Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, miracle worker († 1833)

29.09.2019

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov was born on July 19, 1759 (according to other sources, 1754) in ancient Kursk, into the eminent merchant family of Isidore and Agafia Moshnin. In Holy Baptism he was named Prokhor in honor of the apostle of the seventy and one of the first seven deacons of Christ's Church. His parents, who were engaged in the construction of stone buildings and temples, were people of pious life, marked by virtue and diligence. Shortly before his death (+ 1762), Isidor Moshnin set about building a majestic temple in honor of the Kazan Icon Mother of God and St. Sergius of Radonezh (since 1833 - the Kursk Sergiev-Kazan Cathedral). Its construction was completed by Prokhor's mother. By the example of her life, she raised her son in Christian piety and eternal joy in God.

The protection of God over Prokhor appeared from his early years: the Lord kept the baby unharmed when he, having stumbled, fell from the bell tower under construction. The lad Prokhor was miraculously delivered from a serious illness through prayer in front of the miraculous icon Holy Mother of God"Sign": during his illness, he was granted a vision of the Mother of God, who promised to visit him again soon and heal him. Since then, the prayerful glorification of the Queen of Heaven has become a constant for the monk. After his illness, Prokhor continued his studies with zeal. He quickly comprehended the church charter, read daily Holy Bible, spiritual and edifying books, while revealing a bright mind and a clear memory, adorning oneself with meekness and humility. Over time, Prokhor began to be taught the trade business, which was handled by his brother Alexei. This work did not attract the lad, and he carried out assignments, exclusively obeying his elders. Most of all, Prokhor loved the constant stay in the temple, heartfelt prayer and incessant meditation on God, preferring solitude and silence to the bustle of the world. His desire for monastic life grew. The pious mother did not oppose this and blessed her son with a copper Crucifix, which he always openly wore on his chest until his death.

Before taking tonsure, Prokhor, together with five of his peers, four of whom, following his example, devoted their lives to serving God, went to Kiev to worship the saints of the Caves and seek guidance from the elders. The perspicacious recluse old man Dositheus*, who was ascetic near the Lavra, who was visited by Prokhor, approved the young man’s intention to accept monasticism and pointed to the Sarov Hermitage as the place of his salvation and deeds: “Come, child of God, and awaken there. This place will be your salvation. With the help of God, you will also end your earthly journey there. The Holy Spirit, the Treasury of all the good, will govern your life in the shrine."

(* With the name “Dositheus”, a maiden (old woman) of high spiritual life labored in seclusion in the Kitaevskaya monastery (in the world Daria Tyapkina; + 1776).)

On November 20, 1778, on the eve of the Feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, Prokhor arrived at the Sarov Monastery, where he was lovingly received as a novice by its rector, the meek and humble hieromonk Pachomius, and given as an instructing to the elder hieromonk Joseph, the treasurer. Imitating the elders, Prokhor came to the church before the others, stood motionless, with his eyes closed, stood the service to the end and left last, regretting that a person could not continuously serve God, like the angels.

Being in cell obedience, Prokhor humbly performed other monastic work: in a bakery (bakery), prosphora and carpentry, he was an alarm clock and sexton. He was never idle, but with constant work he tried to protect himself from boredom, considering it one of the most dangerous (for it is born from cowardice, carelessness and idle talk) temptations for novice monks, which is healed by prayer, abstinence from idle talk, feasible needlework, reading the word of God and patience.

Following the example of some monks of the desert, Prokhor, having asked for blessings from his mentor, in his free hours goes into the forest for solitude, Jesus prayer and spiritual reflections. His asceticism attracted the attention of the brethren and won the paternal love of the elders. So, during the serious illness of Prokhor, they were inseparably with him, taking care of his recovery. For almost three years, he meekly endured severe suffering, rejecting medical assistance and surrendering himself entirely to "the true Physician of souls and bodies - our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother." When Prochorus's condition deteriorated significantly, an all-night vigil and Divine Liturgy were served for his health. Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he was soon vouchsafed a miraculous vision of the Most Holy Theotokos. Laying her hand on the patient's head, She granted him recovery, saying to the apostles Peter and John the Theologian accompanying Her: "This is from Our kind."

On the site of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by the providence of God, a hospital church was built. Prokhor took over the collection of donations for its construction as a new obedience. He also made a throne from cypress wood for one of the chapels - the Monk Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky, miracle workers, in which, in memory of the great mercy of God, he made it a rule to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ until the end of his days.

On August 18, 1786, hieromonk Pachomius, rector of the monastery, Prokhor was tonsured a monk with the name Seraphim *, which so well expressed his ardent love for the Lord, and a year later he was consecrated a hierodeacon by Bishop of Vladimir and Murom Victor (Onisimov; + 1817). For six years, he served daily services, spending in the church all the time free from monastic obediences. The Lord strengthened him with heavenly visions: the monk repeatedly contemplated the holy angels ministering to the brethren and singing in the temple, and at the Divine Liturgy on Great Thursday he was honored to behold the Lord Jesus Christ surrounded by Heavenly Ethereal Forces. This vision increased the zeal of the ascetic for hermitage: during the day he worked in the monastery, and in the evening he retired to the forest, where in a deserted cell at night he indulged in prayer and contemplation.

(* "Seraphim" - from the Hebrew "fiery." Seraphim are the highest and closest angelic ranks to God, having fiery love for Him.)

On September 2, 1793, at the request of the elders, the Monk Seraphim was ordained a hieromonk by Bishop Theophilus of Tambov and Penza (Raev, + 1811).

“The grace bestowed on us by Communion,” he told the priest of the Diveyevo community, Father Vasily Sadovsky, “is so great that no matter how unworthy and no matter how sinful a person is, if only in a humble consciousness of his all-sinfulness he approaches the Lord, who redeems us all, even 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 ... " "the more often, the better"), he "will be saved, prosperous and durable on the earth itself." Instructing others, the elder himself followed this rule invariably all his life.

The year 1794 was marked by a mournful event for the monastery: the rector of the desert, Hieromonk Pachomius, who had done so much for its establishment, died. At the request of the deceased rector, the Monk Seraphim takes over the care of the Diveevo women's community * and does not leave her sisters without spiritual guidance and material support.

(* Founded in 1780 by the landowner Agafya Semyonovna Melgunova (in monasticism - Alexandra; + 1789) for the joint residence of pious widows. In 1842 it was connected with the Mill maiden community, arranged by St. Seraphim in 1827 on the instructions of the Most Holy Mother of God. Both communities made up Seraphim -The Diveevo community, which was transformed into a nunnery in 1861 - the largest by that time in Russia (by the beginning of the 20th century there were about 1000 sisters in it. The first abbess was Mother Superior Maria. In 1991 the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.)

On November 20, 1794, on the anniversary of his arrival at the Sarov monastery, the monk asks the rector, hieromonk Isaiah, for a blessing for a new feat - wilderness living and settles in a dense forest a few kilometers from the monastery. According to a pious custom, he gives names to different places around his wooden hut in memory of the events of the Savior's earthly life: the Bethlehem cave, the city of Jerusalem, the Jordan River, the Kidron stream, Golgotha ...

In the “far desert,” as the holy elder liked to call his secluded dwelling, he daily performs a prayer rule according to the strict charter of the ancient desert-dwelling monasteries, as well as according to the order, which he himself compiled and known as the “cell rule of Father Seraphim”, often setting thousand bows.

With unfailing zeal, he reads the patristic and liturgical books, the Holy Scriptures, and especially the Gospel, which he never parted with, reading the entire New Testament during the week (on Monday - the Gospel of Matthew, on Tuesday - the Gospel of Mark, on Wednesday - the Gospel of Luke , on Thursday - the Gospel of John, on Friday - the Acts of the Holy Apostles, on Saturday - the Epistles of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, on Sunday - the Apocalypse) and calling it "supplying the soul" (i.e., preservation, salvation from everything harmful) , according to whose guidance one should arrange one's life.

During labor hours, the elder cuts firewood in the forest, harvests moss in the swamp, works in the bee-keeper and cultivates the vegetable garden near the cells, singing church hymns by heart.

The same white linen hoodie served as a garment for the monk; he also wore an old kamilavka and bast shoes, and in inclement weather - a cassock made of black thick cloth and leather half-mantles and shoe covers. He never put on chains and a sackcloth for mortification of the flesh, saying: “Whoever offends us in word or deed, and if we endure offenses in the gospel, here are our chains, here is the sackcloth.”

The old man's way of life was extremely harsh. Even in severe frosts, his cell was not heated. He slept sitting on the floor and leaning back against the wall, or putting a stone or logs under his head. He did this "for the sake of mortifying the passions."

Earning his own food, the monk observed a very strict fast, eating once a day mainly vegetables and stale bread, a small amount of which he shared with birds and wild animals. More than once they saw how the old man fed from the hands huge bear who served him. Without eating food on Wednesday and Friday and in the first week of the Holy Great Forty Day, the Monk Seraphim eventually refused help from the monastery, intensified his abstinence and fasting, eating for about three years only the weed grass*, which he himself dried, preparing for the winter.

(* "Snyt" is a perennial herbaceous plant, young shoots are edible; other names: hogweed, angelica, hare cabbage.)

Striving for silence, the elder protected himself from visitors, but he kindly received monks who desired solitude, without refusing to give instructions, but he tried not to give blessings for such a feat, knowing what temptations from the devil one has to endure in solitude.

