Житие преподобного отца нашего Серафима Саровского

St. Seraphim, Elder of Sarov, was from Kursk and descended from pious and wealthy parents named Moshnin, who belonged to the eminent merchant class of the city; he was born on July 19, 1759 and was named Prokhor in holy baptism. His father, Isidore, had great zeal for the churches of God, and his mother, Agafya, was revered even more than her husband for her piety and charity. In the third year from birth, Prokhor lost his father, and his only teacher remained his pious mother Agafya, under whose leadership he grew in Christian piety and in love for prayer and the church of God. From early childhood, the wondrous protection of God manifested itself over the blessed one, clearly predicting in him the grace-filled chosen one of God. One day, his mother, inspecting the construction of a church begun by her husband, took seven-year-old Prokhor with her to the very top of the bell tower under construction. Due to carelessness, the boy fell from the bell tower to the ground. Agafya ran away from the bell tower in horror, thinking that her son had fallen to death, but with surprise and joy she saw him standing on his feet safe and sound. Thus the words of Scripture were fulfilled over the grace-filled youth: “No evil will befall you, and no plague will come near your dwelling; for He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways: they will bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Ps. 90:10–12). In the tenth year, Prokhor began to be taught to read and write, and the youth quickly began to comprehend church literacy, revealing a bright mind and memory and at the same time decorating himself with meekness and humility. But suddenly he fell into a serious illness, so that his family did not hope for his recovery. During this difficult time for him, Prokhor sees in a sleepy vision the Most Holy Theotokos, who promised to visit him and heal him from his illness. Soon the words of the Mother of God came true. At this time, a religious procession took place in Kursk led by the miraculous icon of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos 33*. Due to rain and mud, the religious procession headed through Moshnina's courtyard to shorten the route. The pious Agafya hastened to carry out her sick son, placed him next to the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, after which the boy completely recovered. With love, the pious youth devoted himself to book learning, studying the Holy Scriptures and other Divine and soul-helping books, directing his whole mind to God, for Whom his pure soul was burning with love. Meanwhile, his elder brother, who was engaged in trade, gradually began to accustom Prokhor to it, but the boy’s heart was not in this business: his soul sought to acquire for itself a spiritual treasure, incorruptible and inexhaustible. Not being able to attend the Divine Liturgy on weekdays, Prokhor, despite this, did not miss almost a single day without visiting the Church of God and rose at dawn to listen to Matins; On Sundays and holidays, he especially loved to spend his free time reading spiritual and edifying books, and sometimes read aloud to his peers, but he preferred solitude and silence. The direction of her son was not hidden from Prokhor’s mother, but she did not contradict his wishes. And so, when the pious young man turned seventeen years old, he firmly decided to leave the world and, with the blessing of his mother, who admonished him with a copper cross, which he never parted with from then on, he devoted himself to monastic life. Leaving the world, the blessed one first went on a pilgrimage to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where one perspicacious recluse named Dosifei, seeing in the young man a good ascetic of Christ, blessed him to go to the Sarov hermitage to save himself 34 *. “Come, child of God,” said the perspicacious elder to the young ascetic, “and remain in the Sarov monastery; this place will be your salvation; with God’s help, you will finish your earthly journey there. The Holy Spirit, the Treasure of good things, will direct your life in holiness. Obeying the behest of the perspicacious elder, Prokhor came to the Sarov Hermitage, where he was lovingly received by the rector of the hermitage, Elder Pachomius, a meek and humble monk who labored a lot in fasting and prayer and was a model of monks. Foreseeing the good will of Prokhor, Pachomius identified him as a novice and gave him to teach the elder, Hieromonk Joseph, who was the treasurer of the monastery. While in cell obedience to the elder, Prokhor zealously fulfilled all the monastery rules and regulations and various fraternal obediences: in the bakery, in the prosphora, in the carpentry; in addition, he performed the duties of a sexton in the church. He was never idle, but by constant work he tried to protect himself from boredom, which he considered one of the most dangerous temptations for a monk. “This disease can be cured,” he later said from his own experience, “by prayer, abstinence from idle talk, feasible handicraft, reading the word of God and patience, because it is born from cowardice, carelessness and idle talk.” Prokhor appeared at church services first of all, standing motionless throughout the service, no matter how long it was. Outside the church, he loved to retire to his cell. While doing needlework or some other obedience, he constantly had the Jesus Prayer in his memory and heart, by its power overcoming various enemy temptations. Not content with the silence and silence of the Sarov monastery, the young ascetic, competing with some elders who, with the blessing of the abbot, retired into complete solitude from the monastery fence into the depths of the monastery forest 35 *, with the blessing of his elder Joseph, also retired in his free hours into the forest thicket for prayerful silence. He combined abstinence and fasting with prayer; on Wednesday and Friday he did not eat any food, and on other days he took it only once. Everyone had respect and love for the extraordinary ascetic, whose constant and amazing feats were difficult to hide, despite his deep humility. Elders Pachomius and Joseph especially showed love and trust for him, as if for their own child. This love and universal respect of the Sarov monks for the young ascetic of Christ was especially clearly expressed on the following occasion. In 1780, Prokhor became seriously ill. His whole body was swollen, and he, enduring severe suffering, lay motionless on his hard bed. There was no doctor, and the disease did not respond to any means; Apparently it was dropsy. The illness lasted for three years, half of which the sufferer spent in bed. But the word of murmur never left Prokhor’s lips; He devoted himself entirely, body and soul, to the Lord and prayed unceasingly, washing his bed with his tears 36*. Prokhor's spiritual father and mentor, Elder Joseph, served him during his illness as a simple novice; the abbot of the monastery, Elder Pachomius, was constantly with him; Elder Isaiah and other elders and brothers also cared a lot about him. Finally, fearing for the very life of the sufferer, Pachomius decisively suggested that he call a doctor. But the blessed one with even greater determination refused medical help. “I have given myself, holy father,” he said to the elder, “to the true Physician of souls and bodies, our Lord Jesus Christ, and his Most Pure Mother; if your love judges, provide me, poor one, for the Lord’s sake, with heavenly medicine (i.e., the communion of the Holy Mysteries). Then Elder Joseph, at the request of the sick man and out of his own zeal, served an all-night vigil and liturgy for Prokhor’s health; The brethren gathered for the service out of zeal to pray for the suffering. After the liturgy, Prokhor was confessed and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ on his painful bed. And after receiving communion, the Most Holy Virgin Mary appeared to him in an indescribable light, accompanied by the apostles John the Theologian and Peter. Turning Her Divine face to the Theologian, She said, pointing her finger at Prokhor: Then She laid her right hand on his head, and immediately the matter that filled the patient’s body began to flow out through the hole that had formed in the right side. Soon Prokhor was completely healed and only signs of the wound that was the source of the disease always remained on his body, as if as evidence of his miraculous healing. At the site of the appearance of the Mother of God, soon afterwards, by the special providence of God, a two-story church with two altars and a hospital with it were built, on the site of Prokhor’s broken cell. The latter, on behalf of the abbot, collected donations for this construction and with his own hands built a throne made of cypress wood in the lower hospital church. When this throne was consecrated, St. Seraphim received Holy Communion until the end of his life. The secrets are mainly in this church - for the constant remembrance of the great blessing of God revealed to him in this place 38 *. Having spent eight years in the Sarov desert with the rank of novice, Prokhor on August 18, 1786, at the age of 27, was awarded monastic vows, and he was given a new name - Seraphim. With the acceptance of monastic rank, the very meaning of the new name 39*, reminding Seraphim of purity and fiery service to the God of Angels, raised in him an even stronger desire and holy zeal to serve the Lord. Seraphim intensified his labors and exploits and began to keep himself even more secluded, immersing himself in inner Godly contemplation. A little over a year after that, the monk was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon 40*. From that time on, for about six years he served almost continuously in this rank and added to his labors, to even new exploits, burning in spirit and flaming with Divine love. He spent the nights of Sundays and holidays in wakefulness and fervent prayer, without rest, standing on the prayer rule until the liturgy; At the end of the Divine service, he remained for a long time in the church, putting the sacred utensils in order and taking care of the cleanliness of the Lord’s altar. And with all this, blessed Seraphim almost did not feel the work, did not get tired, did not need long rest after it, often completely forgetting about food and drink, and, going away to rest, he regretted why a person could not, like the Angels, continuously serve God. Seraphim's soul ascended higher and higher along the ladder of virtues and God-thought contemplations - and, as if in response to his fiery holy zeal, the Lord consoled and strengthened him in his exploits with grace-filled heavenly visions, which he became capable of contemplating as a result of purity of heart, constant abstinence and the constant elevation of his soul to God. So, sometimes during church services he contemplated the holy Angels, concelebrating and singing with the brethren, in the form of lightning-fast youths, dressed in white gold-woven clothes; Their singing could neither be expressed in words nor be likened to any earthly melody. “My heart became like wax and melted” (Ps. 21:15), he later said in the words of the Psalmist, remembering the indescribable joy that he experienced during these heavenly phenomena. And then he did not remember anything from that joy; I only remembered how I entered the church and left it. But the monk was granted a particularly grace-filled, significant vision one day, during the Divine Liturgy of Passion Week. It was on Maundy Thursday. The Liturgy was performed by the reverent elders Pachomius and Joseph together with blessed Seraphim, for Pachomius became deeply attached to the young but skillful monk and almost always performed Divine services with him. When Seraphim, after the small entrance and paremias, exclaimed: “Lord, save the pious,” and, going out through the royal doors, with the words: “and forever and ever,” pointed the orarium at those who were coming, he was suddenly illuminated from above by an extraordinary light, as if from the rays of the sun. Raising his gaze to the radiance, blessed Seraphim saw our Lord Jesus Christ in the image of the Son of Man in glory, shining, brighter than the sun, indescribable light and surrounded, as if by a swarm of bees, by the Heavenly Forces; Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim. From the western church gates He walked through the air, stopped opposite the pulpit and, raising His hands, blessed the servants and those praying. Then He entered the local image near the royal gates 41*. The heart of the blessed one was filled with indescribable joy in the sweetness of fiery love for the Lord and was illuminated by the Divine light of heavenly grace. And he himself instantly changed in appearance from this mysterious vision - and could neither leave his place nor utter a word. Many noticed this, but no one understood the real reason for what was happening. Immediately two hierodeacons approached Seraphim and led him into the altar; but even after that, he stood motionless in one place for about two hours - only his face changed every minute: either it was covered with whiteness, like snow, or a living blush shimmered in it. The elders Pachomius and Joseph, who were serving the liturgy, wondered if Seraphim felt an unexpected weakness of strength, which could so naturally happen to him on Maundy Thursday after a long fast, especially with the respect that blessed Seraphim had long had for him; but then they realized that he had a vision. When Seraphim came to his senses, the elders asked him what had happened to him. Seraphim meekly, with childish trustfulness, told them about his vision. The elders, experienced in spiritual life, wrote his story in their hearts; Blessed Seraphim was inspired not to become proud and not to give room in his soul for harmful thoughts about any of his dignity before God. But no one, except for the mentioned elders, knew then what a wondrous visitation of God blessed Seraphim was honored with. And the saint, after this gracious heavenly vision, did not dream about himself and his spiritual gifts, but became even more firmly established in humility. Protected by deep humility, he ascended from strength to strength and, constantly struggling in spiritual self-abasement, faithfully and steadily walked the royal path of the Cross of the Lord. From that time on, Seraphim began to seek silence even more and more often than before retired to pray in the Sarov forest, where a desert cell was built for him. Spending days from morning to evening in the monastery, performing services, fulfilling monastic rules and obediences, in the evening he retired to a deserted cell for night prayer, and early in the morning he returned to the monastery again to fulfill his duties. In 1793, Seraphim, in his thirty-fifth year from birth, was ordained to the rank of hieromonk 42*. And in this rank, he, as before, but with even greater love, continued for a long time continuous sacred service, receiving Holy Communion daily with faith and reverence. Christ's Mysteries. Soon after this, the Monk Seraphim took upon himself an even higher feat and voluntarily retired into the desert. This was after the death of his beloved leader and mentor, the blessed elder Pachomius, who blessed him before his death for this feat. With bitter weeping, carrying the body of his mentor into the ground, Seraphim, having accepted the blessing of the new abbot, Elder Isaiah, his spiritual father, left the monastery for silent exploits in the desert 43 *. The cell of St. Seraphim was located in a dense pine forest, on the banks of the Sarovka River, on a high hill, 5-6 miles from the monastery, and consisted of one wooden room with a stove. Near the cell the monk built a small vegetable garden, and then a beekeeper, which he surrounded with a fence. Not far from Seraphim, other hermits of Sarov lived in solitude, and the entire surrounding area, consisting of various hills, dotted with forests, bushes and the cells of desert dwellers, seemed to resemble the holy Mount Athos. Therefore, the monk named his deserted hill Mount Athos, giving the other most secluded places in the forest the names of various holy places: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jordan, the stream of Cedars, Golgotha, the Mount of Olives, Tabor - as if for a lively representation of the sacred events of the earthly life of the Savior, to whom he finally betrayed his will and his whole life. Constantly practicing reading the Holy Gospel, he especially loved to read in these places about the Gospel events corresponding to their names. In his Bethlehem heliport, he sang the gospel doxology: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” 44*. On the banks of Sarovka, as if on the banks of the Jordan, he recalled the preaching of St. John the Baptist and the baptism of the Savior. He listened to the Lord's conversation on the Mount about the nine Beatitudes on one mountain, which lay near Sarovka, and on another hill, called the Mount of Transfiguration, he contemplated in mental co-presence with the Apostles the glory of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Climbing into the depths of a dense forest, he recalled, according to the Gospel, the Lord’s prayer for the cup 45* and, touched to the depths of his soul by his inner suffering, shed tearful prayers for his salvation. On the Mount of Olives, so named by him, he contemplated the glory of Christ’s Ascension into heaven and His sitting at the right hand of God. The Monk Seraphim always wore the same clothes, simple, even wretched: on his head a worn kamilavka, on his shoulders a