Игумен Серафим (Кузнецов)

Sheets of memories. Seer Paraskeva During his lifetime, Rev. Seraphim, by revelation of God, wrote in his own hand a letter to the Tsar who would be destined to come to Sarov and Diveevo, passing it on to his friend Motovilov, the latter handed this letter to the late Abbess Maria, who handed it personally to Sovereign Nicholas II, in Diveevo, July 20, 1903. What was written in the letter remained a mystery. One can only assume that the holy seer clearly saw everything that was coming, and therefore protected from any mistake and warned about the coming terrible events, strengthening the faith that all this would happen not by chance, but by the predestination of the Eternal Heavenly Council, so that in difficult moments of difficult trials the Sovereign would not lose heart and carry his heavy martyr’s cross to the end. With his prophetic spirit, the modern great righteous Father John of Kronstadt also saw through the martyrdom of the Tsar, saying: We have a Tsar of righteous and pious life, God sent him a heavy cross of suffering, as His chosen one and beloved child, as said by the Seer of God’s destinies: Those whom I love, I rebuke and punish (Rev. 3:19). If there is no repentance among the Russian people, the end of the world is near; God will take away their pious King and send a scourge in the person of wicked cruel self-proclaimed rulers who will flood the whole earth with blood and tears. The modern great ascetic-seer Paraskeva Ivanovna Sarovskaya, who lived the last years of her life in Diveyevo, and before that for several decades in the forest, who began her exploits during the life of St. Seraphim; the one who predicted the birth of a son to the Tsar and Empress a year before, but not to joy, but to sorrow, this royal chick will be born, whose innocent holy blood will cry out to heaven. In the last days of her earthly life, in her conditional but clear actions and words, she predicted an impending storm on Russia. She placed portraits of the Tsar, Queen and Family in the front corner with the icons and prayed to them along with the icons, crying out: “Holy royal martyrs, pray to God for us.” In 1915, in August, I came from the front to Moscow, and then to Sarov and Diveev, where I was personally convinced of this. I remember how I served the Liturgy on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Diveevo, and then straight from the church I went to Elder Paraskeva Ivanovna, staying with her for more than an hour, listening carefully to her future menacing predictions, although expressed in parables, but her cell attendant and I all understood well and deciphered the unclear. She revealed a lot to me then, which I did not understand as needed in the current world events. She told me even then that our enemies started the war with the goal of overthrowing the Tsar and tearing Russia apart. For whom they fought and in whom they hoped, they will betray us and will rejoice in our grief, but their joy will not last long, for they themselves will have the same grief. The seer kissed the portraits of the Tsar and the Family several times in front of me, placed them with icons, praying to them as holy martyrs. Then she cried bitterly. These allegorical actions were understood by me then as the great sorrows of the Tsar and Family associated with the war, because although they were not torn to pieces by a grenade or wounded by a lead bullet, their loving hearts were tormented by unprecedented sorrows and bled. They were truly bloodless martyrs. How the Mother of God was not ulcerated by instruments of torture, but at the sight of the suffering of Her Divine Son, according to the word of the righteous Simeon, a weapon passed into Her heart. Then the old lady took the icons of the Mother of God “Tenderness”, before which the Monk Seraphim died, blessed the Emperor and the Family in absentia, gave them to me and asked me to forward them. She blessed the icons: the Emperor, the Empress, the Tsarevich, the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and A. A. Vyrubova. I asked to bless the icon of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, she blessed, but not the Mother of God of Tenderness, but St. Seraphim. She didn’t bless anyone else with icons, although I even asked for some myself, but my requests didn’t have any effect, because she acted independently. The icons were immediately sent to the destination, where they were received in a timely manner. After that, I stayed in Diveevo for several more days, at the request of the old lady, going to her every day, learning from her high spiritual wisdom and imprinting in my heart many things that were still incomprehensible to me at that time. Only now it seems clearer to me how God revealed to this righteous woman the entire coming terrible test for the Russian people who had deviated from the truth. It was not clear to me then why she blessed everyone, except Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, with the icon not of St. Seraphim, but of the Mother of God “Tenderness,” before whom St. Seraphim died. At the present time, this is clear to me: she knew in advance that they would all end their lives with the death of the righteous martyrs, just as the Monk Seraphim ended his life, and would inherit eternal life in the abodes of paradise with him. Kissing the portraits of the Tsar and Family, the seer said that these were her dear relatives, with whom she would soon live together. And this prediction came true. She died a month later, passing into eternity, and now, together with the royal martyrs, she lives in a heavenly, quiet haven. Just as St. Seraphim accepted all sinners who repented, but drove them away without giving a blessing to those who violated the duty of the oath, so did this righteous woman. She cruelly beat them with a stick and drove them away from her, for her pure holy soul saw all the secrets of the human heart. Sarov spiritual celebration On January 29, 1903, the Holy Synod announced the glorification of St. Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov. The Emperor was especially consoled by this new heavenly sign, experiencing true joy and deep tenderness. The Royal Family especially honored the memory of St. Seraphim since I860, when the laying on of the half-mantle of the righteous healed the infant Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and alleviated the death of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Nicholas I. The spiritual celebration of the discovery of the honest relics of the saint of God was scheduled for July 19, 1903. The Tsar himself, with the Empress and members of the reigning House, made a reverent journey to this great spiritual celebration, which gathered hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Russian people. I myself was at this celebration, I saw how the Tsar walked on foot, as a reverent pilgrim, to the healing spring and to the Far Hermitage of Elder Seraphim, on his royal shoulders he carried the coffin with the honest remains of the newly-minted wonderworker and, together with his wife, partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. They confessed to the humble elder Hieroschemamonk Simeon and received communion on July 18 at an early mass, which was celebrated by Archimandrite Andrei (later Bishop of Ufa), as mere mortal pilgrims along with the people. I myself received communion among these pilgrims and saw with what reverence the royal pilgrims approached the Holy Sacrament. Their simplicity and religiosity greatly influenced me even then, causing tears of tenderness. Only true faith in God, true devotion to Orthodoxy and deep reverence for the holy relics of the righteous, poor old hermit, humble hermit, prompted the royal pilgrims to undertake a long and difficult journey, associated with many labors and dangers for life itself. The Orthodox people wept with joyful emotion at the sight of how the Tsar and Queen humbly bowed their heads before the holy relics of the newly-minted wonderworker. The Emperor, at his own expense, built a silver artistic shrine for the relics of St. Seraphim, and the Queen personally embroidered the cover on the tomb and the rug with the runners. How touching, joyful and instructive all this was for a believer. The royal pilgrims left Sarov on July 20 for the Diveyevo convent, this is the spiritual brainchild of St. Seraphim. Here they visited the old ascetic Paraskeva Ivanovna, who predicted the birth of a son to the Queen. This visit to the seer, together with her experience in Sarov, made a strong spiritual impression on the Empress, who earnestly prayed in Sarov for the granting of a son to her. When a year later the seer’s prediction came true, you can imagine how this influenced the Queen’s state of mind and strengthened her faith in the correctness of Orthodoxy. I consider it worthwhile to recall that some liberal newspapers wrote that a paper was allegedly found in the archives of the police department, which contained the following prediction of Elder Seraphim of Sarov: “At the beginning of the reign of this monarch there will be misfortunes and troubles of the people. The war will be unsuccessful. Great turmoil will come within the state, father will rise up against son and brother against brother. But the second half of the reign will be bright and the Tsar’s life will be long-lasting.” There is no such prediction in the annals of both the Sarov and Diveyevo monasteries, and therefore it must be attributed to the fictitious legend of frivolous people. The Sarov spiritual and patriotic celebration was unpleasant for the enemies of the united great Russia. They hissed with envy and anger, plotting new intrigues against Russia. Against the will of the peace-loving Sovereign, war broke out with Japan. Undoubtedly, some unknown hand contributed to the outbreak of the war in order to make it possible to intensify the anti-state work. At the height of the war, the Queen's long-standing desire to have a son was fulfilled. On July 30, a son was born in Peterhof. Last year's prediction came true at the Diveyevo monastery. There was great family happiness in the Royal Family, which brought great consolation in the difficult, sorrowful days of the unsuccessful war. The baptism of the newborn took place in the Peterhof church on August 10. The successors were: the King of England, the King of Denmark, the Emperor of Germany and some of the Grand Dukes. At the same time, the Emperor wished that all the troops of the army operating on the battlefield would also be among the successors of the newborn Tsarevich, which was given to the front to know. During the baptism of the baby, a remarkable incident occurred that attracted the attention of all those present. When the newborn Tsarevich was anointed with holy myrrh, he raised his hand and extended his fingers, as if blessing those present. In this case, they saw not a simple coincidence, but something broadcast, each explaining it in his own way. Some saw this as a good omen, while others saw it the other way around. The Empress was especially glad that God finally heard her prayer and gave her a son, attributing this mercy of God to the prayers of St. Seraphim of Sarov, for even before her trip to Sarov she had promised to go there on a pilgrimage. Now, with even greater jealousy, the Queen devoted herself entirely to raising her children, especially raising her dear son. She considered her greatest pleasure to be with her children, although from the moment her son was born she devoted more time to him than anyone else. The caring mother was always with her sweet son, never losing sight of him, fearing for his life, no matter what happened to him, because he was the only one she had. The Tsarevich was a common favorite in the Royal Family. When he began to grow up, he looked very much like his father, as they say, the spitting image of his father. The queen herself nursed him, not trusting anyone, and took upon herself entirely the responsibility of his upbringing. She vigilantly guarded her beloved son from all dangers, always being near him. Whether in Tsarskoye Selo, Peterhof, or on the imperial yacht, the Tsarina is always with her son as a devoted ordinary nanny. The daughters used to play or walk with the governess and the valet, and when Alexey Nikolaevich was with them, the Empress was always among them. Even during receptions, military reviews and other absences from the Tsarevich's palace, the Tsarina was always at first with him directly or close to him. When I first had to see the Tsarevich on December 8, 1910, as a six-year-old child, in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, here too my mother was in the next room, which she reached with him. During this audience, I blessed the Tsarevich with a holy silver cross, which I placed on him by the will of the Sovereign. I received this cross on January 23 in Jerusalem and in it were embedded particles of the holy relics of John the Baptist and the Great Martyr George the Victorious, as well as a particle from the Holy Life-Giving Wood of the Cross of the Lord. Without a reverent feeling, I cannot remember this moment when I had to see his childish spiritual delight upon receiving this sacred gift and how he, a sweet child, ran radiantly to his mother to share his joy. The Tsarevich always had this holy cross with him until his martyrdom, finding consolation in this great shrine in the sorrow of his captivity. As they told me, the Tsarevich asked his mother to tell him about the life of St. John the Baptist and the Great Martyr George, especially honoring their memory.