And indeed, the enemy of the human race forced the Monk Seraphim by “mental scolding” to leave his exploits and refuse to save his soul. But with God's help, protecting himself with prayer and the sign of the cross, the elder defeated the tempter.

Rising from strength to strength, the ascetic aggravated his labors by taking upon himself a special feat - pilgrimage. Every evening at sunset, the monk climbed a large granite stone that lay in the forest halfway from the monastery to his cell, and until dawn, with his hands upraised to heaven, he repeated the publican’s prayer, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” With the onset of morning, he returned to the cell and in it, in order to equalize the nightly labors with the daytime ones, he stood on another, small stone brought from the forest, and left the prayer only for a short rest and refreshing the body with meager food. For a thousand days and nights, despite frost, rain, heat and cold, he continued this prayerful standing. The shamed devil, finding himself powerless to spiritually overcome the elder, decided to kill him and sent robbers who, threatening with reprisal, began to demand money from him. Encountering no resistance, they severely beat the ascetic, crushed his head and broke several ribs, and then, crushing everything in the cell and finding nothing but an icon and a few potatoes, they fled, ashamed of their crime.

In the morning the monk made his way to the monastery with difficulty. For eight days he suffered from unbearable pain, refusing the help of doctors called by the rector, giving his life to the will of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. And when the hope of recovery seemed to have disappeared, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to the elder in a thin dream, accompanied by the Apostles Peter and John the Theologian, and granted him healing, saying the words: “This is from My kind.” On the same day the monk got up from his bed, but he remained in the monastery for another five months until he fully recovered. The elder remained forever bent and walked leaning on an ax or a staff, but he forgave the offenders and asked not to punish.

Returning to the "far desert", the Monk Seraphim did not change his former way of life. Upon the death of the abbot and his spiritual leader, Hieromonk Isaiah, he took a vow of silence, comparing it with the cross, "on which a person must crucify himself with all passions and lusts." His life becomes even more hidden for those around him: not only the deserts are silent, the lips of the old man, who has renounced all worldly thoughts, are also silent. “Most of all, you should adorn yourself with silence,” he later liked to repeat the instructions of the Church Fathers, “for by the silence of many I saw those who were being saved, but by verbosity, not a single one ... Silence is the sacrament of the future age,” which “brings a person closer to God and makes him, as it were, earthly angel”, “words are the tools of the essence of this world”. The Monk Seraphim no longer went out to the visitors, and if he met anyone in the forest, he fell on his face and did not get up until the passer-by moved away.

Due to a disease in his legs, he could no longer visit the monastery. Food was brought to him once a week by a novice, whom the elder met with arms folded crosswise on his chest and let him go without looking at him or uttering a word. Only sometimes he put a piece of bread or a little cabbage on the tray, thereby letting him know what should be brought on the next Sunday. The monk spent about three years in silence.

The fertile fruit of his ascetic life was the acquisition of "peace of the soul", which he considered a precious gift of God, the most important matter in the lives of Christians. “Fasting, prayer, vigils and all other Christian deeds,” the monk said to the monks addressing him, “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.

“My joy,” the elder instructed, “I pray you, acquire a peaceful spirit, and then thousands of souls will be saved around you.”

Worried about the long absence of the elder, the new rector hegumen Nifont and the elders from the brethren of the desert suggested that the Monk Seraphim either come to the monastery on Sundays to participate in divine services and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, or to return to the monastery altogether. The elder chose the latter, being unable to travel long distances. But, having settled 15 years later in his former cell, he continued the feat of silence, not going anywhere and receiving no one, except for the hospital servant and the priest who brought him Holy Communion. Life began in seclusion in front of the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness", which the monk lovingly called "Joy of All Joys." The oak coffin, made by his hands and installed at his request in the hallway, reminded him of the hour of death.

The exploits of the elder in seclusion are unknown, but it is known that it was then that the Monk Seraphim was honored with rapture into the heavenly abodes.

Recalling the experience of this blessedness, the holy elder subsequently instructed the novice in this way: “If you knew what sweetness awaits the soul of the righteous in Heaven, then you would have decided to endure sorrows, persecution and slander with thanksgiving in your temporary life. If this very cell of ours (at the same time he pointed with his hand to his) were full of worms, and if these worms ate our flesh throughout our temporal life, then with every desire we should agree to this, so as not to be deprived of that Heavenly joy, which God has prepared for those who love Him. There is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing; there is sweetness and joy inexpressible; there the righteous will shine like the sun. But if the holy apostle Paul himself could not explain that heavenly glory and joy, then what other human language can explain the beauty of the mountain village, in which the souls of the righteous will dwell?! It is impossible to tell you about the joy and sweetness of Heaven that you tasted there. According to the testimony of the novice, at the end of the conversation, the elder was so transformed that he became, as it were, not of this world, showing with his own eyes the image of an earthly Angel and a Heavenly man.

After five years of seclusion, the monk, by special revelation to him, opened the doors of his cell to all those seeking spiritual guidance, but he did not soon remove the vow of silence. Teaching those who came only by the example of a silent life, he began to prepare himself for serving people.

On November 25, 1825, the Most Holy Theotokos, accompanied by Saints Clement of Rome and Saints Peter of Alexandria, appeared to the Monk Seraphim in a dream and commanded him to leave the seclusion to heal weak human souls. The ascent to the highest level of monastic feat - eldership began. By that time, the Monk Seraphim acquired purity of soul and was vouchsafed from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance and miracle-working. He equally saw the past and foresaw the future and gave advice filled with the spirit of wisdom and goodness.

To the question of the interlocutor about how he could, without even listening to the needs of the wanderer, see his heart, the elder said: I don’t have my own will, but whatever God pleases, I pass it on.” “The human heart is open to the Lord alone, and God alone is the Knower of Hearts... But I, a sinful Seraphim, consider the first thought that appears in my soul to be God’s indication and I say, not knowing what my interlocutor has in his soul, but I only believe that thus the will of God for his benefit is pointed out to me.”

Through the prayer of the monk, many were healed whose grave illnesses did not yield to earthly healing. The first to manifest his miraculous power was Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, a Nizhny Novgorod landowner who was forced to leave military service due to an incurable illness. The memoirs of eyewitnesses preserved the details of this event, which took place in the elder's cell two years before his release from seclusion.

Having received from Manturov sincere and ardent assurances of unconditional faith in God, the monk addressed him with the words: “My joy! If you believe in this way, then also believe that everything is possible for the believer from God. Therefore, believe that the Lord will heal you too. And I, poor Seraphim, will pray.” Marking the sick with oil, the holy elder said: “According to the grace given to me from the Lord, I am the first to heal you.” Immediately recovering, Manturov enthusiastically threw himself at the feet of the ascetic, but was immediately lifted up by the monk, who sternly said to him: “Is it really Seraphim’s business to kill and live, to bring down to hell and raise up? 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 Lord Almighty and His Most Pure Mother!” .

As a token of gratitude for the mercy of God, “Mishenka”, as the monk liked to call him, took upon himself the feat of voluntary poverty and devoted his whole life to the organization of the Diveyevo convent, fulfilling the elder’s business assignments.

Among those who rose from the sickbed and the “servant” of the monk is the Simbirsk landowner Nikolai Alexandrovich Motovilov, who was under the guidance of the elder all the subsequent time and in communion with him wrote down his wonderful teachings about the goal of Christian life.

Leaving the gate, the ascetic, according to custom, began to retire to his new, “near desert”, arranged not far from the monastery, in the forest, next to the “theological” spring, the water of which, according to his prayer, began to work miraculous healings. Spending the day here in spiritual and bodily labors, the elder returned to the monastery in the evening. At the same time, he walked, leaning on a stick, carrying an ax in his hand, and over his shoulders a knapsack filled with sand and stones, on top of which the Gospel always lay. When they asked him why he was carrying such a burden, the elder humbly answered with the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian: “I languish my languishing me.”

From all over Russia, people rushed to the Sarov monastery, wishing to receive God's blessing from the saint. From early morning until late evening, the door of his cell in the "near desert" was open to everyone, and the heart of the saint did not know the difference between them. He was not burdened by either the number of visitors or their state of mind. Seeing in him the image of God, the elder treated everyone with love: he met everyone with an earthly bow, a kiss and an unchanging Paschal greeting: “My joy, Christ is risen!”

For each, he had a special word that warmed the heart, removed the veil from the eyes, illuminated the mind, made the deepest impression even on the unbelieving, turning them to the path of saving repentance.

During the last years of his life, Saint Seraphim constantly cared for the Mill maiden community. Arranged by the command of the Most Holy Theotokos in Diveevo, this monastery was the fourth lot of the Queen of Heaven on earth, the place of Her primary grace care. According to the testimony of the elder, the Mother of God herself walked around this land, giving him a promise to be her everlasting Abbess. Subsequently, a trench was laid around the community, which the monk began. “This groove,” he said, “is a pile of the Mother of God. Then the Queen of Heaven Herself bypassed her. This groove to Heaven is high. And as soon as the Antichrist comes, he will pass everywhere, but this groove will not jump over.