half-caftan, as if in the form of a robe made of white linen, on his hands were leather mittens, on his feet were leather stockings and bast shoes; on his robe invariably hung the same cross with which his mother had once blessed him, releasing him from home to the holy monastery, and behind his shoulders lay the bag in which the ascetic inseparably carried St. The Gospel, which always reminded him of the saving bearing of the good yoke and light burden of Christ. All the time passed for the zealous ascetic of Christ in unceasing prayers and psalmody, reading sacred books and physical labor. During the cold season, the monk collected branches and brushwood and chopped firewood with his hatchet to heat his wretched cell. In the summer he worked in his small garden, which he cultivated and fertilized himself and whose vegetables he mainly ate. To fertilize the land, on hot summer days he went to swampy places to get moss - and since he went there, naked and only girded his loins, the mosquitoes and other insects that swarmed over the swamp cruelly bitten his body, so that it often not only swollen, but even turned blue and baked with blood. But the ascetic of God voluntarily endured these painful ulcers, for the Lord’s sake, and even rejoiced in them because, as he later said, “passions are destroyed by suffering and sorrow, either voluntary or sent by Providence,” and therefore, for the most complete and most reliable purification of the soul, he accepted voluntary suffering. Having thus collected the moss, the saint of God fertilized the beds, planted seeds, watered them, weeded and collected vegetables, constantly praising God and pouring out his quiet, holy joy in singing sacred chants, with which he refreshed and edified his spirit amid the monotony of bodily activities. Possessing a bright memory, and since childhood reverently attentive to church services, Seraphim knew by heart many church hymns, which he loved to chant among his labors in his silent, secluded desert, and some people closest to the monk noticed that many of these hymns had the greatest application to the area and to his solitary monastic deeds. Thus, Saint Seraphim especially loved to often sing: “Worldwide glory” 46* - in honor of the Mother of God, Whom he considered the patroness of his desert, - “The incessant Divine desire is deserted, except for the vain world” 47* - an antiphon depicting desert life and opening the soul of the hermit to Divine objects, as well as hymns that lift up the human soul to the great work of God’s love, to the creation of the world and man, such as: “There is in those who bear all truth, created by the word, accomplished by the spirit,” 48*, “Descend to the unclean land with your command,” 49*, etc. And in the midst of this laborious prayer, while working somewhere in the garden, in an apiary or in the forest, the monk would plunge into such deep contemplation of spiritual mysteries that he would unnoticeably interrupt his work, the tools would fall from his hands, his hands would drop, his eyes would give his face a special, grace-filled character of self-absorption. The elder immersed himself in himself with all his soul, ascended to heaven with his mind and soared in the contemplation of God. And if at such moments someone happened to be near or pass by, then no one dared to disturb the blessed silence and peace of the monk, and everyone quietly hid from him. In every object, in every action, Seraphim saw their intimate relationship to spiritual life and from here he learned and raised his intelligent eyes to grief. Thus, while chopping wood, having made one or three cuts, he deepened into contemplation of the great mystery of the One God, glorified in the Trinity. In addition to his physical labors, the Monk Seraphim, in order to reach higher and higher in spiritual perfection, devoted himself to the most sublime pursuits of the mind and heart and read many books, especially the Holy Scriptures, as well as patristic 50* and liturgical books. The very first book for him was St. The Gospel, which he never parted with, carrying it with him. An ascetic life, purity of heart, prayerful conversations with God, spiritual self-absorption and enormous reading in the Holy Scriptures and soul-helping books - illuminated his mind with such light that he clearly understood and penetrated with all his soul the meaning of the word of God. In the desert, he made it a constant rule for himself to read every day, with an explanation for himself, several concepts from the Gospel and the Apostle. “It is necessary to supply the soul,” he said later, “with the word of God: for the word of God is the bread of angels, and souls that hunger for God feed on it. Most of all, one should practice reading the New Testament and the Psalter. From reading St. Scripture is enlightened in the mind, which is therefore changed by the Divine change. You need to train yourself in such a way that your mind seems to float in the law of the Lord, according to the guidance of which you should organize your life. It is very beneficial to engage in reading the word of God in solitude and to read the entire Bible intelligently. For one such exercise, in addition to other good deeds, the Lord will not leave a person with His mercy, but will fulfill the gift of understanding.” And the holy elder, from constant exercise in reading the Word of God, acquired for himself this grace-filled gift of understanding, and at the same time - peace of mind and the highest gift of heartfelt tenderness. In the Holy Scriptures, he no longer sought truth alone, but also warmth of spirit, and often, during the sacred reading, tears of tenderness flowed from his eyes, from which a person, by the elder’s own admission, warms up completely and is filled with spiritual gifts, delighting the mind and heart more than any word. Every day the monk performed the monastic prayer rule according to the following Psalter, according to the rite of the most ancient Christian desert dwellers; at one time he sang and read the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th hours, vespers, little compline, prayers for the future to sleep, and often also, instead of the evening rule, he said a thousand bows at a time, midnight and other church services. Having experienced all the forms and degrees of prayer, he ascended not only to the feat of so-called mental prayer, but also to the highest height of prayerful contemplation on earth, when the mind and heart are united in prayer, thoughts are not scattered and the heart is warmed by spiritual warmth, in which the light of Christ shines, filling the peace and joy of the entire inner man. Thus, saving himself in the desert for a week, Saint Seraphim, on the eve of Sundays and holidays, came to the Sarov monastery, listened to Vespers, All-Night Vigil or Matins, and during the early liturgy received St. Holy Communion. Tain, after which until Vespers he received the brethren who came to him for their needs, and then, taking with him bread for the week, he returned to his deserted cell. He spent the entire first week of Great Lent in the monastery and during these days he fasted, confessed and received Holy Communion. Tyne. The blessed elder combined the feats of great abstinence and fasting with his feats of prayer. At the beginning of his desert, hermit life, he ate stale and dry bread, which he took with him from the monastery on Sundays, for a whole week, but from this amount of bread he gave a good share to desert animals and birds, who loved him very much and often visited the place of his prayerful deeds. The elder inspired reverence even in wild animals. So, a huge bear often came to him, which he fed; according to his word, the bear went into the forest and then came again, and the old man fed him and sometimes gave him food to his visitors. Subsequently, the Monk Seraphim further aggravated his fast, refusing even bread, and accustomed his body to such abstinence that he ate, according to the words of the Apostle, “working with his own hands” (1 Cor. 4:12), - only the vegetables of his garden. During the first week of Great Lent, he did not take food at all until he received Holy Communion. Tyne on Saturday. Having completely stopped taking bread from the monastery, he lived for more than two and a half years without any support from it, and the brethren wondered what the elder could eat all this time, not only in summer, but also in winter; Only shortly before his death, the elder told some people close to him that for about three years he ate only a decoction of sniti grass, which he collected in the summer and dried for the winter. Meanwhile, many began to break the silence of the blessed hermit, often visiting him for the sake of spiritual guidance and consolation. Many of the Sarov brethren came to him for advice and instructions or just to see him. Knowing how to recognize and distinguish between people, the elder avoided some, remaining silent. But those who before him had a real spiritual need, he willingly accepted and lovingly guided them with his advice, instructions and spiritual conversations. Such were, for example, his regular visitors, Schemamonk Mark and Hierodeacon Alexander 52*: but they, sometimes finding the elder completely immersed in Godly thoughts, not daring to disturb his peace, either waited for the end of his prayerful deeds or, after waiting for some time, quietly moved away from the elder. The reverend also had outside visitors. If, outside his deserted cell, the elder unexpectedly met someone in the forest, then usually, without entering into a conversation, he humbly bowed to him and walked away, for from silence, as he later said in his instructions, no one ever repented. But in general, Seraphim was burdened by visitors who disturbed his silence. It was especially difficult for him when women came to him; but he could not evade their instructions, considering this a matter displeasing to God. Then the holy elder, on the accidental basis that the female sex is prohibited from entering St. Mount Athos, decided to extend this prohibition to his own hill, which he named by the same name. Arriving one day at the monastery during the Divine Liturgy, Seraphim asked for a blessing from the builder of Sarov, Elder Isaiah, who, after some bewilderment 53 * , blessed him with an icon of the Mother of God called the “Blessed Womb” 54 * . At the same time, Elder Seraphim turned with an ardent prayer to God and the Most Holy Theotokos, so that his desire would be fulfilled, and women would be prohibited from entering his deserted hill, so that this would not be a stumbling block and temptation, both for some of the brethren, and even more so for the laity; to certify God's will for this petition, he asked for a sign in the form of the bowing of the branches of a tree, past which he passed, returning from the Feast of the Nativity of Christ from Sarov to his deserted cell. And so, when he went to Sarov at night on December 26th for the Divine Liturgy, then, having reached the place where the ground slopes steeply downwards, he saw that on both sides of the path, huge branches from centuries-old pine trees blocked the path and blocked the passage to his cell, while nothing of the kind had happened in the evening. Then the holy elder, in a feeling of intense gratitude to God, fell to his knees, realizing from what had happened that his desire was pleasing to the Lord. And he himself hastened to block the path to himself with logs, and from then on the entrance to him was completely closed not only to women, but also to strangers in general. At the sight of such exploits of the great elder, the primordial enemy of the human race armed himself against him with all kinds of temptations and intrigues. So, he induced various insurances on the ascetic, sometimes emitting behind the doors as if the howl of a wild animal, sometimes imagining that it was as if a crowd of people were breaking down the door of his cell, knocking out the doorposts, throwing a piece of wood at the old man, etc.; from time to time, during the day, but especially at night, during the prayerful presence of the Venerable Elder Seraphim, he apparently suddenly imagined that his cell was falling apart and terrible animals were bursting in from all sides with a furious roar; sometimes suddenly open coffins with dead people rising from them appeared in front of him. And when subsequently one layman, in the simplicity of his heart, asked him: “Father, have you seen evil spirits?” - he answered with a smile: “they are vile, - just as it is impossible for a sinner to look at the light of an Angel, so it is terrible to see demons, because they are vile.” But all these terrible visions, horrors and temptations, sometimes accompanied by bodily suffering, the gracious elder overcame with warm prayer and overcame by the power of the Honorable and Life-giving Cross of the Lord. Elder Seraphim was repeatedly tempted by the spirit of ambition and was elected abbot and archimandrite of various monasteries 55*; but in such cases he always, with unshakable firmness, dissolved in deep humility, rejected these assignments from himself, striving for true asceticism and in monastic life, seeking only the salvation of his soul and his neighbors. Seeing the holy elder’s humility, the devil raised a strong mental battle against him 56*, supporting it with such strength that some of the great ascetics fell. Then Elder Seraphim, in a difficult spiritual situation, turned with heartfelt prayer to the Hero of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Virgin Mother, and at the same time, in order to eliminate and exterminate the devil’s machinations, he decided to undertake a new highest feat of prayer following the example of the ancient Christian stylites. In the depths of a dense forest, at night, invisible to anyone, he climbed onto a high granite stone, to strengthen his prayerful feat, and prayed on it for a long time, standing on his feet or kneeling, calling out from the depths of his soul the publican’s prayer: - God, be merciful to me, a sinner! In his cell, this new stylite also placed a small stone on which he prayed from morning to evening, leaving that stone only for rest from extreme exhaustion or for slightly strengthening himself with meager food. The Monk Seraphim spent a thousand days and a thousand nights in this great feat. The enemy was finally defeated, and the mental warfare ceased. But from such an extraordinary feat of prayer and standing on his feet for almost three years, the elder became extremely physically exhausted and received severe, painful ulcers on his legs, which did not leave him until his death. And only then, finally, did he stop his unbearably difficult feat of stylite life, which even in ancient times only a very few ascetics dared to undertake. But during the life of the elder, no one knew about this extraordinary feat of prayer, which he managed to hide from the curious gaze of man. The Bishop of Tambov, who was hegumen Nifont after Elder Isaiah, had a secret request about Seraphim, to which the rector of Sarov replied: “About the exploits and life of Fr. We know Seraphim; no one knew about any secret actions, as well as about standing on a stone for 1000 days and nights” 57*. And only shortly before his blessed death, the Monk Seraphim, following the example of many other ascetics, among other circumstances of his life, told some of the Sarov brethren about this wondrous feat of his. One of the listeners then noticed that this feat was beyond human strength. To this the holy elder remarked with humility of faith: – Saint Simeon the Stylite stood on the pillar for forty-seven years: are my labors similar to his feat? When the interlocutor noticed that the elder probably felt at that time the help of strengthening grace, the monk answered: - Yes, otherwise human strength would not be enough... I was internally strengthened and consoled by this heavenly gift, descending from above from the Father of lights. Then, after a short pause, he added: – When there is tenderness in the heart, then God is with us 58*. The shamed devil began to plot new intrigues against the holy elder to remove him from the desert. He sent evil people against him, who, having met the monk in the forest, began to demand money from him, as if he received it from the laity who came to him. The elder replied that he did not receive money from anyone. But they did not believe it, and one of the villains rushed at him, but fell himself. Seraphim had bodily strength and, with an ax in his hands, could defend himself against three robbers. But he remembered the words of the Savior: “all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52); and, lowering the ax, folded his hands crosswise on his chest and meekly said: - Do what you need. One villain, raising an ax, hit the old man so hard on the head with the butt of the ax that blood gushed from his mouth and ears. The Monk Seraphim fell unconscious. The villains continued to furiously beat him with the butt of an ax, logs, hands and feet. Finally, noticing that he was not breathing and considering him dead, they tied his hands and feet with ropes, intending to throw his body into the river to hide their crime; They themselves rushed to the elder’s cell for the supposed booty, but after carefully going through and breaking everything in the cell, they found nothing except the holy icon and a few potatoes. Then they came into fear and repentance that they had killed, without any benefit to themselves, a holy, non-covetous man of God, and began to flee. Meanwhile, Seraphim, having woken up and somehow untied his hands, raised a prayer to God for the forgiveness of