settlement, Saratov province, Procopius Nesterov Koblov, forty years old, who had completely lost his sight, after bathing in the spring he regained his sight: he began to see sunlight again, to distinguish individual colors and objects. An eleven-year-old peasant boy, Vasily Ilyin from the Tomsk province, did not use his legs from birth and was weakened; His head always lay on his shoulder, due to the curvature of his spine. His mother brought him to the spring in a cart and after bathing, to the amazement of everyone, he began to walk freely, rejoicing at his recovery. A weakened 70-year-old man, a peasant of the Vyatka province, Slobodsky district, Nikolskoye village, Mikhail Savelyev Tivkin, who, according to him, kept his head on his neck, “like on a sponge,” was healed - the patient had no control of his neck for 23 years. A girl from the Visenki farm, Starolebyazhskaya volost, Khvalynsky district, Saratov province, Anna Safronova, 12 years old, had no control over her arms or legs for four years; Her mother Matrona Timofeeva brought her sick daughter on her back and bathed her in the spring. After bathing, Anna felt a surge of strength and said: “Don’t bother me, I’ll go myself.” And indeed, to the amazement of those around her, she got up from the bench herself and walked without outside help. On July 14, the following ten cases of miraculous healings were established. “The blind boy Ivan Zakharov received his sight, and the peasant boy Vasily Govlev, mute from birth, began to speak. - Mountain tradesman. Toropets, Pskov province, Pyotr Ivanov Surguchev (37 years old), was completely deaf for 3 years, but after bathing in the spring of St. Seraphim he began to hear and speak freely with others. – Vera Andreeva Vasilyeva, a soldier’s widow from a glass factory in the Shumbukh volost, Laishevsky district, Kazan province, did not use her right hand for 15 years; but, having bathed in the spring, she became completely healthy and even carried her small bundle in her healed hand. – Peasant woman of the Izhevsk arms factory, Sarapul district, Vyatka province, Anastasia Yakovleva Polyakova, 29 years old, was sick for three years; her right arm and left leg were cramped; She came to the monastery on a crutch. Having received communion and bathed in the spring, she immediately felt that she felt better: her arm and leg straightened, and Anastasia Polyakova walked without a crutch. – A peasant woman from the village of Olshanki, Nizhnedevitsky district, Voronezh province, Maria Matveeva Goncharova, 35 years old, was weakened for several years, and she was brought to the source; Having bathed, she got up and slowly walked away. – Novice of the Birsky Monastery, Ufa province, Maria Ivanova Zedvakova, 30 years old, after bathing in the spring, was healed of a malignant tumor on her cheek and neck. – A peasant from the village of Knyazheva, Temnikovsky district, Tambov province, Alexander Ivanov Demidov, 40 years old, was healed at a spring from an old catarrh of the stomach, which was declared incurable by doctors. – Don Cossack of the Karginsky farm, Veshinskaya village, Novocherkassk district, Feodor Zakharov Vedeneev, suffered from epileptic fits for nine years; six people carried him into the bathhouse at the spring with difficulty: he screamed terribly in a frantic voice and convulsed; but the blessed stream of water from the saint’s spring instantly calmed the sick man; consciousness returned to him and, rejoicing at his healing, he immediately made the sign of the cross, aloud thanking the miracle worker who healed him. -A peasant girl from the village of Tazneeva, Ardatovsky district, Simbirsk province, Agrafena Elizaryeva Tabaeva, 18 years old, spoke about her healing from congenital blindness: “My father is alive, but my mother is dead. I came to Sarov alone, together with my fellow villagers. I heard that water from the spring of Father Seraphim helps against many diseases, especially eye diseases, and even heals blindness. But I didn’t see anything from birth, and my eyes were completely closed. She came to the source and prayed hard. I know only one “Mother of God” and I prayed more with my heart to the saint of God, St. Seraphim. I said a word and, having received communion, went to the source: I bathed in it only three times, and after the second time I saw the light of God. After swimming, I went to bed and, waking up about two hours later, I suddenly noticed that in my eyes, instead of the usual darkness, there was light, some kind of radiance; my eyes opened halfway, and I saw, at first dimly, a bright sky, dark trees, I began to distinguish the bright light of the sun, and now I think that it’s already evening: the radiance in my eyes has become smaller, dimmer.” Indeed, we conducted our conversation with the healed woman at dusk, at 8 o’clock in the evening. With great joy, the one who had regained her sight willingly told everyone about her healing; her face apparently breathed with quiet, deep happiness: she was absolutely sure that the newly-minted miracle worker would grant her complete insight (15th). – Vasily Nikolaev Bogomolov, a tradesman from the city of Spassk, Ryazan province, 50 years old, had been lying paralyzed for 7 years. He was brought on a cart to bathe in the spring; the patient could not speak; His legs and ears were also paralyzed, so that he could neither walk, nor speak, nor hear. But after swimming, Vasily Bogomolov began to walk, hear and speak a little. He left his crutch right there, near the source. – The daughter of a tradesman, Ekaterina Emelyanova Zubchenko, 18 years old, from the village of Medvedevka, Kuban region, fell ill in the ninth month of her life: her legs were paralyzed, so that she could not walk at all for over 17 years. After a fervent prayer to the saint of God, she bathed in his source and felt an influx of some kind of strength in herself, so that she wanted to go alone, without outside help. Soon she herself climbed three stairs to a hillock, where she told the hieromonk about her healing. On the same day there were several more cases of healing from various other diseases. We repeat, there was no way to summarize all the cases of miraculous healings: many patients who received healing did not report it 5 . Those present at the Sarov celebrations were honored to be witnesses of the truly great and ineffable mercies of God, personally revealed to all the Russian people through the saint of God and the miracle worker Seraphim. They could also be convinced of the strong faith of our people in “Father Seraphim.” This faith attracted, one might say, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians from all over our vast fatherland and even from distant Siberia to the days of his glorification at the Sarov monastery. Thus, the mother of the eleven-year-old boy Ivan Stepanov Zakharov, who was healed on July 14, who lost his sight from the age of two due to a head injury, came from the village of Oskina, Simsky district, Tobolsk province. – The grandmother of another boy, Vasily Ievlev, 14 years old, mute from birth and on the same 14th miraculously received the gift of speech, brought her beloved granddaughter from the village of Imissky, Minusinsk district, Yenisei province. The joy of both women and those who were healed cannot be described: the mother of her son who had regained his sight wept with joy, the grandmother of the grandson who spoke also wept, and the children themselves, sought by the mercy of God, wept. Seeing them and listening to the story of the touched old woman, everyone around them could not help but cry. With tears of joy, the touched Russian people thank the newly-minted miracle worker for the blessings he has bestowed... I saw some of those healed in person and talked with them or their relatives. I had to observe how others questioned those who had been healed. I involuntarily remembered the Gospel story about the healing of a man born blind - those who were interested or doubtful tried so diligently to find out all the details of this or that miraculous healing; they asked the relatives of the healed person or strangers who were eyewitnesses of the healing; They compared the evidence, drew conclusions, asked again and asked again. Some of the healed answered briefly and apparently without desire, as if they suspected the idle curiosity of the questioners or their distrust of what had happened to them, the healed. Others willingly, as if glorifying God, proclaimed their healing. However amazing the miraculous healings that took place through prayers to the saint of God were, we still think, we must think, that they were not able to overcome all doubting minds and conquer all hearts hardened by unbelief. The boundaries of unbelief, one might say, are inexhaustible, as is indicated in the Holy Gospel. In the parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus, Abraham most decisively expressed to the rich man that those who did not believe in Moses and the prophets would not believe the words of even one who had risen from the dead. II. The first and second days of the Sarov celebrations: solemn requiem and all-night vigil on parastas (July 16, Wednesday). - Procession from Diveyevo to Sarov. - Solemn liturgy and requiem service. - Arrival of Their Imperial Majesties in Sarov (17th) The 16th has arrived - the first day of the Sarov celebrations. At 8 1/2 o'clock in the morning the bell rang for late mass. We were in time for the start of the service. Since after the liturgy there was a solemn requiem, with which the celebrations actually began, then in the sermon, which was delivered during the liturgy by the St. Petersburg archpriest Philosopher Ornatsky, it was explained to the listeners why the Sarov celebrations begin with a requiem and why we pray for the repose of the souls of such great saints of God as St. Seraphim 6. Exactly at 12 o'clock the bell began for the memorial