Despite his advancing years, the elder worked diligently on the construction of the first monastic buildings - a mill, cells and the Church of the Nativity of Christ, harvesting timber for this, bought with donations from his visitors. He also drew up the charter of the monastery, which brought up the sisters in the spirit of love, obedience and unceasing achievement. Enduring slander and insults for his paternal care for the Diveyevo orphans, the elder answered the monks who condemned his labors in the following way: I did not accept one of them at my own will, against the will of the Queen of Heaven. The chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery keeps the prophecies of the monk about the fate of the monastery, and all of them were destined to come true.

In his declining years, the Monk Seraphim was honored with one more, twelfth and last during his lifetime, visitation of the Most Holy Theotokos, which followed on March 25, 1832, on the feast of Her Annunciation, and was, as it were, an indication of his blessed end: giving the elder a promise of help and intercession in earthly labors , in the dispensation of the Diveevo monastery, the Queen of Heaven said: “Soon, My beloved, you will be with Us.”

Having received a revelation about the coming death, the monk began to diligently prepare for it. The strength of the old man noticeably weakened, he could not every day, as before, go to his hermitage and receive numerous visitors. “We will not see you again,” he told his spiritual children. - My life is shortened; in spirit I am as it were now born, but in body I am dead all over.” He sought solitude, for a long time indulging in sorrowful reflections on the imperfection of earthly life, sitting at the tomb, prepared in case of his death. But even these days, when he was about to move in spirit to the heavenly abodes, the elder did not stop caring about the salvation of human souls, calling on the shepherds everywhere to sow the word of God given to them: this and in thorns; everything somewhere will vegetate and grow, and bear fruit, although not soon.

On the eve of the day of his death, the Monk Seraphim came, according to custom, to the Divine Liturgy, which he loved in the hospital Zosima-Sabbatiev Church, took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, laid prostrations before the images of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, put candles to all the icons and kissed them, blessed and kissed the brethren, said goodbye to everyone and said: “Be saved, do not be discouraged, stay awake, today crowns are being prepared for us.”

Several times that day, he approached the place near the cathedral, which he chose for his burial, and prayed there for a long time. In the evening, Paschal hymns were heard from his cells, and on the morning of January 2, 1833, Elder Hieromonk Seraphim was found kneeling, with his hands crossed on his chest, before the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness": his pure soul during prayer was taken to the Throne of the Lord Almighty.

The body of the deceased elder was placed in an oak coffin made by his hands and interred on the right, south side of the altar of the Assumption Cathedral.

In the course of seventy years from the day of the death of Elder Father Seraphim, many people with faith in his intercession before the Lord came to the grave of the ascetic, finding here comfort in their sorrows and relief in suffering. The expectation of glorification and confidence in this were so strong among the people that long before the canonization in honor of the Sarov miracle worker, thrones were prepared, a biography and a church image were created. The believing people saw in Elder Seraphim the most precious and intimate traits of an ascetic of Orthodoxy, placing him forever as the Confessor of the Russian land on a par with another mourner and prayer book for us, the abbot of the Russian land, St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Despite the fact that after the revolution the Sarov and Diveevo monasteries were closed and the relics of St. Seraphim disappeared, Orthodox people lived in the hope that sooner or later the priceless shrine would be found again. And the Lord has honored us with this spiritual joy.

On January 11, 1991, in the city on the Neva, after many years of hiding, the honest relics of the Monk Seraphim were found a second time and transferred to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia. On February 7, they were solemnly transferred to Moscow, to the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral, for the veneration of believers, and on July 23, they were escorted in a procession to the Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery to the place of the earthly exploits of the elder.

The veneration of the Sarov ascetic is special among the believing people. And life, and prayerful intercession, he is close to the soul Orthodox person, invisibly staying with him in his sufferings, trials and hopes. Therefore, throughout Russia, both in churches and in houses, there are his holy icons.

Venerable Seraphim is honored as Orthodox Churches and non-Orthodox Christians. In a number of countries, the name of the miracle worker of Sarov is inextricably linked with ideas not only about Russian Orthodox monasticism and its moral riches, but also about the characteristic features of Orthodox spirituality in general.

His heritage, this inexhaustible source of wisdom, is being studied, and his lives are published in Greece, France, Austria, Belgium, the USA and other countries. The prediction of the elder, given by him to N. A. Motovilov, is being fulfilled: “The Lord will help you to keep this (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit) forever in your memory ... especially since it was not given to you alone to understand this, but through you for the whole world ".

Our Reverend and God-bearing Father Seraphim of Sarov, miracle worker of all Russia, a fervent prayer book and intercessor before the Lord for all the destitute and in need of help.

The words spoken by the elder shortly before his death are addressed to us and our descendants: “When I am gone, you go to my coffin! As you have time, you go, and the more often, the better. Everything that is in your soul, no matter what happens to you, come to me, but take all the grief with you and bring it to my coffin! Crouching to the ground, tell everything as if alive, and I will hear you, and all your sorrow will lie down and pass away! As you have always said to the living, so it is here! For you I am alive and will be forever!”

The memory of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov takes place twice a year: on January 2 - the repose (1833) and the second finding of relics (1991) and on July 19 - the finding of relics (1903).

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

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 Kiev to worship the Caves saints.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, miracle worker

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

In 1793, at the age of 39, Saint Seraphim was ordained to the rank of hieromonk and continued to serve in the church. After the death of the rector, Father Pachomius, the Monk Seraphim, having his dying blessing for a new feat - wilderness living, also took a blessing from the new rector - Father Isaiah - and went to a desert cell a few kilometers from the monastery, in a dense forest. Here he began to indulge in solitary prayers, coming to the monastery only on Saturday, before the Vespers, and returning to his cell after the Liturgy, during which he took communion of the Holy Mysteries. The monk spent his life in severe deeds. He performed his cell prayer rule according to the rules of the ancient desert monasteries; he never parted with the Holy Gospel, reading the entire New Testament during the week, he also read patristic and liturgical books. The monk memorized many church hymns and sang them during his hours of work in the forest. Near the cell, he planted a vegetable garden and set up a bee-keeper. Earning food for himself, the monk kept a very strict fast, ate once a day, and on Wednesday and Friday he completely abstained from food. On the first week of Holy Lent, he did not take food until Saturday, when he received Communion of the Holy Mysteries.

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

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

Akathist

Kondak 1

Chosen miracle worker and wonderful saint of Christ, our quick helper and prayer book, Reverend Father Seraphim! Greatly glorifying the Lord, we sing praiseworthy. But you have great boldness to the Lord, from all troubles of freedom calling us:

Ikos 1

The Creator of Angels has chosen you from the beginning, may you glorify the most wonderful name of the Holy Trinity with your life: for thou art truly an Angel on earth and in the flesh Seraphim: like a ray of bright eternal Sun of truth, enlighten your life. But we, seeing your praiseworthy labors, with reverence and joy, say to you:

Rejoice, rule of faith and piety;
Rejoice, the image of meekness and humility.
Rejoice, glorious faithful majesty;
Rejoice, quiet consolation for the mournful.
Rejoice, beloved monks praise;
Rejoice, wonderful help to those living in the world.
Rejoice, glory and protection of the Russian powers;
Rejoice, sacred decoration of the Nizhny Novgorod and Tambov countries.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 2

Seeing your mother, Reverend Father Seraphim, your warm love for monastic life, knowing the holy will of the Lord about you, and bringing God as a perfect gift, bless you on the narrow path of the monastic holy cross with yours, until the end of your life you carried it on perse, signifying your great love for Christ our God, who was crucified for us, we all call him with tenderness: Alleluia.

Ikos 2

Heavenly mind was bestowed on you, holy of God: from your youth, without ceasing to think about Heaven, you left your father’s house, for the sake of the Kingdom of God and its truth. For this sake, receive this praise from us:

Rejoice, God-chosen child of the city of Kursk;
Rejoice, ye parents of the pious branch of honor.
Rejoice, having inherited the virtues of your mother;
Rejoice, you who were taught piety and prayer by her.
Rejoice, blessed for deeds from the mother by the cross;
Rejoice, keeping this blessing like a shrine to death.
Rejoice, for the love of the Lord left the house of the father;
Rejoice, all the red of this world who is sane for nothing.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 3

The power of the Most High from your youth truly guards you, reverend: from the height of the temple, having fallen, the Lord save you intact, and the Mistress of the world herself, who suffers from you, has brought healing from Heaven, since childhood you faithfully served God, calling out to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 3

Having diligence about the ascetic labor of the monastic life equal to the angels, thou hast flowed into the city of holy Kiev for the sake of the reverend Caves, and from the lips of the Monk Dositheus I received the command to govern the Sarov desert, by faith from afar kissed this holy place, and there your charitable life settled you died. We, marveling at such God's providence about you, cry out to you with tenderness:

Rejoice, renounced worldly vanities;
Rejoice, ardent desire for the heavenly fatherland.
Rejoice, having loved Christ with all your heart;
Rejoice, you who have embraced the good yoke of Christ.
Rejoice, full of perfect obedience;
Rejoice, faithful guardian of the holy commandments of the Lord.
Rejoice, thou who didst prayerfully affirm thy mind and heart in God;
Rejoice, unshakable pillar of piety.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 4

Calming down the storm of evil misfortunes, you walked the whole path of the cramped and mournful feat of the monastic, carrying the yoke of desert life, seclusion and silence, many-night vigils, and so by the grace of God, ascending from strength to strength, from deed to divine vision, you settled in the monastery of Gornia, where with Angels sing to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 4

Hearing and Seeing holy living yours, Reverend Father Seraphim, all your brethren marvel at you, and when they come to you, I will learn about your words and labors, glorifying the Lord, marvelous in His saints. And we all praise thee with faith and love, reverend father, and cry to thee:

Rejoice, having sacrificed everything to the Lord for yourself;
Rejoice, you ascended to the height of dispassion.
Rejoice, victorious warrior of Christ;
Rejoice, good and faithful servant of the Heavenly Household Master.
Rejoice, shameless intercessor for us before the Lord;
Rejoice, our vigilant prayer book to the Theotokos.
Rejoice, O desolate krine of wonderful fragrance;
Rejoice, undefiled vessel of the grace of God.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kodak 5

The divine light of Hosea is your dwelling, Reverend, when I am sick of you and lying on your deathbed, the Most Pure Virgin herself came to you with the holy apostles Peter and John, saying: this is from Our kind, and I will touch your head. Abie, having healed, sang, thankful to the Lord: Alleluia.