his murderers and with difficulty crawled to his cell, where he spent the whole night in cruel suffering. The next day, with the greatest difficulty, he made his way to the monastery during the liturgy. His appearance was terrible: his hair was soaked in blood, matted and covered with dust and debris, his face and hands were beaten, his ears and lips were caked in blood, several teeth were knocked out. The elder remained silent to the questions of the brethren, who were horrified at this sight, but, asking the abbot, elder Isaiah, and the monastery confessor to come to him, he told them about what had happened. And so, to the gloating of the devil, Seraphim was forced to remain in the monastery. He suffered unbearably and lay barely alive, not taking any food. Eight days passed like this. Then, despairing for his life, they sent for doctors, who, having examined Seraphim, found that his head was broken, his ribs were broken, his chest was trampled, his whole body was covered in various places with mortal wounds, and they were surprised how the old man could survive after such beatings. To discuss what was best to do to relieve the elder, the brethren gathered in his cell. At the same time they sent for the rector. And so, at that moment when they announced that the abbot was coming, the Monk Seraphim forgot himself and fell asleep in a thin, light, calm sleep. In a dream he saw a wondrous vision, similar to the one he had seen once before, when, while still a novice, he lay in mortal illness. The Most Holy Theotokos approached him, in royal purple, surrounded by heavenly glory; The apostles Peter and John the Theologian followed Her. Stopping at the bed, the Most Holy Virgin pointed to the sick man with the finger of her right hand and, turning Her Most Pure Face in the direction where the doctors stood, said: Then, turning her face again to Elder Seraphim, she said: After this, the vision, which those present did not even suspect, ended - and when the abbot entered the cell, the patient again came to his senses. Father Isaiah began to urgently and lovingly persuade him to take advantage of the advice and help of doctors. But the patient, despite his desperate situation, after so much care about him, to the surprise of everyone, firmly answered that now he did not want any help from people, begging the abbot to allow him to leave his life to God and the Most Holy Theotokos. The abbot was forced to fulfill the wish of the elder, who, from the wondrous Divine visit, was in unspeakable, unearthly joy for several hours. Then the elder calmed down and felt relief from the illness and a gradual return of strength. A little time later, he got out of bed, began to walk around the cell a little, and in the evening refreshed himself with food. From that very day he again began to gradually indulge in spiritual exploits. From the day of his illness, the elder stayed in the monastery for about five months. The illness made him bent over, which had been noticed in him before, after he was once crushed by a tree while chopping. But, feeling again the strength to lead a desert life, Seraphim turned to the abbot with a request to let him go into the desert. Elder Isaiah and the brethren begged him to stay forever in the monastery. But the monk firmly answered that he did not attribute such attacks as what happened to him to anything, and was ready to endure all insults, no matter what happened, until death. Then Father Isaiah blessed that desire, and Seraphim returned to his deserted cell. Soon after this, the robbers who beat the elder were found; These were serfs of a certain local landowner Tatishchev. Then the Monk Seraphim, lovingly forgiving them, asked the abbot and the landowner not to punish them, announcing that otherwise he would leave the Sarov monastery and secretly retire to other remote holy places. At the elder’s prayer, the villains were forgiven, but God punished them for His saint: soon a strong fire completely destroyed their homes. Then the robbers came to repentance and with tears asked St. Seraphim for forgiveness and holy prayers, returning with his blessing to the path of a virtuous life. For his lofty exploits and godly life, the holy elder was granted by God the grace-filled gift of clairvoyance. But even more so, he avoided human glory and strove for silence. In 1806, the rector of the Sarov monastery, Elder Isaiah, due to his sick position and old age, retired from work, and the brethren unanimously elected St. Seraphim in his place. But Seraphim avoided this, both due to his deep humility and extreme love for the desert and silence. Then Father Nifont, known to Seraphim since childhood, was elected rector. Meanwhile, Elder Isaiah, due to his ailments and weakness of strength, not being able to walk six miles into the desert to the Monk Seraphim and at the same time not wanting to lose the consolation of talking with him, greatly grieved over this. Then the brethren, out of zeal, began to take the elderly Isaiah to the desert to the Monk Seraphim, for the sake of the physical weakness of both. But soon this last of St. Seraphim’s dearest friends in spiritual life also departed to the Lord. This loss struck Seraphim with deep sorrow, and from that time on he began to think even more and more often about the corruption of this temporary life, about the future life and the Last Judgment of Christ. At the same time, he began to pray with special zeal for the repose of the souls dear to his heart, Blessed Pachomius, Joseph and Isaiah, and, passing by the monastery cemetery, he always offered fiery prayers to the Almighty at their graves for them and for other Sarov elders and ascetics, calling them by the fervor and height of their prayers “fiery from earth to heaven.” And the elder commanded others to remember them more often in prayers. Thus, to one nun I knew, who often visited Sarov and visited Seraphim, the latter gave the following commandment: - When you come to me, go to the graves, make three bows, asking God to rest the souls of His servants: Isaiah, Pachomius, Joseph, Mark and others, and then say to yourself: forgive, holy fathers, and pray for me. After the death of Elder Isaiah, the Monk Seraphim did not change his way of life as a desert, but gave a new character to his asceticism, taking upon himself the difficult feat of silence. Whether visitors came to him in the desert, he did not go out to them. If he himself happened to meet someone in the forest, he would fall prostrate on the ground and would not raise his eyes until the person he met passed by. He lived in such silence for about three years. Shortly before this date, he even stopped visiting the Sarov monastery on Sundays and holidays. One brother brought him food to his deserted cell, especially in winter, when the elder did not have his own vegetables. Food was brought once a week, on Sunday. When the brother entered the vestibule, the elder, saying to himself: “Amen,” opened the doors, lowering his face to the ground, and only when the brother left, the elder put a small piece of bread or a little cabbage on the tray lying on the table, as a sign of what to bring him next Sunday. But these were all only external signs of silence. The essence of the elder’s arduous feat lay not in outward withdrawal from sociability, but in the silence of the mind, in the renunciation of all worldly thoughts for the purest, most perfect dedication of oneself to God. Many of the brethren greatly regretted the grace-filled elder’s withdrawal from communication with them and the feat of silence he had undertaken, and some even seemed to reproach him for secludedness, whereas, being in close communication with the brethren, he could have edified them both by word and example, without suffering damage to the well-being of his soul. But the elder responded to all these reproaches with the words of St. Isaac the Syrian: “Love the idleness of silence rather than satiating the hungry in the world” and St. Gregory the Theologian: “It is wonderful to theologize for God, but it is better than this if a person purifies himself for God.” And the arduous feat of silence, undertaken by the Monk Seraphim, most perfectly purified and enlightened his righteous soul and elevated him even more and higher into the mysteries of God-contemplation, completely disarming the devil to fight the desert dweller. What fruits of the spirit this feat brought for Seraphim can be clearly judged from the instructions of the holy elder regarding silence, undoubtedly based on his own experience. “When we remain in silence,” St. Seraphim later said, “then the enemy, the devil, will not have time to reach the hidden person of the heart: this must be understood about silence in the mind. It gives birth to various fruits of the spirit in the soul of the silent person. From solitude and silence tenderness and meekness are born. In combination with other activities of the spirit, silence elevates a person to piety. Silence brings a person closer to God and makes him, as it were, an earthly Angel. You just sit in your cell in attention and silence and try by all means to bring yourself closer to the Lord, and the Lord is ready to turn you from a man into an Angel: “But this is whom I will look to: the humble and contrite in spirit, and the one who trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). The fruit of silence, in addition to other spiritual gains, is peace of soul. Silence teaches silence and constant prayer, and abstinence makes thoughts unentertainable. Finally, a peaceful state awaits those who acquire this.” This is how the Monk Seraphim went through the feat of silence and, achieving the highest spiritual gifts, received new grace-filled consolations, feeling in his heart the inexpressible “joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Moving further along the ladder of virtues and monastic asceticism, the Monk Seraphim took upon himself the even higher feat of seclusion. It happened as follows. At this time, after Isaiah, the rector of Sarov was Father Nifont, a God-fearing and virtuous man, and at the same time a great zealot for the charter and order of the church. Meanwhile, Seraphim, since the death of Isaiah, having taken a vow of silence, lived hopelessly in his desert, as if in a seclusion. Previously, he went on Sundays to the Sarov monastery to receive Holy Communion. Tyne. But now, due to a leg disease that developed from standing on rocks for a long time, he could not walk. Many of the monks were tempted by this circumstance, wondering who was administering Holy Communion to him. Secrets, and therefore the builder finally convened a monastery council of senior hieromonks, presenting to them for resolution the question regarding the communion of Elder Seraphim. After the meeting, the elders decided to suggest to Seraphim that he either go, if he is healthy and strong in his legs, to the monastery on Sundays and holidays to receive Holy Communion. Tyne; if his legs do not serve him, he would forever move to live in a monastery cell. The general advice was to ask through the brother who carried food to Elder Seraphim on Sundays what he would choose. The brother did so, but the first time the elder did not answer him a word. The brother was instructed to convey the proposal of the monastery council to Seraphim a second time on the next Sunday. Then Elder Seraphim, having blessed his brother, went with him on foot to the monastery, making it clear with a sign that he was unable, due to illness, to go to the monastery as before on Sundays and holidays. It was May 8, 1810, when St. Seraphim was fifty years old. Returning to the monastery after a fifteen-year stay in the desert, Seraphim, without entering his cell, went to the hospital building. This was the day before the onset of the all-night vigil. When the bell struck, the elder appeared for the all-night vigil at the Assumption Church. All the brethren were greatly surprised when a rumor instantly spread among them that Elder Seraphim had decided to settle in the monastery. The next morning, May 9, the day of the transfer of the relics of Saint and Wonderworker Nicholas, Seraphim came, as usual, to the hospital church for the early liturgy and received Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries. From the church he went to the cell of the builder Nifont and, having received his blessing, settled in his former monastery cell. But at the same time, the elder, however, did not accept anyone, did not go out anywhere and did not speak a word to anyone, thus taking upon himself a new, most difficult feat of seclusion. Only very little is known about the exploits of the Monk Seraphim in seclusion, for he did not allow anyone to approach him and did not utter a word to anyone. In his cell he had nothing, not even the most necessary things: the icon of the Mother of God, in front of which a lamp always burned, and a stump of a stump that replaced a chair made up everything. For himself, he did not even use fire. On his shoulders, under his shirt, he wore a large five-versch iron cross on ropes to mortify the flesh, “so that the spirit might be saved” (1 Cor. 5:5). But he never wore chains or hair shirts. “Whoever offends us in word or deed,” he said, “and if we bear insults in the Gospel way, here are the chains for us, here is the hair shirt. These spiritual chains and hair shirts are higher than iron ones.” The Monk Seraphim continued to wear the same clothes as in the desert. He drank only water, and ate only oatmeal and white sauerkraut. Water and food were brought to him by a monk named Paul who lived next door to him. Having said a prayer at the elder’s cell, the brother placed food at the door. And the recluse, so that no one could see him, covered himself with a large cloth and, having accepted the dish, on his knees, took it to his cell, as if accepting it from the hands of God. Then, having refreshed himself, he put the dishes in their original place, again hiding his face with linen, following the example of the desert dwellers, who hid their faces under a kukul 59*. The prayerful exploits of the elder in retreat were unknown to anyone; we only know that they were very heavy, large and varied. And here he continued to perform his desert rule and all daily services, except for the Divine Liturgy. In addition, he often performed the “smart” prayer 60* of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. During prayer, the holy elder sometimes plunged into a deep contemplative, prayerful mood, standing before the icon, but without reading any prayer or bowing, but only with his mind contemplating the Lord in the heart. Over the course of a week, he read the entire New Testament in order: from Monday to Thursday, the four Gospels - one each day. In the entryway, through the door, one could sometimes hear him reading and interpreting the New Testament holy books to himself, and many came and listened to his words for their pleasure, consolation and edification. During all the years of seclusion, the elder received Holy Communion on all Sundays and holidays. Mysteries of Christ. In order to never forget about the hour of death, to imagine more clearly and see it closer before him, Saint Seraphim asked to make a coffin for him and place it in the vestibule of his reclusive cell. The holy elder’s wish was fulfilled: a coffin with a lid was hollowed out of solid oak for him, and he, unpainted, always stood in the entryway. Here the elder often prayed, preparing for his departure from this life. In conversations with the Sarov brothers, Blessed Seraphim often said regarding this tomb: “When I die, I beg you, brothers, lay me in my coffin.” Along with spiritual exploits, the elder ascetic began to combine physical labor, sometimes refreshing his tired old chest with fresh air. In the pre-dawn mornings, when everyone was still sleeping, the holy elder often, reading the Jesus Prayer, quickly moved through the cemetery, among grave monuments or anywhere else, back and forth, quietly carrying a small woodpile of firewood from one place to another, the place closest to the cell. When one day a novice-wake-up caller, delighted by such a vision, rushed to the elder, kissing his feet and asking for his blessing, Seraphim blessed him and said: - Protect yourself with silence and pay attention to yourself! Having spent five years in seclusion, the holy elder then weakened him somewhat, at first only in an external way: his cell door was open, and anyone could come to him, but he did not answer the questions of those who needed his instructions, having taken a vow of silence before God, silently continuing his spiritual work. The then Tambov Bishop Jonah, who often visited the Sarov monastery, once wished to see Father Seraphim in person and for this purpose approached his cell; but the monk, firmly fulfilling his vows before God and fearing man-pleasing, this time did not break his silence and seclusion 61*. Apparently, the time had not yet come for St. Seraphim to leave the seclusion. This is how the Eminence understood this, and when hegumen Nifont proposed to remove the doors of the elder’s cell from the hooks, he refused, saying: “Lest we sin.” And he left the old man alone. But soon after this, the hour had indeed come for St. Seraphim to completely abandon the feat of his seclusion and silence. With complete self-denial, patience, humility and unashamed faith, having walked the path of a communal monk, hermit, stylite, silent and recluse, he acquired for himself great spiritual purity and was honored by God with the highest grace-filled spiritual gifts. And then, according to the Divine Will, he had to leave silence and, continuing his entire life in God and for God, filled with the highest renunciation of the world, go out to serve the same world - with his love, the gracious gifts of teaching, insight, miracles and healings sent from God, with his spiritual guidance, prayer, consolation and advice. Thus, the Monk Seraphim took upon himself the highest feat of the so-called eldership 62*, in which he ended his arduous and righteous life. This feat of the great elder began with the fact that five years later he began to enter into conversations with visitors who came to him and, above all, monks. In his conversations with them, the Monk Seraphim mainly directed them to strengthen their observance of all monastic rules, inspiring them to unacceptably perform and listen to church prayer, to strictly and diligently carry out their obedience with humility, to sit at meals with the fear of God, not to leave the monastery without a good reason, to refrain from self-will and self-indulgence, to maintain mutual peace, etc. After this, they began to visit the holy elder and outsiders, worldly visitors. The doors of his cell became open to everyone - from early liturgy to eight o’clock in the evening. And the elder received everyone, teaching everyone a blessing and appropriate short instructions. The gracious elder received visitors dressed, as a rule, in long white clothes in the form of a robe and a half-robe, with an epitrachelion and armbands; however, he wore the latter only on Sundays and holidays, when he received St. Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries. With special love, the holy elder received sincerely and humbly repentant people and those who showed ardent zeal for the Christian spiritual life. After talking with them, the Monk Seraphim had the custom of placing the end of the stole and his right hand on their bowed heads. At the same time, he invited them to say a short prayer of repentance after themselves, after which he himself said a prayer of permission 63 *, which is why those who came received relief of conscience and some kind of special spiritual pleasure; then the elder cross-shapedly anointed the visitor’s forehead with oil from a lamp that burned in front of the image of the Mother of God of Tenderness located in his cell, which he called the icon of the Mother of God - the Joy of all joys, and in the case when it was before noon (i.e. before the proper time for eating food), gave them to eat the great agiasma (Epiphany water) and blessed them with a particle of antidor or blessed bread consecrated at the all-night vigil; then he made Christ with each one, no matter what time it happened, reminding him of the saving power of the Resurrection of Christ, and allowed him to venerate the image of the Mother of God or the cross hanging on his chest. He consoled and alleviated those who revealed to him any special ailments and sorrows of their hearts with special, appropriate, kind fatherly advice and spiritual healing; in other cases, the elder offered general Christian edification, especially about the unceasing memory of God, prayer and chastity. In all such cases, he especially commanded to always keep on the lips and in the heart the Lord’s Prayer – “Our Father”, the Archangel’s Prayer – “Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice”, the Creed and the Jesus Prayer – “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” which he considered especially effective and saving. Among other visitors, sometimes noble persons and statesmen came to Saint Seraphim, to whom he gave appropriate instructions, treating them with due honor and Christian love, drawing attention to the importance of their dignity and hence teaching them loyalty to the Holy Orthodox Church and the Fatherland. The elder and members of the royal family visited; So in 1825, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich received his blessing. But especially many common people came to the holy elder, demanding from him not only instructions, but sometimes also everyday help, with faith in his holiness and foresight - and he not only consoled them morally, but also helped them in their grief and needs by the power of his foresight, with which he showed, for example, poor peasants where to find property lost or stolen from them, commanding them only to protect themselves silence. Often he also healed the sick, anointing them in such cases with oil from the lamp that hung in front of his mentioned cell image of the Mother of God of Tenderness. But despite all this, the Monk Seraphim did not yet completely leave his seclusion; Having removed the seal of silence from his lips and receiving visitors, he himself, however, did not leave his cell. Soon the time came for St. Seraphim to completely leave his seclusion. But before deciding on this, he turned to God with a prayer for the highest permission to open the shutter. And so, on the night of November 25, 1825, the Mother of God appeared to the elder in a dream vision, together with Saints Clement of Rome and Peter of Alexandria, who were celebrated on that day, and allowed him to leave the seclusion and visit the hermitage. The next day, having risen from sleep and performed his usual prayer rule, he informed Abbot Nifont of his desire, from whom he received a blessing for this. From that time on, the Monk Seraphim began to visit his desert cell and pray in it. The elder especially often went to the so-called “Theological” spring. This spring was located about two versts from the monastery and existed for a long time even before Seraphim arrived in Sarov; but it was desolate: the pool was covered with a ramp of logs and covered with earth; water flowed out of it only through one pipe. Near the spring, on a column, stood an icon of St. Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, which is why the spring received its name. The Monk Seraphim loved this place very much. According to his wishes, the spring was cleared and renewed; the cover covering the pool was removed and instead a new frame with a pipe was made. Here the elder began to spend a long time, engaged in the thought of God and bodily labors; for, due to illness, he could no longer go to his previous cell. The elder collected pebbles from the Sarovka River and lined the spring basin with them; He made ridges for himself and planted vegetables. On a hill, near a spring, a small log house was built for the old man without windows and even without doors, with an earthen entrance on the side under the wall. Having crawled under the wall, the Monk Seraphim rested in this wretched shelter after his labors, hiding from the midday heat; Subsequently, a new cell was built for him with doors and a stove, but without windows. Here, in his desert, he spent all weekdays, returning to the monastery in the evening. This place began to be called the lower hermitage of Father Seraphim, and the spring - the well of Father Seraphim. It was touching to see this humble, bent old man, propped up with a hoe 64 * or an ax, in the desert, chopping wood or cultivating ridges in a wretched kamilavka without crape, in a white linen robe with a bag on his shoulders, where lay the Gospel and a load of stones and sand for the mortification of his flesh. When some asked why he was doing this, the elder answered: The number of visitors to the gracious elder increased significantly. Some waited for him in the monastery, others visited him in the desert, eager to see him and receive blessings and instructions from him. It was touching to see when the Monk Seraphim returned to his hermitage after receiving St. Secrets - in a mantle, epitrachelion and guards. His procession was slowed down by the multitude of people crowding around him. But at that time he did not speak to anyone, did not bless anyone, and did not seem to see anyone, completely immersed in thoughts about the grace-filled power of the Holy Sacrament. Hegumen Niphon, who deeply respected and loved the gracious elder, used to say about the many visitors to Saint Seraphim: – When Father Seraphim lived in the desert (first and farthest), he closed all the entrances to himself with trees so that people would not walk; and now I have begun to receive everyone to myself, so that I cannot close the monastery gates until midnight. From then on, in St. Seraphim, God revealed to believers a truly great and precious treasure. Particularly delightful was the soulful conversation of the gracious elder, imbued with some special love and at the same time breathing with a quiet, life-giving power. And his entire behavior with visitors was distinguished, first of all, by deep humility and all-forgiving, effective Christian love. His speeches warmed hearts, even callous and cold ones, illuminated souls with spiritual understanding, dissolved them into tearful and contrite repentance, aroused joyful hope for the possibility of correction and salvation even in hardened and despairing sinners, and filled the soul with blessed peace. The saint of God did not strike anyone with cruel reproaches or severe reprimands, nor did he place a heavy burden on anyone. He often expressed reproaches, but meekly dissolved his words with humility and love. Trying to arouse the voice of conscience with advice, he pointed out the ways of salvation, and often in such a way that the listener at first did not understand that he was talking about his soul; but then the power of the word, salted with grace, certainly produced its effect. The Monk Seraphim always based his word, as well as his entire life and all his actions, on the Word of God, on the works of the patrists and on instructive examples from the lives of saints who pleased God. At the same time, the elder especially honored those saints who were the most valiant zealots and champions of the Orthodox faith, such as: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, Clement, Pope, Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, etc., and at the same time constantly urged to stand for the steadfastness of the faith and loved to explain, What is the purity of Orthodoxy? He also loved to talk about the saints of the Russian Church, for example, about the Moscow saints Peter, Alexy, Jonah and Philip, about Demetrius of Rostov, St. Sergius, Stephen of Perm, etc. etc., making life their rule on the path to salvation. All these speeches of the gracious elder, in addition to their above-mentioned properties, had special power also because they were directly applied to the needs of the listeners and were closely related to their lives and those particular needs and cases for which they came to Sarov to the Monk Seraphim. Saint Seraphim especially observed and protected the purity of Orthodoxy. Thus, to the question of one schismatic, which faith is better: the current church faith, or the old one, the elder remarked with authority: - Leave your nonsense. Our life is the sea, our holy Orthodox Church is the ship, and the helmsman is the Savior Himself. If, with such a helmsman, people, due to their sinful weakness, have difficulty crossing the sea of ​​life, and not everyone is saved from drowning, then where are you striving with your little boat and on what do you base your hope - to be saved without a helmsman? Another time, a sick woman was brought to the Sarov monastery, bent over to such an extent that her knees were brought to her chest. When she was brought into the cell of St. Seraphim, he began to ask her where she was from and why such an illness happened to her. The free woman sincerely, without hiding anything, revealed her soul to the elder, as if in spirit, that she was born in the Orthodox Church, but married a schismatic, very stubborn in his false teaching; Due to the long-term influence of her husband and his family, she was repulsed by Orthodoxy, and for this God suddenly punished her: she seemed to be scorched, after which strong cramps began. A terrible pain tormented the unfortunate woman for four years, during which she could not move either her leg or her arm. The gracious elder asked the sick woman whether she now believed in our mother, the Holy Orthodox Church, and, when she answered in the affirmative, he ordered the sick woman to cross herself with three fingers. She responded with weakness, due to which she could not even raise her arms. When the monk prayerfully anointed her chest and hands with oil from the lamp hanging from him, the illness instantly left her, and she thanked the elder who had given her healing. The people were amazed at the sight of this miracle, the news of which quickly spread throughout the monastery and its surroundings. Through the purity of his spirit, having acquired the gift of clairvoyance, the Monk Seraphim often gave instructions to others that related directly to their inner feelings and thoughts of the heart, before they revealed to him the circumstances for which they turned to him - and his word was all the more irresistible in such cases. Here is a particularly striking example of this. One day, Honored Lieutenant General L. came to Sarov out of curiosity. Having examined the monastery buildings and received nothing for his soul, he wanted to leave, but he was stopped by a landowner named Prokudin, convincing the general to go to the recluse Elder Seraphim. Arrogant with himself, the general at first refused, but then, yielding to Prokudin’s strengthened convictions, he agreed to see the elder. As soon as they entered the cell, the monk, going to meet them, bowed at the general’s feet. Such humility amazed the proud general. Prokudin, noticing that he should not stay with them in the cell, went out into the hallway, and the general, decorated with orders, talked with the elder for about half an hour. A few minutes later, crying was heard from Seraphim’s cell: the general was crying like a little child. Half an hour later the door opened, and Saint Seraphim led the general out by the arms; he continued to cry, covering his face with his hands. The orders and cap were forgotten by him in the elder’s cell. The monk took them out and put the orders on his cap. Subsequently, this general said that he had walked all over Europe, knew many people of all kinds, but for the first time in his life he saw such humility with which the Sarov recluse greeted him, and had never known about the possibility of such insight, according to which the elder revealed his whole life to him down to the most secret details. By the way, the general’s orders fell off during his conversation with Seraphim, and the elder remarked: - This is because you received them undeservedly. The love of the gracious old man seemed to be all-encompassing and limitless; it seemed that he loved each and every one more than a mother loves her beloved only son. There was no such suffering, such sorrow for a neighbor, which he would not share, would not accept into his soul, and for the healing of which he would not find the appropriate healing means. And so, in the eyes of the Orthodox Russian people, he became a refuge, a spiritual support and consolation for all those who suffer and are burdened, those who grieve and are embittered, who require God’s mercy and gracious help. Persons of all ages, ranks and conditions and both sexes with complete, as if childish credulity, sincerely and sincerely revealed to him their minds and hearts, their doubts and perplexities, their spiritual needs and sorrows, their sins and sinful thoughts, for the humble confession of which, without any false shame or concealment, the blessed elder himself often came to the rescue, perspicaciously reading in the visitor’s soul and aloud revealing his sins and thoughts before him. And the loving holy elder satisfied and calmed everyone, no one left him without relief and peace of mind, without real instruction and gracious consolation - neither the rich, nor the poor, nor the simple, nor the learned, nor the humble, nor the noble. The people, especially in the last ten years of his life, flocked to him every day up to a thousand people, and sometimes up to two or more. But the holy elder was not burdened by this and found time to talk with everyone for the benefit of his soul, in brief words explaining to everyone what was beneficial to him. And everyone felt his great love and its gracious power, and streams of tears often broke out from such people who had hard and petrified hearts. Often the Monk Seraphim aroused envy, criticism, or bewilderment in many because he accepted everyone indiscriminately, did good to everyone equally, listened to everyone, consoled and instructed, without distinguishing between gender, rank, status and moral merits of the visitors who came to him. The Monk Seraphim spoke about this more than once: - Suppose I close the doors of my cell. Those who come to her, needing a word of consolation, will conjure me with God to open the doors and, having received no answer from me, will go home with sadness... What justification can I bring to God at His Last Judgment? Another time, when one monk asked the elder: “What are you teaching everyone?” - he answered: – I follow the teaching of the Church, which sings: “do not hide the words of God, but proclaim His miracles” 65*. Thus, the holy elder considered receiving everyone who came to him as a matter of conscience, an obligation of his life, for which God would demand an account from him at the Last Judgment. But with all this, when the elder saw that those who came to him listened to his advice, followed his instructions and from the path of sin and destruction took the path of virtue and salvation, he did not admire this as the fruit of his work, not taking anything to himself, but for everything blessing the Benefactor - God, saying in such cases: - “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your