service. The following came to her service: His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of St. Petersburg, His Eminences Archbishop Dimitry of Kazan, Bishops Nazariy of Nizhny Novgorod and Innokenty of Tambov, twelve archimandrites and a host of archpriests and priests. The diaconal rank was headed by Archdeacon of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra John and protodeacons of Tambov and Nizhny Novgorod. Both choirs were filled with singers. The right one was occupied by the Neva metropolitans, the left - by the Tambov bishops. On this day, a solemn requiem service was held in memory of all the emperors and empresses, starting with Peter III and Elizabeth Petrovna, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops who had one or another relation to the life of St. Seraphim, the founders, builders and abbots of the monastery, the parents of the saint (Isidore and Agathias) and himself. Simultaneously with the service of the solemn requiem in the Assumption Cathedral, requiem services were also held in other monastery churches and chapels located at the source, hermitages, barracks, etc. In the evening of the same day, an all-night vigil was celebrated according to parastas in all the monastery churches and chapels near the monastery, with the commemoration of Hieromonk Seraphim, the ascetic of Sarov, at the litanies. In the Assumption Cathedral, the parastasis was performed with the same solemnity as the ancient memorial service. The parastasis lasted from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. On Thursday, the 17th, at 8 o'clock in the morning, the large monastery bell rang. This announcement was for the procession of the cross, which was supposed to set out from the Assumption Cathedral to meet the general procession of the cross from the Seraphim-Diveevsky convent of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, 12 versts from the Sarov monastery. The Diveyevo Monastery already contained shrines that had been brought there in advance from the other six women’s monasteries of the same diocese, which were led by Elder Seraphim 7 during his lifetime. Sisters were sent from the monasteries to carry and accompany the shrines. The monastery clergy also arrived. The solemn procession was also attended by deputies from various banner-bearing societies, who sent valuable banners as gifts to the Sarov Monastery in memory of the event of July 19th. These societies donated 54 banners, and all of them are better, more elegant and more valuable than the other. They also donated many icons, vestments and lamps to the shrine of the relics. At dawn, this procession, unusual in the number of participants (there were over 400 of them), lined up and set out for Sarov. The mass of pilgrims following the religious procession stretched for a whole mile. The nuns and banner bearers on the way incessantly and animatedly sang various church hymns. The sun, shining brightly in the blue sky, reflected its brilliance on the gilded (mostly) and silvered banners, swaying on high shafts, many of which were decorated with garlands of fresh flowers and greenery. Overshadowed by the long sparkling ribbon of these banners, the monastery shrines marched. There was also the main shrine of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery - that icon of the “Tenderness of the Mother of God”, before which the Monk Seraphim died in a feat of prayer. Many people stood on the sides of this majestic passage. At 8 o'clock, a religious procession from the Sarov monastery, with its shrine - the locally revered icon of the Savior sitting on the throne, set out to meet the general procession from Diveevo. At the head of this move was the Right Reverend Innokenty of Tambov. The religious processions met and united across the Satis River, on a vast square in front of the monastery, a mile away from it, at the edge of the forest. In the temporary chapel located here, the Reverends served a water-blessing prayer service. A wonderful picture was presented by the approach of the general religious procession to the monastery. An immense wave of people slowly poured towards the walls of the monastery, among which and above which, like stars descending from the sky, the vestments of icons and banners sparkled dazzlingly. At the monastery on the mountain, along the edges of the road, there were tens of thousands of people waiting for the religious procession. This motionless mass of people, when viewed from above, seemed, in turn, to be a sea of ​​human heads, parting in the middle and forming, as it were, a river bed, the banks of which were marked by Cossacks sitting on horses in white shirts and caps. Those marching in the procession began to flow into this channel. In front they carried, two in a row, six lanterns, behind them four altar crosses, behind them, among several hundred banner bearers, in their caftans trimmed with braids and tassels and with beautiful signs on their chests, banners (up to sixty of them) moved. Many banner bearers formed a choir of singers. The banner bearers are followed by nuns, grouping around their shrines; At the head of each group are abbess and elder sisters. The nuns also sing. Directly behind the nuns comes the choir of monks of the Sarov Monastery, singing the canon of the Mother of God. The black line of monastics, which replaced the blue line of banner bearers, is in turn replaced by a line of clergy - deacons and priests, shining with multi-colored vestments. This line is closed by three archimandrites, preceding the icon of the “Tenderness of the Mother of God” carried on a high stretcher between four banners. The icon is overshadowed on the sides by ripidae, which are held by deacons. The icon was followed by His Grace Innocent, who met the procession. With animated singing and solemn ringing of all the bells, the procession entered through the holy gates into the monastery. The bell for late mass began immediately. In both cathedral churches, the liturgy, and after it the requiem service, was performed by the bishop's service. In the Assumption Cathedral, at the end of the liturgy, His Grace Nazarius pronounced a word dedicated to the memory of St. Seraphim. At the same time, funeral liturgies with memorial services were performed in other monastery churches. From 12 o'clock on the same day, until the bell of the all-night vigil, memorial services were performed continuously in all the chapels built near the monastery, with the commemoration of Hieromonk Seraphim, the ascetic of Sarov. It was very prudent on the part of the spiritual authorities to build temporary chapels at different points around the monastery. On all days of the Sarov celebrations, people gathered in great numbers at these chapels and prayed fervently, with tears, first (until the all-night vigil on the 18th) during the service of requiem services, and then prayers to St. Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov. The evening of July 17 was approaching; a great historical moment was approaching in the life of not only the Sarov monastery, but also our entire Russian church: the arrival of Their Imperial Majesties in Sarov was expected. As you know, the great saint of God, the ascetic Seraphim, possessed the gift of insight. His biographies provide many striking examples of the exact fulfillment of his predictions. The wondrous old man also predicted the coming moment - the arrival of the reigning house for the Sarov celebrations. This is what he said to one nun of the Diveyevo monastery: “What joy there will be! In the middle of summer they will sing Easter, my joy! The Tsar and the whole family will come to us... Everyone will come to us, mother; We’ll lock ourselves up for rest; They will give you money, just take it; They will throw them into the fence, but we don’t need to: there will be a lot of our own then, mother!..” - “And when the Royal Family comes to you, mother,” the elder said to another nun, “then go out of the holy gates, and open them wide, wide, and bow low, low to the ground, and say: “We humbly ask you to come, we humbly ask”... And the priest himself will bow to the ground three times.” 8. Who will not be touched, whose heart will not be touched, hearing, and even more so seeing, how wonderfully the holy elder received his sight? At exactly 4 o'clock on July 17, the surroundings of Sarov resounded with the sounds of a large monastery bell. Somehow these sounds flowed especially solemnly and powerfully, announcing the time of preparation for the meeting of the Crowned Pilgrim, who had undertaken a long journey to prayerfully worship the great saint of God together with His people at the very place of his great exploits. The clergy began to gather at the Assumption Cathedral, choirs of singers passed, followed by the Metropolitan and other persons of the episcopal rank. From the 17th, access to the monastery fence was only with special tickets. Nevertheless, there were already a lot of people here, located along the monastery paths made of stone slabs. The main path (or sidewalk) runs along the middle of the square from the holy gates to the Assumption Church past the south side of the warm cathedral. Along the edges of this path, lined with red cloth, the banner bearers stood in the first rows, starting from the very gate; there are hundreds of them. Now their beautiful uniform kaftans and their very faces were cleared of the dust that had covered them in a thick layer during the procession from Diveyevo. Almost a direct continuation of the ranks of the banner bearers was (on the right side) the black line of nuns; there are also hundreds of them. Against them are the clergy who came to venerate the relics from different places in Russia and did not participate in the services in robes of various colors. The priests have pectoral crosses on their chests, many of them gold. Many are wearing kamilavkas, skufiyas, orders