Venerable Seraphim, Sarov miracle worker. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov

Rev. Seraphim of Sarov, in the world Prokhor Moshnin, was born on July 19, 1759 in the city of Kursk into the family of pious Christians Isidore and Agafia Moshnin. Possessing an excellent memory, Saint Prochorus learned to read and write early. From childhood, he loved to attend church services, read the Holy Scriptures and the Lives of the Saints to his peers. Especially the young Prokhor loved to pray or read the Holy Gospel in solitude. In the twentieth year of his life, he entered the Sarov Hermitage as a novice. Here, having passed the usual path of monastic obedience, in 1786 Saint Prochorus was tonsured a monk by the rector of the monastery, Father Pachomius, with the name Seraphim (“fiery”). In the same year, in October, Saint Seraphim was ordained a hierodeacon by Bishop Victor (Onisimov) of Vladimir. For seven years he diligently served as a deacon, and on September 2, 1793, he was ordained a hieromonk by Bishop Theophilus (Raev) of Tambov. Refusing to be elected to the abbot, the Monk Seraphim, soon after his consecration to the rank of hieromonk, withdrew into the forest and began to asceticize there in strict fasting, silence, bodily labor and unceasing prayer. Seeking even more severe feats in order to purify his heart and see God, the Monk Seraphim went into seclusion. During the long years of solitary life and seclusion, when the heart of the ascetic was filled with love for God, a special love for people was revealed in the Monk Seraphim. Saint Seraphim more than once was honored with many visions and special manifestations of God's mercy, which strengthened him in his exploits. The Lord honored the holy elder with gifts of grace: insight, consolation, and healing of souls and bodies.

On November 25, 1825, the Mother of God, together with Saints Clement of Rome and Peter of Alexandria, who are being celebrated on this day, appeared in a dream to the Monk Seraphim, commanded him to come out of his seclusion and receive everyone who was looking for guidance, consolation, guidance and healing. Since that time, roads and paths leading to Sarov have come to life. "My joy," - with these words, the Monk Seraphim met everyone who came to him. With one word, he warmed the most hardened and hardened hearts, evoking in them "warmth of the heart" - the desire for goodness and God, which turns sinful people to repentance and inner transformation. The inner gaze of the Monk Seraphim penetrated so deeply into the souls that in everyone, in whatever state a person came to him, he saw the features of the image of God, saw what this person could be, and rejoiced at his hidden beauty.

Having spent his whole life in special deeds, he advised to follow the "royal", that is, the middle path and not to take on excessively difficult deeds. “Fasting, prayer, vigils, and all other Christian deeds,” said St. Seraphim, “no matter how good they are in themselves, the goal of our Christian life does not consist in doing them alone, although they serve as a means to achieve it. The true goal of our Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. The monk considered prayer to be the main means for acquiring the Holy Spirit. “Every virtue done for Christ’s sake gives the blessings of the Holy Spirit, but ... prayer most of all brings the Spirit of God, and it is most convenient for everyone to correct it.” Saint Seraphim considered lengthy prayer rules optional, but at the same time he strictly reminded that prayer should not be formal: “Those monks who do not combine external prayer with internal prayer are not monks, but black firebrands!” He advised during the Divine service in the temple to stand with closed eyes or look at the icon or a burning candle. Expressing this thought, the monk offered an excellent comparison of human life with a wax candle.

The prayer rule of St. Seraphim for the laity, who, due to difficult life circumstances, cannot read all the usual morning and evening prayers, has become famous. This rule is as follows: in the morning, before dinner and in the evening, read the prayers “Our Father” and “Our Mother of God, Virgin, rejoice” three times, once the Creed. The monk advised, doing the necessary things, from morning to dinner to say the Jesus Prayer: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner” or simply “Lord, have mercy”, and from lunch to evening, “Most Holy Theotokos, save me a sinner” or "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner through the Theotokos." “In prayers, pay attention to yourself,” said the ascetic, “that is, gather your mind and unite it with your soul. First, for a day, two or more, say this prayer with one mind, separately listening to each particular word. Then, when the Lord warms your heart with the warmth of His grace and unites it in you into one spirit, then this prayer will flow in you unceasingly and will always be with you, delighting and nourishing you. Saint Seraphim edified that by fulfilling this rule with humility, one can achieve Christian perfection in worldly life. Reading the entire New Testament weekly, the Sarov ascetic instructed: “The soul must be supplied with the Word of God. All the more should be practiced in reading the New Testament and the Psalter. From this comes enlightenment in the mind, which is changed by the Divine change.

Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ every Sunday and every holiday without fail, the Monk Seraphim, when asked how often one should take Communion, answered: "The more often, the better." To the priest of the Diveyevo community, Vasily Sadovsky, he said: “The grace bestowed on us by the Communion is so great that no matter how unworthy and no matter how sinful a person is, but only in a humble consciousness of his all-sinfulness he approaches the Lord, who redeems us all, even if from head to toe covered with sores of sins, and he will be cleansed by the grace of Christ, more and more bright, completely enlightened and saved ... I believe that, by the great goodness of God, grace will also be marked on the family of those who partake ... "Reverend Seraphim, however, He did not give the same instructions to everyone regarding frequent communion. He advised many to fast on all four fasts and on all the twelfth holidays. Saint Seraphim warned that it is possible to partake in condemnation. “Sometimes it happens like this,” he said, “here on earth they partake, but they remain uncommuned with the Lord!” Reverently, he who partakes of the Holy Mysteries, and more than once a year, according to the Monk Seraphim, "will be saved, prosperous and long-lived on earth itself."

The saint of God demanded reverence for the shrine always and everywhere, but he especially considered it necessary to revere in the temple. “And whatever you do in it (the church)," he said, "and how you enter and leave, everything should be done with fear and trembling and never ceasing prayer, and never in the church, except for the necessary due and about the Church, nothing should not be said in it! And what is more beautiful, higher and sweeter than the Church! And whom shall we only fear in it, and where shall we rejoice in spirit, heart and all our thoughts, if not in it, where the Lord our Lord Himself is always present with us.” With these words, the Monk Seraphim conveyed his deep spiritual experience of feeling the grace of active living communion with God in the temple. “There is nothing worse than sin, and nothing more terrible and pernicious than the spirit of despondency,” said Saint Seraphim. He himself was never gloomy and dull. “After all, gaiety is not a sin,” the elder said to the head of the Diveyevo community, “it drives away fatigue, and despondency happens from fatigue, and there is nothing worse than it, it brings everything with it ... To say a word affectionate, friendly and cheerful, so that everyone has The spirit of the Lord is always cheerful, but it was not dull - it’s not a sin at all, mother. The monk himself always shone with spiritual joy, and with this quiet, peaceful joy he abundantly filled the hearts of those around him, greeting them with the words: “My joy! Christ is Risen!". Every burden of life became light near the ascetic, and many who mourn and seek God were constantly crowding around his cell and hermitage, wishing to partake of the grace that pours out from the saint of God. In front of everyone's eyes, the lofty truth expressed by Saint Seraphim was confirmed: "Acquire peace, and thousands around you will be saved." This commandment about the acquisition of the world leads to the doctrine of the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit and is an important step on the path of spiritual growth. Saint Seraphim, having experienced all the ancient science of the Orthodox ascetic feat, expressed his experience of “life according to God” in his teachings. They express the general church way of ascetic feat and are close in content to the "Philokalia". They contain many references to the holy fathers, primarily to the Monk Isaac the Syrian and Barsanuphius the Great.

Along with other gifts of God, Saint Seraphim also had the gift of insight. The future of Russia was revealed to him until the end of the century. According to the reverend, Russia "will always be glorious and fearful to enemies, and irresistible." Foreseeing what the spiritual work of future generations would be like, the monk taught to seek peace of mind and not condemn anyone: “He who walks in a peaceful dispensation, draws spiritual gifts, as it were, with a lie ... To preserve peace of mind ... in every possible way one should avoid condemning others .. To get rid of condemnation, one must listen to oneself, not accept extraneous thoughts from anyone and be dead to everything.