Ikos 5

Seeing the enemy of the human race, your pure and holy life, reverend Seraphim, desire to destroy you: bring evil people on you, who have wrongfully tortured you and left you barely alive; but you, holy father, like a meek lamb, you endured everything, praying to the Lord for those who offended you. The same we all, marveling at such your gentleness, cry out to you:

Rejoice, imitating Christ God in your meekness and humility; Rejoice, victorious over the spirit of malice with your gentleness.
Rejoice, diligent guardian of spiritual and bodily purity;
Rejoice, wilderness, filled with gifts of grace.
Rejoice, God-glorified and perspicacious ascetic;
Rejoice, teacher of monks, divine and God-wise.
Rejoice, praise and joy to the Holy Church;
Rejoice, glory and fertilizer of our abode.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 6

The desert of Sarov preaches your deeds and labors, God-bearing servant of Christ: the wilds and forests of it were fragrant with prayer, imitating the prophet of God Elijah and the Baptist of the Lord John, and you appeared to the desert with many fruits with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. By his action, many and glorious have done thou, urging the faithful to sing good to the giver of God: Alleluia.

Ikos 6

Ascension in you is a new God-seer, similar to Moses, blessed Seraphim: serving the altar of the Lord without blemish, you were honored to see Christ, in the temple with incorporeal Forces to come. Marveling at this favor of God about you, we sing to you:

Rejoice, most glorious God-seeing;
Rejoice, illumined by the light of the tri-radiant.
Rejoice, faithful servant of the Holy Trinity;
Rejoice, dwelling adorned with the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, beholding Christ from the Angels' bodily eyes;
Rejoice, foretasting heavenly sweetness in a mortal body.
Rejoice, full of the Bread of Life;
Rejoice, drunken with the Drink of immortality.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 7

Although the Lover of mankind, the Lord, reveal in you, reverend, His unspeakable mercy to people, showing you as if the divine light truly shone: for your deeds and words brought you all to piety and the love of God. Meanwhile, with the radiance of your enlightenment deeds and the bread of your teaching, we zealously magnify you and cry out to Christ who glorified you: Alleluia.

Ikos 7

Newly seeing you, the chosen one of God, from afar I flowed to you faithfully in sorrows and illnesses: you did not reject these burdened troubles, exuding healing, bestowing comfort, interceding in prayers. At the same time, your miracles are broadcasting to the whole Russian land, and your spiritual child is glorifying you:

Rejoice, our good shepherd;
Rejoice, merciful and meek Father.
Rejoice, our quick and grace-filled doctor;
Rejoice, merciful healer of our infirmities.
Rejoice, quick helper in troubles and circumstances;
Rejoice, sweet soul of the troubled to the pacifier.
Rejoice, coming like a real seer;
Rejoice, perspicacious detractor of hidden sins.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 8

We see a strange miracle on you, reverend: like an old man, this weak and difficult, for a thousand days and a thousand nights on a stone in prayer remained thou. Who is pleased to utter your illnesses and struggles, blessed father, even though you endured, lifting up your reverend hands to God, defeating the mind of Amalek and singing to the Lord: Alleluia.

Ikos 8

All desire, all sweetness, sweetest Jesus! Thou didst cry out in prayers, Father, in thy desert silence. But we, who have lived in vanity and in sins all our lives, praising your love for the Lord, we cry out to you:

Rejoice, advocate of salvation for those who love and honor you;
Rejoice, bring sinners to correction.
Rejoice, silent and reclusive, foreboding;
Rejoice, zealous prayer book for us.
Rejoice, showing fiery love for the Lord;
Rejoice, you who have been pierced by the fire of prayer with the arrows of the enemy.
Rejoice, inextinguishable candle, flaming in prayer in the desert;
Rejoice, luminary, burn and shine with spiritual gifts.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 9

All angelic nature was surprised at the strange sight: the old man, for I exist in the gate of Heaven and earth, the Queen appeared, commanding that she open her gate and that she not forbid Orthodox people to come in to her, but that she would teach everyone to sing to Christ God: Alleluia.

Ikos 9

Vityas of multicasting will not be able to utter the strength of your love, blessed: you betrayed yourself to the service of all those who come to you, fulfilling the command of the Mother of God, and you were a bewildered good adviser, a despondent comforter, misguided meek admonition, sick doctor and healer. For this sake we cry out to you:

Rejoice, having moved into the desert from the world, so that you acquire virtues;
Rejoice, returning from the desert to the monastery, sowing the seeds of virtue in the hedgehog.
Rejoice, illumined by the grace of the Holy Spirit;
Rejoice, filled with meekness and humility.
Rejoice, loving father flowing to you;
Rejoice, thou who gave them encouragement and consolation in words of love.
Rejoice, calling you those who come to you with joy and treasure;
Rejoice, thou who wast worthy of the joys of the Kingdom of Heaven for thy holy love.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 10

Your saving feat, reverend, has reached the end, at prayer kneeling your holy soul in the hands of God, you have betrayed, as the Angels of the saints have lifted up grief to the throne of the Almighty, and with all the saints stand in the glory of non-evening, singing the song of praise of the saints to the most holy Word: Alleluia.

Ikos 10

A wall of joy to all the saints and monks, the Blessed Virgin before your death appear to you, announcing your close departure to God. We, marveling at such a visitation to the Mother of God, cry out to you:

Rejoice, Queen of heaven and earth beholding;
Rejoice, rejoicing at the appearance of the Mother of God.
Rejoice, news from Ney to the heavenly transmigration received;
Rejoice, having shown the sanctity of your life with a righteous death.
Rejoice, in prayer before the icon of the Mother of God, your tender spirit betrayed God;
Rejoice, fulfilling your prophecy with a non-painful outcome.
Rejoice, crowned with a crown of immortality from the hand of the Almighty;
Rejoice, thou who hast inherited heavenly bliss with all the saints.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 11

Singing unceasingly to the Most Holy Trinity, reverend, with all your life, the ascetic of great piety appeared to you, who were mistaken for admonition, sick in soul and body for healing. But we, thanking the Lord for such mercy to us, will call out to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 11

Having been a light-giving lamp in life, blessed father, and after your death, you shone like a radiant luminary of the Russian lands: you exude currents of miracles from your honest relics to all who flow to you with faith and love. At the same time, we, like a prayer book for us warm and a miracle worker, cry out to you:

Rejoice, glorified by many miracles from the Lord;
Rejoice, shining with your love throughout the world.
Rejoice, faithful follower of Christ's love;
Rejoice, consolation to all who require your help.
Rejoice, inexhaustible source of miracles;
Rejoice, healer of the sick and sick.
Rejoice, inexhaustible well of many-healing waters;
Rejoice, for thou hast embraced all the ends of our earth with thy love.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 12

The grace and greatness of your boldness before God is leading, to you, reverend father, we pray: pray warmly to the Lord, may He keep His holy Church from unbelief and schism, from troubles and misfortunes, may we sing to God who benefits us: Alleluia.

Ikos 12

Singing your glorification, we bless you, reverend, as a powerful prayer book for us before the Lord, a comforter and intercessor, and with love we proclaim to you:

Rejoice, praise to the Orthodox Church;
Rejoice, our shield and protection for the Fatherland and the monastery.
Rejoice, guide, guide everyone to Heaven;
Rejoice, our protector and patron.
Rejoice, by the power of God you have done many miracles;
Rejoice, healer of many sick people with your garment.
Rejoice, victorious over all the intrigues of the devil;
Rejoice, thou who subdued the wild beasts with thy meekness.
Rejoice, reverend Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.

Kondak 13

O marvelous saint and great miracle worker, Reverend Father Seraphim, accept this small prayer of ours, which is offered up to you in praise, and now standing before the throne of the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ, pray for all of us, that we may find His mercy on the day of judgment, singing in joy Him: Alleluia.

(This kontakion is read three times, then the 1st ikos and the 1st kontakion)

PRAYER FIRST

Oh wonderful Father Seraphim, the great wonderworker of Sarov, a hasty helper to all who resort to you! In the days of your earthly life, no one is thin and inconsolable from you when you leave, but for everyone in the sweetness there was a vision of your face and a benevolent voice of your words. To this, the gift of healing, the gift of insight, the gift of weak souls of healing is abundant in you. When God has called you from earthly labors to heavenly rest, your love has never ceased from us, and it is impossible to count your miracles, multiplied like the stars of heaven: behold, at all ends of our earth, you are the people of God and grant them healing. At the same time, we cry out to you: O quiet and meek servant of God, bold to Him in prayer, never calling on You, lift up your pious prayer for us to the Lord of forces, may He strengthen our fatherland, may He grant us all that is useful in this life and all for the soul useful for salvation, may it protect us from the falls of sin and teach us true repentance, in a hedgehog without fail enter us into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, where you now shine in imperishable glory, and there sing with all the saints Life-Giving Trinity until the end of the century. Amen.