and medals. The group of clergy is very numerous and very beautiful. But then the clergy, who entered the Assumption Cathedral, put on their clothes, got ready, and began their exit from the cathedral to the holy gates. He was preceded by metropolitan choristers in new, beautiful forms. The choristers were followed by the clergy in shining golden vestments. The procession was closed by a group of archimandrites in golden miters, bishops and, finally, the metropolitan, whose miter was crowned with a cross of diamonds that wonderfully shone in the sun. The clergy moved with the procession. From the bell tower came the solemn ringing of all the bells. The singers stopped in front of the gate, dividing into two lines; the clergy came out of the gates. The ringing of the bell tower positively rattled the glass in the windows of the warm cathedral near which we stood. But then some other, indefinite wave of sounds began to penetrate this powerful sound wave. The strength of this wave was increasing, it was getting closer, becoming clearer, and finally rolled up to the walls of the monastery, burst beyond its fence, and with such power that it seemed to cover and overpower the roar of the bells. Then an enthusiastic “hurray” thundered, escaping from the tens of thousands of people standing outside the monastery. He greeted his beloved Tsar, Queens and other members of the Imperial Family as they approached the monastery. As soon as the carriages stopped, the people's cries fell silent and the ringing of the bells stopped. Such silence reigned that, having closed your eyes, you would have thought that there was not a soul either in the monastery fence or near the monastery. Amid such silence, Metropolitan Anthony addressed His Majesty with a brief greeting on behalf of the holy monastery, which he concluded with the words: “Come in peace, Sovereign, into this holy monastery and through the prayers of the glorified saint of God, may your entry be blessed from the Lord.” Meanwhile, those standing in the fence of the monastery were preparing, for their part, to greet the Royal Pilgrims who were about to enter here with joyful cries. Again, after a short break, a solemn peal was heard... With his head naked, His Majesty the Emperor entered the fence of the monastery, preceded by a choir of singers, a procession and bishops. Next to the Sovereign Emperor, on His left side, walked Their Imperial Majesties, the Sovereign Empresses - Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. They were accompanied by Their Imperial Highnesses: Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with his august wife Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, Grand Dukes Nikolai Nikolaevich, Pyotr Nikolaevich with his august wife Grand Duchess Militsa Nikolaevna, Prince George Maximilianovich and Princess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanovsky, Duke and Duchess of Leuchtenberg, Prince Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg. Behind Their Majesties and August Persons walked a group of high court officials - ladies and gentlemen, and with them the Ministers of the Interior and Communications. A feeling of reverence and deep tenderness gripped the entire mass of those in the monastery fence at the sight of the Royal Bogomolets. Everyone stood exactly inside the church during the service; everyone forgot about their intention to greet the Tsar and Queens with the same shouts with which they were greeted outside the monastery fence and, truly, these shouts of “hurray!” at this moment they would be just as inappropriate here, just as inconsistent with the situation, just as contrary to the general mood, as if they were heard in the church itself. When the bells rang, among the living walls, in reverence of the silent people, Their Majesties quietly walked from the holy gates to the Assumption Cathedral, and deigned to bow to both sides. The masses stood as if enchanted. Others and even many forgot to respond to bows, others did not bow, afraid to shorten the moment of seeing their adored Tsar and Queens by even a second. The Sovereign, the Empresses and the entire Royal Family enter the cathedral, where they listen to a short prayer service with the required royal many years. From the Cathedral of Their Majesties, preceded by a choir of bishops’ singers and clergy, while singing “Save, Lord, Thy people,” they go to the Church of Saints Zosima and Savvatius, where the relics of St. Seraphim temporarily lie. Only the Metropolitan and Bishops enter with Their Majesties and August Persons; the rest of the clergy stopped before the doors of the church. Then from the church the Metropolitan and other clergy escorted Their Majesties to the chambers of the Sovereign Emperor. Here, at the entrance, the abbot of the monastery, Abbot Hierofey, greeted them with a short speech, with a presentation, according to Russian custom, of bread and salt from the brethren of the monastery. The Metropolitan, having crossed Their Majesties with the cross, returned with the rest of the clergy to the Assumption Cathedral to serve a thanksgiving prayer service on the occasion of the safe arrival of the Royal Pilgrims. The Empress Maria Feodorovna also entered the chambers of the Sovereign Emperor. After some time, She, accompanied by Their Majesties and other members of the August Family, went to her chambers on the opposite side of the monastery square, and the people had the happiness of seeing the Crowned Pilgrims again. After the all-night vigil according to parastas, celebrated in all the monastery churches, the monastery square was empty. The midnight hour was approaching. At this hour, in sacred silence, with reverent silence, the archimandrites, under the leadership of the Right Reverend Innocent of Tambov, transferred the log that stood in the Church of Saints Zosima and Savvatius, in the chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord, in which the saint was buried, to the grave of the saint, or rather, to the crypt, now turned into a marble chapel 9 . From that moment on, unquenchable lamps lit up here. III. Third day of celebrations (July 18, Friday): early mass, at which the Tsar and Queens, together with the people, partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.– Inspection by Their Majesties of the monastery.– The last funeral liturgy and the last memorial service for Hieromonk Seraphim.– Speech by Metropolitan Anthony before the memorial service.– Observations on representatives of believing and pious Russia.– The kingdom of love in the world of human misfortunes. – The Royal Family’s visit to the holy spring It's July 18th (Friday). The first thing we heard on this day was the message that the Emperor and Empress, at an early mass in the Assumption Cathedral, received the sacrament of the Holy Mysteries of Christ 10. Whether it was the unexpectedness, due to its time and situation, of the fact that was reported, or the importance of what was reported, it was that this message was passed on to each other with a feeling of reverence, as if some kind of dear shrine. The early liturgy was celebrated in the chapel of the Pechersk Wonderworkers. She was served by Archimandrite Andrey, co-served by the abbot and five priests and hieromonks. The unexpected appearance of the Tsar and Queens at early mass made a touching, deeply touching impression on the worshipers. Their Majesties came here as simple, ordinary pilgrims, without retinue or any authorities. They stood with the people and took communion with them. Instead of the sacrament, Archpriest Philosopher Ornatsky said an eloquent word, for which the highest gratitude was conveyed to him 11. Between the early and late liturgies, Their Majesties and all the August Persons deigned to inspect the monastery, starting with the new Church of the Holy Trinity, built in memory of the newly-minted saint of God, St. Seraphim, and in which, as mentioned above, his cell is located. Having inspected the church, the cell and the banners, numbering up to 50, that were present here - a gift from the banner bearers, Their Majesties went to the chapel over the tomb of St. Seraphim, descended into the crypt, in which the coffin block of the saint, placed there already at night, stood, bowed to it, as well as to the tomb of the revered ascetic-silent, Schemamonk Mark, who rested here and was revered by all. From the chapel of Their Majesties we went to the Church of John the Baptist, and from there to the Church of Saints Zosima and Sabbatius. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the last funeral liturgy began in the Assumption Cathedral, and at the end of it, the last memorial service was served for the ever-remembered Hieromonk Seraphim, the ascetic of Sarov. Led by the Metropolitan, all the bishops present at the celebrations, twelve archimandrites and a whole host of other monastics and white clergy came out to serve the requiem. They are all in new, shiny golden vestments. The church was full of people. At the beginning of the service, Their Majesties the Sovereign and Empress and all the Persons of the Imperial Family, with the persons accompanying the August Bogomolets, came to the Cathedral. The whole church stood with candles in their hands. Before the start of the memorial service, His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony delivered a deeply edifying speech from the pulpit, the subject of which was to clarify the meaning and significance of the event. “To all of us who are present and praying here,” began the Bishop, “the Lord has granted the great mercy of being participants in the bright celebration of the glorification of the ever-memorable ascetic, Hieromonk Seraphim. Glory and thanksgiving to the Lord, who is so good to us. Show off and rejoice, holy monastery of Sarov, glorified and glorified by the glory of its venerable one.” Further reminding the listeners that now they will pray for the last time for the ascetic as a deceased servant of God, and then for all time Orthodox Christians will turn to him with prayer, as a glorified saint of God, for help, healing and consolation, the Bishop said: “In the very visible deadness of the remains of the saints, the grace of God hides the power of life: through their mediation, numerous healings are granted to people from the Lord from illnesses and diseases. In these same miraculous healings is the glory of our venerable father Seraphim. They persistently remind us of the words of the Apostle Paul: it is sown in honor, it is raised in glory, it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength.” A deeply faithful thought, confirmed by our entire history, was expressed by the eminent speaker, making it clear to the listeners that in the great multitude of people who flocked from all the edges of our fatherland to the relics of the saint of God, in this crowded, but like-minded and like-hearted meeting of pilgrims, led by the prayerful participation of the Orthodox Tsar Himself, the Most Pious Queens and many members of the Royal House, the original, basic meaning of life of the Russian people. “He,” said the bishop, “knows his fatherland and his history not so much by political and military events, but by the ascetics of faith and truth, love and goodness. Visiting from year to year, from century to century, holy places glorified by the exploits of the saints of God, he learns in them the rules of holy life and is confirmed in faith and truth, goodness and love. Glory be to our God, wondrous in His saints!” Finally, drawing attention to the numerous miracles that occur daily through the prayers of the monk, the bishop said with particular expressiveness and firmness in his voice: “If someone asked us about them, we would answer such a questioner with reverent boldness, in full accordance with reality, the words of the Savior to the disciples of John: “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the poor preach the gospel.”” In conclusion The Metropolitan invited the listeners to “zealously, reverently and with warm heartedness pray for the last time for the repose of the servant of God, the ever-memorable Hieromonk Seraphim, and give glory to God, wondrous in His saints.” At the end of the speech, the Metropolitan and the rest of the numerous host of clergy descended from the solea into the middle of the church. The bishops stood on a dais, followed by the deacons, led by Archdeacon John; The archimandrites and other clergy stood not as usual, that is, in two lines, but in one - facing the Royal Family. This line went from the bishop’s elevation almost to the Throne itself... And then this last memorial service began. The content of the funeral chants in itself is deeply touching; in the touching singing of the funeral service, the religious feeling is raised high, it detaches itself from earthly things and fills the heart with pure, quiet, holy inspiration. While attending such a service, it is positively difficult to refrain from tears. The Metropolitan and Tambov Bishop's Choirs sang in the choirs. The host of serving clergy animatedly proclaimed the prayer: “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Thy departed servant.” The choirs in the choirs quietly repeated these words, like a distant echo. With special perfection, with inimitable artistry, the metropolitan singers sang the troparion: “With the depth of wisdom, build all love for mankind,” as well as the ikos: “Thou art One, Immortal...” Like one person, the whole church prayed on its knees, when the clergy sang: “With the saints, rest, O Christ, the soul of Thy departed servant...” They prayed fervently, ardently. the kneeling church, for the last time asking Christ to rest His servant in a place where “there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life.” The lithium that immediately followed the requiem was served in the chapel over the grave of the saint. Their Majesties and all the August Persons deigned to go there. There, for the last time, “eternal memory” was proclaimed to the ever-remembered Hieromonk Seraphim. At the end of the litany, Their Majesties and Their Highnesses returned to their chambers, and the Metropolitan, with the bishops and other clergy, went into the cathedral and here solemnly consecrated the face of Elder Seraphim on the top board covering the shrine, the icon in the canopy above the shrine, and the shrine itself. It was already a quarter past 12 o'clock when all these solemn services ended. The midday sun in a cloudless sky raised the air temperature high and heated the sandy soil. Taking refuge under the thick branches of a century-old pine tree that stood near the hotel, we wrote down the impressions of the first half of this day in our memorial book and began to observe endless lines of pilgrims moving back and forth along the road to the holy spring and into the distant desert. This road, as already noted, runs near the hotel under a hill, along the bank of the Sarovka River. Several times we observed a mass of pilgrims from this point. Thousands, tens of thousands of pilgrims passed before our eyes. And how many truly sad and terrible things were seen among this mass! “How great,” I will say in the words of one venerable writer, who was also present at V. A. Prokofiev’s Sarov celebrations, “how great is the world of human misfortunes!” What a huge number of sick and ailing people, cripples, blind, deaf, fools, holy fools, paralytics, epileptics, mentally ill! Here you will meet all the misfortunes that you can imagine and those that are impossible. Some crawl on all fours, others move on their hands, tilting them backwards, others jump, leaning on their left side. Some are carried on a cart, another paralytic is carried in a bag, another has an excessively large head, another is excessively small, another has a slanted face, some have cramped arms, some have legs, some have both; the dirty bandages of others hide cruel wounds and illnesses, some scream, some moan, some pray out loud.” No matter how gloomy the picture presented was, there was still much that was truly lofty, instructive, and touching in it. Here, amid severe, terrible physical suffering, the kingdom of the spirit was especially clearly manifested: faith in God, hope in His mercy, through prayers to the saint of God, and love for the unfortunate neighbor. In Sarov one could see with one’s own eyes that the Russian people remember Christ’s commandment to love one’s neighbor and fulfill it. One can be amazed at the concern that the healthy showed here for the weak. It would seem that I didn’t have enough strength, patience, my nerves couldn’t stand it to serve some poor person for one hour. And ordinary believers have served him for years, decades, and not just their close relatives. You can, for example, see how healthy people help a sick person to sit or lie more comfortably, shelter him from the scorching rays of the sun, refresh him with a cup of cold water, how they carry them in their arms, on a stretcher, on a linen; healthy people make way for the weak, giving them way, and so on. and so on. You see and hear the fervent, fervent prayer of the healthy for the sick. Late in the evening, on the 17th, we were at St. source. They brought a hysterical woman to him. The frantic screams absolutely terrified her. Standing among the crowd, we clearly heard the whispers of those around us: “Help her, Lord! Save her, father (meaning, of course, Elder Seraphim), heal her!” At a small distance from the crowd, hiding behind a tree, as if locked in a cell, a man in the clothes of a railway employee was kneeling and praying. Most likely, he prayed for the unfortunate woman. “Another time, in the monastery fence, we saw how a middle-aged peasant woman carried her husband in her arms, literally like a child. The genuine joy of Christian-loving, compassionate people at the sight of those healed is understandable. And strangers rejoice here at the healed, like relatives close to them. The outbursts of joy of the relatives of the healed are, one might say, indescribable, limitless. “Mother, my dear mother!” – in a fit of delight and joy, the girl shouted to her mother, who had received her sight at the source. Hugging and kissing her mother, she asked: “Is it you? Do I see you? ...But the mother bathed her mute little girl. She went for a swim herself, and asked a stranger, a woman unknown to her, to look after the girl. This one, fulfilling the order with maternal affection, began to suggest to the girl: “Say: Mother of God.” According to this woman’s story, the girl’s tension and effort to pronounce this word was as if she were lifting something heavy or running up a mountain. Finally, she uttered this holy word “Mother of God” and gradually, then, began to say everything. The mother, who came out of the bathhouse, could not believe her eyes that before her, her hitherto mute, but now speaking daughter, was ready to almost abandon her. Understand the joy of this mother and try to describe it... At the tables, under other pine trees, there were many pilgrims who had left the stuffy hotel rooms. Others sat with whole large families. We all knew that the Royal Family would go to the holy spring. It was only unknown when this would happen. It was the end of the second hour. Suddenly, from afar, from under the walls of the monastery, a “hurray!” It quickly began to approach. Those sitting at the tables jumped out of their seats. Guests and servants ran from the hotel to the hill. Everyone turned their gaze along the road to the monastery. People were worried about it, running from place to place. The Cossacks sitting on their horses dismounted. But nothing was visible beyond the crowd. Everyone guessed the reason for the extraordinary activity on the road and looked at the distant end of it, expecting to see carriages