Saint Seraphim can rightfully be called a disciple of the Mother of God. The Most Holy Theotokos healed him of fatal illnesses three times... At a young age, the Monk Seraphim fell mortally ill, so that all means of healing were powerless. His body was in a fever, but his pure soul burned with prayer to the Intercessor of all those who grieve and burdened. During a short sleep, the Mother of God appeared to him and promised to heal him. Waking up from a dream, the lad told everything he had seen to his mother. Soon, a procession with the miraculous image of the Mother of God was made past their house. Unexpectedly, a heavy downpour came, which forced the solemn procession to take refuge in the house of the parents of the Monk Seraphim. The sensitive mother immediately understood the meaning of the wondrous visit and, with deep faith, placed her ailing son on the miraculous face of the Mother of God. Immediately painful infirmity left the body of the young lad.

The second miraculous healing of the Monk Seraphim took place in 1783, when he performed his monastic obedience in the Sarov monastery. The Lord again visited the novice with a severe illness, testing his patience and meekness. The monk stretched out his hands to heaven and prayed to the Mother of God to strengthen him in enduring the ordeal. And the Queen of Heaven looked upon Her faithful follower. For his humility, Saint Seraphim was honored with a visit to the Most Holy Theotokos. Overshadowed by the radiant light of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, he felt completely healthy.

In 1804, the Monk Seraphim, during his solitary exploit in the forest, was beaten half to death by robbers who thought they would find a lot of money in his cell. None of the monastic brethren hoped to see him alive, and sadly they expected his death. But by a miraculous visit to the Mother of God, the dying elder was again raised from the bed of illness and gained spiritual and bodily strength for further monastic deeds.

The Mother of God repeatedly appeared to the Monk Seraphim, instructed and strengthened him. Even at the beginning of his journey, he heard how the Mother of God, pointing to him, lying on the bed of illness, said to the Apostle John the Theologian: "This is from our kind."

The monk devoted much energy to the organization of the monastic community of girls in Diveevo, created on the instructions of the Mother of God, and he himself said that he did not give a single instruction from himself, but did everything according to the will of the Queen of Heaven. Saint Seraphim bequeathed to the inhabitants to always revere the Most Holy Theotokos for Her innumerable graces to Orthodox Christians. On March 25, 1831, on the feast of the Annunciation, the old woman of the Diveevo Monastery Evpraksia witnessed the appearance of the Mother of God to the Monk Seraphim. During the apparition, the Mother of God asked Saint Seraphim to spiritually nourish the sisters of the Diveevo Monastery and promised him Her heavenly help in this.

After the death of the monk in the Diveevo monastery, his private, especially revered icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” was kept, to which he turned in fervent prayer at home. With oil from the lamp burning in front of the cell shrine, the Monk Seraphim anointed the sick who received healing. The uncreated Divine light shone from the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness", transforming the soul of the ascetic into the purest vessel of God's grace. After a fervent night prayer to the Theotokos, before Her miraculous icon, from the transfigured face of the Monk Seraphim, the inexpressible light of Divine grace poured out, illuminating those who came to him. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov often called the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Tenderness" "Joy of All Joys."

The celebration of the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness of the Seraphim-Diveevo" was established on July 28, probably due to the fact that on this day the memory of the holy Apostle Prochorus is celebrated, whose name St. Seraphim bore in Baptism.

On January 1, 1833, the Monk Seraphim came for the last time to the Zosima-Sabbatiev Church to the Divine Liturgy and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, after which he blessed the brethren and said goodbye, saying: "Save yourself, do not lose heart, stay awake, today the crowns are being prepared for us." The next day he peacefully departed to the Lord, whose faithful servant he had been all his life.