PRAYER TWO

O great servant of God, reverend and God-bearing Father Seraphim! Look from the mountain of glory on us humble and weak, burdened with many sins, asking for your help and comfort. Come to us with your mercy and help us to keep the commandments of the Lord immaculately, keep the Orthodox faith firmly, repentance for our sins diligently bring God, in the piety of Christians prosper gracefully and are worthy of being your prayerful intercession to God for us. Hey, holy of God, hear us praying to you with faith and love and do not despise us demanding your intercession: now and at the hour of our death, help us and intercede with your prayers from the evil slander of the devil, may those forces not possess us, but may we be worthy of help yours to inherit the bliss of the abode of paradise. We now place our hope in you, good-hearted father: truly be our guide to salvation and lead us to the non-evening light of eternal life by your God-pleasing intercession at the throne of the Most Holy Trinity, may we praise and sing with all the saints the venerable name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever centuries. Amen.

PRAYER THREE

Reverend Father Seraphim, filled with Divine love, unceasing servant of Divine love, beloved Mother of Divine Love, hear me, who love little and grieve thee. Give me now to be a diligent servant of pleasing love; then it is love, even if it is long-suffering, merciful, does not envy, does not exalt itself, does not pride itself, does not act out of order, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; loves everything, believes in everything, hopes everything, endures everything, even if it falls away in no way! This love to be a servant to me and to all my relatives, and known, and a friend, pray for the original Love, but having served Her love on earth, with your intercession, the prayers of the Mother of God and all the saints, I will reach the Kingdom of love, and glory, and light, and fall at the feet of my Lord who gave us the commandment of true love. Loving Father, do not reject the prayers of the heart that loves you, and pray for the forgiveness of my sins from the loving God. Help us to bear the burdens of each other, do not create for others, if we don’t want to be, cover everything with love, and with a heart song of love, having finished earthly life, start with it joyfully eternal life in the land of true love. Pray for us, Father, our beloved Father, who loves us! Amen.

TROPAR

Troparion, tone 4:

From the youth of Christ, thou hast loved blessedly, and to the only work, ardently lusting, with unceasing prayer and labor in the desert, thou hast labored, having acquired the love of Christ with a touched heart, thou hast appeared to the chosen one beloved of God's Mother. For this sake, we cry out to you: save us with your prayers, Seraphim, our reverend father.

Kontakion, tone 2:

Leaving the beauty of the world and even the corruptible in it, reverend, you settled in the Sarov monastery, and having lived there angelically, you were the way to salvation for many: for this sake, Christ to you, Father Seraphim, glorify and enrich with the gift of healings and miracles. We also cry out to you: Rejoice, Seraphim, our reverend father.

magnificence

We bless you, our reverend father Seraphim, and we honor your holy memory, mentor of the monks, and companion of the Angels.

CANON

(To Reverend Seraphim of Sarov, miracle worker)

Troparion, tone 4

From the youth of Christ, thou hast loved, blessed, and, having ardently lusted for the One, with unceasing prayer and labor in the desert, thou hast labored, having acquired the love of Christ with a touched heart, the chosen one beloved of God's Mother appeared. For this sake, we cry out to you: save us with your prayers, Seraphim, our reverend father.

CANON Tone 6

Canto 1

Irmos:As if on dry land, having walked Israel in the abyss in the footsteps, seeing the persecutor of Pharaoh being drowned, we sing a song of victory to God, crying out.

Chorus:

Lord, open my unworthy mouth and give me the word of reason to sing worthily the memory of the blessed Seraphim, now with the Angels praying to You to deliver us from every cruel situation.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

You were a great prayer book to the Theotokos, reverend, You were honored to see from the Apostles, and now do not stop visiting your children with your prayers.

Glory:From your youth, reverend, you surrendered yourself to the mind of God and, having tamed bodily passions with strong abstinence, you were adorned with all the virtues, wise.

And now:O all-merciful Lady, even more blessed God gave birth to the flesh, cleanse my heart, embittered by passions, and magnify Thee with faith and love.

Canto 3

Irmos:Nothing is holy, like You, O Lord my God, who lifted up the horn of your faithful, O Blessed One, and established us on the rock of Your confession.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Through your prayers, reverend, standing before God from the Angels, pray for the whole world, consume the battle of the enemy and grant victory to adversaries.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

From youth, by faith and love, you clung to the Lord of the Higher Forces, the Monk Seraphim, and, having shone in the deserts of Sarovstey, like the sun, you were the comforter who came to you in sorrow; pray for us to be saved.

Glory:You appeared, reverend, to those who pray to you, the pillar is unshakable and the refuge of all those who flow into the Sarov monastery and receive healing, inexhaustible grace.

And now:Hearing Eve, the foremother: in sorrow, give birth to a child. You, Pure Virgin, having heard: the Lord is with you, rejoice, - with a joyful voice, the sadness of the foremother consumed you.

Lord have mercy (thrice). Glory, and now:

Sedalen, voice 4

Having conquered the sea of \u200b\u200blife of passions with abstinence and flowed into the haven of passionlessness, the vessel of abstinence appeared to you, reverend Seraphim, pray to Christ God to grant us great mercy.

Canto 4

Irmos:Christ is my strength, God and Lord, the honest Church sings divinely, crying out, celebrating in the Lord pure from meaning.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Today, the Sarov monastery brightly celebrates your memory, reverend, and prays to you: ask the Lord for peace and great mercy to our souls.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

With your great deeds, reverend, like a phoenix, you flourished, delighting the words of the fruitful and immaculate life of the hearts flowing to you, and now pray, that we may find mercy from Christ, our Savior.

Glory:With your prayers for us, pray to God, Reverend Seraphim, and destroy the sinful darkness of our sadness, adorn everyone with dispassion, faith and love, your glorious memory of those who honor.

And now:Rejoice, Lady Virgin, beautiful churches, pious people power and praise, praying unceasingly to Christ God, may He save us from troubles with Your prayers.

Canto 5

Irmos:With Thy light of God, Blessed, illumine those souls with love in the morning, I pray, lead Thee, the Word of God, the true God, calling from the darkness of sinfulness.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

All those who came to you were a true teacher and a great prayer book to the Mother of God, and now, reverend, do not stop praying for your children, as if you had great boldness.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

May the people of Christ now enter the temple of the monastery of Sarov, to your honest relics, reverend Seraphim, crouching, and may they ask you for healing, health and salvation, Christ majestically.

Glory:In the night I pray to God, reverend, the invisible enemy, although you want to frighten you, but by your prayer you are put to shame, the all-evil one has disappeared.

And now:God, You gave birth to Him, Most Pure Mary, pray to Your servant for forgiveness of sins.

Canto 6

Irmos:The sea of \u200b\u200blife, erected in vain by the misfortunes of the storm, has flowed to Your quiet haven, crying out to Thee: raise my belly from aphids, O Many-merciful One.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Your holy soul was the abode of God, in which the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit settled, the same we pray to you, reverend, the enemy’s obsession from those who honor you and grant peace and health to faithful people.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

We honor your great desert feats and labors and the sweetness of your teaching, Reverend Seraphim, enlightened the image of many who come to you and taught you to sing the Consubstantial Trinity.

Glory:Having followed the Lord Christ with a pure life, thou hast died a good course, reverend, ascended to the eternal abode, blessed, see there, even the angels see. The same, honoring your memory, we magnify Christ.

And now:Now I resort to You, Most Pure One, save me with Your prayers and observe: if you wish, you can, like the Mother of the Almighty.

Lord have mercy (thrice). Glory, and now:

Kontakion, voice 2

Leaving the beauty of the world and even the corruptible in it, reverend, you settled in the Sarov monastery and, having lived there as an angel, you had a path to salvation for many, for this sake, and Christ to you, Father Seraphim, glorify and enrich with the gift of healing and miracles. We also cry out to you: Rejoice, Seraphim, our reverend father.

Ikos

Leaving family and friends, wealth, like dust, imputing, thou hast settled in the deserts of Sarovstey and, on passion, as if incorporeal, having labored, thou hast been honored with angels of standing. The same spiritual understanding we accept, give to us, reverend, intelligently sing songs to thee, saying:

Rejoice, blessed Seraphim, heavenly man and earthly angel;
Rejoice, imitator of Christ in love;
Rejoice, abode of the Holy Spirit;
Rejoice, great joy for the discouraged;
Rejoice, source of healing;
Rejoice, sweet consolation to grieving souls;
Rejoice, a quiet refuge for a monk and a wise teacher;
Rejoice, praise of the Russian land;
Rejoice, Seraphim, our reverend father.

Canto 7

Irmos:The angel made the furnace a fruitful lad, and the Chaldeans exhorted the scorching decree of God to the tormentor to cry out: Blessed be Thou, God of our fathers.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Honestly, your life appeared, reverend, filled with the grace of the Divine Spirit, blessed truly the death of the reverends you accepted, rejoicing in Christ. We cry out to the one who glorified you: our father is God. blessed are you.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Many people who have come down to the holy monastery today, Reverend Seraphim, worship with your honest relics, we will draw healing from them, incessantly calling: our father, God, blessed be Thou.

Glory:This broadcast has gone out into the whole earth, as if in Sarov the miracle worker is glorified, appearing, exuding many healings to everyone who comes in faith and cries out: our father, God, blessed be Thou.

And now:Virgin Mother of God, who gave birth to the Word more than the word, Thy Builder, pray to Him with the Monk Seraphim, have mercy on our souls.

Canto 8

Irmos:Thou hast exuded dew from the fire of the saints, and thou hast burnt the righteous sacrifice with water, do everything, O Christ, only those who want. We exalt you forever.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Having tamed the carnal passions and put to death, the words of eternal life in your heart, blessed, have you accepted, teaching all who flow to you to cry out: Sing to the Lord, deeds, and exalt Him forever.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

In the glorification of your honest relics, reverend, the monastery of Sarov was filled with joy. But all the people cry out to God in His marvelous saints: Sing to the Lord, works, and exalt Him forever.

Glory:By the grace of the Divine Spirit, this one, reverend Seraphim, is filled with faithful people, creating your holy memory, ask forgiveness of your sins with your prayers, crying out: children, bless, priests, sing, people, exalt the Lord forever.

And now:Thou hast appeared to us, the Mother of God, who gave birth to the Savior and Master of all, the same we pray to Thee: grant salvation to all who sing Thee faithfully for all eternity.

Canto 9

Irmos:It is impossible for a man to see God; the Chini Angels do not dare to look at the Worthless. By you, the All-Pure One, appearing as a man, the Word is embodied, His majestic, with Heavenly howls we appease Thee.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Unworthy of the mouth, the sweet praise sung to you, reverend, do not despise, but accept and all who glorify you, sanctify, troubles, and misfortunes, and deliver eternal torment, but we sing to you.

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.

Having valiantly endured the scum of the night and the bark of the day in desert solitude, you were the house of the Wisdom of God, and you ascended to the radiance of the non-evening. Please save us.

Glory:The monastery is glorified today, and in it you have deigned to accept the yoke of Christ: there, in the wilderness, your days have been and, having enlightened many who come to you with your teachings, taught you to be children of the Church of Christ.

And now:You are our fortress, you are praise and joy, our Guardian, intercession, refuge and representative of the invincible, Most Pure Mother of God, save your servants.

Seraphim Sarovsky's parents

The birthplace of Seraphim of Sarov was the provincial city of Kursk, where his father, Isidor Moshnin, had brick factories and was engaged in the construction of stone buildings, churches and houses as a contractor. Isidor Moshnin was known as an extremely honest man, zealous for the temples of God and a rich, eminent merchant.

Ten years before his death, he undertook to build a new church in Kursk in the name of St. Sergius, according to the plan of the famous architect Rastrelli. Subsequently, in 1833, this temple was made a cathedral.
In 1752, the laying of the temple took place, and when the lower church, with a throne in the name of St. Sergius, was ready in 1762, the pious builder, the father of the great elder Seraphim, the founder of the Diveevsky monastery, died. Having transferred all his fortune to his kind and intelligent wife Agathia, he instructed her to bring the work of building the temple to the end.

Mother o. Seraphim was even more pious and merciful than her father: she helped the poor a lot, especially orphans and poor brides.

Agafia Moshnina continued the construction of St. Sergius Church for many years and personally supervised the workers. In 1778, the temple was finally finished, and the execution of the work was so good and conscientious that the Moshnin family gained special respect among the residents of Kursk.

Birth of the Monk Seraphim and miraculous salvation from death.

Icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov

Father Seraphim was born in 1759, on July 19, and was named Prokhor. At the death of his father, Prokhor was no more than three years old, therefore, he was fully raised by a God-loving, kind and intelligent mother, who taught him more by the example of her life, which took place in prayer, visiting churches and helping the poor.
That Prokhor was the chosen one of God from his birth - everyone saw it spiritually developed people, and could not help but feel the pious mother. So, one day, while examining the structure of the Sergius Church, Agafia Moshnina walked along with her seven-year-old Prokhor and imperceptibly reached the very top of the bell tower that was being built at that time.
Moving away suddenly from his mother, the fast boy leaned over the railing to look down, and, through negligence, fell to the ground. The frightened mother fled from the bell tower in a terrible state, imagining to find her son beaten to death, but, to indescribable joy and great surprise, she saw him safe and sound. The child stood up. The mother tearfully thanked God for saving her son and realized that the son Prokhor was guarded by a special providence of God.

Adolescence of Saint Seraphim.
The first healing of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Three years later, a new event clearly revealed God's protection over Prokhor. He was ten years old, and he was distinguished by a strong physique, sharpness of mind, quick memory and, at the same time, meekness and humility. They began to teach him church literacy, and Prokhor set to work eagerly, but suddenly he became very ill, and even his family did not hope for his recovery.
In the most difficult time of his illness, in a dream, Prokhor saw the Most Holy Theotokos, who promised to visit him and heal him from his illness. When he woke up, he told this vision to his mother. Indeed, soon, in one of the religious processions, the miraculous icon of the Sign of the Mother of God was carried around the city of Kursk along the street where Moshnin's house was. It started raining heavily.
In order to cross to another street, the procession, probably to shorten the path and avoid dirt, went through the Moshnin courtyard. Taking this opportunity, Agafia carried her sick son out into the yard, applied it to miraculous icon and brought it under her fall. We noticed that from that time Prokhor began to recover in health and soon completely recovered.
Thus, the promise of the Queen of Heaven to visit the boy and heal him was fulfilled. With the restoration of health, Prokhor continued his studies successfully, studied the Book of Hours, the Psalter, learned to write and fell in love with reading the Bible and spiritual books.

Prokhor's older brother, Alexei, was engaged in trade and had his own shop in Kursk, so the young Prokhor was forced to get used to trading in this shop; but his heart did not lie in trade and profit. The young Prokhor never let go of almost a single day without visiting the temple of God, and, being unable to be at the late Liturgy and Vespers on the occasion of classes in the shop, he got up earlier than others and hurried to matins and early Mass.
At that time, in the city of Kursk, there lived some fool for Christ, whose name is now forgotten, but then everyone honored. Prokhor met him and with all his heart clung to the holy fool; the latter, in turn, loved Prochorus and, by his influence, disposed his soul even more towards piety and a solitary life.
His clever mother noticed everything and sincerely rejoiced that her son was so close to the Lord. Rare happiness also fell to Prokhor to have such a mother and teacher who did not interfere, but contributed to his desire to choose a spiritual life for himself.

A few years later, Prokhor began to talk about monasticism and cautiously inquired whether his mother would be against him going to a monastery. He, of course, noticed that his kind teacher did not contradict his desire and would rather let him go than keep him in peace; from this, the desire for the monastic life flared up in his heart even more.
Then Prokhor began to talk about monasticism with people he knew, and in many he found sympathy and approval. So, the merchants Ivan Druzhinin, Ivan Bezkhodarny, Alexei Melenin and two others expressed the hope to go with him to the monastery.

In the seventeenth year of his life, the intention to leave the world and embark on the path of monastic life finally matured in Prokhor. And in the heart of the mother, a determination was formed to let him go to the service of God.
His farewell to his mother was touching! Having gathered completely, they sat for a while, according to Russian custom, then Prokhor got up, prayed to God, bowed at his mother's feet and asked for her parental blessing.
Agathia gave him to venerate the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, then blessed him with a copper cross. Taking this cross with him, he always wore it openly on his chest until the end of his life.

Genuine lifetime portrait-icon of the Reverend Seraphim of Sarov.

Blessing by the Blessed Elder Dositheus

Prokhor had to decide not an unimportant question: where and to what monastery should he go. Glory to the ascetic life of the monks of the Sarov Hermitage, where many of the Kursk residents were already there and Fr. Pakhomiy, a native of Kursk, persuaded him to go to them, but he wanted to be in Kiev beforehand in order to look at the labors of the Kiev-Pechersk monks, ask for guidance and advice from the elders, learn through them the will of God, be affirmed in his thoughts, receive a blessing from some ascetic and, finally, to pray and be blessed by St. relics of St. Anthony and Theodosius, the founders of monasticism.

Prokhor went on foot, with a staff in his hand, and with him were five more people of the Kursk merchants. In Kiev, bypassing the local ascetics, he heard that not far from St. Lavra of the Caves, in the Kitaevskaya monastery, a hermit named Dositheus, who has the gift of clairvoyance, is saved. Coming to him, Prokhor fell at his feet, kissed them, opened his whole soul before him and asked for guidance and blessings.

The perspicacious Dositheus, seeing the grace of God in him, understanding his intentions and seeing in him a good ascetic of Christ, blessed him to go to the Sarov Hermitage and said in conclusion: “Come, child of God, and stay there. This place will be your salvation, with the help of the Lord. Here you will end your earthly journey. Just try to acquire the unceasing memory of God through the unceasing invocation of the name of God like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!

In this may all your attention and learning be; walking and sitting, doing and standing in church, everywhere, in every place, entering and leaving, let this unceasing cry be both in your mouth and in your heart: with it you will find peace, acquire spiritual and bodily purity, and the Spirit will dwell in you The Holy One, the source of all blessings, will govern your life in holiness, in all piety and purity. In Sarov, and the rector Pachomiy of a charitable life; he is a follower of our Anthony and Theodosius!”

The conversation of the blessed elder Dositheus finally confirmed the young man in good intentions. After rebuking, confessing and partaking of the Holy Mysteries, bowing again to St. saints of the Kiev-Pechersk, he directed his steps on the path and, protected by the protection of God, safely arrived again in Kursk, at the house of his mother.

Here he lived for several more months, even went to the shop, but he was no longer engaged in trade, but read soul-saving books as a warning to himself and others who came to talk with him, ask about holy places and listen to readings. This time was his farewell to his homeland and relatives.

As already mentioned, Prokhor entered the Sarov monastery on November 20, 1778, on the eve of the feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. Standing in the church at the all-night vigil, seeing the deanery of the service, noticing how everyone, from the rector to the last novice, fervently pray, he was delighted with the spirit and rejoiced that the Lord had shown him a place here for the salvation of his soul.
Father Pakhomiy knew Prokhor's parents from an early age and therefore lovingly accepted the young man, in whom he saw a true desire for monasticism. He appointed him to the number of novices to the treasurer, Hieromonk Joseph, a wise and loving old man.
At first, Prokhor was in the cell obedience to the elder and faithfully followed all the monastic rules and regulations at his direction; in his cell he served not only meekly, but always with zeal. Such behavior drew the attention of everyone to him and gained him the favor of the elders Joseph and Pachomius.
Then, in addition to the cell, they began to assign him obedience in order: in the bakery, in the prosphora, in the carpentry. In the latter, he was an wake-up man and performed this obedience for quite a long time. Then he performed ponomari duties.
In general, young Prokhor, vigorous in strength, went through all the monastic obediences with great zeal, but, of course, he did not escape many temptations, such as sadness, boredom, and despondency, which had a strong effect on him.

The way of life of Seraphim in the Sarov monastery

The life of the young Prochorus before being tonsured a monk was daily distributed as follows: at certain hours he was in the church for worship and rules. Imitating Elder Pachomius, he appeared as early as possible at church prayers, stood motionless throughout the service, no matter how long it was, and never left before the perfect end of the service. During the hours of prayer, he always stood in one specific place. To protect himself from entertainment and daydreaming, having his eyes downcast, he listened with intense attentiveness and reverence to singing and reading, accompanying them with prayer.

Prokhor liked to retire to his cell, where, in addition to prayer, he had two kinds of occupations: reading and bodily labor. He read the Psalms and sitting, saying that it is permissible for the weary, and St. The Gospel and Epistles of the Apostles are always standing before St. icons, in a prayer position, and this was called vigil (wakefulness). He constantly read the works of St. fathers, for example. Six days of St. Basil the Great, Conversations of St. Macarius the Great, Ladder of St. John, Philokalia and others.

In the hours of rest, he indulged in bodily labor, carved crosses from cypress wood for blessing the pilgrims. When Prokhor passed the carpentry obedience, he was distinguished by great diligence, art and success, so that in the schedule he was one of all called Prokhor - the carpenter. He also went to work common to all the brethren: rafting timber, preparing firewood, and so on.

Seeing examples of hermitage, Fr. hegumen Nazarius, hieromonk Dorotheus, schemamonk Mark, young Prokhor strove in spirit for greater solitude and asceticism, and therefore asked for the blessing of his elder, Fr. Joseph to leave the monastery during his free hours and go into the forest.

There he found a solitary place, arranged a secret sanctuary, and in it, completely alone, indulged in divine meditation and prayer. The contemplation of wondrous nature elevated him to God, and, according to a man who was later close to Elder Seraphim, he made a rule here, every time the Angel of the Lord gave the Great Pachomius, the founder of the monastic community.

This rule is performed in the following order: Trisagion and according to our Father: Lord, have mercy, 12. Glory now: come and worship - three times. Psalm 50: Have mercy on me, God. I believe in one God… One hundred prayers: Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner and for this: It is worthy to eat and let go.

This amounted to one prayer, but such prayers had to be performed according to the number of daily hours, twelve during the day and twelve at night. He combined abstinence and fasting with prayer: on Wednesday and Friday he did not eat any food, and on other days of the week he took it only once.

Severe illness of St. Seraphim, second healing by the Most Holy Theotokos

In 1780, Prokhor fell seriously ill, and his whole body swelled up. Not a single doctor could determine the type of his illness, but it was assumed that it was water sickness.
The illness lasted for three years, of which Prokhor spent at least half in bed. Builder Fr. Pakhomiy and the elder Fr. Isaiah alternately followed him and were almost inseparable from him. It was then that it was revealed how everyone, and before others, the bosses, respected, loved and pitied Prokhor, who was then still a simple novice. Finally, they began to fear for the life of the patient, and Fr. Pachomius urged to invite a doctor, or at least open the blood.
Then the humble Prokhor allowed himself to say to the abbot: “I have given myself, Holy Father, to the True Physician of souls and bodies, our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother; if your love judges, provide me, the poor, for the sake of the Lord, with heavenly medicine - the communion of the Holy Mysteries. Elder Joseph, at the request of Prochorus and his own zeal, especially served an all-night vigil and liturgy for the health of the sick.
Prokhor was confessed and received communion. He soon recovered, which surprised everyone. No one understood how he could recover so soon, and only later Fr. Seraphim revealed the secret to some: after communion of the Holy Mysteries, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him in an indescribable light, with the Apostles John the Theologian and Peter, and, turning to John with her face and pointing her finger at Prochorus, the Lady said: “This one is of Our kind!”

“The right hand, my joy,” said Fr. Seraphim to the churchwoman Xenia, - she put it on my head, and in her left hand she held a rod; and with this rod, my joy, touched the wretched Seraphim; in that place, on my right thigh, there was a depression, mother; all the water flowed into it, and the Queen of Heaven saved the wretched Seraphim; but the wound was very big, and the pit is still intact, mother, look, give me a pen! “And the father used to take it himself, and put my hand into the pit,” Mother Xenia added, “and he had a big one, so the whole fist will rise!” This illness brought much spiritual benefit to Prokhor: his spirit grew stronger in faith, love and hope in God.

Description of the appearance of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov.
The feat of the collector for good deeds

During the period of Prochorus' novitiate, under the rector Fr. Pachomia, many necessary buildings were undertaken in the Sarov desert. Among them, on the site of the cell in which Prokhor was ill, a hospital was built to treat the sick and calm the elderly, and at the hospital a church on two floors with altars: in the lower one in the name of Sts. Zosima and Savvaty, the miracle workers of the Solovetsky, in the upper - to the glory of the Transfiguration of the Savior.
After an illness, Prokhor, still a young novice, was sent to collect money in different places for the construction of a church. Grateful for his healing and the care of his superiors, he willingly endured the difficult feat of the collector. Wandering around the cities closest to Sarov, Prokhor was also in Kursk, in the place of his homeland, but he did not find his mother alive.
Brother Alexei, for his part, provided Prokhor with considerable assistance in building the church. Returning home, Prokhor, as a skilled carpenter, built with his own hands an altar of cypress wood for the lower hospital church in honor of the Monks Zosima and Savvaty.

For eight years, young Prokhor was a novice. By this time, his outward appearance had changed: being tall, about 2 ars. and 8 inches, despite strict abstinence and exploits, he had a full face covered with a pleasant whiteness, a straight and sharp nose, light blue eyes, very expressive and penetrating; thick eyebrows and light blond hair on the head. His face was rimmed with thick bushy beard, with which a long and thick mustache was connected at the extremities of the mouth.
He had a manly build, possessed great physical strength, a captivating gift for words, and a happy memory. Now he had already passed all the degrees of monastic prowess and was able and ready to take monastic vows.

He tonsured St. Seraphim as a monk

On August 13, 1786, with the permission of the Holy Synod, Fr. Pachomius tonsured the novice Prokhor to the rank of monk. During his tonsure, his adoptive fathers were Fr. Joseph and Fr. Isaiah. At the initiation, he was given the name Seraphim (fiery).
On October 27, 1786, monk Seraphim, at the request of Fr. Pachomius, was consecrated by His Grace Victor, Bishop of Vladimir and Murom, to the rank of hierodeacon. He completely devoted himself to his new, truly already angelic, service. From the day of his elevation to the rank of hierodeacon, he, keeping the purity of soul and body, for five years and 9 months, was almost continuously in service.
All nights on Sundays and holidays spent in vigil and prayer, standing motionless until the very liturgy. At the end of each Divine service, remaining for a long time in the temple, he, in accordance with the duties of a sacred deacon, put the utensils in order and took care of the cleanliness of the Altar of the Lord.
The Lord, seeing the zeal and zeal for exploits, granted Fr. Seraphim was given strength and strength, so that he did not feel tired, did not need to rest, often forgot about food and drink, and, going to bed, regretted that a person, like the Angels, could not continuously serve God.

The death of mother Agafya Semyonovna, abbess of the community in Diveevo.

The promise of Seraphim of Sarov to take care of the Diveevo community until death

Builder Fr. Pachomius was now even more attached in his heart to Fr. Seraphim and without him did not perform almost a single service. When he traveled on monastery business or to serve, alone or with other elders, he often took Fr. Seraphim.
So, in 1789, in the first half of June, Fr. Pakhomiy with the treasurer, Fr. Isaiah and Hierodeacon Fr. At the invitation of Seraphim, they went to the village of Lemet, located 6 versts from the present city of Ardatov, Nizhny Novgorod province, to the funeral of their wealthy benefactor, the landowner Alexander Solovtsev, and stopped on the way to Diveevo to visit the abbess of the community Agafia Semyonovna Melgunova, highly revered by all the old woman and also his benefactor.
Alexandra's mother was sick and, having received a notice from the Lord of her imminent death, she asked the ascetic fathers, for the love of Christ, to specialize her.