with the Royal Family there. However, these crews still did not show up. But now, almost directly in front of us, there is a bend in the road; she's all there in the palm of your hand. A group of military men in white tunics is walking along it... Positively, I couldn’t believe that they were the Sovereign and the Grand Dukes. However, that was exactly them. His Majesty walked slightly ahead, often raising his hand under his visor. Immediately behind Him were Their Highnesses Nikolai Nikolaevich and Pyotr Nikolaevich, and behind them some of the retinue and no one else: no guards, no convoy. It turns out that the Cossacks were also ordered to dismount from their horses so that they would not block the view into the distance. So simply, so - let us say - the Sovereign Ruler of the greatest empire in the world humbly walked to the places of exploits during the life of the humblest of monks, and after the death of the great one in the host of holy saints of God, Elder Seraphim... His Majesty’s journey to the source on foot on a hot day along a dusty road was all the more unexpected because everyone knew that the Emperor had arrived in Sarov only yesterday evening and already this morning deigned to attend early mass, after which he inspected the monastery; was present at the last great funeral service, and in the evening, from six o’clock, the all-night vigil began in the presence of the Royal Family. With indescribable enthusiasm the people greeted their adored Father the Tsar. The vast majority had the happiness of seeing Him in such close proximity for the first time in their lives. "Hooray!" there was a thunder that was rarely heard, perhaps, even on the Moscow Kremlin walls... A whole cloud of hats flew upward. They ran quickly along the mountain and behind the river in the lowlands, jumping over hummocks, stumps and ditches, who did not want to lose sight of the Tsar or who wanted to run ahead in order to once again have the opportunity to see Him... But the people’s cries began to fade away as the Tsar moved away from our point of observation. Suddenly they rise again where they started before. Then the people greeted the Queens and other members of the August Family who rode out in carriages to the source. Again the same picture of popular enthusiasm; again the same manifestations of joy and delight... The touched, touched, joyful people exclaimed, and were baptized, and prayed, and cried. It was established as a thick, continuous wall along the edge of the road; All the hills were strewn with them, like poppies, and many climbed up the trees. There were cheers from everywhere; thunderclaps were thrown from shore to shore. Truly, as if with the “voice of many waters,” as if with the noise of a stormy waterfall, the banks of the quiet, small river Sarovka were resounding with the cries of the people... Upon the arrival of Their Majesties to the source, the cliques fell silent and silence reigned. Their Majesties and other Persons examined the source in detail, the icon paintings in it, the baths at the source, and tested the water. At the same time, Archimandrite Seraphim 12 and Abbot Hierotheus gave them explanations. From the source, everyone went further to the stone of Father Seraphim, on which he prayed for a thousand days, and from here they proceeded to the distant desert, where Their Majesties were met and shown places of interest by His Eminence Innocent. Their Majesties descended into the cave where the monk had retired, and then returned to the monastery. The Sovereign Emperor again walked on foot with the Grand Dukes Nikolai Nikolaevich and Peter Nikolaevich. And again, with the same cordiality, with the same delight and inspiration, the people of Their Majesties greeted them. An amazing, one might say, exceptional moment during the return of the Sovereign Emperor to the monastery was the moment when His Majesty, who had first followed through the forest, turned onto the previous road and went straight to the people. Here the entire countless crowd fell to their knees with tears of joy and tenderness. They returned to the monastery of Their Majesties in the second half of the 4th hour. It deserves special note that the people behaved in an exemplary manner during the entire journey of Their Majesties to the holy places, did not obstruct the path anywhere, did not allow the slightest disorder. But there were tens of thousands of them, and with almost no guards of order appointed by the authorities. IV. The All-Night Vigil on the 18th is the first church service at which the Monk Seraphim began to be glorified as a saint. – Leaving the cathedral at the litia for the relics of the saint and bringing St. relics into the cathedral.– The indescribable moment of the opening of the tomb with relics.– The night of July 19 – Easter night.– Late liturgy on July 19.– Carrying the relics around the Holy See.– The first solemn prayer service to St. Seraphim.– Procession around the cathedral. The first most important moment of the Sarov celebrations was approaching. They expected the good news for the all-night vigil, the first church service at which the Monk Seraphim began to be glorified as a saint and at which his holy relics were opened for the veneration of the people. Before the all-night vigil, the Emperor and the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna entered the cathedral, where they examined their gift - the shrine for the relics of the saint and the lamps hanging from it. Some August Persons also visited the cathedral. They also gave gifts to cancer, in the form of lamps. And the shrine, and the canopy rising 12 arshins above it, in the form of a chapel over a well, with five onion-shaped (the middle one is higher than the others) domes, and the lamps - as precious as they are elegant. 13 With the first strikes of the bell (at 6 o’clock), Archbishop Dimitry of Kazan and Bishops Nazariy of Nizhny Novgorod and Innokenty of Tambov entered the Assumption Cathedral; Metropolitan Anthony preceded the choir of singers and subdeacons. At the beginning of the service, Their Majesties and Their Highnesses deigned to arrive. The retinue, ministers, representatives of the provincial government, justices of the peace, zemstvo chiefs - all in ceremonial uniforms - were already present in the church. The people were also admitted. They brought in several sick and wretched people. Fellow Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Senator Sabler, distributed books from the Slavic press to high-ranking persons, containing the newly compiled “service to our Reverend Father Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov.” Their Majesties and Their Highnesses stood with these books. The singers, both bishops and especially metropolitans, sang marvelously well, under the direction of Mr. Ternov. Their singing flowed, indeed flowed, as a pure, bright, soft, quiet wave of sound, at times turning into a thunderous waterfall. With wonderful singing, the service went on unnoticed. It's been going on for an hour and a quarter. But now the time has come to enter lithium; the singers stand at the western doors of the church, the royal doors open, and from them, following the metropolitan, come bishops, archimandrites and a large host of clergy in luxurious, gold, with silver-embroidered images of six-winged seraphim, vestments (a gift from the Sovereign Emperor for all participants in the celebration). Without stopping, as is usually done, in the middle of the church, it leaves the cathedral in a procession of the cross and heads with the singing of lithium stichera to the Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Church, where the relics of the saint temporarily stand. The clergy are followed by Their Majesties and Their Highnesses, ministers and retinue. In the Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Church, the coffin with the relics of the saint stands in the middle. The Metropolitan performed incense. The Sovereign Emperor and the Grand Dukes with the bishops and archimandrites lifted the coffin and carried it out of the church. Here the coffin was placed on a green velvet stretcher and covered with a rich, crimson-colored velvet cover embroidered with silk. The bells began to ring. The Sovereign Emperor, the Grand Dukes and the Archimandrites lifted the stretcher and carried it. On a high stretcher, the coffin was visible from everywhere. This procession presented a majestic and touching picture. During his lifetime, Father Seraphim was the humblest and poorest of the elders, rich only in his simplicity and loving soul, and now the coffin of this humblest man is carried by the Autocrat of the Russian land with the Grand Dukes and hierarchs of the church... Along the route of the procession with the relics of the saint from the very doors of the Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Church and towards the cold Assumption Cathedral, past the western and southern walls of the warm cathedral, stood banner bearers with their numerous banners - gifts from the monastery. Behind them, along the entire line, stood a dense, thick wall of people. Deacons with censers and candles, six small cypress banners surround the stretcher with the coffin of the saint, which is overshadowed by four deacons on the sides. Directly behind the coffin were the Metropolitan and the bishops, followed by the Empresses and Grand Duchesses. The singers are singing, the bells are ringing... Admired by the majestic procession, touched by the sight of the Tsar carrying the honorable remains of the saint, the people, seized by a religious impulse, fervently, with tears, many on their knees, pray. Everyone has lit candles in their hands. The silence in the air was such that the flames of the small candles did not go out. The procession moved quietly and in perfect order. She approached the Assumption Cathedral. Here, at the first (southwestern) corner