After 70 years, in 1903, the glorification of the saint took place in the face of saints. On July 19, the birthday of St. Seraphim, with great triumph, his relics were opened and placed in the prepared tomb. The long-awaited event was accompanied, by the grace of God, by many miraculous healings of the sick.

Revered by the Orthodox people during his lifetime, St. Seraphim became one of the most beloved saints of the Russian people, just like St. Sergius of Radonezh. Shortly before his blessed death, a pious monk asked: “Why do we not have such a strict life as the ancient ascetics led?” “Because,” replied the Monk Seraphim, “we do not have the determination to do so. If they had determination, they would live like our fathers; because grace and help to the faithful and to those who seek the Lord with all their hearts are now the same as they were before, for, according to the word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).

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

Childhood and adolescence of St. Seraphim

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

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

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

Path to monasticism

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

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

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

The exploits of the Monk Seraphim

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

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

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

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

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

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

Return to the monastery

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

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

Death of Elder Seraphim

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

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

Canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov

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

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

Finding holy relics

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

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

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

Interesting Facts

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

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

Relevant to localities:

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

Named Prokhor at birth, who became the future hieromonk Seraphim of Sarov, was born on July 19, 1759 (or 1754) in the city of Kursk, Belogorod province. There is no reliable information on this. Prokhor was born into a wealthy Moshnin family. His father's name was Isidore, his mother was Agathia. In addition to Prokhor, the Moshnin family already had an eldest son named Alexei.

Prokhor's father - a merchant - owned several small brick factories in Kursk and was engaged in the construction of various kinds of buildings. At that time, he built both ordinary residential buildings and churches. So, he began the construction of a temple in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, but did not have time to complete his work. When Prokhor was no more than three years old, Isidor Moshnin died. All the remaining cases related to the construction of the temple were continued by his wife.

Since childhood, the boy gravitated towards everything church, so he often asked his mother when she went to church. So, at the age of seven, he climbed the bell tower of the temple under construction, from where he fell from a great height. However, he remained unharmed.

Later, Prokhor was overcome by a severe illness. One morning, the son told his mother that the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream, who promised to heal him from an illness. Then, not far from their house, a church procession took place, at the head of which they carried the icon of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos. The woman carried her son out into the street in oblivion and put him to the face of the Virgin. The disease has receded. From that time on, Prokhor firmly decided that he would serve God.

asceticism

At the age of 17, the young man made a trip to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra as a pilgrim. There he learned the place where he would be tonsured a monk. The mother did not resist the choice of her son, realizing that he was indeed somehow connected with God. Two years later, the young man is already preparing to become a monk in the monastery for men of the Sarov Desert.

In 1786, the young man changed his name to Seraphim and joined the monastic ranks. He was ordained a hierodeacon, and seven years later, a hieromonk.

Seraphim was close to an ascetic way of life, like most of those who chose service. For unity with himself, he settled in a cell, which was located in the forest. To get to the monastery, Seraphim covered a distance of five kilometers on foot.

The hieromonk wore the same items of clothing in winter and summer, independently found food in the forest, slept for a short time, kept the strictest fast, reread the holy scriptures, and often indulged in prayers. Seraphim set up a garden and set up an apiary next to his cell.

For many years, Seraphim ate only gout grass. In addition, he chose a special kind of feat - pilgrimage, in which he prayed continuously for a thousand days and nights on a stone boulder. So Seraphim began to be called a reverend, which means a way of life striving to become like God. The laity, going to him, often saw how the monk was feeding a big bear.

The life describes a case where once the robbers, having found out that Seraphim had wealthy guests, considered that he managed to get rich, and he could be robbed. While the hieromonk was praying, they beat him. Seraphim offered no resistance, despite his strength, power and youth. But in the cell of the ascetic, the criminals did not find any wealth. The Reverend survived. The misunderstanding that happened caused him to remain hunched for life. Later, the criminals were caught, and Father Seraphim granted them forgiveness, and they were not punished.