mercy, for the sake of Your truth” (Ps. 113:9). And he also said the same thing: – We must remove all earthly joy from ourselves, following the teaching of Jesus Christ, Who said: “Do not rejoice, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). One day, a merchant from the Vladimir province and the builder of the Vysokogorsk desert, Father Anthony, came to St. Seraphim’s cell at the same time. The monk lovingly began to meekly and affectionately denounce the merchant for his vices and offer him appropriate instruction. The speech of the gracious old man was so dissolved by the warmth of his heart that both the merchant to whom she was referring and Father Anthony, who happened to be present, were moved to tears. The latter, when the merchant left his cell, turned to the holy elder with these words: - Father! The human soul is open before you, like a face in a mirror: without even listening to this pilgrim, you yourself have already expressed everything to him. I see now that your mind is so pure that nothing is hidden from it in the heart of your neighbor. But Saint Seraphim, as if blocking the lips of his interlocutor, laid his hand on them and said: “That’s not what you say, my joy: the human heart is open to the one and only Lord, and God alone is the knower of the heart, but “even to the inner life of a person and to the depths of the heart” (Ps. 63:7). “How come, father,” Father Anthony asked again, “you didn’t ask a single word from the merchant and said everything he needed?” Then the Monk Seraphim answered with humility: - He came to me, like others, like you, he walked like a servant of God: I, a sinful Seraphim, think that I am a sinful servant of God, that what the Lord commands me as His servant, I convey to him who requires something useful. I consider the first thought that appears in my soul to be an indication from God and I speak without knowing what is in my interlocutor’s soul, but only believing that the will of God is indicating this to me for his benefit. As I forge iron, so I transfer myself and my will to the Lord God: as He pleases, so I act; I don’t have my own will; and whatever pleases God, I convey. Meanwhile, this gracious insight of the Monk Seraphim was truly extraordinary. Receiving letters, he often, without opening them, knew their contents and gave answers: “this is what you say from poor Seraphim,” etc. After his blessed death, many such unopened letters were found, to which answers were given in due time. In spirit the holy elder was in unity with many ascetics whom he had never seen and who lived thousands of miles away from him. When a thought arose in the recluse of the Zadonsk Mother of God Monastery of St. George, whether he should change his place to a more secluded one, and no one except himself knew about this secret confusion of his, suddenly some wanderer from the Sarov desert came to him from Father Seraphim and said to him: “Father Seraphim ordered you to say: it’s a shame, after sitting in seclusion for so many years, to be overcome by such hostile thoughts as to leave your place.” Don't go anywhere. The Most Holy Theotokos commands you to stay here. With these words the wanderer bowed and left. When they began to look for him, they could no longer find him either in the monastery or outside the monastery. Nothing had yet been heard about the saint of God Mitrofan, the first bishop of Voronezh, and about his upcoming glorification: there had not yet been any revelations or apparitions, and yet St. Seraphim, in a few words, written in his own hand, congratulated the Right Reverend Archbishop Anthony of Voronezh on the discovery of the holy relics of the saint of God Mitrofan. To one layman, a certain A.G. Vorotilov, the elder said more than once that three powers would rise up against Russia and exhaust her greatly; but for Orthodoxy the Lord will have mercy and preserve her. Then this speech was incomprehensible; but later events explained that the elder said this about the Crimean campaign. Since 1831, Seraphim foreshadowed to many about the upcoming famine, and, on his advice, in the Sarov monastery they made a supply of bread for six annual needs and, as a result, there was no famine in the monastery. When the first cholera appeared in Russia, the monk openly predicted that it would not happen either in Sarov or Diveevo - and these predictions were fulfilled to the fullest accuracy, so that not a single person died from the first cholera either in Sarov or Diveevo. The elder saw the past and the future equally, in a few words he outlined the person’s future life and spoke and gave advice that seemed strange, but later the circumstances justified them and they turned out to be full of the spirit of insight. In addition to the gift of clairvoyance, the Lord continued to show in St. Seraphim the grace of healing ailments and bodily illnesses. Even earlier, in 1823, before the elder finally left his retreat, one of the first and most striking manifestations of this miraculous grace given to him by God was his healing of a neighboring landowner of the Ardatov district, M.V. Mantorov, from an illness that could not be treated in any way. When the illness assumed threatening proportions, so that even pieces of bone fell out of the patient’s legs and all hope for medical help was lost, Mantorov, on the advice of his relatives and friends, decided to go to Sarov, forty miles from his estate Nuch, to Father Seraphim, the rumor about whose holy life had already spread throughout Russia. With great difficulty, Mantorov was brought into the vestibule of the cell of the blessed recluse, whom he tearfully began to ask for healing from his terrible illness. Then the elder, with heartfelt sympathy and fatherly love, asked him if he believed in God. Having received from the sick man three times the firm and sincere assurance of unconditional faith in God, the monk affectionately said to him: - My joy! If you believe so, then also believe that for a believer everything is possible from God, and therefore believe that the Lord will heal you too, and I, poor Seraphim, will pray. After that, he retired to his cell and, a little time later, came out from there with holy oil from the lamp hanging in front of the image of the Mother of God of Tenderness, ordered Mantor to bare his feet and anointed the sore spots. And immediately the scabs that covered the body instantly fell off, and Mantorov received healing and left the cell of the Sarov wonderworker without outside help. When Mantorov, feeling the healing, threw himself in joy at the saint’s feet, kissing them and thanking them for the healing, the elder, lifting him up, said sternly: “Is it Seraphim’s business to kill and to live, to bring down to hell and to raise up—what do you mean, father?” This is the work of the One Lord, who does the will of those who fear him and listens to their prayer. Give thanks to the Almighty Lord and His Most Pure Mother. With these words, the humble saint of God released Mantorov. No less amazing was the healing performed by the holy elder in 1827 of a certain woman Alexandra, the wife of the courtyard man Lebedev. For more than a year she suffered, apparently for no reason, from terrible seizures that took possession of her, accompanied by vomiting, gnashing of teeth, and convulsions of the whole body, after which the patient fell into complete unconsciousness; Such attacks were repeated with her every day. The remedies taken by the doctors to stop the sufferer’s illness had no success, but one experienced, believing and honest doctor, who took a particularly cordial interest in the patient and exhausted all his attention, knowledge and skill on her, finally gave her advice to rely on the will of the Almighty and ask Him for help and protection, for no one among people can cure her. This led to deep sorrow for all the patient’s relatives and plunged her into despair. And then one night an unfamiliar, very old woman appeared to her and, when the sick woman in fear began to read a prayer to the holy cross, she said to her: - Do not be afraid of me: I am the same person, only now not of this world, but from the kingdom of the dead. Get up from your bed and hurry quickly to the Sarov monastery to Father Seraphim: he is expecting you to come to him tomorrow and will heal you. The patient dared to ask her: – I am from the Diveyevo community, the first abbess is Agafya. The next day, the relatives took the sick woman to Sarov, and on the way she experienced terrible fainting and convulsions. The sick woman reached Sarava after the late liturgy during the meal of the brethren, when the monk closed himself off and did not receive anyone. But before the sick woman had time to approach his cell and say the usual prayer, the elder came out to her, took her by the hands and led her into his cell. Here he covered her with an epitrachelion and quietly said prayers to the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos, then he gave the sick woman the Epiphany water to drink, gave her a particle of antidor and three crackers and said: - Every day, take a cracker with holy water, and go to Diveevo to the grave of God’s servant Agafya, take some land for yourself and make as many bows as you can: she (Agafya) regrets you and wishes you healing. Having taught a few more short instructions on prayer, the monk released the sick woman in peace, and the illness then went away from her very noticeably and as if with some noise. Subsequently, the disease did not return to her, and she had many sons and daughters. The Monk Seraphim performed many different healings on the seriously ill, many of them were written down, others remained written down only on the tablets of the hearts of those blessed by him; in a short story about the life of the saint of God there would not be enough place for them. In all these cases, the elder, as we mentioned, had the custom of anointing the sick with oil from the lamp that burned in front of his cell icon of the Mother of God of Tenderness, and when he was asked why he did this, he answered: – We read in Scripture that the apostles anointed with oil, and many sick people were healed from this. Who should we follow if not the apostles? And the sick anointed by the monk received healing. In Seraphim’s cell there were many lamps burning and many wax candles, large and small, on different round trays. To the secret thought of one of the visitors, what is this for, the perspicacious old man answered: – As you know, I have many people who are zealous towards me and do good to my “mill orphans” (sisters of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery). They bring me oil and candles and ask me to pray for them. When I read my rules, I remember them first once. And since I cannot repeat them at every place of the rule, I put these candles for them as a sacrifice to God - a candle for each; for others - for several people, one big one - and where it follows, without naming names, I say: Lord, remember all those people, Thy servants, for their souls I, wretched one, lit these candles and candila for You. And that this is not my, poor Seraphim’s, human invention or so, my simple zeal, not based on anything Divine, then I will give you the words of Divine Scripture to support it. The Bible says that Moses heard the voice of the Lord saying to him: “outside the veil of the ark of the testimony in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron [and his sons] shall set it up before the Lord from evening to morning always: this is an everlasting statute throughout your generations” (Cf. Lev. 24:3). That is why the Holy Church of God has adopted the custom of lighting candilas or lamps in holy churches and in the homes of faithful Christians in front of the holy icons of the Lord, the Mother of God, holy Angels and holy people who have favored God. And about the Bogoslovsky spring, which received the name “Seraphim’s” well, the elder subsequently told: – I prayed that this water in the well would be healing from diseases. And then the water of this spring received special, extraordinary and healing properties that persist to this day. This water does not spoil, even if it has stood in uncapped containers for many years. The sick and healthy are doused and washed with it at all times of the year, even in extreme cold, and receive benefits. The Monk Seraphim ordered many who were seriously suffering from painful ulcers to wash themselves with water from its source, and everyone received healing from this. Some received insight from washing with this water; others, tasting it, received quick healing from internal ailments and rose from the bed of a serious illness healthy and vigorous. A certain woman, M.V. Sipiagin, was seriously ill, felt terrible melancholy from her illness, despite her diligence, could not eat the food prescribed by the charter on fasting days. The Monk Seraphim ordered her to drink water from his source. After this, without any coercion, a lot of bile came out of her throat, and she was healed. During cholera in the 30s of the last century, quite a few believers flocked to the well of the “Seraphim” from even distant countries and, according to their faith, received relief and healing from its healing waters. Thus, captain Teplov, who had an estate in the Ekaterinoslav province, where cholera began to produce a high mortality rate, when he saw the widespread diseases of his people, he remembered that the Monk Seraphim had previously, as if by chance, used to say to him: - When you are in sorrow, then go to poor Seraphim in his cell: he will pray for you. This memory prompted him and his wife to turn in absentia to Elder Seraphim so that he would save them from a destructive illness. And that same night, in a dream vision, the elder appears to Teplov’s wife and orders her to go to the Bogoslovsky spring to get water from there, drink and wash herself with it, both for Teplov and their people. With full faith in the power of the intercession of the saint of God Seraphim, the Teplovs went to the spring, drank and washed from it and filled a whole barrel with water from it, which they took to their estate. And indeed, Teplov’s sick people, many of whom were already dying, received miraculous healing, using exclusively the water sent to them, and since then no one has died from cholera on Teplov’s estate. But the Monk Seraphim saw not only earthly things: heavenly secrets were also revealed to him more than once. Once, after a long conversation with the monk John, who treated the holy elder with childlike trust, about the lives of the saints of God, their gifts and heavenly promises, the latter repeated to him several times: “My joy, I pray you, acquire a peaceful spirit, and then a thousand souls will be saved around you.” Then the monk told about himself: – I took delight in the word of my Lord Jesus Christ: “In My Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2). And I, poor one, stopped at these words, and desired to see these heavenly abodes, and prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ that He would show them to me, and the Lord would not deprive me, poor one, of His mercy. So I was caught up into these heavenly abodes - but I don’t know, with the body or apart from the body, God knows, it’s incomprehensible. And it’s impossible to tell you about the joy and heavenly sweetness that I tasted there. With these words the monk fell silent, bowed a little further, his head drooped, his eyes closed, and the elder moved his outstretched right hand peacefully and quietly against his heart. His face changed miraculously and emitted such an extraordinary light that it was impossible even to look at him; such spiritual joy shone on his lips and throughout the entire expression of his enlightened face that he seemed like an earthly Angel, as if tenderly contemplating and listening to something. Half an hour passed like this, after which the monk spoke: - Oh, if you knew, beloved, what joy, what sweetness awaits the righteous in heaven, then you would decide to endure sorrows with thanksgiving in your temporary life. If this very cell were full of worms, and they would eat our flesh all our lives, then even then we would have to agree to this with every desire, so as not to lose that heavenly joy. The influence of the gracious elder was not limited only to the Sarov desert. It was of exceptional importance for the development of local female monasticism. Particularly touching were the relations of the Monk Seraphim with the Diveyevo community, founded around 1780 by the landowner of the Vladimir province, the widow of Colonel Agafya Semyonovna Melgunova. Having lost her husband in her young years, she had the intention of dedicating her life to God and for this purpose she visited many holy places. And so, while resting about twelve miles from the Sarov monastery, in the village of Diveevo, she, half asleep, saw the Mother of God, who instructed her to stay in this place and erect a church in honor of Her Kazan miraculous icon. Subsequently, other ascetics joined Melgunova, who accepted monasticism with the name of Alexandra, and thus the beginning of the Diveyevo monastery was laid, with which the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov is inextricably linked. Even the founder of the Diveyevo monastery herself, when dying, entrusted the future fate of the sisters to the Monk Seraphim, who was at that time a hierodeacon, and the blessed elder Pachomius, abbot of Sarov, leaving this world, entrusted the care of the Diveyevo community to him. The Monk Seraphim took care of her with truly fatherly love and care. The Diveyevo sisters went to him for blessings and