of the church, the archdeacon proclaimed the first petition of the litany. Subsequent petitions were proclaimed at other corners of the church. When the passage stopped in front of the western doors, His Eminence the Metropolitan read the lithium prayer “The Lord is merciful...”, in which, calling on the names of the saints, he also called on the name of Seraphim, the Sarov wonderworker. On the porch of the church, the coffin was removed from the stretcher and brought into the church, with His Majesty and His Eminence the Metropolitan supporting the head side of the coffin. It was 40 minutes past 8 o'clock when the coffin was brought into the church. Here he was placed on a raised platform in the middle of the church. Everyone in the church stood with lit candles. The singers sang the troparion to the saint three times, and the Metropolitan performed incense around the tomb and then blessed the loaves. Then the all-night vigil continued as usual. Between the kathismas, the Right Reverend Innocent uttered a word on the text “the venerable one will be praised in glory” (Ps. 149). In it, the saint clarified in particular detail the truth about the connection between the earthly Church and the heavenly one, revealed the meaning of the holy relics of God's righteous people and pointed out that the bodies of saints or their bones alone became the subject of reverent veneration even in the deepest antiquity 14 . They sang, “Praise the name of the Lord...” The clergy went out into the middle of the church. Immediately after the polyeleos a moment came, which is beyond our ability to describe in words. Our next words are a faint shadow of reality. The singers fell silent; there was silence; Everyone's gaze is directed to the coffin. Here the Metropolitan takes off his miter, descends from the clouded pulpit, and approaches the coffin from its northern side. The whole church, as one person, stands in mute silence, in tense anticipation, for some extraordinary actions of the first hierarch... Here he brings his hand closer to the lid of the coffin; the sound of a key turning in the lock is heard, followed by another... And the saint opens the coffin. Immediately the archimandrites remove the lid from the coffin... With great voice, with extraordinary enthusiasm, the clergy sang “magnification” to the monk: “We please you, reverend Father Seraphim...” At the first sounds of this “magnification,” the entire church fell to its knees. The Tsar, Queens, Princes and Princesses are praying on their knees... It was a truly holy moment, an unearthly state was felt... After reading the Gospel, the kissing of the holy relics began. After the saints, they venerated the relics of Their Majesties and Their Highnesses and received anointing with oil from the Metropolitan. After this, Their Majesties and August Persons left the church. The serving clergy, members of the retinue and other high-ranking persons began to attend. Behind them, the rest of those present in the church moved closer to the coffin. The bishops anointed those who venerated the relics with oil. The service of the all-night vigil continued for a long time, until the end of the eleventh hour. But hardly everyone present in the church had time to venerate the relics during the all-night vigil. Towards the end of the service, people who were crowded around the doors began to be allowed into the church. In a continuous wave it flowed towards the saint’s tomb. All night the doors of the church were open, and all night the pilgrims venerated the holy relics and received anointing with oil from the appointed clergy. The honorable remains of St. Seraphim lay in hieromonastic vestments. On the Persians, on top of the epitrachelion, there was a large cross, the maternal blessing of Seraphim. A round hole is made in the “veil” on the head, through which they apply it to the saint’s forehead, first kissing the cross on the chest. The relics exude a subtle, unusually pleasant fragrance. Leaving the church, we truly found ourselves in another church. The people filling the monastery fence stood in reverent silence; Everyone has burning candles in their hands. Many, on their knees, prayed towards the cathedral. We went outside the monastery fence - there was the same picture, but even more majestic, even more grandiose. There are even larger masses of people standing here, also with candles, others holding whole bunches of them. It was so quiet that the candle flames did not flutter. There was literally a camp of pilgrims here. Among the masses of people stood carts and various types of carriages, with horses tied to them. The blue sky looked like a dome overturned over the entire visible space with countless unquenchable lamps on it - stars. Singing could be heard from different places. Then circles of pilgrims and pilgrims formed at different points sang different church hymns. Without seeing the singers, one might think that the sounds of singing were coming from the sky itself. We admired this picture for a long time, sitting on the porch of our hotel. Midnight passed, and the singing did not stop. I wanted to listen to him more closely. We walked for a mile by ear, making our way between the crowds of still-awake pilgrims. Near the bridge, in the very middle of the road, stood a large crowd of about three hundred men and women. All men with bare heads. In the center there are about 50–60 people singing. Others with burning candles in their hands. They finished singing the troparion: “To the zealous intercessor...” The singing was led by an almost gray-haired peasant, waving his hand to show the measure and stops. Men and women sang with ardent animation and positive harmony. We have no doubt that such singing is the fruit of church school. They sang one chant after another almost without rest. They sang “Praise the name of the Lord”, “I will open my mouth”... (all irmos), glorification of St. Seraphim, “Glory to God in the highest”, “We praise God to you”... “In the middle of summer they will sing Easter,” predicted the saint of God. And so they sang and sang: “Christ is risen...”, “May God rise again...”, all the irmos of the Easter canon. Nobody thought about leaving. In the crowd they saw a priest, still very young. “Father! - they turned to him, “read the akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, and we will sing.” An akathist was also found. The priest immediately agreed. He turned out to have a good voice and a skillful leader of singing. The priest was just beginning, reading out the ikos; nevertheless, the people repeated prayers beginning with the word “Rejoice” in a chant. Such reading of akathists can be heard on certain days of the week in laurels and large monasteries. It was three o'clock in the morning when we returned to the hotel. The mass of strong and varied impressions experienced over the past day drove away sleep, and I wanted to fall asleep as soon as possible, since the next day new and, perhaps, even stronger and deeper impressions were expected. On the morning of the 19th (Saturday), early masses were celebrated in all the monastery churches, at which there were many communicants. A mass of pilgrims moved towards the monastery gates, barely restrained by the police. It was possible to let only a small part of it into the monastery fence. The service of the late liturgy on this day was highly solemn, the gospel for which rang out at exactly 8 o’clock. At a quarter past nine, preceded by the choristers and subdeacons, the Metropolitan entered the church. Soon the Sovereign, the Empresses and all the Members of the Royal Family who were in Sarov arrived. The Liturgy, together with Metropolitan Anthony, was served by Archbishop Demetrius and Bishops Nazarius and Innocent. All those participating in the liturgy were wearing the same vestments as yesterday at the all-night vigil, which was called “Seraphim” (on it, as was said, images of seraphim were woven in silver on a gold background). The cathedral was full of worshipers. There were ministers, retinues, provincial authorities, zemstvo leaders. Sufficient space was also reserved for the people. Of the sick admitted into the church, some sat, others lay near the walls. The service proceeded as usual until the small entrance with the Gospel. When they sang, “Come, let us worship...” and the Metropolitan overshadowed those on the four sides with trikiriy and dikiriy, the archimandrites approached the coffin-deck, took out a cypress coffin with holy relics and, while singing: “Wonderful among the holy ones, singing Ti,” they carried it to the altar. This moment was touchingly solemn. The whole church sank to its knees and did not rise from them while the coffin was carried around the altar and then brought to the stone (marble) shrine standing under the canopy. The deacons first lowered the outer oak coffin into the shrine. The Metropolitan, bishops and archimandrites lowered the coffin with the relics into this coffin. Both the day before during the procession with the relics, and now when the relics were carried around the church, there were several amazing cases of healing. The day before, for example, a peasant girl from the Astrakhan province and district, the village of Promyslovki, Vera Chernysheva, 29 years old, who had been in a paralyzed state for 5 years, with cramped legs, stood up and began to walk without assistance. The catalepsy-prone 12-year-old daughter of the Moscow merchant Maslennikov, who had not spoken a word for two years, has now been healed. The medical supplies, which in this case were expensive, did not provide any help to the patient. The girl’s mother, when they carried the coffin with the relics past them, touched the coffin with a handkerchief and wiped the sick woman’s face with it. The latter immediately after this began to speak in front of everyone. Until the very end, the Liturgy continued as usual with the wonderful