Since 1807, Seraphim tried to meet and talk with people as little as possible. He began a new feat - silence. Three years later he returned to the monastery, but went into seclusion for 15 years, finding solitude in prayers. At the end of the reclusive lifestyle, he resumed receptions. Seraphim began to receive not only the laity, but also monks, having acquired, as described in the book about his life, the gift of prophecy and healing. The king himself was among his visitors.

Hieromonk Seraphim died on January 2, 1833 in his cell. This happened at the age of 79, when he performed the ceremony of kneeling prayer.

life

Hieromonk Sergius undertook to describe the life of Seraphim four years after his death. It became the main source written about Sarovsky. However, it has been edited many times.

So, in 1841 Metropolitan Philaret himself copied the life. The desire to bring the life in line with the requirements of censorship of that time affected.

The rector of one of the deserts, George, became the editor of the next edition. He supplemented the book with details about the animals fed by the monk, about the multiplication of food and the appearances of the Virgin Mary.

Popular veneration and canonization

Seraphim began to be venerated during his lifetime. However, he was canonized after his death at the request of his wife -. It happened on July 19, 1902. Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna believed that it was thanks to the prayers of Father Seraphim that an heir appeared in the royal family.

This development of events caused a whole scandal, headed by Konstantin Pobedonostsev, who served as the representative of the emperor in the Holy Synod. The latter did not consider the king's order to be in accordance with church canons.

Heritage

The Orthodox still pray to Seraphim of Sarov today. The press repeatedly wrote about healings from various ailments of people who came to the relics of the saint, and other miracles associated with him.

The most famous icon, which depicts the reverend, has survived to this day. The source for painting the icon of Seraphim of Sarov was a portrait that was made five years before the death of the hieromonk by an artist named Serebryakov.

Also, to this day, the Orthodox know not a single prayer to Seraphim of Sarov. What does this saint help in: believers ask him for peace and the end of suffering, healing from illness, harmony and spiritual stamina. Often people come to the icon with a prayer so that the saint will guide them on the right path. Young girls ask for messages from a companion. Often, businessmen pray to Seraphim, wishing to be successful in business and trade.

Today, there is a temple of Seraphim of Sarov in almost every city in Russia. Among them are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan. There are parishes in honor of the monk in small villages. This suggests that the saint is still revered among believers.

Prophecies

According to sources that have survived to this day, Seraphim predicted to Alexander I that the Romanov family originates and ends in the Ipatiev house. And so it happened. The first king named Michael was elected in the Ipatiev Monastery. And in the Ekaterinburg house of Ipatiev, the entire royal family perished.

Among the predictions of Saint Seraphim are such events as:

• Decembrist uprising,
• Crimean War 1853–1855,
• abolition law,
• war between Russia and Japan
• world wars,
• Great October Socialist Revolution.
• Seraphim believed that before the coming of the Antichrist, the world had six hundred years left.

Quotes

• Also, famous quotes once said by Sarovsky have come down to us. Here are some of them:
• There is nothing worse than sin, and nothing more terrible and pernicious than the spirit of despondency.
• True faith cannot be without deeds: whoever truly believes, he will certainly have deeds.
• From joy, a person can do anything, from inner effort - nothing.
• Let there be thousands living with you in peace, but reveal your secret to one out of a thousand.
• No one has ever complained about bread and water.
• Whoever endures the disease with patience and thanksgiving, it is imputed to him instead of a feat or even more.

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

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

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

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

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

eldership

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

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

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

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

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

In the last year of his life, the Monk Seraphim began to noticeably weaken and spoke to many about his imminent death. At this time, he was often seen at the coffin, which stood in the hallway of his cell and prepared by him for himself. The monk himself indicated the place where he should have been buried - near the altar of the Assumption Cathedral.