resolution of various perplexities, and conveyed their needs. The elder carefully taught them good and soulful advice, carefully delving into the life and customs of the community. Through the prayers of the saint, at the expense of benefactors who had special faith in him and who received healing through his prayers, the Diveyevo community expanded significantly, which was also demanded by its very population. At the same time, Saint Seraphim divided the monastery under a common command and direction into two halves, so that at some distance behind a special fence new cells with a separate church were erected, and a new monastery appeared, as it were. “This,” he said, “is the will of the Lord and the Mother of God.” The saint of God did this because he considered it inconvenient and unhelpful for pure virgins to live together with widows who had spent some time in married life. At the direction of the Most Holy Theotokos, the elder chose a place for this, a hundred yards from the Kazan Diveyevo Church on a site donated for this, and on the newly acquired land he built his own mill for the Diveye sisters. Thus, the Monk Seraphim formed a special, so-called Seraphim-Diveyevo community, separate from the previous one created by the aforementioned Agafya Semyonovna Melgunova 67*. Caring for the sisters of Diveyevo, especially for “his mill orphans,” as the Monk Seraphim usually called the sisters of the newly separated community, he tirelessly consoled them in the sorrows of their difficult, monastic life, filled with severe hardships, restrained the faint-hearted, some of whom even wanted to return to worldly life, for many were embarrassed by extreme hardships, since the monastery was then not provided with anything. But thanks to the gracious influence of the Monk Seraphim, the Diveyevo monastery began to attract more and more sisters who, under the paternal guidance of the holy elder, sought a godly monastic life. Some dedicated their lives to God in the Diveyevo monastery out of gratitude for the healings received through the prayers of the holy elder. From an early age, he seemed to destined others for this purpose, and in advance, in the spirit of this destiny, he guided them to enter the monastery. And when the sisters of the community, fearing for its future in view of its material insecurity and uncertainty of the situation, quickly spoke about it, the elder, consoling them, said that this place had been chosen for them by the Queen of Heaven herself, who would help them in everything, so that they would have their own bread and churches, and the church charter would be like in Sarov, and that he was the “poor Seraphim”, always kneeling for them. The sisters of the Diveyevo monastery were in complete obedience to St. Seraphim. They didn’t start anything without the elder’s blessing. When any sister wanted to leave the monastery for a while, both before leaving and upon returning to the monastery, she appeared to the monk for a blessing. For the sisters of the Diveyevo monastery, Seraphim left a special prayer rule, as well as gave them instructions regarding the storage of the sacristy and church property, etc. At first, the sisters of the “mill community” did not have a separate, special church, which presented quite significant inconveniences for them. But after the saint of God miraculously healed the aforementioned Mantorov, out of gratitude to the elder, according to his convictions, he sold his estate and gave all his property to the construction of a large stone church for the “mill” sisters. The church was erected with two altars: in the name of the Nativity of Christ and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and was consecrated in 1829. As for the labors and feats of needlework, the Monk Seraphim decreed that the Diveye sisters should engage exclusively in labor characteristic of the simple class of people. But the elder did not want to allow painting, sewing with silk and gold, and other similar works that required some deepening of the mind and were more related to art and luxury goods. All these wills of the elder were strictly carried out in the Diveyevo community. Deviations from them usually entailed unpleasant consequences for the monastery; but Seraphim, with his prayers, protected her from need and disaster. Thus, the monk bequeathed that in the Nativity of Christ Church he created, where the Psalter should always be read, an unquenchable candle should burn before the icon of the Savior and an unquenchable lamp before the icon of the Mother of God, and he added that if this will of his is carried out exactly, the Diveyevo community will not endure need and disasters, and the oil for this need will never become scarce. But one day, when everyone left the church, the churchwoman saw that the oil was all burning out, and the lamp had gone out, and yet it was the last oil. Then, remembering the will of Elder Seraphim, she thought that his words had not come true, and that, therefore, his other predictions could not be trusted. Faith in the foresight of the gracious elder began to leave her. But suddenly she heard a crash and, bowing her head, saw that the lamp was lit and full of oil, and two small bills were floating in it. In confusion of spirit, she hurried to the elder Elena Vasilievna Mantorova, to whom she was in obedience, to tell about the wondrous vision. On the way, she was met by a peasant who handed her 300 rubles in banknotes for oil for an unquenchable lamp for the repose of his parents. Not limiting himself to the bequests given to the Diveyevo nuns and extending his vision much further, the Monk Seraphim, during his lifetime, prepared a place for the construction of a cathedral, whereas previously the sisters used the parish church for prayer. “We, mother,” he said to one Diveyevo elder, consoling her, “will have our own cathedral.” Our land will have its own herds, sheep and oxen. Why should we, mother, be sad? We will have everything of our own. The sisters will both plow and sow grain. Thinking about building a cathedral, the monk chose a place for it not far from the Kazan Church, half the distance between the old and new monastery, and acquired money to buy land; but, due to circumstances, the construction of the church was stopped for an indefinite period. Thus, Seraphim formed a special, so-called Seraphim-Diveevo community, separate from the previous one created by the aforementioned Agafya Semyonovna Melgunova. But in spirit he did not separate the mill community from the Diveevo community and considered the founder of both to be nun Alexandra (Melgunova), whose memory he deeply revered. The elder recognized the Mother of God as the patroness of the newly established community. “Here, mother, know,” he told one old woman, that the Queen of Heaven Herself chose this place to glorify Her name: She will be your wall and protection. With the same care and love, the Monk Seraphim also took care of the Ardatov monastery 68* and the Zelenogorsk women's community 69*, in fulfillment of the gracious covenant of the Mother of God, who entrusted him in a wondrous vision with the leadership and organization of these three women's monasteries. Towards the end of his life, the monk was honored by God with unusually wondrous gifts of grace. He never locked the doors of his cell again. In his dealings with his neighbors, the spirit of Christian meekness and humility always clearly manifested itself. His conversations, both with monastics and laity, striking in their wondrous simplicity, made a deep, irresistible impression even on unbelievers and those of little faith, turning them to the path of saving repentance. Both simpletons, scientists, and schismatics received great spiritual edification and consolation from conversations with him. The gift of clairvoyance and miracle-working grew more and more in the gracious old man. According to the testimony of many generals, officers and soldiers who participated in the Sevastopol campaign, they received blessings and blessed water from the monk as parting words and repeated with faith on the battlefield: “Lord, have mercy on Elder Seraphim through your prayers!” – remained safe and sound even in the face of extreme danger and inevitable death. Quite often, the Monk Seraphim gave soul-helping instructions for the future, which an ordinary mortal could not foresee, and perspicaciously read in the souls the questions of those seeking instruction before they had time to express them. One day two girls came to him - one was already elderly, from her youth she had been burning with love for God and wanted monasticism, the other was young, who had not thought about monasticism at all. But the holy elder of the first of them said that there was no road for her to become a monk, and that she would be happy in marriage, and the second said that she would be a nun, even naming the monastery in which she would asceticize. Both girls left the elder with bewilderment and displeasure, but the consequences justified him, and the predictions of the holy elder came true exactly. The human soul was open before the monk, like a face in a mirror. He confessed some, out of false shame, who feared the elder’s reproof, telling them their sins himself, as if they had been committed in his presence. Often the saint of God, with just his appearance and a simple word, brought sinners to consciousness, and they decided to correct themselves from their vices. So, one day a peasant tried to get through the crowd to him, but every time he seemed to be pushed away by someone. Finally, the elder himself turned to him and asked sternly: “Where are you going?” Heavy sweat broke out on the peasant’s face, and with a feeling of deepest humility, in the presence of all those who were there, he began to repent aloud of his vices and especially of the theft he had committed before, admitting that he was unworthy to appear before the face of such a lamp. Inexhaustible healings flowed from the holy ascetic, but when he was noticed, he humbly objected that this was not happening to him “the poor,” but through the prayerful intercession of the Mother of God and the Apostles of Christ. All those who drank and washed themselves from the spring of Seraphim, with his blessing, received miraculous healings from their ailments; This water received such healing power through the prayer of St. Seraphim. To one monk, who suffered from complete relaxation of his hands, the elder, taking a vessel with holy water, said: “Take it and drink,” he drank the water and was healed. He healed others with oil from a lamp that always burned in his cell in front of the icon of the Mother of God. The saint of God healed one peasant who was dying of cholera by placing him near the icon of the Mother of God, giving him holy water and ordering him to go around the monastery and, going into the cathedral, to pray in it, where, according to the elder’s prediction, “the mercy of God” healed the dying man. The Monk Seraphim appeared to many during his lifetime and in dream visions and healed them from destructive diseases, especially during the time of cholera, when, by the grace of God, from the water consecrated from the Seraphim spring, not only individuals, but also residents of entire villages were healed. The saint of God sometimes healed those possessed by his mere presence, the cross and prayer. Seraphim's prayers were so strong before God that there were examples of the restoration of the sick from their deathbed. So, the wife of a certain Vorotilov was dying; Her husband, having great faith in the monk, turned to him with a tearful request to help his sick wife; but the elder announced that his wife must die. Then Vorotilov, shedding tears, fell at his feet, begging him to pray for the return of her life and health. The monk plunged into “smart” prayer for about ten minutes, then opened his eyes, raised Vorotilov to his feet and joyfully said to him: “Well, my joy, the Lord will grant your wife life. Come to your home in peace." Vorotilov happily hurried home, where he learned that his wife felt relieved precisely at that moment when the Monk Seraphim was in a feat of prayer. Soon she completely recovered. For others, the elder predicted imminent death, wishing that they would not pass into eternity without Christian burial; to others he predicted for correction about the punishment of God that would befall them in case of unrepentance. In God, he predicted a quick and unexpected move to the “great Lavra, which God’s Providence entrusts to him,” to the deceased governor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony 70*, who was at that time the builder of the Vysokogorsk monastery. Approaching the end of his arduous life, the monk not only did not soften his sorrows, but added new labors and exploits to his previous exploits. The elder slept in the last years of his life, sitting on the floor, with his back leaning against the wall and his legs stretched out; sometimes he bowed his head on a stone or on a wooden stump, or lay down on bags, bricks and logs that were in his cell; approaching the moment of his departure from this world, he knelt down and slept with his face to the floor on his elbows, supporting his head with his hands. He ate food once a day, in the evening; He wore shabby and poor clothes. And when one rich man asked why he wore such rags, the elder answered: – Prince Joasaph considered the robe given to him by the hermit Varlaam to be higher and more valuable than the royal scarlet robe 71*. The Monk Seraphim had already completely died for the world, without ceasing at the same time, with boundless love, to prayerfully intercede before God for those living in it. The sky became completely native to him. When Kursk visitors asked Seraphim if he had anything to convey to his relatives, he, pointing to the faces of the Savior and the Mother of God, said with a smile: - These are my relatives, but for my living relatives I am already a living dead. All of Russia at that time knew and honored St. Seraphim as a great ascetic and wonderworker 72*. Once it was noticed that during prayer the elder stood in the air, and when the one who saw this screamed in horror, the elder strictly forbade him to talk about it until his death, under the threat of the return of the disease from which he had healed him 73 *. A year and ten months before his death, St. Seraphim was honored with a gracious visit to the Mother of God. It was on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th. In two days, he informed one pious Diveyevo old woman about this, who was honored with this wondrous vision, for the sake of consoling her and the other Diveyevo sisters in their sorrowful monastic life. The saint of God warned the old woman not to be afraid of anything, and he knelt down, raising his hands to the sky. A noise was heard, as if from a big wind, then church singing was heard. - Behold, our Most Glorious, Most Pure Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos, is coming to us! - said the reverend. The cell was illuminated by a bright light, a wonderful fragrance spread Two Angels walked ahead, holding branches with newly blooming flowers. Behind them walked in white shiny robes Saint John the Baptist and the Evangelist John the Theologian, then the Mother of God, accompanied by twelve holy virgins - martyrs and saints. The Queen of Heaven was clothed in a mantle, which is depicted on the image of the Sorrowful Mother of God, and shone with extraordinary light and indescribable beauty; over the mantle there was a kind of epitrachelion, and on the hands there were guards; on her head was a sublime, beautiful crown, variously decorated with crosses and shining with such light that it was impossible to look at it, as well as at the Divine face of the Mother of God Herself. The virgins followed the Mother of God in pairs, wearing crowns, in unspeakable heavenly glory and beauty. The cell suddenly became spacious and was completely filled with the lights of a special light, lighter and whiter than the sun. The Most Holy Virgin spoke mercifully with the venerable elder, as if with a loved one. The old woman fell on her face in fear; but the Mother of God calmed her down and ordered her to get up. And the holy virgins, consoling the old woman in her sorrowful life, told her, pointing to their bright crowns, that they received them for earthly suffering and reproach. The Most Holy Theotokos talked a lot with the Monk Seraphim, but the old woman did not hear their conversation; She only heard that the Most Pure One asked him not to leave Her virgins of Diveyevo, promising him Her help and intercession. The vision ended with the fact that, pointing to the crowns of the holy virgins, the Mother of God promised the same to other virgins and ascetics. Then, turning to the holy elder, she added: “Soon, my beloved, you will be with us.” Then she blessed him, after which all the saints who were here said goodbye to him. Climbing higher and higher along the ladder of virtues and monastic deeds, the Monk Seraphim finally approached his departure from this world. A year before his death, he felt extreme exhaustion. At this time he reached 72 years of age. He no longer went to his hermitage often; he found it hard to receive numerous visitors even in Sarov. The severe suffering of his legs, which painfully ached from incessant vigils, from early prayerful standing on a stone for a thousand days and nights and from the cruel tortures of robbers, did not give him rest until the end of his life, and matter constantly flowed from the ulcers on his legs, but in appearance the monk remained bright and joyful in spirit, feeling the heavenly joy and glory that