singing of the metropolitan and bishop's Tambov singers. A special impression was made by the performance of the Neva singers “It is worthy...”, the so-called Serbian tune. This singing brought forth involuntary tears of tenderness. The liturgy is over. Archbishop Dimitri of Kazan came to the pulpit and delivered an eloquent teaching in honor and glory of St. Seraphim. In it, he explained that the newly glorified saint of God, with his life and exploits, showed us the good path of truth and life, now abandoned by others, leading beyond the limits of time, into eternity. With a prayerful appeal that our venerable father Seraphim, this earthly angel and heavenly man, who in his bright soul united the heavenly and earthly in the Lord, would forever remain for us a bright guiding star, illuminating the path of our life, the Right Reverend ended his speech. Immediately, at the end of the speech, all the clergy, led by the metropolitan, came out of the altar into the middle of the church to solemnly serve a prayer service to the saint. While singing the troparion, the bishops and archimandrites approached the shrine and surrounded it. The Sovereign Emperor and the Grand Dukes helped remove the coffin with holy relics from it. The entire church was kneeling. Holy relics are carried out of the church. The religious procession begins in the same order in which it was performed the day before. With the brilliance of the almost midday sun, numerous banners sparkle even brighter than the day before and the vestments of the clergy shine. The procession moves slowly among the walls of the people. The coffin is carried, as the day before, by the Emperor, the Grand Dukes and the Archimandrites. Directly behind the coffin are the bishops, and behind them are the Empresses and Grand Duchesses. From the high stretcher, the coffin, now open, is visible from everywhere. Thousands of people look at him reverently, with tears of tenderness. Many, both women and men, literally cry. While the bells are ringing and the clergy and singers are constantly singing, the procession makes a large circle, going around the cathedral. Many people sing along with the clergy. Even more quietly whisper a prayer: “Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.” In many places along the path of the coffin procession, peasant women spread pieces of canvas, towels, scarves, and skeins of yarn. In other places, all this is thrown onto the path through a living wall of people... This procession also ended. The holy relics are brought into the cathedral and placed back into the shrine. The archdeacon exclaimed: “To our venerable father Seraphim, in the tenderness of souls and hearts, let us bow our knees and pray.” The Tsar and the entire Royal Family, the clergy and all the pilgrims fall to their knees. The kneeling Metropolitan reads a touching prayer to Saint Seraphim. Dismissal takes place. The Archdeacon proclaims for many years: “To the Most Pious Great Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, Autocrat of All Russia, zealot of the Christian faith, defender and patron,” to the Sovereign Empresses, the Sovereign Heir and the entire Royal House, the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Anthony and serving bishops, the entire consecrated cathedral, military leaders, city governors, Christ-loving troops and all Orthodox Christians. When the great voice “many years” fell silent, the archdeacon, in contrast to such singing, sang in his massive bass voice a prayer for the salvation of the monastery, its brethren and the establishment of its church, and the choir repeated three times: “Save, Christ God!” The entire Royal Family venerated the holy relics. The Metropolitan blessed Their Majesties and August Persons with icons. V. End of the Sarov celebrations.– Departure of the Royal Family from Sarov to Diveyevo.– Stay in the Diveyevo Monastery.– Consecration of the new church in memory of St. Seraphim.– Concluding remarks Thus ended the bright celebrations of the discovery of the holy relics of St. Seraphim, and the people rushed to venerate them. From that time on, without interruptions at night and during the hours during which the service was going on, people were allowed into the cathedral to see the relics of the saint of God. And day and night for three whole days, people flowed like a living stream into the monastery fence and then into the Assumption Cathedral. Only by the evening of the 22nd did it become freer in the monastery. At 2 o'clock (19th) Their Majesties and Their Highnesses shared a festive fraternal meal. In the middle of dinner, the archdeacon proclaimed the royal and other many years. The bells were ringing in the monastery all day. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Metropolitan Anthony with Bishop Innocent, the archimandrites and a host of clergy performed a prayer service to Saint Seraphim for the banner bearers and deputations at the spiritual celebration. There were up to 700 banner bearers in the cathedral. Before the prayer service, Metropolitan Anthony said a word. He also consecrated many icons, including a huge, fathom-high icon of St. Seraphim, brought by citizens of the city of Perm as a gift to the Seraphim monastery that opened at the Perm Belogorsk Monastery, the first monastery in Russia named after the newly-minted saint. The monastery itself was opened in memory of the deliverance of the Sovereign Emperor from danger in Japan in the city of Otsu. At 4 1/2 o'clock Their Majesties and Their Highnesses deigned to accept an invitation to tea from the Tambov nobility in a special pavilion located not far from the monastery. Along the way to this pavilion, the Phanagorian grenadier regiment and a regiment of Cossacks on foot were placed in trellises. As he passed, the Emperor deigned to greet them. At 6 o'clock Their Majesties and Their Highnesses left the pavilion for the monastery. On July 20 (Sunday) the Tsar's stay in the Sarov Hermitage ended. Before the start of the late mass, the Sovereign Emperor with the Sovereign Empresses and the August Persons who remained in the monastery arrived at the Assumption Cathedral and here they listened to the farewell prayer for St. Seraphim, performed by the Metropolitan, Archbishop Demetrius and a host of clergy. Having prayed on their knees before the holy relics and venerated them, Their Majesties and Most August Persons left the church and, accompanied by the metropolitan, archbishop and other clergy, with a procession of the cross, reached the Holy Gates of the monastery. Here we boarded carriages and went to the Diveyevo monastery. The royal train headed to the “town” - a barracks settlement for pilgrims from the common people. From 148 barracks, entire long streets were formed here. On the middle, masses of people stood like a living wall. The crews of the Tsar's train moved slowly between them. A friendly, animated “hurray” filled the air. Their Majesties bowed graciously to everyone. Two chapels were built in the “town”. In one of them was the Right Reverend Innokenty of Tambov. Having arrived at this chapel, Their Majesties and Their Highnesses got out of their carriages and listened to a prayer service. After the prayer service, the Right Reverend greeted His Majesty with a short speech, in which he pointed out the great significance of the Tsar’s close communication with His people, experienced during the significant days of the Sarov celebrations. The Bishop ended his speech with the words: “May Your departure be blessed, just as Your coming to the holy monastery was joyful. Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!” With cries of delight and blessings of love, with tears in their eyes, the people saw off their King and Queens. The celebration in the Diveyevo monastery was, one might say, a post-celebration of the Sarov celebrations. We did not have the opportunity to be present in Diveevo during the stay of the Royal Family there. According to newspaper descriptions, the Diveyevo celebration took place in this order. Before Their Majesties arrived at the monastery, nuns were grouped along the entire path from the gate to the cathedral church, with monastery pupils and the monastery choir on the porch. As the bells rang, the Tsar's train approached the monastery. The elder sisters of the monastery came out to meet him outside the monastery gates with a procession of the cross; At the head of the clergy was the Right Reverend Nazariy of Nizhny Novgorod with the archimandrites. At the meeting, the Bishop greeted the High Visitors with a speech. With the procession of the cross, the Royal Family entered the cathedral and listened to a short prayer service here. The Sovereign Emperor, Sovereign Empresses and August Persons venerated the miraculous icon of the “Tenderness of the Mother of God.” Mother Superior Maria had the good fortune to present Their Majesties and Their Highnesses with icons as a blessing from the monastery. In the cathedral, the Highest Guests deigned to inspect the not yet consecrated chapel in the name of St. Seraphim. From the cathedral, preceded by the Right Reverend Nazarius and accompanied by the sisters of the monastery, some of whom stood on the sides of the path, the Highest Pilgrims walked along the red cloth to the chambers of the abbess, where they then listened to the liturgy in her house church. At the end of the service, Their Majesties and Their Highnesses were offered a meal. In one room a table was set for the August Persons; Abbess Maria was invited to this table. A table was set for the retinue in the next room. At the end of the meal, Their Majesties and Their Highnesses toured the monastery, visited the so-called “distant hermitage” of Father Seraphim in the monastery cemetery, where the altar of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was made from the cells of St. Seraphim. Their Majesties also inspected the printing