Father Pachomius at first offered to postpone the consecration of the oil until they returned from Lemet, but the holy old woman repeated her request and said that they would not find her alive on the way back.
The great elders performed the sacrament of unction over her with love. Then, saying goodbye to them, Alexander's mother gave Fr. Pachomia was the last thing she had and accumulated over the years of her ascetic life in Diveevo.

According to the testimony of the maiden Evdokia Martynova, who lived with her, to her confessor, Archpriest Fr. Vasily Sadovsky, mother Agafya Semyonovna handed over to the builder Fr. Pachomia: a bag of gold, a bag of silver and two bags of copper, in the amount of 40 thousand, asking her to give her sisters everything they need in life, since they themselves will not be able to dispose of. Mother Alexandra begged Fr. Pachomias commemorate her in Sarov for repose, do not leave or leave her inexperienced novices, and also take care in due time of the monastery promised to her by the Queen of Heaven. To this, the old man Fr. Pakhomiy answered: “Mother! I do not renounce to serve, according to my strength and according to your will, the Queen of Heaven and the care of your novices; also, not only I will pray for you until my death, but our whole monastery will never forget your good deeds, but in other things I don’t give you my word, for I am old and weak, but how can I take on this, not knowing, I will live whether before this time. But Hierodeacon Seraphim - you know his spirituality, and he is young - will live to see this; entrust him with this great work.”

Matushka Agafya Semyonovna began to ask Fr. Seraphim not to leave her monastery, as the Queen of Heaven Herself will then instruct him on that.

The elders said goodbye, left, and the marvelous old woman Agafya Semyonovna died on June 13, on the day of St. martyr Akilina. On the way back, O. Pakhomiy and his brethren just arrived in time for the burial of Mother Alexandra. Having served the liturgy and the funeral service in a cathedral, the great elders buried the founder of the Diveevo community against the altar of the Kazan Church. The whole day of June 13th it rained so heavily that no dry thread was left on anyone, but Fr. Seraphim, in his chastity, did not even stay to dine in the convent, and immediately after the burial went on foot to Sarov.

The Miracle of the Contemplation of the Lord Jesus Christ during the Divine Liturgy

Once on Great Thursday, the builder Fr. Pachomius, who never served without Fr. Seraphim, began the Divine Liturgy at 2 pm in the evening, and after a small exit and paroemias, Hierodeacon Seraphim exclaimed: “Lord, save the pious and hear us!” centuries, ”- when suddenly he changed his appearance so much that he could neither move from his place nor utter a word. Everyone noticed this and understood that God's visitation was with him.

Two hierodeacons took him by the arms, led him into the altar and left him aside, where he stood for three hours, constantly changing his appearance, and after that, having already come to his senses, he told the builder and treasurer in private his vision: “I, the wretched, have just proclaimed: Lord save the pious and hear us! and, pointing the orarion at the people, he finished: and forever and ever! - suddenly a ray illuminated me, as if sunlight; looking at this radiance, I saw the Lord and God of our Jesus Christ, in the form of the Son of Man, in glory and indescribable light shining, surrounded by heavenly powers, angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim, like a swarm of bees, and from the western church gates coming to air; Approaching in this form to the pulpit and raising up His most pure hands, the Lord blessed the servants and those present; according to this, having entered St. local image right side the royal gates, was transformed, surrounded by angelic faces, shining with an inexpressible light on the whole church. But I, earth and ashes, having then met the Lord Jesus in the air, received a special blessing from Him; my heart rejoiced pure, enlightened, in the sweetness of love for the Lord!”

The elevation of monk Seraphim of Sarov to the rank of hieromonk. Desert Life Choice

In 1793 Fr. Seraphim was 34 years old, and the authorities, seeing that he had become superior to other brothers in his exploits and deserved an advantage over many, petitioned for his elevation to the rank of hieromonk.
Since in the same year the Sarov monastery, according to the new schedule, moved from the diocese of Vladimir to Tambov, Fr. Seraphim was summoned to Tambov, and on September 2, Bishop Theophilus ordained him a hieromonk.
With the receipt of the highest grace of the priesthood, Fr. Seraphim began to strive in the spiritual life with greater zeal and redoubled love. For a long time he continued his uninterrupted service, daily communing with ardent love, faith and reverence.

Having become a hieromonk, Fr. Seraphim had the intention to completely settle in the desert, since the desert life was his calling and appointment from above. In addition, from the incessant cell vigil, from the constant standing in the church on his feet with a little rest during the night, Fr. Seraphim fell into an illness: his legs swelled, and wounds opened on them, so that for some time he lost the opportunity to perform the priesthood.
This illness was no small impetus to the choice of a desert life, although in order to rest he should have asked the rector Fr. Pachomius blessing to retire to hospital cells, and not to the desert, i.e. from lesser labors to greater and more difficult ones.
The great elder Pachomius blessed him. This was the last blessing received by Fr. Seraphim from a wise, virtuous and respectable elder, in view of his illness and approaching death.

The death of Father Pachomius, the promise of St. Seraphim to oversee the Diveevo community and support it

Father Seraphim, remembering well how during his illness Fr. Pachomius, now served him with selflessness. Once about. Seraphim noticed that Fr. Pachomia was joined by some kind of mental concern and sadness.

- What, holy father, are you so sad about? asked him about. Seraphim.

Prayer to Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Oh wonderful Father Seraphim, the great wonderworker of Sarov, a hasty helper to all who resort to you! In the days of your earthly life, no one is thin and inconsolable from you when you leave, but for everyone in the sweetness there was a vision of your face and a benevolent voice of your words. To this, the gift of healing, the gift of insight, the gift of weak souls of healing is abundant in you. When God has called you from earthly labors to heavenly rest, your love has never ceased from us, and it is impossible to count your miracles multiplied, like the stars of heaven: behold, at all ends of our earth, you are the people of God and grant them healing. At the same time, we cry out to you: O quiet and meek servant of God, daring to pray to Him, never refrain from calling you, lift up your pious prayer for us to the Lord of forces, may He strengthen our power, may He grant us all that is useful in this life and all for the spiritual useful for salvation, may it protect us from the falls of sin and teach us true repentance, in a hedgehog to unstumblingly enter us into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, even if you now shine in imperishable glory, and there sing the Life-Giving Trinity with all the saints until the end of time. Amen.

Second prayer to Seraphim of Sarov

O Reverend Father Seraphim! Raise up for us, servants of God (names), your pious prayer to the Lord of strength, may it grant us all that is useful in this life and all that is useful for spiritual salvation, may it protect us from the falls of sin and true repentance, may it teach us how to insinuate us without fail into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, even if you now shine in imperishable glory, and there sing the Life-Giving Trinity with all the saints forever and ever.

Third Prayer to Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker

O great servant of God, reverend and God-bearing Father Seraphim! look from the mountain of glory on us humble and weak, burdened with many sins, asking for your help and comfort. Come close to us with your mercy and help us keep the commandments of the Lord without blemish, keep the Orthodox faith strong, repentance for our sins diligently bring God, prosper gracefully in Christian piety and are worthy to be your prayerful intercession to God for us. Hey, Holy One of God, hear us praying to you with faith and love and do not despise us who demand your intercession: now and at the hour of our death, help us, and intercede with your prayers from the evil slander of the devil, but those forces do not possess us, but yes let us be worthy of your help to inherit the bliss of the abode of paradise. We now place our hope on you, good-hearted father: truly be our guide to salvation and lead us to the never-ending Light of eternal life by your God-pleasing intercession at the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity, may we glorify and sing with all the saints the revered name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever centuries. Amen.

About Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Saint Seraphim of Sarov, hieromonk of the Sarov Monastery, founder and patron of the Diveevo convent. Glorified by the Russian Church in 1903 as a saint. He is one of the most revered Orthodox saints. Seraphim, who from his youth loved God, devoted his whole life to prayer and Orthodox service. Thousands of Orthodox believers turn to Saint Seraphim of Sarov with faith and sincere prayer.

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, miracle worker († 1833)

Seraphim Sarovsky's parents

Birth of the Monk Seraphim and miraculous salvation from death.

Adolescence of Saint Seraphim. The first healing of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Blessing by the Blessed Elder Dositheus

The way of life of Seraphim in the Sarov monastery

Severe illness of St. Seraphim, second healing by the Most Holy Theotokos

Description of the appearance of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. The feat of the collector for good deeds

He tonsured St. Seraphim as a monk

The death of mother Agafya Semyonovna, abbess of the community in Diveevo.

The promise of Seraphim of Sarov to take care of the Diveevo community until death

The Miracle of the Contemplation of the Lord Jesus Christ during the Divine Liturgy

The elevation of monk Seraphim of Sarov to the rank of hieromonk. Desert Life Choice

The death of Father Pachomius, the promise of St. Seraphim to oversee the Diveevo community and support it

Adolescence of Saint Seraphim.
The first healing of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Description of the appearance of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov.
The feat of the collector for good deeds