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

Prayers

Troparion for the Repose, Tone 4

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

Troparion for glorification, the same voice

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

Kontakion, tone 2

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

Video

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

Literature

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

Used materials

• Site page Russian Orthodoxy:
• "The cenobitic Sarov Hermitage and the memorable monks who labored in it" M .: Sretensky Monastery, 1996, 241 p. pp. 64, 85, 91.
• Month page Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy
• Venerable Seraphim of Sarov // Page of the website "ABC of Faith"
http://serafim-library.narod.ru/Publikacii/OcherkiImage/Oche...htm and

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov is one of the most revered saints in Russia. The life of Seraphim of Sarov tells how miracles began to happen to him already in childhood, and when he became a monk, the Monk Seraphim began to manifest them himself - first of all, the incredible feats that he performed: for example, he prayed on a stone for three years and hardly ate at the same time food. Or he fed wild animals that flocked to him from all over the forest and became meek next to them.

But St. Seraphim is also one of those saints who left behind not only a tradition about his own ascetic life, but also teachings (if not a whole teaching): about grace. He taught: Christianity is not a set of ethical rules, where it is important just to be a good person, but a higher goal - having acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit, to change oneself nature person. And then - and the person will be sanctified, and the world around him will be transformed in the most wonderful way!

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov feeding a bear

Teachings of St. Seraphim of Sarov

To some extent, teachings are really the most important thing that St. Seraphim of Sarov left behind.

“Acquire the spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved,” is one of the most famous sayings of St. Seraphim of Sarov, which simply and briefly conveys the whole essence of his teaching.

Finding peace in the soul and the acquisition of grace: this is the main goal for a Christian, and not the fulfillment of the commandments. Fulfilling the commandments is natural for a person, and this should be done in any case, but a person has a higher goal on earth than just doing good deeds and not offending loved ones. This goal is deification: that is, the change in the nature of the soul is already here - on earth.

In fact, St. Seraphim of Sarov tried to convey the ideas of hesychasm - the "Greek" teaching, one of the apologists of which was St. Gregory Palamas in the XIV century, and which is still being built on Mount Athos. The basis of the idea of ​​hesychasm is precisely the doing of the mind, and not just actions.

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov reminded that the life of a Christian begins not with deeds, and not even with thoughts, but even earlier - with the nature of his soul. Therefore, an Orthodox Christian must follow not only thoughts (because all actions come from them), but direct his hope and aspirations further - to the state of the soul. The soul that weeps for the Holy Spirit and finds its true integrity and true healing only with the acquisition of Grace and thus - in Christ.

Well, the observance of the commandments, and a pious life are just one of the best tools for achieving this highest goal - the acquisition of the "spirit of peace."

Seraphim of Sarov: years of life - when he lived

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov lived in the 18th-19th centuries. He was born in 1754 and died in 1833.

He lived for 78 years, and during this time the country in which he lived - the Russian Empire - survived six emperors and changed a lot: becoming a real Empire from a large state, which was able to eventually defeat Napoleon himself.

The rulers who were "caught" by Saint Seraphim of Sarov: Empress Elizabeth; Peter II; Catherine II; Peter III; Alexander I; Nicholas I. Although, of course, the Monk Seraphim himself thought least of all about the kings of the earth and thought more about the Eternal Kingdom, about which his life tells.

Seraphim of Sarov: short biography

The biographies of saints in the Church are usually called "lives". The life of St. Seraphim is quite capacious, because the elder led a very simple way of life and sought monasticism from his youth.

Therefore, the brief life of St. Seraphim can be summarized in just a few phrases:

• born in 1833;
• left home at 22 and became a monk,
• ten years later he was tonsured a monk,
• spent his entire monastic life in the forests near the Sarov monastery or in a seclusion in the monastery itself
• and died at the age of 78.

However, the life of any ascetic does not consist of external facts, but of the routine of life and the arrangement of inner life - which is difficult to describe on the pages of books or a website. And the life of Seraphim of Sarov was just filled with inner exploits, which showed that in true unity with the Lord, human strength is truly inexhaustible, and grace can sanctify a person so that wild animals will go to worship him, and no robbers - neither heavenly, nor even more earthly, he will not be afraid!

Miracles of St. Seraphim of Sarov

Miraculous phenomena began to happen to the Monk Seraphim when he was still a seven-year-old boy Prokhor. He fell from the bell tower to the ground, but survived.

His holy life made the most formidable animals meek. The monk said that wolves, hares, foxes, snakes and mice, and even a large bear came to him at night. And he fed everyone, and miraculously enough treats for everyone. “No matter how much bread I took,” said the ascetic, “it miraculously did not decrease in the basket!”

Like any saint, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov did not strive to work miracles, and in any miraculous manifestation he saw first of all the generosity and Love of God and an example of how boundless the world becomes during life with Christ.

The attacks of the devil intensified. At first, they manifested themselves in a mystical way - during the prayer, the elder Seraphim could be thrown up and thrown back to the ground - these were the demons "having fun". And once - during exploits in the forest - he was attacked by real robbers. It was the devil, seeing the spiritual firmness of the elder, who attacked now, using earthly "improvised" tools - people - to break the monk's spirit in such a "mundane" way.

The robbers beat the reverend, broke his ribs, crushed his skull and inflicted many other wounds. The wounded Seraphim of Sarov was found some time later, and the doctors were surprised: it is not clear how he survived. The monk himself told that on one of these days the Mother of God appeared to the monk, and this finally calmed him, helped him to betray everything to the will of God and thereby save his life.

The appearance of the Mother of God to the Monk Seraphim of Sarov is also one of the miracles that happened to him more than once. According to legend, there were twelve of them. The first - in childhood, when Prokhor was 9 years old - the boy was seriously ill and the Mother of God promised to heal him. It was after this that he decided to become a monk for himself. And the last phenomenon happened a couple of years before his death - when the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him surrounded by John the Baptist, John the Theologian and 12 virgins.

Feats of St. Seraphim of Sarov

The future Elder Seraphim accomplished his first visible feat even before he was tonsured a monk - when from Kursk, where he was born and lived, he went on foot to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra: to bow to the relics of the Saints of the Caves and receive a blessing for monasticism. He didn't travel by train, he didn't travel by car, he didn't fly by plane. In those days, the pilgrimage was not a comfortable "tourism", as it is now, but a real feat.

But of course, most of all he became famous for the asceticism that he carried, already being a monk. From the very beginning, he stood out from the brethren with a strict charter. And he spent 30 years of his life either in a hermitage in the forest - a few kilometers from the Sarov monastery, or - in the monastery itself, but in seclusion.

His lifestyle in the forest seems incredible. Saint Seraphim could walk all year round in the same clothes, he wore chains, at times he ate only grass.

His most famous feat is the feat of pilgrimage, when he stood in prayer alternately on two stones for a thousand days and a thousand nights.

He began to receive visitors only in the last years of his life - and it was then that the people learned about Seraphim of Sarov and glorified him as a saint during his lifetime.

The relics of Seraphim of Sarov: where are they located?

The relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov are now kept in the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery. There they can bow.
Diveevsky monastery is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. From Moscow, for example, you can get by train to Nizhny Novgorod and then by bus to Diveevo. You can see the bus schedule

By car: 450 kilometers from Moscow.

There are hotels and private houses at the monastery and you can always find where to stay, but it is better to book accommodation in advance - especially on great Church holidays or on the days of the memory of the saint.

And in Moscow there is the Diveevsky Monastery Compound - it is located a two-minute walk from the metro station Prospekt Mira-Koltsevoy - if you go along the path to the Garden Ring. The courtyard with a house church inside is located right on Prospekt Mira:

Days of memory of Seraphim of Sarov

Days of memory of Seraphim of Sarov in the Orthodox Church:

• August 1(it's his birthday)
• January 15(death date).

Icon of Seraphim of Sarov

And this is how one of the most common images of St. Seraphim looks like. (The picture shows the icon, which is stored in the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra):

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov is one of the most revered saints in Russia, so his icon can be found and worshiped in almost every church.

Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!

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