God had prepared for those who loved him. Still giving grace-filled healings to many believers and contributing to the improvement and salvation of many with the wonderful gift of his clairvoyance, the Monk Seraphim now began to predict his imminent death. While teaching others his final instructions, he stubbornly repeated: “We won’t see each other again”; He recommended that other monastics, as well as lay people, henceforth enter into all orders and concerns about their salvation themselves, noting that they would never see each other again and were saying goodbye forever, and asking for their prayers for themselves. During this time, the holy elder was often seen in the village near his cell on the coffin prepared for him at his request, where he indulged in thoughts about the afterlife, often accompanied by bitter weeping. He spoke about the same thing in half-hints, and sometimes directly, to some of the Diveyevo sisters, repeating: “I am weakening in strength, live alone now, I leave you to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother.” Some asked the saint of God for his blessing to visit him during the upcoming Great Lent in Sarov, but he answered: “Then my doors will close, you won’t see me.” And from his physical appearance it became very noticeable that the life of St. Seraphim was quickly fading away, but in spirit he was even more awake than before. He hinted about his imminent death to his closest friends and associates, for example, the blessed hieromonk Timon, his faithful disciple, who labored in the Nadeevskaya desert, and taught him the last soul-helping instructions. “This,” he repeated to him, “this, Father Timon, is the wheat given to you.” This one on the good soil, this one on the sand, this one on the stone, this one along the path, this one in the thorns, all of them will vegetate somewhere and grow and bear fruit, although not soon. And do not hide the talent that has been given to you in the ground, lest you be tortured by your Master; but give it to the merchants, and let them give you the purchase. Four months before the blessed repose of St. Seraphim, in August 1832, he was visited in his desert by the Right Reverend Arseny, Bishop of Tambov (later Metropolitan of Kiev). Having examined Sarov, Vladyka examined in detail the Seraphim desert, his wretched cell, and also visited that small room between the wall of the cell and the stove, where the saint of God often labored in prayerful labors and where one person could barely enter, remaining there in a standing or kneeling position, for it was impossible to sit down or lean there. At the same time, the holy elder presented the bishop as a gift “from the wretched, sinful Seraphim” with a rosary, a bunch of wax candles wrapped in canvas, a vessel with red wine and a bottle with wooden oil. The Eminence, having cordially accepted the offering, did not understand its meaning; but the consequences showed him that the ascetic of God foreshadowed to him about his imminent death and intended wine, oil and candles for his remembrance, for which he asked the Right Reverend verbally. Subsequently, the Right Reverend Arseny exactly fulfilled the wishes of the holy elder, keeping the canvas and rosary with himself, and using the rest for commemoration at the funeral liturgy of the Venerable Seraphim. The monk repeatedly said to his cell attendant, hinting at his imminent death: Having given instructions to one of the Sarov elders, he ordered to blow on the candle, and when it went out, he said: Shortly before his death, the monk ordered letters to be sent to some persons close to him, calling them to his monastery, and to others who could not make it to him, he asked after his death to convey spiritually beneficial advice from him, adding in the explanation of this order: “They won’t see me themselves!” Before the onset of 1833, the monk measured out a grave for himself on the side of the altar of the Assumption Cathedral. A week before his repose, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, he was at the Divine Liturgy, partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and after the liturgy he talked with the builder of the monastery, Abbot Nifont, and asked him to take care of the brothers, especially the younger ones, and bequeathed to bury him upon death in the coffin he had prepared for himself. On Sunday, January 1, 1833, the holy elder came to the hospital Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Church for the last time, venerated all the icons, lit the candles himself, and then took communion according to the custom of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. At the end of the liturgy, he said goodbye to all the praying brothers, blessed everyone, kissed them and, consoling, said: - Save yourself, do not lose heart, stay awake, today crowns are being prepared for you. Then the holy elder venerated the Holy Cross and the icon of the Mother of God and then, having walked around the throne and made the usual veneration, he left the altar through the northern doors, as if signifying by this that through one gate - the path of birth - a person enters life, and through the other - the gate of death - he leaves it. On the same day, Brother Pavel, next to the elder in his cell, who often acted as his cell attendant and brought food to him, noticed that the monk three times went out to the burial place he had prepared for himself, where he remained for quite a long time and looked at the ground. In the evening, the same monk heard the elder singing Easter songs in his cell, glorifying the Resurrection of Christ. The next day, January 2, Father Pavel at six o’clock in the morning left his cell for early mass and smelled smoke and burning in the hallway. In Seraphim’s cell, candles were always burning, never extinguished by the elder, who usually responded to all warnings regarding this: “As long as I’m alive, there won’t be a fire; and when I die, my death will be revealed by fire. Having said the usual prayer, Monk Paul knocked on the elder’s door, but it turned out to be locked. Then he informed others about this, suggesting that the elder had gone into his hermitage and was burning in his cell. When the door was torn off the inner hook, they saw that there was no fire, but the books lying in disarray, as well as various linen things, which many diligently brought to the monk, were smoldering, but the elder himself was neither heard nor seen. The smoldering things were extinguished, and the other monks who were present at the early liturgy were informed about everything that had happened. Many of the brethren hurried to the elder’s cell. Having lit a candle, they saw Seraphim in his usual white robe in the usual place of his prayerful feats, kneeling in front of a small lectern with a copper crucifix around his neck. His hands, folded crosswise on his chest, lay on the lectern on the book, according to which he performed his prayer rule before the icon of the Mother of God. Thinking that the elder had fallen asleep, the monks began to wake him up; but his soul had already left its earthly church and returned to its Creator. Seraphim's eyes were closed, but his face was animated and animated by thoughts of God and prayer; his body was still warm. With the blessing of the abbot, Abbot Nifont, the brethren washed the body of the deceased ascetic, dressed him in monastic rites, and placed him in an oak coffin prepared by him during his lifetime, according to his will, with an enamel image of the Monk Sergius, sent to him by his beloved disciple, the vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony. The news of the death of the holy elder quickly spread everywhere, and the entire Sarov region quickly flocked to the monastery. Particularly severe was the grief of the Diveevo sisters, who lost their beloved spiritual father and trustee in him, and their grief was all the more inconsolable because there was no person who would be able to replace him as a spiritual leader. On the night of the blessed death of the Monk Seraphim, Hieromonk Philaret, who labored in the Glinsk hermitage in the Kursk province, leaving the church from Matins, pointed out to the brethren the extraordinary light in the sky and said: - This is how the souls of the righteous go to heaven! Now the soul of Father Seraphim ascends to heaven. For eight days, the body of St. Seraphim was uncovered in the Assumption Cathedral. The grave of the blessed elder was prepared in the very place that had long been designated by him. Even before the day of burial, the Sarov monastery was filled with thousands of people who had gathered from surrounding countries and provinces. Everyone unanimously mourned the death of the gracious old man. On the day of his burial there were so many people at the liturgy that the local candles near the coffin went out due to the stuffiness. The burial of the body of the Monk Seraphim was performed by Abbot Niphon of Sarov with numerous brethren; the body was interred on the right side of the cathedral altar. A cast-iron monument in the form of a tomb was subsequently erected over the grave, with the inscription: “He lived for the glory of God for 72 years, 6 months and 12 days.” And after his blessed repose, the Monk Seraphim gave various healings and miracles to all who turned to him with faith. And then, when his earthly wandering ended, he continued to show people the same love and help, investing in all his relationships with them inexplicable treasures of sympathy, calling them with inexplicable kindness: “my joy,” as he called everyone during his life. He especially often appeared to the Sarov monks and Diveyevo sisters for their healing and consolation. Thus, no more than six months after the blessed life of Elder Seraphim, one sister of the Diveyevo monastery suffered fits of demonic possession. But then one night she sees that she is in the Diveyevo church, where the Monk Seraphim was. The elder, taking the sick woman and another sister who was there by the hands, as if leading the sick woman into the altar, walked around the throne with her, and she suddenly felt light and good. Waking up, she made the sign of the cross and completely came to her senses; She woke up completely healthy, and since then she has not been subject to the same seizures and has enjoyed complete health. Another sister of the Diveyevo monastery became seriously ill with her eyes. On the eve of New Year 1835, she saw a dream that she was in the Church of the Tikhvin Mother of God and that the Monk Seraphim came out of the royal doors in a white robe, gave them air and ordered them to wipe their eyes. - What are you, my joy, unbeliever! You yourself asked me, but you don’t believe me, because I’m celebrating mass with you. After this, the elder became invisible. From that time on, the nun’s eye disease disappeared. The Russian ascetic of Mount Athos, Hieromonk Seraphim, well-known and respected by everyone under the name of “Svyatogorets,” in schema Sergius, conveys the following in his cell notes: “In 1849 I fell ill. My illness was deadly, I did not think that I would remain alive. No means could restore me. I despaired. Only in the late evening of 1850 suddenly someone quietly says to me; “Tomorrow is the day of the death of Father Seraphim, the Elder of Sarov; serve the funeral liturgy and memorial service for him, and he will heal you.” This comforted me greatly. Although I did not know Father Seraphim personally, in 1838, when I was in Sarov, I developed faith and love for him. These feelings were even more firmly established in me when, in 1839, I dreamed that I was serving a prayer service to Father Seraphim with all my heart and chanting loudly; “Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!” Only when it was time to read the Gospel, I didn’t know which one to read, the monk’s or the other. Suddenly someone says to me: read Matthew 36. At these words of the mysterious voice I woke up. From that time to this day, I sincerely believe that Father Seraphim is a great saint of God. But I will turn to what I started (i.e., to the story about my illness in 1849). According to a secret inspiration that convinced me to commemorate Father Seraphim, I asked, although I myself was unable to serve the liturgy and requiem for him, and as soon as I did this, my illness passed: I felt extreme calm, got rid of hostile violence. And from that time until now I have been healthy by the grace of God.” In 1858, the Diveyevo nun Evdokia, on Wednesday in the fifth week of Lent, together with other sisters, filled a huge common glacier with ice and, accidentally slipping, fell to the bottom from a height of three fathoms. She was raised dead, and she complained of mortal pain in her side and head, and the slightest touch plunged her into a prolonged faint. The doctor who arrived found her situation very dangerous. Two weeks later, during which she hardly slept from pain, at midnight on Maundy Thursday she fell into a subtle sleep, in which she saw that the Monk Seraphim entered her cell and said: “I came to visit my beggars (that’s what he called the Diveyevo sisters entrusted to his care during his lifetime); I haven’t been here for a long time.” The patient exclaimed with bitter tears: “Father, how my side hurts!” The elder, folding the three fingers of his right hand, crossed the bruised area three times, saying: “I am applying a plaster and bandages for you,” after which he became invisible. Evdokia woke up, but the cell was completely empty and quiet, and she fell asleep again. At five o'clock in the morning she woke up lying on her sore side, without feeling any pain. Recalling the appearance of Elder Seraphim to her, she said that “for a long time she felt as if a plaster was lying on a bruised place.” That same day, she got out of bed alone, without any help, and told everyone about her miraculous healing. The monk gave healing to many, advising them to drink water from their source and wash themselves with it. So, two years after the death of the elder, one sister of the Diveevo monastery was sick with a fever and was dying, and completely lost the ability to control her hand. And then she saw in a dream the monk, who asked why she would not come to him at the source, and, taking her by the sore hand, raised her, ordering her to do this without fail. Waking up, the nun felt that her hand was healed; when the sisters took her to Sarov to the Seraphim spring and doused her with water from it, she received a complete recovery. Captain Teplov, who had special respect for the Monk Seraphim, came to Sarov in 1834 with his three-year-old daughter, who had pain in her legs. After serving a memorial service at the elder’s grave, they carried the child to the Seraphim Spring, firmly believing that the Lord would have mercy on the sick woman for the elder’s prayers. Having given the child water from this source and washed his feet, they took the water to the monastery with the intention of serving a prayer service over it with the blessing of water. But, upon entering the monastery, the girl escaped from the nanny’s arms and ran forward as if healthy, and received complete healing. In 1856, the only son of the vice-governor of the Kostroma province A. A. Borzko, eight years old, began to suffer from stomach cramps, which turned into a severe illness with terrible, debilitating seizures, so that his parents began to despair for his life. At this time, the cassophore nun of the Kostroma convent S.D. Davydova gave the mother of a sick child a description of the life and exploits of Seraphim of Sarov, which both parents of the child began to read, marveling at the actions of God’s grace that appeared in the saint. One night, the child saw in a dream the Savior, surrounded by Angels, who promised the sick man recovery if he did what the elder who came to him ordered him to do. Then an elder appeared to him and, calling himself Seraphim, said: – If you want to be healthy, take water from a spring located in the Sarov Forest and called Seraphim, and for three days, morning and evening, wash your head, chest, arms and legs, and drink. In the morning, the child told his dream to his parents, who were perplexed about how to get water and grieved over it. The next morning, the child told another dream: the Mother of God, surrounded by Angels, appeared to him and lovingly ordered him to fulfill the words of the elder. On this very day, Mrs. Davydova, who had traveled to Sarov, returned, and the parents asked to help them get water from the Serafimov spring. She immediately sent them a bottle of this water. And when they acted according to the elder’s instructions, the child, gradually recovering, completely recovered. The Monk Seraphim saved others from robbers and thieves, miraculously appearing to them with threats. So, one day a praying mantis was walking through the Murom forests. Hearing terrible screams and moans in a remote place, she took out the image of Seraphim that was with her and crossed herself and the place where the screams were coming from. Soon two mutilated people were found nearby, who said that the robbers wanted to kill them, but suddenly ran away. The robbers who were subsequently caught, repenting of the robbery in the Murom forest, said that when they were preparing to deal the final blow to their victims, suddenly a gray-haired, bent, monk in a crumpled kamilavka ran out of the forest with a wagging finger in a white robe, shouting: “Here I am!” And a crowd of people ran after him with stakes. They were shown the image of Seraphim, taken from the wanderer, and they recognized it. To the Shatsk merchant's wife Petakovskaya, who knew the elder during his lifetime and deeply