house, lithography, icon-painting workshop and school for girls. Near that school stood students of the girls' parochial school from Ardatov. Their Majesties listened to the singing of the children. In the chambers of the abbess, Abbess Maria and the other abbess who were here presented the nuns' handicrafts to Their Majesties. At the ringing of the bells and accompanied by shouts of “hurray” from the people, Their Majesties and Their Highnesses departed from the monastery for the Arzamas station. Upon the departure of Their Majesties from Sarov, another bright celebration was held there - the consecration of the new Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, built in memory of St. Seraphim. The church, as already mentioned, was erected on the site of the former cells of the monks, and all the cells were dismantled, and the cell in which Father Seraphim lived was left intact, and it was completely included in the new church and stands in it at its southern wall, on the right hand of the entrance. This small cell is surrounded by a case on which artistic paintings are placed. The entire northern wall of the case depicts the appearance of the Mother of God to the Venerable Seraphim, accompanied by John the Baptist, John the Theologian and twelve holy virgins. Many precious and elegant lamps are hung in front of this picture. On the eastern side of the case (hence, towards the iconostasis of the church) the image of St. Seraphim is striking in its artistry. He is represented here at full height, walking with a staff in his left hand. His right hand is raised and its fingers are folded for blessing. The face of the saint glows with extraordinary kindness. And since this image is near the very entrance to the cell, it involuntarily seems that the holy elder lovingly blesses everyone who enters there. In a cramped cell there are icons and a large candlestick in front of them. Before the discovery of the holy relics, requiem services were constantly served here, and after that they began to sing prayers to the saint. In the cells there is a perfectly preserved couch made of large painted green tiles. Near the bed there is a large, table-shaped case. Nowadays it contains the saint’s rosary, hair from his head, a gold-framed tooth knocked out of the saint by robbers, and part of the stone on which the ascetic prayed. Over time, it is planned to collect other things of St. Seraphim here. On the eve of the consecration of the church, His Grace Innocent served an all-night vigil in the middle of the church, before the table with altar utensils. His singers sang beautifully. During the censing of the church, while singing “Bless, my soul, the Lord...” and “Praise the Name of the Lord...” they entered the saint’s cell. The very consecration of the church the next day was performed by the Metropolitan, Archbishop Dimitri and Bishop Innocent, with six archimandrites, several archpriests and priests. Two choirs sang - the metropolitan and the bishop's. When the throne was consecrated, the clergy, led by the Metropolitan, came out of the altar, and preceded by the Neva choristers, with the ringing of bells, went to the Assumption Cathedral for part of the relics of St. Seraphim for a new antimension. This particle, enclosed in a reliquary, was in a bowl that stood before the image of the Savior in the cathedral. After the prescribed hymns and prayers, the Metropolitan lifted the reliquary onto its head and, supported by the arms of two archimandrites, overshadowed by ripids, carried it, preceded by the choristers and clergy, to the new church. Then the first liturgy was celebrated there and after it a prayer service to St. Seraphim, ending with the usual many years. During the liturgy, instead of the sacrament, Archpriest Ornatsky said a word, choosing the following significant and dear words of St. Seraphim for every truly Russian, Orthodox person as the subject of its content: “We have an Orthodox faith, a Church that has no blemish. For the sake of these virtues, Russia will be glorious and terrible and insurmountable to its enemies, having faith and piety in the shield and armor of truth. The gates of hell will not prevail against these” 15. In vivid images, the preacher explained to the listeners the great importance of the Orthodox faith for the Russian state. And uneducated listeners could easily understand how dearly we should value, how carefully we should preserve this invincible power of ours, this main and most reliable stronghold of our fatherland - Russia. Indeed, at the Sarov celebrations one could be convinced that man truly does not live on bread alone, and understand how Russian people live... Whoever saw in Sarov extraordinary pictures of the bright triumph of faith, aggravated by the presence of the Crown Bearer at it, who observed the same extraordinary pictures of the high rise of patriotic feeling, will not forget them all his life, he will understand well what the strength and greatness of the Russian people is... Event in Sarov once again convinces us that the Russian land is saved by holy faith and that this ancient historical path of Russia is correct, which it must follow, relying on its strong age-old foundations - Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. “In the person of St. Seraphim,” said the Metropolitan (before the last requiem), “the Lord is erecting a new spiritual stronghold for the Russian people.” Developing further this deeply true thought of the hierarch, we can say that all the tired and exhausted “people of the century”, all restless in soul, torn from the church soil, should go to Sarov, to this quiet refuge, and the Venerable Seraphim, shining with a quiet light, humbly pitying everyone, will heal their soul, just as he heals the sick body of the common people who piously believe in him. Here, in this pure faith, in this holy shrine of the monk, lies the saving healing from the painful diseases of our time... And from the shrine of the holy relics of St. Seraphim, his dying covenant is heard, as it were: “When I am gone, come to my grave, go as you have time, and the more often, the better. Everything that is in your soul, everything that you grieve about, whatever happens to you, come to my grave, fall to the ground as if I were alive, and tell me. And I will hear you, and your sorrow will pass; Speak to me as if you were alive, and I will always be alive for you...” In just these words, breathing with extraordinary love, in one promise of help, is not consolation and relief given to everyone who is disadvantaged in life, to everyone who is tormented by spiritual thirst? And the above words: “We have an Orthodox faith, a Church without any blemish. For the sake of these virtues, Russia will be glorious and terrible and insurmountable to its enemies, having faith and piety in the shield and armor of truth. The gates of hell will not prevail against these,”—do not these words, filled with sacred patriotism, console, reassure, and encourage the Russian people as a whole?.. Imbued with these words, as much as the great son, and now father of the Church, as much as the great citizen of the Russian State, and now dignified by the Church as “the establishment of the Russian land” (see the new service to the saint), the Russian people can with great boldness exclaim: “God is with us!” I. V. Preobrazhensky. Discovery of the holy relics of St. Seraphim, Sarov miracle worker. St. Petersburg, E. Arngold's printing house, 1904 On the 14th, on the banks of the Sarovka River near the spring, 15 crutches were burned, thrown here by the healed themselves. The text of the sermon is given in our book on p. 238 The general procession had shrines from the following six monasteries: Seraphimo-Diveevsky, Seraphimo-Ponetaevsky, Spaso-Zelenogorsky, Arzamas Pokrovsky, Arzamas Nikolaevsky and Arzamas Alekseevsky. See “Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery”, priest L. Chichagov, p. 274) The transfer of the venerable remains of St. Seraphim from the previous block into a cypress coffin was carried out, under the supervision of Metropolitan Anthony, over the course of three days - July 3, 4 and 5. The cypress coffin is upholstered inside with green silk moire fabric. This coffin is nested in another, oak, having the exact shape of the previous coffin, but of luxurious artistic workmanship, with decorations in the form of oak branches, made of matte silver. This deck is bound with three iron hoops and equipped on the sides with ten hanging brackets made of twisted iron, for carrying the coffin on the hands. And the night before they confessed to Hieroschemamonk Simeon. Author of the Diveyevo Chronicle, future martyr Seraphim (Chichagov). – Ed. The shrine is composed of four massive stone (marble) slabs, in memory of the great feat of prayer of the monk on a stone in the Sarov Forest. The canopy is made of gilded bronze. The total cost of a crayfish with a canopy is about 35,000 rubles. The shrine and the canopy were built according to the design of Prince M. S. Putyatin. Near the shrine there are four carpet runners, a total of 40 arshins long. They are made of dark green material. Their sides are embroidered with ribbons of yellow silk fabric in a beautiful design. This embroidery was made by Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The Church of the first three centuries, the saint said, persecuted and persecuted, knew its martyrs and confessors who suffered for the name of Christ. She buried their bodies with honor and carefully collected their bones. When Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna was tortured and torn to pieces by beasts, the Smyrna people sent a message to other churches, informing them that they had collected the bones of the martyr in a vessel and would preserve and honor this shrine as the most precious treasure (see Church Gazette No. 30 for 1903). In our book this sermon is placed on p. 249