revered him, the Monk Seraphim once appeared in a dream and said: “That night, thieves broke into your son’s shop, but I took a broom and started sweeping around the shop, and they left.” Indeed, in the morning all the locks were found torn out, but the bench was intact and untouched. In 1865, in the house of a certain Mrs. Bar, before Christmas, when, according to custom, benefits were distributed there to the needy, the monk appeared in the form of a bent, gray-haired old man. He explained to the alms giver that he had not come for alms, but that he needed to see the mistress himself. When one servant whispered to another that it was probably a tramp, the old man, promising to come soon when the mistress was there, left. The distributor was overcome by remorse, and she rushed after him onto the porch. But he disappeared, and everything was hidden from the owner. Someone said to the suspicious servant in a dream: “You said in vain: you had not a tramp, but a great old man of God.” The very next morning, Mrs. Bar was sent by mail a parcel with an image of the Monk Seraphim feeding a bear, in which image those who had talked with the holy elder the day before recognized him. The Monk Seraphim showed many other miraculous signs and healings after his blessed repose. For seventy years from the day of the death of St. Seraphim, healings were carried out continuously by faith of those who came running to him with prayer and with faith in his intercession before the Lord. In 1891, a chapel was built over the tomb of St. Seraphim. The memory of the high ascetic life of the holy elder and faith in the power of his prayerful intercession not only did not weaken over time, but grew more and more and was established among the Orthodox people in all their classes. Fully sharing the people's faith in the holiness of Elder Seraphim, the Holy Synod repeatedly recognized the need to begin the appropriate orders for the glorification of the saint of God. In 1895, His Grace Tambov presented to the Holy Synod an investigation carried out by a special commission about miraculous signs and healings revealed through the prayers of Elder Seraphim, of which up to 94 cases were examined. After that, Eminence Tambov twice, at the beginning and at the end of 1897, presented to the Holy Synod collections of copies of written statements from various persons about miraculous signs and healings performed through the prayers of St. Seraphim. Finally, in 1902, on July 19, on the birthday of Elder Seraphim, His Imperial Majesty, Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, was pleased to remember both the prayerful deeds of the deceased and the nation-wide zeal for his memory, and to express the desire that the work begun already in the Holy Synod on glorifying the reverent old man At the beginning of the following year, 1903, the Holy Synod, fully convinced of the truth and reliability of the miracles performed through the prayers of Elder Seraphim, determined to recognize him as a saint, glorified by the grace of God, and his all-honorable remains as holy relics. At the expense of Their Imperial Majesties, a rich silver-gilded shrine was made for them. The solemn glorification of the newly-minted saint of God was performed in the presence of Their Imperial Majesties the Sovereign Emperor and Sovereign Empresses and other members of the August family and thousands of masses of people on July 19, 1903 and was accompanied by numerous healings that flowed through the prayerful intercession of the Monk Seraphim, the Sarov miracle worker. Through his prayers may the Lord God save us all from all sorrow and illness! To God, wonderful in His saints, be there all honor, glory and worship - always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. From your youth you loved Christ, O blessed one, and to that one work and ardent desire, you labored in the desert with unceasing prayer and labor, and having acquired the love of Christ with a tender heart, you appeared as the chosen one beloved of God to the Mother. For this reason, we cry out to you: save us with your prayers, Seraphim, our reverend father. Having left the beauty of the world and the corruption in it, reverend, you moved into the Sarov monastery: and there, having lived like an angel, you were the path to salvation for many: for this reason, Christ also glorified you, Father Seraphim, and enriched you with the gift of healings and miracles. In the same way we cry to you: Rejoice, Seraphim, our reverend father. The Znamenskaya Icon of the Mother of God is located in the Kursk Znamensky Monastery; otherwise called “Root”, because it was miraculously found at the root of a tree, where the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (now a communal) hermitage was founded in 1597, 27 versts from Kursk. Solemn festivities in honor of the miraculous Root Icon of the Sign of the Mother of God are held on November 27 and September 13, the day of the return to the Znamensky Monastery from the Root Hermitage, where she is transported annually on the 9th Friday after Easter, remaining there until the 12th of September. Sarov men's hermitage, Tambov province, Temnikov district, is located 37 versts from the city of Temnikov; founded in 1770 by Hieroschemamonk John at the confluence of the river. Sarovki in the river Satis on the site of the Tatar city of Saraklych. This place was consecrated even earlier by the exploits of virtuous ascetics: initially the monk Theodosius and then Gerasim, who both witnessed various blessed signs that clearly predicted the future significance of this area (for example, in the form of a fiery ray emanating from above, the loud sound of many bells, etc.). Six years after the founding of the monastery, on the day appointed for the erection of a cross on the head of the first church erected in Sarov, on the mountain where the monastery is located, a loud bell ringing was heard at night, while there was not a single bell; the same thing happened again before noon, and an extraordinary light illuminated those working. Of the successors of Hieroschemamonk John, the builder Ephraim is especially remarkable for his ascetic life and improvement of the monastery. The Sarov hermitage has long been famous for its strict observance of monastic rules and the ascetic life of its hermits. Currently, the Sarov Hermitage is one of the most comfortable and prosperous Russian monasteries. It contains up to 7 churches; Its sacristy is remarkable for the outstanding value, beauty and elegance of the liturgical accessories stored in it. The monastery has large lands. Such, for example, were the famous abbot and renovator of the Valaam monastery Nazarius, who began his monastic life in Sarov and spent the last years of his life there, hieromonk Dosifei and, especially, famous for his exploits, schemamonk Mark for a long time who was a silent man. Following the example of St. The Psalmist, who, amidst sorrows and illnesses, cried out: I will wet my bed with my tears. (Ps. 6:7). The expression: of our kind obviously indicates that the Rev. Seraphim was a particularly zealous prayer book before the Mother of God and therefore he himself was under her special protection and intercession, which is clear and confirmed by numerous examples from the life of the saint. Subsequently, the elder himself spoke about this very often and to very many people. The throne, built by Rev. Seraphim, was consecrated on August 17, 1786 in honor of the Venerables Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky and still stands in its place. The upper altar was dedicated in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. - During the difficult feat of the collector for this construction, Seraphim was in his homeland in Kursk, but no longer found his pious mother alive; his brother, who remained after his mother as the complete owner of his parental property, provided Prokhor, for his part, with a generous allowance for the construction of the monastery church. The Hebrew word "Seraphim" means: flame, burning; further meaning, according to some interpretations - exalted, noble. This is actually the Angelic name by which the bright spirits were and are called, belonging to one of the ranks of the heavenly hierarchy closest to God, occupying the first place in the first rank before the throne of the Most High. - This name was given to Prokhor when he was tonsured as a monk without his knowledge and permission, and this can be looked at as an expression of the concepts of the monastery authorities about him, who saw Prokhor’s zeal for a godly life and shrewdly envisioned in him an even greater flame for God. This was in December 1787. It is noteworthy in this regard that the blessed vision of St. Seraphim followed at a time of the liturgy when the entrance of the clergy into the altar depicts their procession as if into heaven itself, and the priest in secret prayer asks the Lord: Master, Lord our God, who establishes in heaven the ranks and eminence of Angels and Archangels, to glorify You, create with our entrance the entrance of holy Angels to serve us and glorifying You, when the Angel’s Trisagion hymn is sung: Holy God, mighty holy, immortal holy, have mercy on us. Thus, this vision showed with our own eyes that we do not believe in vain, that during the Divine Liturgy the Heavenly Forces serve invisibly with us and that at this time the King of Glory Himself, Christ, is present with us Tambov Bishop Theophilus on September 2, 1793, on the recommendation of the monastery authorities, who clearly saw that Fr. Seraphim, in his deeds, is immeasurably higher than other brothers and therefore deserves advantage when elevated to the highest levels of church service. It was November 20 (the day the saint came to the Sarov Hermitage) in 1794. Until now, one copy of the ticket issued by Rev. is kept in the Sarov Monastery. Seraphim for unhindered residence in a desert cell, signed by the builder, Elder Isaiah. Here is the text of this ticket: “The announcer of this, the Sarov desert hieromonk Seraphim, was dismissed to stay in the desert, in his (i.e., monastic) dacha, due to his inability to socialize, due to illness (from incessant cell vigil, constant presence at church services and standing for many years on his feet with only a little rest during the night, Seraphim, before his departure to the desert, fell into illness; his legs became swollen, and ulcers opened on them, so that for some time he lost the ability to perform sacred functions. This illness was a considerable motivation for him to choose a desert life for himself) both out of zeal (meaning his special, exceptional monastic exploits, which required silence and solitude), and after many years of temptation (temptation, monastic test) in that monastery and in the desert, he was dismissed solely for the peace of the spirit of God for the sake of God, and with the rule given to him, in accordance with the holy father’s provisions, and from now on he will not be allowed to anyone to prevent one from staying in one place and I affirm it - the builder hieromonk Isaiah, 1797, November 20th day. To be sure, I attach a seal to this. Christmas Doxology of Angels to the Shepherds of Bethlehem. (Luke 2:14). In the Garden of Gethsemane before the suffering of the cross. Theotokos on Sunday at Vespers (Dogmatist) - 1st tone. Sunday antiphon 2nd, 1st tone, at Matins Irmos of the 3rd song of the Sunday canon, 3rd tone. Irmos of the 3rd song of the Sunday canon, 8th tone. These were especially the ascetic patristic works, such as: St. John Climacus and Abba Barsanuphius, Ephraim and Isaac the Syrians, Margarita (compiled mainly from the works of St. John Chrysostom) and others A widespread herbaceous plant in Russia, which reproduces abundantly by underground roots, it is mostly weedy and poorly nutritious, but is used in folk medicine for certain diseases, and young leaves are sometimes used as vegetables in cabbage soup. The first of them visited him twice a month, and the last - once. The Monk Seraphim willingly talked with them about various soul-saving subjects. Blessing the Monk Seraphim, Isaiah remarked with bewilderment: “How can I see from five miles away that there is no entry for wives?” But Seraphim remarked with faith and conviction: “You just bless, and none of them will climb my mountain.” This icon is celebrated, named according to the Gospel expression (Luke 11:27): “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that nourished You,” on the week of All Saints and on December 26, when it was Elder Seraphim who asked the builder of the monastery Isaiah for a blessing so that women would not be allowed to enter his deserted mountain. Yes, Rev. Seraphim was appointed rector in the city of Alatyr (district city of the Simbirsk province), with elevation to the rank of archimandrite; for on the one hand, the Sarov hermitage repeatedly gave good abbots from its brethren to other monasteries, on the other hand, the spiritual authorities knew Elder Seraphim and understood how useful it would be for many to make such an elder an abbot - the abbot of some monastery. Another time, Seraphim was appointed as a builder at the Krasnoslobodsky Spassky Monastery. But in both cases, at the earnest request of the elder and by mutual love and consent of the brethren, he was replaced by other Sarov monks. Swearing is a monastic ascetic expression meaning a persistent and prolonged temptation to which the devil exposes monks who resist him. Because of this struggle with the devil, monks in the language of ascetics are often called spiritual warriors. This review of Abbot Nifont was preserved in the papers of the monastery in a draft form. The stones on which the Venerable labored. Seraphim are still preserved and for some time after his death they remained in their places where they lay. The brethren of the monastery and pilgrims went to look at them so that in the Seraphim hermitage, instead of the previous path, a spacious road subsequently opened along which carriages drove. Many beat off and took for themselves pieces of stone with the image of Elder Seraphim on them, standing on the stones in a position of prayer, so that from that large stone on which the monk prayed in the depths of the forest, only one fragment remained, preserved in the Diveyevo monastery; The stone on which the elder prayed in his cell is also kept there. Kukul - a monastic headdress in the form of a hood with crape hanging down to the shoulders; in the ancient Church it was a common attribute of monastic vestments. “Smart” prayer in the language of ascetics is called contemplative, God-thought prayer, when the ascetic immerses himself in it with all his soul in silence. The Monk Seraphim in the present circumstance could be guided by the example of the Monk Arseny the Great, whom he imitated in his exploits of seclusion and silence. The Archbishop of Alexandria, Theophilus, wanting to come to Arseny, sent ahead to find out whether he would open the door for him. Arseny answered: “If I open it for you, then I will open it for everyone.” Then Theophilus said: “It’s better for me not to go to him.” Eldership represents one of the highest feats of monasticism, which only a select few people are capable of. This is the spiritual guidance and healing by the “elders” of monks and all those who come who need spiritual consolation and advice. Voluntary disciples, coming to the elder, reveal their whole souls to him and surrender to his complete obedience, and the elder takes upon himself the most difficult feat of Christian love and great responsibility before God for their souls. The elder did this according to the custom that still exists in the East among the “sanctified”, i.e. abbas who have the degree of priesthood. Motyka - a pickaxe, an iron spatula. At Vespers on Tuesday of Holy Week, from the stichera on “Lord I cried.” 4th voice. Subsequently, the famous governor of the Trinity - Sergius Lavra. On July 27, 1842, a decree of the Holy Synod was received on the approval of the Diveyevo monastery as part of both branches. In 1861, the Diveyevo community was elevated to a third-class convent, and is currently one of the most populous and well-appointed convents in Russia, accommodating up to 1000 or even more sisters. In 1861, the Intercession Ardatov community, founded around 1800 by the bourgeois Vasilisa Dmitreva Pakhomova, was elevated to the level of a third-class monastery. Nowadays the Spaso-Zelenogorsk third-class convent is a convent. Anthony, in the world A.G. Medvedev, a famous collaborator and associate of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra from 1831 - 1877, was elected to this post at the personal request of the saint and during the long period of his vicarity he brought the Lavra to a flourishing state in all respects. See Menaion-Cheti, under November 19. The reverent priests and bishops of the Orthodox Church, distinguished by his exploits and spiritual life, had deep respect and faith for St. Seraphim, and wrote letters to him, asking for his advice. Anthony, Archbishop of Voronezh, known for his holy life and monastic exploits, especially respected him. Soon after the blessed death of the saint of God, he spoke about him: We are like penny candles, and he is like a pood candle, always burning before the Lord, both with his past life and with his present boldness before the Most Holy Trinity. This incident was witnessed by Princess E.S.Sh. from the words of her paralytic son, who was healed by the monk. At the same time, the elder, noticing that the sick man saw this, strictly told him to “protect himself with silence” and not talk about it until his death, which he did. You might be interested in: