Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. Life

Father o. Seraphim entered the Sarov hermitage in 1778, on November 20, on the eve of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple and was entrusted with obedience to the elder hieromonk Joseph.

His homeland was the provincial city of Kursk, where his father, Isidor Moshnin, owned brick factories and was engaged as a contractor in the construction of stone buildings, churches and houses. 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 foundation stone 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 Diveyevo monastery, died. Having transferred his entire fortune to his kind and intelligent wife Agathia, he instructed her to complete the construction of the temple. Mother o. Seraphima was even more pious and merciful than her father: she helped the poor a lot, especially orphans and poor brides.

Agathia Moshnina continued the construction of the St. Sergius Church for many years and personally supervised the workers. In 1778, the temple was finally finished, and the work was carried out so well and conscientiously that the Moshnin family acquired special respect among the residents of Kursk.

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 from birth, therefore, he was entirely raised by his God-loving, kind and intelligent mother, who taught him more by the example of her life, which was spent in prayer, visiting churches and helping the poor. That Prokhor was God's chosen one from his birth - all spiritually developed people saw this, and his pious mother could not help but feel it. So, one day, while inspecting the structure of the St. Sergius Church, Agafia Moshnina walked with her seven-year-old Prokhor and unnoticed reached the very top of the bell tower that was then under construction. Suddenly moving away from his mother, the fast boy leaned over the railing to look down, and, through carelessness, fell to the ground. The frightened mother ran away from the bell tower in a terrible state, imagining to find her son beaten to death, but, to unspeakable joy and great surprise, she saw him safe and sound. The child stood on his feet. The mother tearfully thanked God for saving her son and realized that her son Prokhor was protected by the special Providence of God.

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, sharp 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. During the most difficult time of his illness, in a sleepy vision, 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 they carried the miraculous icon of the Sign of the Mother of God through the city of Kursk along the street where Moshnina’s house was. It began to rain heavily. To cross to another street, the religious procession, probably to shorten the path and avoid dirt, headed through the Moshnina courtyard. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Agathia carried her sick son into the courtyard, placed him next to the miraculous icon and brought it under its shade. They noticed that from that time Prokhor began to improve 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 his health, Prokhor continued his teaching successfully, studied the Book of Hours, the Psalter, learned to write and fell in love with reading the Bible and spiritual books.

Prokhor's elder brother, Alexey, was engaged in trade and had his own shop in Kursk, so the young Prokhor was forced to learn to trade in this shop; but his heart was not in trade and making profits. Young Prokhor did not let almost a single day pass without visiting the Church of God, and, due to the impossibility of being 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 a certain fool for Christ, whose name is now forgotten, but then everyone revered him. Prokhor met him and clung to the holy fool with all his heart; the latter, in turn, fell in love with Prokhor and, with his influence, disposed his soul even more towards piety and a solitary life. His smart mother noticed everything and was sincerely glad that her son was so close to the Lord. Prokhor also had the rare happiness of having 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 carefully found out whether his mother would be against his going to a monastery. He, of course, noticed that his kind teacher did not contradict his wishes and would rather let him go than keep him in the world; This made the desire for monastic life flare 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. Thus, merchants Ivan Druzhinin, Ivan Bezhodarny, Alexei Melenin and two others expressed the hope of going 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 the determination formed in the mother’s heart to let him go to serve God. His farewell to his mother was touching! Having gathered completely, they sat for a while, according to Russian custom, then Prokhor stood up, prayed to God, bowed to his mother’s feet and asked 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.

Prokhor had to decide an important question: where and to which monastery he should go. Glory to the ascetic life of the monks of the Sarov desert, where many of the Kursk residents were already and Fr. Pachomius, a native of Kursk, persuaded him to go to them, but he first wanted to be in Kiev to look at the works of the Kiev-Pechersk monks, to ask for guidance and advice from the elders, to know the will of God through them, to be confirmed in his thoughts, to receive a blessing from whom some ascetic and, finally, pray and be blessed by St. relics of St. Anthony and Theodosius, the founders of monasticism. Prokhor set off on foot, with a staff in his hand, and five more Kursk merchants walked with him. In Kyiv, while walking around the ascetics there, he heard that not far from St. Pechersk Lavra, in the Kitaev monastery, a recluse named Dosifei, who has the gift of clairvoyance, is saved. Having come to him, Prokhor fell at his feet, kissed them, revealed his whole soul to him and asked for instructions 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 abide there. This place will be your salvation, with the help of the Lord. Here you and your earthly journey will end. Just try to acquire unceasing memory of God through the constant invocation of the name of God like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! Let all your attention and training be in this; 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, you will acquire spiritual and physical purity, and the Spirit will dwell in you The Holy One, the source of all good things, will direct your life in holiness, in all piety and purity. In Sarov, the rector Pachomius lived a godly life; he is a follower of our Anthony and Theodosius!

Prokhor had to decide an important question: where and to which monastery he should go. Glory to the ascetic life of the monks of the Sarov desert, where many of the Kursk residents were already and Fr. Pachomius, a native of Kursk, persuaded him to go to them, but he first wanted to be in Kiev to look at the works of the Kiev-Pechersk monks, to ask for guidance and advice from the elders, to know the will of God through them, to be confirmed in his thoughts, to receive a blessing from whom some ascetic and, finally, pray and be blessed by St. relics of St. Anthony and Theodosius, the founders of monasticism. Prokhor set off on foot, with a staff in his hand, and five more Kursk merchants walked with him. In Kyiv, while walking around the ascetics there, he heard that not far from St. Pechersk Lavra, in the Kitaev monastery, a recluse named Dosifei, who has the gift of clairvoyance, is saved. Having come to him, Prokhor fell at his feet, kissed them, revealed his whole soul to him and asked for instructions 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 abide there. This place will be your salvation, with the help of Gentlemen. Here you and your earthly journey will end. Just try to acquire the unceasing memory of God through the constant invocation of the name of God like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! Let all your attention and training be in this; walking and sitting, while 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, you will acquire spiritual and physical purity, and the Holy Spirit, the source of all things, will dwell in you. good, and will direct your life in holiness, in all piety and purity. In Sarov, the rector Pachomius has a godly life; he is a follower of our Anthony and Theodosius! "

The conversation of the blessed elder Dosifei finally confirmed the young man’s good intentions. Having answered the fast, confessed and received Holy Communion, bowed again to St. saints of the Kiev-Pechersk, he set his feet on the path and, protected by the protection of God, safely arrived again in Kursk, to his mother’s house. 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 for the edification of himself and others who came to talk to him, ask about holy places and listen to readings. This time was his farewell to his homeland and family.

As already mentioned, Prokhor entered the Sarov monastery on November 20, 1778, on the eve of the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. Standing in the church at the all-night vigil, seeing the orderly performance of the service, noticing how everyone, from the rector to the last novice, was fervently praying, he admired the spirit and rejoiced that the Lord had shown him here a place for the salvation of his soul. Father Pachomius 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 assigned him to be one of the novices to the treasurer, Hieromonk Joseph, a wise and loving elder. At first, Prokhor was in the cell obedience of the elder and accurately followed all the monastic rules and regulations according to his instructions; in his cell he served not only resignedly, but always with zeal. This behavior drew everyone's attention to him and gained him the favor of the elders Joseph and Pachomius. Then they began to assign him, in addition to his cell duties, other obediences in order: in the bread shop, in the prosphora, in the carpentry. In the latter, he was the wake-up caller and performed this obedience for quite a long time. Then he performed sexton duties. In general, young Prokhor, vigorous in strength, went through all the monastic obediences with great zeal, but, of course, did not avoid many temptations, such as sadness, boredom, despondency, which had a strong effect on him.

The life of young Prokhor before he was tonsured as a monk was distributed daily as follows: at certain hours he was in church for services and rules. Imitating Elder Pachomius, he appeared as early as possible for church prayers, stood motionless throughout the entire service, no matter how long it was, and never left before the service was completed. During prayer hours he always stood in one specific place. To protect himself from entertainment and daydreaming, with his eyes downcast, he listened to the singing and reading with intense attentiveness and reverence, accompanying them with prayer. Prokhor loved to retire to his cell, where, in addition to prayer, he had two types of activities: reading and physical labor. He read the Psalms while sitting, saying that this is permissible for the weary, but St. The Gospel and Epistles of the Apostles are always standing before St. icons, in a prayerful position, and called this vigil (vigilance). He constantly read the works of St. fathers, for example Six-day St. Basil the Great, conversations of St. Macarius the Great, St. Ladder. John, Philokalia, etc. During his rest hours, he indulged in physical labor, carving crosses from cypress wood to bless the pilgrims. When Prokhor passed his carpenter's obedience, he was distinguished by great diligence, skill and success, so that in the schedule he is the only one named Prokhor - a carpenter. He also went to work common to all the brethren: floating timber, preparing firewood, etc.

Seeing examples of desert living, Fr. Abbot 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 free hours and go into the forest. There he found a secluded place, built a secret hut, and in it, completely alone, he indulged in contemplation and prayer. The contemplation of wondrous nature elevated him to God, and, according to a man who was later close to Elder Seraphim, he performed here rule, the Angel of the Lord was given to the Great Pachomius, founder of the monastic hostel. This rule is performed in the following order: Trisagion and Our Father: Lord, have mercy, 12. Glory and now: come, let us worship - three times. Psalm 50: Have mercy on me, O God. I believe in one God... One hundred prayers: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and for this reason: It is worthy to eat and let go.

This constituted 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.

In 1780, Prokhor became seriously ill, and his entire body became swollen. Not a single doctor could determine the type of his illness, but it was assumed that it was water disease. The illness lasted for three years, of which Prokhor spent at least half in bed. Builder o. Pachomius and Elder Fr. Isaiah alternately followed him and were almost constantly with him. It was then that it was revealed that, like everyone else, and before others, the bosses respected, loved and pitied Prokhor, who was then still a simple novice. Finally, they began to fear for the patient’s life, and Fr. Pachomius strongly suggested inviting a doctor or at least opening 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, poor one, for the Lord’s sake, with heavenly medicine - the communion of St. . Tine". Elder Joseph, at the request of Prokhor and his own zeal, served a special service about health sick all-night vigil and liturgy. Prokhor was confessed and received communion. He soon recovered, which surprised everyone. No one understood how he could recover so quickly, and only later did Fr. Seraphim revealed the secret to some: after communion of the Holy Mysteries, the Most Holy Virgin Mary appeared to him, in an indescribable light, with the Apostles John the Theologian and Peter and, turning her face to John and pointing her finger at Prochorus, the Lady said: "This one is of Our kind!"

“My right hand, my joy,” said Fr. Seraphim to the churchwoman Xenia, “placed it on my head, and in my left hand she held a rod; and with this rod, my joy, she touched poor Seraphim; In that place, on the right thigh, a depression appeared, mother; all the water flowed into it, and the Queen of Heaven saved poor Seraphim; but the wound was very large, and the hole is still intact, mother, look, give me a pen!" “And the priest himself would take it and put my hand into the hole,” added Mother Ksenia, “and he had a big one, so the whole fist would come up!” This illness brought Prokhor much spiritual benefit: his spirit strengthened in faith, love and hope in God.

During the period of Prokhor's novitiate, under the rector Fr. Pachomius, many necessary constructions 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 comfort the elderly, and at the hospital there was a church on two floors with altars: in the lower one in the name of St. Zosima and Savvaty, the miracle workers of Solovetsky, in the upper one - to the glory of the Transfiguration of the Savior. After his 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 undertook the difficult feat of a collector. Wandering through the cities closest to Sarov, Prokhor was in Kursk, at the site of his homeland, but did not find his mother alive. Brother Alexey, for his part, provided Prokhor with considerable assistance in building the church. Returning home, Prokhor, like a skilled carpenter, built with his own hands a throne of cypress wood for the lower hospital church in honor of the Monks Zosima and Savvaty.

For eight years, young Prokhor was a novice. His appearance had changed by this time: he was tall, about 2 arsh. and 8 vershoks, despite strict abstinence and feats, 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 brown hair on his head. His face was bordered by a thick, thick beard, with which a long and thick mustache was connected at the ends of his mouth. He had a courageous build, had great physical strength, a fascinating gift of speech and a happy memory. Now he had already passed all the degrees of monastic training and was able and ready to take monastic vows.

On August 13, 1786, with the permission of the Holy Synod, Fr. Pachomius tonsured the novice Prokhor to the rank of monk. His adoptive fathers at the time of tonsure were Fr. Joseph and Fr. Isaiah. At his initiation he was given the name Seraphim (fiery). On October 27, 1786, Monk Seraphim, at the request of Fr. Pachomius, was ordained by His Grace Victor, Bishop of Vladimir and Murom, to the rank of hierodeacon. He completely devoted himself to his new, truly angelic, ministry. From the day of his elevation to the rank of hierodeacon, he, maintaining the purity of soul and body, for five years and 9 months, was almost continuously in ministry. He spent all nights on Sundays and holidays in wakefulness and prayer, standing motionless until the liturgy. At the end of each Divine service, remaining for a long time in the temple, he, as 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 gave strength and strength, so that he did not feel tired, did not need rest, often forgot about food and drink and, going to bed, regretted that man, like the Angels, could not continuously serve God.

Builder o. Pachomius now became even more attached with his heart to Fr. I didn’t perform almost a single service to Seraphim without him. When he traveled on monastery business or for service, alone or with other elders, he often took Fr. Seraphim. So, in 1789, in the first half of June, Fr. Pachomius with treasurer Fr. Isaiah and hierodeacon Fr. Seraphim went by invitation to the village of Lemet, located 6 versts from the present city of Ardatov, Nizhny Novgorod province, for the funeral of their rich benefactor, landowner Alexander Solovtsev, and stopped on the way to Diveevo to visit the abbess of the community Agafia Semyonovna Melgunova, a highly respected old woman and also his benefactor. Alexander's mother was sick and, having received notification from the Lord about her imminent death, she asked the ascetic fathers, for the love of Christ, to give her special treatment. Father Pachomius at first suggested postponing the consecration of oil until they returned from Lemeti, but the holy old woman repeated her request and said that they would not find her alive on the way back. The great elders lovingly performed the sacrament of consecration of oil over her. Then, saying goodbye to them, Alexander’s mother gave Fr. Pachomius was the last thing she had and accumulated over the years of ascetic life in Diveevo. According to the testimony of the girl Evdokia Martynova, who lived with her, to her confessor, Archpriest Fr. Vasily Sadovsky, mother Agafya Semyonovna handed over to the builder Fr. Pachomius: 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 manage it. Mother Alexandra begged Fr. Pachomius to remember her in Sarov for her repose, not to leave or abandon her inexperienced novices, and also to take care in due time about the monastery promised to her by the Queen of Heaven. To this the elder Fr. Pachomius replied: “Mother! I do not renounce serving, according to my strength and according to your will, the Queen of Heaven and care for your novices; also, not only will I pray for you until my death, but our entire monastery will never forget your good deeds, and in I don’t give you my word on other things, for I am old and weak, but how can I take on this, not knowing whether I will live to see this time. But Hierodeacon Seraphim - you know his spirituality, and he is young - will live to see this; entrust him with this is a great thing."

Mother Agafya Semyonovna began to ask Fr. Seraphim should not leave her monastery, as the Queen of Heaven Herself would then deign to instruct him to do so.

The elders said goodbye, left, and the wondrous old woman Agafya Semyonovna died on June 13, St. Martyr Aquilina. On the way back, Father Pachomius and his brethren were just in time for the burial of Mother Alexandra. Having served the liturgy and funeral service in cathedral, the great elders buried the founder of the Diveyevo community opposite the altar of the Kazan Church. The whole day of June 13th it rained so heavily that there was not a dry thread left on anyone, but Fr. Seraphim, due to his chastity, did not even stay to dine in the women's monastery and immediately after the burial he left on foot for Sarov.

One day on Holy Thursday, the builder Fr. Pachomius, who never served without Fr. Seraphim, began the Divine Liturgy at 2 o’clock in the afternoon of Vespers, and after a small exit and paremias, Hierodeacon Seraphim exclaimed: “Lord, save the pious and hear us!” centuries" - when suddenly his appearance changed so much that he could neither leave his place nor utter words. Everyone noticed this and realized that God’s visit 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 then, having already come to his senses, he privately told the builder and the treasurer his vision: “I, poor one, have just proclaimed: Lord , save the pious and hear us! and, pointing the orar at the people, he finished: and forever and ever! - suddenly a ray, as if of sunlight, illuminated me; looking at this radiance, I saw our Lord and God Jesus Christ, in the form of the Son of Man , in glory and indescribable light shining, surrounded by heavenly forces, Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, as if by a swarm of bees, and from the western church gates coming in the air; approaching in this form to the pulpit and raising His most pure hands, the Lord blessed the servants and coming; therefore, having entered His holy local image, which is on the right side of the royal gates, I was transformed, surrounded by angelic faces, shining with an indescribable light throughout the entire church. But I, earth and ashes, then meeting the Lord Jesus in the air, was awarded a special Blessings be upon him; my heart rejoiced purely, enlightened, in the sweetness of love for the Lord!”

In 1793 Fr. Seraphim turned 34 years old, and the authorities, seeing that in his exploits he had become superior to other brothers 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 Vladimir diocese to Tambov, then Fr. Seraphim was summoned to Tambov, and on September 2, Bishop Theophilus ordained him as 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 continuous service, communing daily with ardent love, faith and reverence.

Having become a hieromonk, Fr. Seraphim had the intention of completely settling in the desert, since desert life was his calling and destiny from above. In addition, from incessant cell vigil, from constantly standing in church with little rest during the night, Fr. Seraphim fell ill: his legs became swollen and wounds opened on them, so that for some time he was unable to perform sacred functions. This illness was no small incentive to choose a desert life, although for rest he should have asked the abbot, Fr. Pachomius blessing to retire to sick cells, and not to the desert, i.e. from smaller labors to larger 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 old man, in view of his illness and approaching death. O. Seraphim, remembering well how during his illness Fr. Pachomius himself now served him with selflessness. Once o. Seraphim noticed that due to Fr.’s illness. Pachomius was joined by some other emotional concern and sadness.

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

“I grieve for the sisters of the Diveyevo community,” answered Elder Pachomius, “who will watch over them after me?”

O. Seraphim, wanting to calm the elder in his dying moments, promised to watch over them himself and support them in the same way after his death as it was during his time. This promise calmed and rejoiced Fr. Pachomia. He kissed Fr. Seraphim and then soon fell into the peaceful sleep of the righteous. Fr. Seraphim bitterly mourned the loss of Elder Pachomius and, with the blessing of the new rector, Fr. Isaiah, also dearly beloved, retired to a desert cell (November 20, 1794, the day of his arrival in the Sarov Hermitage).

Despite the removal of Fr. Seraphim into the desert, the people began to bother him there. Women also came.

The great ascetic, starting a strict desert life, considered it inconvenient for himself to visit women, since this could seduce both monastics and laity, prone to condemnation. But, on the other hand, depriving women of the edification for which they came to the hermit could be an act displeasing to God. He began to ask the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos to fulfill his desire, and that the Almighty, if this was not contrary to His will, would give him a sign by bending the branches near the standing trees. In the legends recorded in his time, there is a legend that the Lord God really gave him a sign of His will. The holiday of the Nativity of Christ has arrived; O. Seraphim came to the monastery for late mass at the Church of the Life-Giving Source and received Holy Communion of Christ. After lunch in his monastery cell, he returned to the desert for the night. The next day, December 26th, celebrated according to the regulations (Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Fr. Seraphim returned to the monastery at night. Passing its hill, where it descends down to the valley, which is why the mountain was named Fr. Seraphim of Athos, he saw that on both sides of the path huge branches of centuries-old pines had bent down and blocked the path; in the evening there was none of this. O. Seraphim fell to his knees and thanked God for the sign given through his prayer. Now he knew that the Lord God wished that wives should not enter his mountain.

Throughout his entire asceticism, Fr. Seraphim constantly wore the same wretched clothes: a white linen robe, leather mittens, leather shoe covers - like stockings, over which they put bast shoes, and a worn kamilavka. A cross hung on his robe, the same one with which his own mother blessed him when she released him from home; and behind his shoulders hung a bag in which he carried St. Gospel. Wearing the cross and the Gospel had, of course, a deep meaning. In imitation of the ancient saints, Fr. Seraphim wore chains on both shoulders, and crosses were hung from them: some in front of 20 pounds, others in the back of 8 pounds. each, and also an iron belt. And the elder bore this burden throughout his desert life. In cold weather, he put a stocking or a rag on his chest, and never went to the bathhouse. His visible exploits consisted of prayers, reading books, physical labor, observing the rules of the great Pachomius, etc. During the cold season, he heated his cell, split and chopped wood, but sometimes he voluntarily endured the cold and frost. In the summer, he cultivated the ridges in his garden and fertilized the ground, collecting moss from the swamps. During such work, he sometimes walked without clothes, girding only his loins, and insects cruelly bitten his body, causing it to swell, turn blue in places and baked with blood. The elder voluntarily endured these plagues for the Lord’s sake, guided by the examples of the ascetics of ancient times. On ridges fertilized with moss, o. Seraphim planted seeds onions and other vegetables, which he ate in the summer. Physical labor gave rise to a complacent state in him, and Fr. Seraphim worked with the singing of prayers, troparions and canons.

Spending his life in solitude, work, reading and prayer, Fr. Seraphim combined fasting and strict abstinence with this. At the beginning of his settlement in the desert, he ate bread, most of all stale and dry; He usually took bread with him on Sundays for the whole week. There is a legend that from this weekly portion of bread he gave part to desert animals and birds, which were caressed by the elder, loved him very much and visited the place of his prayer. He also ate vegetables produced by the labor of his hands in the desert garden. With this in mind, this garden was built so that it would not burden the monastery with “anything” and, following the example of the great ascetic Ap. Paul, to eat “by doing with your own hands” (1 Cor. 4:12). Subsequently, he accustomed his body to such abstinence that he did not eat his daily bread, but, with the blessing of the abbot Isaiah, ate only the vegetables of his garden. These were potatoes, beets, onions and a herb called snit. During the first week of Lent, he did not take food at all until communion of the Holy Mysteries on Saturday. After a few more years of abstinence and fasting, Fr. Seraphim reached an incredible degree. Having completely stopped taking bread from the monastery, he lived without any support from it for more than two and a half years. The brethren, surprised, wondered what the elder could eat during all this time, not only in summer, but also in winter. He carefully hid his exploits from the view of people.

On weekdays, escaping in the desert, Fr. On the eve of holidays and Sundays, Seraphim came to the monastery, listened to Vespers, the all-night vigil, and during the early liturgy in the hospital church of Saints Zosima and Savvatius, he partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Then, until Vespers, he received in the monastery cell those who came to him for spiritual needs from the monastery brethren. During Vespers, when the brethren left him, he, taking bread with him for a week, retired into his desert. He spent the entire first week of Great Lent in the monastery. During these days he fasted, confessed and received Holy Communion. For a long time his spiritual father was the builder, Elder Isaiah.

This is how the old man spent his days in the desert. Other desert dwellers each had one disciple with them, who served them. O. Seraphim lived in complete solitude. Some of the Sarov brethren tried to cohabit with Fr. Seraphim and were accepted by him; but not one of them could endure the difficulties of desert life: no one had such moral strength to appear as a disciple and imitate the exploits of Fr. Seraphim. Their pious attempts, while benefiting the soul, were not crowned with success; and those who settled with Fr. Seraphim, they returned again to the monastery. Therefore, although after the death of Fr. Seraphim, there were some people who boldly declared themselves his disciples, but during his life they, in the strict sense, were not disciples, and the name “Seraphim’s disciple” did not exist at that time. “During his stay in the desert,” said the Sarov elders of that time, “all the brethren were his disciples.”

Also, many of the Sarov brethren temporarily came to him in the desert. Some simply visited him, while others appeared out of need for advice and guidance. The elder distinguished people well. He withdrew from some, wishing to remain silent, and did not refuse spiritual food to those in need before him, lovingly guiding them to truth, virtue and the improvement of life. Of the regular visitors, Fr. Seraphim are known: schemamonk Mark and hierodeacon Alexander, who also fled in the desert. The first visited him twice a month, and the last - once. O. Seraphim willingly talked with them about various soul-saving subjects.

Seeing such sincere, zealous and truly high asceticism of the elder Fr. Seraphim, the devil, the primordial enemy of all good, armed himself against him with various temptations. According to his cunning, starting with the easiest ones, he first put various “insurances” on the ascetic. So, according to the legend of one venerable hieromonk of the Sarov desert, one day during prayer he suddenly heard the howl of a beast outside the walls of his cell; then, like a crowd of people, they began to break down the door of the cell, knocked out the jambs at the door and threw at the feet of the praying elder a very thick ridge (piece) of wood, which eight people with difficulty carried out of the cell. At other times during the day, especially at night, while standing in prayer, he apparently suddenly it seemed that his cell was falling apart on four sides and that terrible animals were rushing towards him from all sides with wild and furious roars and screams. Sometimes an open coffin would suddenly appear before him, from which a dead man would rise.

Since the elder did not succumb to insurance, the devil launched the most severe attacks on him. So, by God’s permission, he lifted his body into the air and from there hit the floor with such force that, if not for the Guardian Angel, the very bones could have been crushed from such blows. But even this did not defeat the elder. Probably, during temptations, with his spiritual eye, penetrating into the upper world, he saw the evil spirits themselves. Perhaps the spirits of evil themselves apparently appeared to him in bodily forms, as they did to other ascetics.

The spiritual authorities knew Fr. Seraphim and understood how useful it would be for many to make such an elder an abba, an abbot somewhere in a monastery. The place of archimandrite was opened in the city of Alatyr. Father Seraphim was appointed there as abbot of the monastery with elevation to the rank of archimandrite. In the past and in the current centuries, the Sarov Hermitage has more than once provided good abbots from its brethren to other monasteries. But Elder Seraphim most convincingly asked the then rector of Sarov, Isaiah, to reject this appointment from him. The builder of Isaiah and the Sarov brethren were sorry to let go of Elder Seraphim, a zealous man of prayer and a wise mentor. The desires of both sides came together: everyone began to ask another hieromonk from Sarov, Elder Abraham, to assume the title of archimandrite in the Alatyr Monastery, and the brother, solely out of obedience, accepted this title.

In all the temptations and attacks on Fr. Seraphim, the devil had the goal of removing him from the desert. However, all the efforts of the enemy remained unsuccessful: he was defeated, retreated in shame from his conqueror, but did not leave him alone. Seeking new measures to remove the old man from the desert, the evil spirit began to fight against him through evil people. On September 12, 1804, three unknown people, dressed like peasants, approached the elder. Father Seraphim was chopping wood in the forest at that time. The peasants, brazenly approaching him, demanded money, saying that “worldly people come to you and bring money.” The elder said: “I don’t take anything from anyone.” But they didn't believe it. Then one of those who came rushed at him from behind, wanted to throw him to the ground, but instead he fell. This awkwardness made the villains somewhat timid, but they did not want to deviate from their intention. O. Seraphim had great physical strength and, armed with an ax, could have defended himself with some hope. This thought flashed instantly into his mind. But at the same time he remembered the words of the savior: “Everyone who takes a knife with a knife will perish” (Matthew 26:52), he did not want to resist, calmly lowered the ax to the ground and said, meekly folding his hands crosswise on his chest: “Do what you need.” . He decided to endure everything innocently, for the Lord’s sake.

Then one of the peasants, picking up an ax from the ground, hit Fr. Seraphim's head was filled with blood gushing from his mouth and ears. The elder fell to the ground and became unconscious. The villains dragged him to the vestibule of his cell, furiously continuing to beat him along the way, like a trapper’s prey, some with a butt, some with a tree, some with their hands and feet, they even talked about throwing the old man into the river?.. And how did they see that he was already looked like he was dead, they tied his hands and feet with ropes and, laying him in the hallway, they rushed into the cell, imagining to find untold riches in it. In the wretched home they very soon went through everything, looked it over, broke the stove, dismantled the floor, searched and searched and found nothing for themselves; They only saw St. icon, but I came across a few potatoes. Then the conscience of the villains began to speak strongly, repentance awoke in their hearts that they had beaten a pious man in vain, without any benefit even for themselves; some kind of fear attacked them, and they ran away in horror.

Meanwhile, Fr. Seraphim could barely come to his senses from the cruel mortal blows, somehow untied himself, thanked the Lord that for His sake he was honored to suffer wounds innocently, prayed that God would forgive the murderers and, having spent the night in his cell in suffering, the next day with great difficulty, however, he himself came to the monastery during the liturgy itself. His appearance was terrible! The hair on the beard and head was soaked in blood, crumpled, tangled, covered with dust and debris; face and hands beaten; several teeth knocked out; ears and lips were dried with blood; the clothes were wrinkled, bloody, dried out and stuck to the wounds in places. The brethren, seeing him in this position, were horrified and asked: what happened to him? Without answering a word, oh. Seraphim asked to invite the rector, Fr. Isaiah and the monastery confessor, to whom he told everything that happened in detail. Both the abbot and the brethren were deeply saddened by the suffering of the elder. Such a misfortune about. Seraphim was forced to stay in the monastery to improve his health. The devil, who had raised up the villains, apparently now celebrated his victory over the old man, imagining that he had driven him out of the desert forever.

The first eight days were very difficult for the patient: without taking any food or water, he had no sleep due to unbearable pain. The monastery did not hope that he would survive his suffering. The abbot, Elder Isaiah, on the seventh day of illness, not seeing a change for the better, sent to Arzamas for doctors. Having examined the old man, the doctors found his illness in the following state: his head was broken, his ribs were broken, his chest was trampled, his whole body was covered in different places with mortal wounds. They were surprised how the old man could survive after such beatings. According to the ancient method of treatment, doctors considered it necessary to open the patient’s blood. The abbot, knowing that the patient had already lost a lot from his wounds, did not agree to this measure, but, according to the urgent conviction of the council of doctors, he decided to propose this to Fr. Seraphim. The council again gathered in Fr. Seraphim. It consisted of three doctors; There were three doctors with them. While waiting for the abbot, they again examined the patient, discussed among themselves for a long time in Latin and decided: to bleed, wash the patient, apply a plaster to the wounds, and in some places use alcohol. We also agreed that assistance should be submitted as soon as possible. O. Seraphim noted with deep gratitude in his heart their attentiveness and care for himself.

When all this was happening, someone suddenly shouted: “Father Superior is coming, Father Superior is coming!” At this moment Fr. Seraphim fell asleep; His sleep was short, subtle and pleasant. In a dream, he saw a wondrous vision: the Most Holy Theotokos in royal purple, surrounded by glory, was approaching him from the right side of the bed. She was followed by Sts. Apostles Peter and John the Theologian. Stopping at the bed, the Most Holy Virgin pointed with the finger of her right hand at the sick man and, turning Her Most Pure Face in the direction where the doctors stood, said: “Why are you working?” Then again, turning her face to the elder, she said: "This is from Our generation"- and the vision ended, which those present did not suspect.

When the abbot entered, the patient regained consciousness. Father Isaiah, with a feeling of deep love and sympathy, suggested that he take advantage of the advice and help of doctors. But the patient, after so much care about him, in the desperate state of his health, to the surprise of everyone, answered that he now did not want help from people, asking the father abbot to give his life to God and the Most Holy Theotokos, the True and Faithful Doctors of souls and bodies. There was nothing to do, they left the elder alone, respecting his patience and marveling at the strength and strength of faith. From the wondrous visit he was filled with inexpressible joy, and this heavenly joy lasted for four hours. Then the elder calmed down, returned to his normal state, feeling relief from his illness; strength and strength began to return to him; He got out of bed, began to walk around his cell a little, and in the evening, at nine o’clock, he refreshed himself with food, tasted some bread and white sauerkraut. From that same day, he again began to gradually indulge in spiritual exploits.

Even in the past, Fr. Seraphim, while working in the forest one day, was crushed by it while cutting down a tree, and as a result of this circumstance he lost his natural straightness and slenderness and became bent. After the attack by robbers, the bent position increased even more due to beatings, wounds and illness. From that time on, he began to walk, supporting himself with a hatchet, hoe or stick. So, this bending, this biting in the heel, served throughout his life as the crown of victory of the great ascetic over the devil.

From the day of his illness, Elder Seraphim spent about five months in the monastery, without seeing his desert. When his health returned to him, when he felt strong again to endure the desert life, he asked Abbot Isaiah to let him go again from the monastery to the desert. The abbot, at the inspiration of the brethren and himself, sincerely pitying the elder, begged him to stay forever in the monastery, imagining the possibility of a repetition of such extremely unfortunate incidents. Father Seraphim replied that he did not impute such attacks and was ready, imitating Sts. the martyrs who suffered for the name of the Lord, even to the point of death, endure all kinds of insults, no matter what happened. Yielding to Christian fearlessness of spirit and love for desert living, Fr. Isaiah blessed the elder’s desire, and Elder Seraphim returned to his desert cell again.

With the old man's new settlement in the desert, the devil suffered a complete defeat. The peasants who beat the elder were found; they turned out to be serfs of the landowner Tatishchev, Ardatovsky district, from the village of Kremenok. But oh. Seraphim not only forgave them, but also begged the abbot of the monastery not to collect from them, and then wrote the same request to the landowner. Everyone was so outraged by the actions of these peasants that it seemed impossible to forgive them, but Fr. Seraphim insisted: “Otherwise,” said the elder, “I will leave the Sarov monastery and retire to another place.” The builder, Fr. He told Isaiah, his confessor, that it would be better to remove him from the monastery than to inflict any punishment on the peasants. O. Seraphim presented vengeance to the Lord God. The wrath of God really overtook these peasants: in a short time a fire destroyed their homes. Then they themselves came to ask Fr. Seraphim, with tears of repentance, forgiveness and his holy prayers.

Elder Fr. Isaiah greatly respected and loved Fr. Seraphim, and also valued his conversations; Therefore, when he was fresh, cheerful and enjoying health, he often went to the desert to visit Fr. Seraphim. In 1806, Isaiah, due to his old age and from the labors incurred to save himself and his brethren, became especially weak in health and, at his own request, resigned from the duties and title of rector. The lot to take his place in the monastery, according to the common desire of the brethren, fell on Fr. Seraphim. This is the second time the elder has been elected to positions of authority in monasteries, but this time, out of his humility and extreme love for the desert, he refused the offered honor. Then, with the voice of all the brethren, Elder Niphon was elected rector, who until that time had served as treasurer.

Elder Fr. After the death of the builder Isaiah, Seraphim did not change his previous type of life and remained to live in the desert. He only took on even more work, namely, silence. He no longer visited visitors. If he himself happened to unexpectedly meet someone in the forest, the elder fell on his face and did not raise his eyes until the person he met passed by. Thus, he remained silent for three years and for some time stopped visiting the monastery on Sundays and holidays. One of the novices also brought him food in the desert, especially in winter, when Fr. Seraphim did not have his vegetables. Food was brought once a week, on Sunday. It was difficult for the appointed monk to perform this obedience in winter, since Fr. Seraphim there was no way. Sometimes he would wander through the snow during a blizzard, drowning in it up to his knees, with a week's supply in his hands for the silent elder. Entering the vestibule, he said a prayer, and the elder, saying to himself: “Amen,” opened the door from the cell into the vestibule. With his arms folded crosswise on his chest, he stood at the door, his face down on the ground; He himself would neither bless his brother nor even look at him. And the brother who came, having prayed, according to custom, and bowed at the feet of the elder, placed food on a tray lying on the table in the entryway. For his part, the elder put either a small piece of bread or a little cabbage on the tray. The brother who came noticed this carefully. With these signs, the elder silently let him know what to bring him on the future resurrection: bread or cabbage. And again the brother who came, having said a prayer, bowed at the elder’s feet and, having asked his prayers for himself, returned to the monastery without hearing from Fr. Seraphim not a single word. All these were only visible, outward signs of silence. The essence of the feat consisted not in outward withdrawal from sociability, but in silence of the mind, renunciation of all worldly thoughts for the purest dedication of oneself to the Lord.

Silence about. Seraphim connected with standing on a stone. In a deep forest, halfway from the cell to the monastery, lay a granite stone of extraordinary size. Remembering the difficult feat of St. Stylites, Fr. Seraphim decided to take part in this kind of asceticism. For this purpose he ascended, so as not to be visible to anyone, in night time on this stone to strengthen the prayer feat. He usually prayed either on his feet or on his knees, with his hands raised upward, like St. Pachomius, with his hands, calling out in a publican’s voice: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” To equalize the feats of the night with those of the day, Fr. Seraphim also had a stone in his cell. He prayed on it during the day, from morning to evening, leaving the stone only for rest from exhaustion and for strengthening oneself with food. He carried out this kind of prayer feat, at times, for a thousand days.

From standing on the stones, from the difficulty of this prayerful feat, his body changed very noticeably, the disease in his legs renewed, which from that time until the end of his days did not cease to torment him. Father Seraphim realized that the continuation of such feats would lead to exhaustion of the strength of spirit and body, and left prayer on the stones. He performed these exploits in such secrecy that not a single human soul knew or guessed about them. There was a secret request to the abbot Nifont, who was after Isaiah, about Fr. Seraphim from the Bishop of Tambov. Preserved in the monastery papers rough Nifont's review, in which the abbot replied: “We know about the exploits and life of Father Seraphim; no one knew about what secret actions, as well as about standing for 1000 days and nights on a stone.” At the end of his days, so as not to remain a mystery to people, in the likeness of other ascetics, among other phenomena of his life, he, for the edification of his listeners, told some of the brethren about this feat.

FATHER Seraphim, from the time of the death of Elder Isaiah, having imposed upon himself the labor of silence, lived hopelessly in his desert, just as in a seclusion. Previously, he went to the monastery on Sundays and holidays to receive Holy Communion. Now, since standing on the stones, his legs ached; he couldn't walk. It was unknown who was giving him Holy Communion, although they did not doubt for a minute that he was not left without partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. The builder convened a monastery council of senior hieromonks and asked about the communion of Fr. Seraphim offered for discussion. They decided the matter this way: to propose Fr. Seraphim, so that he either goes, if he is healthy and has strong legs, as before, to the monastery on Sundays and holidays for communion of the Holy Mysteries, or, if his legs do not serve him, he goes to live forever in the monastery cell. The general council decided to ask through the brother who carried food on Sundays what Fr. Seraphim? The brother, on his first visit to the elder, fulfilled the decision of the Sarov Cathedral, but Fr. Seraphim, having silently listened to the proposal of the council, released his brother without saying a word. The brother told the builder how it was, and the builder told him to repeat the council’s proposal the following Sunday. Having brought food for the next week, the brother repeated the offer. Then Elder Seraphim, having blessed his brother, went on foot to the monastery with him.

Having accepted the second proposal of the council, the elder showed that, due to illness, he was unable to go to the monastery on Sundays and holidays as before. It was in the spring of May 8, 1810. Having entered the monastery gates, after a 15-year stay in the desert, Fr. Seraphim, without going into his cell, went straight to the hospital. This was during the day, before the all-night service. When the bell was rung, Fr. Seraphim appeared at the all-night vigil at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The brethren were surprised when word instantly spread that the elder had decided to live in the monastery. But their surprise increased even more when the following circumstances occurred: the next day, May 9, the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Fr. Seraphim came, as usual, to the hospital church for the early liturgy and received Holy Communion of Christ. Upon leaving the church, he directed his feet to the cell of the builder Niphon and, having received a blessing from him, settled in his former monastery cell; he did not receive anyone, he did not go out anywhere and did not say a word to anyone, that is, he took upon himself a new and difficult feat of seclusion.

About the exploits of Fr. Even less is known about Seraphim in seclusion than about his desert life. In his cell he did not want to have anything, not even the most necessary things, to cut off self-will. The icon, in front of which a lamp burned, and a piece of tree stump, which served as a substitute for a chair, made up everything. For himself, he did not even use fire.

During all the years of seclusion, the elder received Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ on all Sundays and holidays. To preserve the purity of the retreat and silence, the Heavenly Mysteries, with the blessing of the builder Niphon, were brought to him from the hospital church to the cell after the early liturgy.

To never forget about the hour of death, to imagine it more clearly and see it closer before you, Fr. Seraphim made himself a coffin from solid oak and placed it in the vestibule of the reclusive cell. Here the elder often prayed, preparing for his departure from this life. O. Seraphim, in conversations with the Sarov brethren, often spoke about this coffin: “When I die, I beg you, brothers, lay me in my coffin.”

The elder spent about five years in seclusion, then his appearance somewhat weakened. His cell door was open, anyone could come to him and see him; the elder was not embarrassed by the presence of others in his spiritual pursuits. Some, having entered the cell, proposed various questions, having a need for the advice and instructions of the elder; but, having taken a vow of silence before God, the elder did not give answers to questions, continuing his usual activities.

In 1815, the Lord, according to a new appearance by Fr. Seraphim of His Most Pure Mother, commanded him not to hide his lamp under a bushel and, having opened the shutter doors, to be accessible and visible to everyone. Setting the Great Hilarion as an example, he began to receive everyone without exception, talking and teaching them about salvation. His small cell was always illuminated only by a lamp and candles lit near the icons. It was never heated by a stove, had two small windows and was always littered with bags of sand and stones, which served him instead of a bed; a piece of wood was used instead of a chair, and in the entryway there was an oak coffin made by his own hands. The cell was dissolved for all the brethren of the monastery at any time, for outsiders - after early mass until 8 o'clock in the evening.

The elder received everyone willingly, gave blessings and, depending on their spiritual needs, gave various kinds of short instructions to everyone. The elder received those who came this way: he was dressed in an ordinary white robe and half-robe; he had an epitrachelion around his neck and bands on his hands. He wore the epitrachelion and armbands not always when receiving visitors, but only on those days when he received Holy Communion, therefore, on Sundays and holidays. In whom he saw sincere repentance for sins, who showed ardent zeal for Christian life, he accepted them with special zeal and joy. After talking with them, he forced them to bow their heads, placed the end of the stole and his right hand on it, inviting them to say the following prayer of repentance: “I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned in soul and body, in word, in deed, in mind and thought and in all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, voluntarily or unwillingly, knowledge or ignorance." He himself then said a prayer for absolution from sins. At the end of this action, he anointed the forehead of the newcomer with oil from St. in the shape of a cross. icons and, if it was before noon, therefore, before eating, he gave them to eat from the cup of the “great agiasma,” i.e., Holy Epiphany water, blessed it with a particle of antidor, or St. bread consecrated at the all-night service. Then, kissing the one who came on the mouth, he said at all times: "Christ is Risen!" and let him venerate the image of the Mother of God or the cross hanging on his chest. Sometimes, especially to noble persons, he advised them to go to the temple to pray to the Mother of God before St. the icon of Her Dormition or the Life-Giving Source.

If the person who came had no need for special instructions, then the elder gave general Christian edification. In particular, he advised to always have the memory of God and for this to constantly call on the name of God in the heart, repeating the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. “Let this be,” he said, “all your attention and training! Walking and sitting, doing and standing in church before the start of the service, entering and leaving, constantly keep this on your lips and in your heart. Invoking in this way the name of God you will find peace, achieve spiritual and physical purity, and the Holy Spirit, the Source of all good things, will dwell in you, and He will guide you in holiness, in all piety and purity.”

Many, coming to Fr. Seraphim, they complained that they prayed little to God, even leaving the necessary daytime prayers. Some said that they were doing this out of ignorance, others - out of lack of time. Father Seraphim bequeathed the following prayer rule to such people: “Having risen from sleep, every Christian, standing in front of the holy icons, let him read the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father- three times; in honor of Rev. Trinity, then the hymn to the Mother of God: Virgin Mary, rejoice- also three times and, finally, the Creed: I believe in one God- once.

Having completed this rule, let every Christian go about his business to which he has been assigned or called. While working at home or on the way somewhere, let him read quietly: G Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner or sinful; and if others surround him, then, while doing business, let him say only this with his mind: Lord have mercy and continue until lunch.

Just before lunch, let him perform the above morning rule.

After dinner, while doing his work, let every Christian read also quietly: Most Holy Theotokos, save me, a sinner, and let this continue until sleep.

When he happens to spend time in solitude, let him read: Lord Jesus Christ, Mother of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. or sinful.

When going to bed, let every Christian read the above morning rule again, that is, three times Our Father, three times Mother of God and one day Symbol of faith. After that, let him fall asleep, protecting himself with the sign of the cross."

One day a simple peasant ran to the monastery with a hat in his hand, with disheveled hair, asking in despair the first monk he met: “Father! Are you, or what, Father Seraphim?” They pointed out to him Fr. Seraphim. Rushing there, he fell at his feet and said convincingly: “Father! My horse was stolen, and now I’m completely poor without it; I don’t know how I’m going to feed my family. And they say you’re guessing!” O. Seraphim, affectionately taking him by the head and putting it to his, said: “Protect yourself with silence and hurry to such and such(he called it) village. When you approach it, turn off the road to the right and pass the backs of four houses: there you will see a little gate; enter it, untie your horse from the block and lead it out silently." The peasant immediately ran back with faith and joy, without stopping anywhere. Afterwards, there was a rumor in Sarov that he actually found the horse in the shown place.

Nizhny Novgorod province, Ardatov district, in their family estate, the village of Nucha, lived orphans, a brother and sister, noble landowners Mikhail Vasilyevich and Elena Vasilievna Manturov. Mikhail Vasilyevich served in military service in Livonia for many years and married Livland native Anna Mikhailovna Ernts there, but then he became so ill that he was forced to leave his service and move to live on his estate, the village of Nucha. Elena Vasilievna, much younger than her brother in years, had a cheerful character and dreamed only of social life and a speedy marriage.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov’s illness had a decisive influence on his entire life, and the best doctors found it difficult to determine its cause and properties. Thus, all hope for medical help was lost, and all that remained was to turn to the Lord and His holy Church for healing. Rumor about the holy life of Father Fr. Seraphima, who had already traveled all over Russia, of course, reached the village of Nuchi, which lay only 40 versts from Sarov. When the illness assumed threatening proportions, so that Mikhail Vasilyevich had pieces of bone falling out of his legs, he decided to go, on the advice of relatives and friends, to Sarov to see Fr. Seraphim. With great difficulty, he was brought by his serfs into the shadow of the cell of the reclusive elder. When Mikhail Vasilyevich, according to custom, said a prayer, Father Fr. Seraphim came out and mercifully asked him: “Why did you come to look at the poor Seraphim?” Manturov fell at his feet and began tearfully asking the elder to heal him from a terrible illness. Then, with the liveliest sympathy and fatherly love, Fr. asked him three times. Seraphim: "Do you believe in God?" And, having also received three times in response the most sincere, strong, ardent assurance of unconditional faith in God, the great elder said to him: “My joy! If you believe so, then also believe in the fact that to the believer everything is possible from God, and therefore Believe that the Lord will heal you too, and I, poor Seraphim, will pray.” Then Fr. Seraphim seated Mikhail Vasilyevich near the coffin, which stood in the entryway, and he himself retired to his cell, from where a little time later he emerged, carrying holy oil with him. He ordered Manturov to undress, bare his legs, and, preparing to rub them with the brought holy oil, said: “According to the grace given to me from the Lord, I heal you first!” O. Seraphim anointed Mikhail Vasilyevich’s feet and put stockings made of hemline canvas on them. After that, the elder took a large amount of crackers out of his cell, poured them into the tails of his coat and ordered him to go with the burden to the monastery hotel. Mikhail Vasilyevich at first carried out the priest’s order, not without fear, but then, having ascertained the miracle that had been performed on him, he came into inexpressible joy and some kind of reverent horror. A few minutes ago he was not able to go up to Fr. Seraphim without outside help, and then suddenly, according to the word of the holy elder, he was already carrying a whole pile of crackers, feeling completely healthy, strong and as if he had never been sick. In joy, he threw himself at the feet of Fr. Seraphim, kissing them and thanking them for the healing, but the great elder lifted Mikhail Vasilyevich and sternly said: “Is it Seraphim’s business to kill and live, to bring down to hell and to raise? What are you doing, father! This is the work of the One Lord, Who does the will of those who fear Him and listens to their prayer! Give thanks to the Almighty Lord, and give thanks to His Most Pure Mother!” Then Father Seraphim released Manturov.

Some time has passed. Suddenly Mikhail Vasilyevich remembered with horror about his past illness, which he had already begun to completely forget, and decided to go to Fr. Seraphim, accept his blessing. On the way, Manturov thought: after all, I must, as the priest said, thank the Lord... And only he arrived in Sarov and entered Fr. Seraphim, as a great elder, greeted him with the words: “My joy! But we promised to thank the Lord for giving us back our lives!” Surprised by the elder’s foresight, Mikhail Vasilyevich replied: “I don’t know, father, with what or how; what do you order?!” Then Fr. Seraphim, looking at him in a special way, cheerfully said: “Behold, my joy, give everything you have to the Lord and take upon yourself spontaneous poverty!” Manturov was embarrassed; a thousand thoughts ran through his head in an instant, for he had never expected such a proposal from the great old man. He remembered the evangelical youth, to whom Christ also offered voluntary poverty for the perfect path to the Kingdom of Heaven... He remembered that he was not alone, had a young wife and that, having given everything, he would have nothing to live with... But the perspicacious old man, having understood his thoughts , continued: “Leave everything and don’t worry about what you think about; the Lord will not leave you either in this life or in the next; you will not be rich, but you will have everything you need.” Ardent, impressionable, loving and ready, in the purity of his soul, to fulfill every thought, every demand of such a great and holy elder, whom he saw only for the second time, but already loved, without a doubt, more than anything in the world, Mikhail Vasilyevich immediately replied: “ "I agree, father! What will you bless me to do?" But the great wise old man, wanting to test the ardent Mikhail Vasilyevich, answered: “But, my joy, let us pray, and I will show you how God will enlighten me!” After this, they parted as future friends and the most faithful servants of the Diveyevo monastery, chosen by the Queen of Heaven for Her earthly lot.

With the blessing of Father Fr. Seraphim, Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov sold his estate, released his serfs and, saving the money for the time being, bought only 15 acres of land in Diveevo on the island indicated to him. Seraphim's place, with the strictest commandment: to keep this land, never sell, never give it to anyone and bequeath it after the death of one's Seraphim's monastery. On this land, Mikhail Vasilyevich settled with his wife and began to endure disadvantages. He suffered a lot of ridicule from acquaintances and friends, as well as reproaches from his wife Anna Mikhailovna, a Lutheran, a young woman who was not at all prepared for spiritual achievements, who did not tolerate poverty, who had a very impatient and ardent character, although, in general, a good and honest person. All his life, the wonderful Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, a true disciple of Christ, suffered humiliation for his evangelical act. But he endured everything resignedly, silently, patiently, humbly, meekly, with complacency, out of love and extraordinary faith of his towards the holy elder, obeying him unquestioningly in everything, not taking a step without his blessing, as if betraying all of himself and his whole life into hands o. Seraphim. It is not surprising that Mikhail Vasilyevich became the most faithful student of Fr. Seraphim and his closest, beloved friend. Father o. Seraphim, speaking about him with anyone, called him nothing more than “Mishenka”, and entrusted everything related to Diveev’s organization only to him alone, as a result of which everyone knew this and sacredly honored Manturov, obeying him in everything unquestioningly, as if to the steward of the priest himself.

Fr. Seraphim, after the healing of M.V. Manturov, began to receive other visitors and, true to the promise made by Fr. Pachomius, did not forget the Diveyevo community. He sent some novices to the boss Ksenia Mikhailovna and, praying for them daily, received revelations about the future of this community.

Receiving visitors to his monastery cell for 15 years, Fr. Seraphim still did not leave the seclusion and did not go out anywhere. But in 1825 he began to ask the Lord for his blessing to end his retreat.

On November 25, 1825, on the day of remembrance of St. Clement, Pope of Rome, and Peter of Alexandria, in a dream vision, the Mother of God, accompanied by these saints, appeared to Fr. Seraphim and allowed him to leave the seclusion and visit the desert.

As is known, from 1825 to Fr. First, the sisters began to go to Seraphim for a blessing, and then the virtuous head of the Diveyevo community, Ksenia Mikhailovna, whom the priest called: “a pillar of fire from earth to heaven” and “spiritual torment.” Of course, Elder Ksenia Mikhailovna deeply respected and highly esteemed Fr. Seraphim, but, however, she did not agree to change the charter of her community, which seemed heavy, like Fr. Seraphim, and all the sisters who were saved in the community. The number of sisters in the community increased so much that it was necessary to expand their possessions; but it was impossible in either direction. Father o. Seraphim, calling Ksenia Mikhailovna to him, began to persuade her to replace the heavy Sarov charter with a lighter one, but she did not want to hear it. "Listen to me, my joy!" - was talking about. Seraphim - but the unshakable old woman finally answered him: “No, father, let it be as before, father the builder Pachomius has already arranged for us!” Then Fr. Seraphim released the head of the Diveyevo community, reassured that what was commanded to him by the great elder Mother Alexandra no longer lay on his conscience, or that the hour of God’s will had not yet come. Temporarily o. Seraphim did not enter into the affairs of the community, and only by the gift of foreknowledge sent sisters chosen by the Mother of God to live in Diveevo, saying: “Come, child, to the community, here, nearby, mother Colonel Agafia Semyonovna Melgunova, to the great servant of God and pillar , Mother Ksenia Mikhailovna - she will teach you everything!”

In the notes of N.A. Motovilov about the founding of the mill monastery, Fr. Seraphim says:

“When in 1825, on November 25, on the day of the holy saints of God Clement, Pope of Rome, and Peter of Alexandria, Father Seraphim himself constantly said to me personally, as well as to many, as he made his way, as usual, through the thickets of the forest along the bank of the Sarovka River to his distant desert, he saw below the place where the Theological Well once was, and almost near the bank of the Sarovka River, the Mother of God, who appeared to him here (where his well is now, and where then there was only a quagmire), and then and behind Her on the hill were two Apostles: Peter the Supreme and Apostle the Evangelist John the Theologian. And the Mother of God, striking the earth with her rod so that a spring boiled from the ground with a fountain of bright water, said to him: “Why do you want to leave the commandment of My servant Agathia - the nun Alexandra? Leave Ksenia and her sisters, and not only do not forsake the commandment of this My servant, but also strive to fulfill it completely, for by My will she gave it to you. And I will show you another place, also in the village of Diveevo, and on it you will build this abode that I have promised. And in memory of the promise that I gave to her, take eight sisters from the place of her death from the community of Xenia." And she told him by name which ones to take, and indicated the place in the east, at the back of the village of Diveevo, opposite the altar of the Church of the Kazan Appearance of Him, built nun Alexandra. And she showed how to enclose this place with a ditch and a rampart; and with these eight sisters she commanded him to begin this monastery, Her fourth universal lot on earth, for which she ordered him first from the Sarov forest to cut down a two-stage windmill and cells first, and then , in time, to build in honor of the Nativity of Her and Her Only Begotten Son a two-altar church for this monastery, attaching it to the porch of the church of the Kazan appearance of His appearance to the Diveyevo nun Alexandra. And She Herself gave him a new charter for this monastery and nowhere before that time in any monastery And as an indispensable rule, she set a commandment that not a single widow should dare to be accepted into this monastery, but he would be accepted, and then only girls would always be accepted, to whose reception She Herself would express her favor; and she promised herself to be the ever-present Abbess of this monastery, pouring out all her mercies and all the graces of God, blessings from all her three former lots: Iberia, Athos and Kyiv. The place where the Most Pure feet of Her feet stood and where, from the impact of Her rod, the spring boiled and received healing properties as a memory of future births by digging a well here, She promised to give Her waters a greater blessing than the waters of Bethesda of Jerusalem once had.”

Nowadays, at the site of the appearance of the Mother of God to Father Seraphim on November 25, 1825, a well was built, distinguished by its miraculous power, and below, near it, there is the former Theological Well. In the summer of 1826, at the request of the elder, the Bogoslovsky spring was renewed. The cover covering the pool has been removed; A new frame was made with a pipe for the water source. Near the pool, the elder now began to engage in bodily labor. Collecting pebbles in the Sarovka River, he threw them ashore and used them to cover the spring basin. He made ridges here for himself, fertilized them with moss, planted onions and potatoes. The elder chose this place for himself because, due to illness, he could not go to his former cell, six miles from the monastery. It even became difficult for him, after morning labor on his feet, to visit Fr.’s cell for rest at midday. Dorothea, which stood only a quarter of a mile from the spring. For Fr. Seraphim built a new small log house on the bank of the mountain, near a spring, three arshins high, three arshins long and two wide. It was covered from above by a slope on one side. There were no windows or doors in it. The entrance to this block was open from the earthen side of the mountain, under the wall. Having crawled under the wall, the elder rested in this shelter after his labors, hiding from the midday heat. Then, in 1827, here, on a hill near a spring, a new cell was built for him with doors, but without windows; There was a stove inside, and outside there were fences made from boards. During 1825 - 1826, the elder went to this place every day. And when they built his cell, he began to constantly spend all his days here in the desert; in the evening he returned to the monastery. Walking to and from the monastery in an ordinary white, shabby canvas robe, in a wretched kamilavka, with an ax or hoe in his hands, he carried a bag over his shoulders, heavily filled with stones and sand, in which lay St. Gospel. Some asked: "Why is he doing this?" He answered with the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian: “I languish the languishing me.” This place has been known since then under the name near desert o. Seraphim, and the spring began to be called well o. Seraphim.

Since the construction of the new cell, in 1827, the activities and works of Fr. Seraphim were divided between the monastery and the nearby desert. He remained in the monastery on Sundays and holidays, receiving communion at the early liturgy; on weekdays, almost every day he went to the forest in the nearby desert. He spent his nights in the monastery. The number of its visitors has increased significantly. Some were waiting for him in the monastery, eager to see him, receive the blessing and hear the word of edification. Others came to him in the desert cell. The elder had almost no peace either in the desert, or on the road, or in the monastery. It was touching to see how the elder, after communion of the Holy Mysteries, returned from church to his cell. He walked in a robe, stole and vestments, as usual when he began the sacrament. His procession was slow due to the multitude of crowded people, from among whom everyone tried, albeit slightly, to look at the elder. But at that time he did not speak to anyone, did not bless anyone, and no matter how he saw a soul around him; his gaze was downcast, and his mind was immersed within himself. At these moments, his soul entered into reflection on the great blessings of God revealed to people through the sacrament of Holy Communion. And, in awe of the wonderful old man, no one even dared to touch him. Having arrived at his cell, he already received all those who were zealous, blessed them, and offered a soul-saving word to those who wished.

But most enjoyable of all was his conversation. Fr.'s mind Seraphim had a bright personality, a strong memory, a truly Christian look, a heart accessible to everyone, an unyielding will, a living and abundant gift of speech. His speech was so effective that the listener received spiritual benefit from it. His conversations were filled with a spirit of humility, warmed the heart, removed a kind of veil from the eyes, illuminated the minds of his interlocutors with the light of spiritual understanding, brought them to a feeling of repentance and aroused a decisive change for the better; they involuntarily conquered the will and hearts of others, pouring peace and silence into them. Elder Seraphim based both his own actions and his words on the word of God, confirming them most in places of the New Testament, on the writings of St. fathers and the examples of saints who pleased God. All this still had special power because it was directly applied to the needs of the listeners. Due to the purity of his spirit, he had the gift of clairvoyance; to others, before revealing the circumstances, he gave instructions that directly related to their inner feelings and thoughts of the heart.

The special characteristics of his behavior and conversations were love and humility. Whoever came to him, whether a poor man in rags or a rich man in light clothes, no matter what needs someone came to, no matter what sinful state his conscience was in, he kissed everyone with love, bowed to everyone to the ground and, blessing , he himself kissed the hands of not even dedicated people. He did not strike anyone with cruel reproaches or severe reprimands; He did not place a heavy burden on anyone, himself bearing the cross of Christ with all its sorrows. He also spoke reproaches to others, but meekly, dissolving his word with humility and love. He tried to arouse the voice of conscience with advice, pointed out the ways of salvation, and often in such a way that his listener for the first time did not understand that it was about his soul. Afterwards, the power of the word, overshadowed by grace, certainly produced its effect. Neither the rich, nor the poor, nor the simple, nor the learned, nor the nobles, nor the common people, left him without real instruction; For everyone, the living water flowing from the lips of the former silent, humble and wretched old man was enough. Thousands of people flocked to him every day, especially in the last ten years of his life. Every day, during a large meeting of newcomers in Sarov, he had about 2,000 people or more in his cell. He was not burdened and found time to talk with everyone for the benefit of his soul. In brief words, he explained to everyone what was beneficial to him, often revealing the innermost thoughts of those who turned to him. Everyone felt his benevolent, truly kindred love and its strength; streams of tears sometimes burst out from people who had a hard and petrified heart.

One day, Honored Lieutenant General L. came to Sarov. The purpose of his visit was curiosity. And so, having examined the monastery buildings, he already wanted to say goodbye to the monastery, having not received any spiritual gift for his soul, but here he met the landowner Alexei Neofitovich Prokudin and got into conversation with him. The interlocutor suggested that the general go to the reclusive elder Seraphim, but the general only with difficulty yielded to Prokudin’s convictions. As soon as they entered the cell, Elder Seraphim, walking towards them, bowed at the general’s feet. Such humility struck the pride of L... Prokudin, noticing that he should not stay in his cell, went out into the hallway, and the general, decorated with orders, talked with the recluse for about half an hour. A few minutes later, crying was heard from the elder’s cell: the general was crying, like a little child. Half an hour later the door opened, and Fr. Seraphim led the general out by the arms; he continued to cry, covering his face with his hands. His orders and cap were forgotten by Fr. Seraphim. Tradition says that the orders fell from him during the conversation by themselves. O. Seraphim took it all out and put the medals on his cap. Subsequently, this general said that he had walked all over Europe, knew many people of all kinds, but for the first time in his life he saw such humility with which the Sarov recluse greeted him, and he had never yet known about the insight by which the elder revealed to him all his life down to the secret details. By the way, when the crosses fell from him, Fr. Seraphim said: “This is because you received them undeservedly.”

Elder Seraphim took special care of those in whom he saw a disposition for good; on the path of good, he tried to establish them with all spiritual Christian means and forces. However, despite the love for everyone, Fr. Seraphim was strict with some. But he was also with those who did not love him peaceful, treated meekly and lovingly. It was not noticed that he took any deed to himself or praised himself, but always, blessing the Lord God, he said: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory” (Psalm 113:9). When he saw that those who came to him listened to his advice and followed his instructions, he did not admire this, as if it were the fruit of his work. “We,” he said, “must remove all earthly joy from ourselves, following the teaching of Jesus Christ, who said: “Do not rejoice in this, for the souls are subject to you: rejoice, for your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10 , 20)".

In addition to the gift of clairvoyance, the Lord God continued to show in Elder Seraphim the grace of healing ailments and bodily diseases. So, on June 11, 1827, Alexandra, the wife (Nizhny Novgorod province, Ardatov district, Elizariev village) of the yard man Bartholomew Timofeev Lebedev, was healed. At the time, this woman was 22 years old and had two children. On April 6, 1826, the day of the village holiday, she, returning from church after the liturgy, had lunch and then went out of the gate for a walk with her husband. Suddenly, God knows why, she felt faint and dizzy; her husband could barely bring her to the entryway. Here she fell to the floor. She began to vomit and have terrible convulsions; the patient died and fell into complete unconsciousness. Half an hour later, as if having come to her senses, she began to grind her teeth, gnaw on everything she came across, and finally fell asleep. A month later, these painful attacks began to recur with her every day, although not every time to the same degree.

At first, the patient was treated by the home village doctor Afanasy Yakovlev, but the measures he took had no success. Then they took Alexandra to the Ilevsky and Voznesensky iron factories - there was a foreign doctor there; he undertook to treat her, gave her various medications, but not seeing success, he refused further treatment and advised her to go to Vyksa, to the iron factories. “In Vyksa,” according to the patient’s husband’s description, “the doctor was a foreigner with great privilege". In good agreement with the manager who took part in the patient's case, the Vyksinsky doctor exhausted all his attention, knowledge and art and finally gave the following advice: “Now you rely on the will of the Almighty and ask him for help and protection; “No one among people can cure you.” This end of treatment greatly saddened everyone, and plunged the patient into despair.

On the night of June 11, 1827, the patient had a dream: an unfamiliar woman, very old, with sunken eyes, appeared to her and said: “Why are you suffering and not looking for a doctor for yourself?” The patient was frightened and, putting the sign of the cross on herself, began to read the prayer of St. To the cross: “May God rise again and be scattered against His enemies...” The one who appeared answered her: “Do not be afraid of me, I am the same person, only now not of this world, but from the kingdom of the dead. Get up from your bed and hurry quickly to the Sarov monastery to Father Seraphim: he is expecting you to come to him tomorrow and will heal you.” The patient dared to ask her: “Who are you and where are you from?” The one who appeared answered: “I am from the Diveyevo community, the first abbess there is Agathia.” The next day, in the morning, the relatives harnessed a couple of the master's horses and went to Sarov. Only it was impossible to carry the patient very fast: she constantly fainted and had convulsions. The patient reached Sarov after the late liturgy, during the meal of the brethren. Father Seraphim shut himself up and did not receive anyone, but the sick woman, approaching his cell, barely had time to say a prayer when Fr. Seraphim came out to her, took her hands and led her into his cell. There he covered her with an epitrachelion and quietly said prayers to the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos; then he gave the sick St. drink. With Epiphany water, he gave her a particle of St. antidora and three crackers and said: “Every day, take a cracker with holy water, and also: go to Diveevo to the grave of God’s servant Agathia, take some land for yourself and make as many bows as you can in this place: she (Agathia) is about you I'm sorry and wish you healing." Then he added: “When you are bored, pray to God and say: Father Seraphim! Remember me in prayer and pray for me, a sinner, so that I do not fall into this disease again from the adversary and enemy of God.” Then the sick woman’s illness palpably went away with a great noise; she was healthy throughout the subsequent time and unharmed. After this illness, she gave birth to four more sons and five daughters. The healed husband’s handwritten note about this ends with the following afterword: “We deeply preserve the name of Father Seraphim in our hearts and at every memorial service we remember him with our relatives.”

On December 9, 1826, in the Diveyevo community, by order of Fr. Seraphim, the foundation of the mill took place, and in the summer, on July 7th, it ground.

In the same year, 1827, Father Seraphim said to Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, who constantly came to him for orders and instructions: “My joy! Our poor community in Diveevo does not have its own church, but they cannot go to the parish, where baptisms and weddings are held.” has to: after all, they are girls. The Queen of Heaven wants them to have their own church attached to the porch of the Kazan Church, since this porch is worthy of an altar, father! After all, Mother Agafia Semyonovna, standing in prayer, washed it all with currents of tears of her humility; so , my joy, and build this temple for the Nativity of Her Only Begotten Son - my orphans!" Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov kept intact the money from the sale of the estate, which the priest ordered to be hidden until time. Now the hour had come for Mikhail Vasilyevich to give all his property to the Lord, and such money was undoubtedly pleasing to the Savior of the world. Consequently, the Church of the Nativity of Christ was created at the expense of a person who voluntarily took upon himself the feat of begging.

How often did the Diveyevo sisters have to go to Fr. Seraphim worked for food, which he sent them from himself from Sarov, can be seen, for example, from the story of sister Praskovya Ivanovna, later nun Seraphim. He also forced the newcomers to come more often to teach them spiritual edification. On the feast of the Presentation of 1828-29. he ordered sister Praskovya Ivanovna, who had just entered the monastery, to come to him twice and return. Consequently, she had to walk 50 miles and still spend time in Sarov. She was embarrassed and said: “I won’t have time like that, father!” “What are you saying, mother,” answered Father Seraphim, “after all, the day now lasts 10 hours.” “Okay, father,” Praskovya said with love. The first time she came to the priest’s cell in the monastery was when early mass was going on. Father opened the door and greeted her cheerfully, calling her: “My joy!” He sat him down to rest, fed him with pieces of prosphora and holy water, and then let him carry a large bag of oatmeal and breadcrumbs to his monastery. In Diveevo she rested a little and again went to Sarov. They were serving vespers when she entered the priest, who greeted her in delight, saying: “Come, come, my joy! Here I will feed you with my food.” He sat Praskovya down and placed in front of her a large dish of steamed cabbage with juice. “It’s all yours,” said the priest. She began to eat and felt a taste that surprised her beyond words. Then, from questioning, she learned that this food was not available at meals, and it was good, because the priest himself, through his prayer, prepared such extraordinary food. One day, the priest ordered her to work in the forest, collect firewood, and supplied her with food. About three o'clock in the afternoon he himself wanted to eat and said: “Go, mother, to the desert, there I have a piece of bread hanging on a string, bring it.” Sister Praskovya brought it. Father salted the stale bread, soaked it in cold water and began to eat. He separated a particle from Praskovya, but she could not even chew it - the bread had dried out - and she thought: this is the deprivation the priest is suffering. Answering her thought, Fr. Seraphim said: “This, mother, is still our daily bread! And when I was in seclusion, I ate a potion, doused the grass with hot water, and ate it; this is desert food, and you eat it.” Another time, Sister Praskovya Ivanovna fell into temptation: she began to be faint-hearted, bored, melancholy and decided to leave the monastery, but did not know whether to open up to the priest? Suddenly he sends for her. She comes in embarrassed and timid. Father began to talk about himself and his life in the monastery, and then added: “I, mother, went through my entire monastic life and never, in my lower mind, left the monastery.” Repeating this several more times and citing examples from his past, he completely healed her, so that Praskovya Ivanovna testifies in her narration that as the story continued, “all my thoughts gradually calmed down, and when the priest finished, I felt such consolation, as if the diseased member is cut off with a knife." When Praskovya Ivanovna was with the priest in a nearby hermitage, Kursk merchants who had come to Sarov from the Nizhny Novgorod fair approached him. Before parting, they asked the priest: “What do you want me to say to your brother?” O. Seraphim replied: “Tell him that I pray to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother for him day and night.” They walked away, and the priest, raising his hands, repeated several times with delight: “There is no better monastic life, no better!” One day, when Praskovya Ivanovna was working at the source, the priest came out to her with a bright, shining face and in a new white robe. From a distance he exclaimed: “What have I brought to you, mother!” - and approached her, holding a green branch with fruit in his hands. Having picked one, he put it in her mouth, and its taste was inexpressibly pleasant and sweet. Then, putting another similar fruit into his mouth, he said: “Taste, mother, this is heavenly food!” At that time of year, no fruit could ripen yet.

The elder sister in the mill monastery, Fr. Seraphima, Praskovya Semyonovna, testified a lot about Father’s kindness to his sisters and, among other things, told how scary it was to disobey him. One day, the priest ordered her to come with the young woman Maria Semyonovna on two horses to get logs. They went straight to the priest in the forest, where he was already waiting for them and prepared two thin logs for each horse. Thinking that all four logs could be carried by one horse, the sisters moved these logs onto one horse along the way, and loaded a large, thick log onto the other horse. But as soon as they started moving, the horse fell, wheezed and began to die. Realizing themselves guilty that they had acted against the blessing of the priest, they fell to their knees, immediately, in tears, began to ask for forgiveness in absentia, and then threw off the thick log and laid out the logs as before. The horse jumped up on its own and ran so quickly that they could barely catch up with it.

Father o. Seraphim constantly healed his orphans from various diseases. Once sister Ksenia Kuzminichna suffered from toothache, from which she could not sleep at night, did not eat anything and was exhausted, since she had to work during the day. They told their elder sister Praskovya Semyonovna about her; she sent Ksenia to her father. “As soon as he saw me,” Ksenia said, “he said: what are you, my joy, you haven’t come to me for a long time! Go to Father Paul, he will heal you.” And I thought: what is this? Isn’t he himself "Can he heal me? But I didn't dare object. I found Father Pavel and told him that my father had sent me to him. He tightly squeezed my face with both hands and ran it over my cheeks several times. And my teeth became silent, as if it had gone away."

Sister Evdokia Nazarova also said that, as a young girl, she suffered from paralysis of her arms and legs for two years, and she was brought to Father Fr. Seraphim, who, seeing her, began to beckon to him. With great difficulty they brought her to the priest, but he gave her a rake and ordered her to rake the hay. Then she felt that something had fallen off her, and she began to row as if she were healthy. At the same time, Praskovya Ivanovna and Irina Vasilievna worked for the priest. The latter began to reprimand her why she, so sick, had come to work with them, but the priest, understanding their thoughts in spirit, told them: “Take her to your place in Diveevo, she will spin and weave for you.” So she worked until Vespers. Father fed her lunch, and then she reached home completely healthy.

Elder Varvara Ilyinichna also testified about her healing by Father Seraphim: “He, my breadwinner, healed me twice,” she said. “The first time, I seemed to be spoiled, and then my teeth hurt very much, my whole mouth was covered in abscesses.” I came to him, he put me at a distance from him, and he ordered me to open my mouth; he blew hard on me, tied a handkerchief all over my face, and immediately ordered me to go home, and the sun was already setting. I was not afraid of anything. after his holy prayer, I came home at night, and the pain disappeared as if by hand. I often visited my father. He used to say to me: “My joy! You will be forgotten by everyone." And for sure, it used to be that I would come to Mother Ksenia Mikhailovna to ask for something, either shoes or clothes, and she would say: “You should have come on time and asked for it; go bow." She gives it to everyone, but not to me. Once Tatyana Grigorievna was offended by something at me and said: “Oh, you, forgotten one!” : all my life I was “forgotten” by everyone. Once Akulina Vasilievna and I came to the priest, he spoke to her for a long time in private, kept convincing her of something, but, apparently, she listened. He came out and said: “ Take out of my ark (that's what he called his coffin) crackers." He tied a whole bundle of them, gave them to Akulina, and the other bundle to me; then he poured a whole bag of crackers, and began to beat him with a stick, and we laugh, and roll around with laughter! Father looks at us, beats him even more, and we know, we don’t understand anything. Then the priest tied it up, hung it around Agrafena’s neck and ordered us to go to the monastery. Afterwards we already understood how this sister Akulina Vasilievna left the monastery and the world suffered terrible beatings. She then came to us again and died in Diveevo. As soon as I returned to the monastery, I went straight to Mother Ksenia Mikhailovna and said that we spent three nights in Sarov. She sternly reprimanded me: “Oh, you self-willed person! How did you live so long without a blessing!” I apologize, I say: Father delayed us, and I give her the crackers that I brought. She replies: “If the priest left you, then God will forgive. Only he gave them to you for patience.” And so it soon happened: they said a lot about me to my mother, and she sent me away. I kept crying, and I went to Father Seraphim and told him everything; I’m crying myself, I’m on my knees in front of him, and he’s laughing and shaking his hands together. He began to pray and ordered them to go to his girls at the mill, to the boss Praskovya Stepanovna. She, with his blessing, kept me with her." - "Once I come to Father Seraphim in the desert, and he has flies on his face, and blood runs in streams down his cheeks. I felt sorry for him, I wanted to brush them away, but he said: “Don’t touch them, my joy, let every breath praise the Lord!” He's such a patient guy."

The GREAT old lady, of high life, Evdokia Efremovna (nun Eupraxia) spoke about the persecution that Fr. Seraphim: “Everyone already knows how much the Sarovites did not love Father Seraphim for us; they even drove and persecuted him constantly for us, putting a lot of patience and sorrow on him! But he, our dear, endured everything complacently, even laughed, and often, knowing this himself, he joked with us. I come to my father, but during his life he himself fed and supplied us with everything with fatherly care, asking: do we have everything? Do we need anything? With me , it happened, but with Ksenia Vasilyevna he sent more honey, canvas, oil, candles, incense and red wine for the service. So then, when I came, he put on me, as usual, a large bag-burden, so He forcibly lifted her from the coffin, grunted, and said: “Here, take it, mother, and go straight to the holy gates, don’t be afraid of anyone!” What is this, I think, the priest always used to do it himself sends me past the horse yard by the back gate, and then suddenly sends me straight to patience, and to sorrow through the holy gates! And at that time there were soldiers in Sarov and they were always on guard at the gates. The Sarov abbot and the treasurer and the brethren were painfully grieving for the priest, who supposedly gives us everything and sends it; and they ordered the soldiers to always keep watch and catch us, and they especially pointed out me to them. I didn’t dare disobey the priest and went, not myself, and shaking all over, because I didn’t know why the priest had imposed so much on me. As soon as I approached the gate, I read a prayer; There were two soldiers right there, right there by the collar, and they arrested me. “Go,” they say, “to the abbot!” I pray to them and tremble all over; no such luck. “Go,” they say, “and that’s all!” They dragged me to the abbot in Senki. His name was Niphon; He was strict, he didn’t like Father Seraphim, and he didn’t like us even more. He ordered me, so sternly, to untie the bag. I untie it, but my hands are shaking, they’re shaking, and he’s looking. I untied it, took everything out... and there: old bast shoes, broken crusts, cuts and various stones, and everything was packed tightly together. “Ah, Seraphim, Seraphim!” exclaimed Nifont. “Look, this one is suffering, and he’s also torturing the Diveevskys!” - and let me go. So another time I came to the priest, and he gave me a purse. “Go,” he says, “straight to the holy gates!” I went, but they stopped me and again took me and took me to the abbot. They untied the bag, and there was sand and stones in it! The abbot gasped and ahaled, and let me go. I came, I told the priest, and he said to me: “Well, mother, now is the last time, go and don’t be afraid! They won’t touch you anymore!” And truly, it used to be that you were walking, and at the holy gates they would just ask: “What are you talking about?” “I don’t know, breadwinner,” you answer them, “the priest sent you.” They will immediately let you through.”

In order to apparently convince everyone that it is the will of the Lord and the Queen of Heaven that Fr. Seraphim was engaged in the Diveyevo monastery, the great elder chose a century-old tree and prayed for it to bow down, as a sign of God’s determination. Indeed, in the morning this tree turned out to be uprooted with a huge root in completely calm weather. There are many recorded stories of orphans about this tree. Seraphim.

Thus, Anna Alekseevna, one of the 12 first sisters of the monastery, says the following: “I also witnessed a great miracle with the late sister of the monastery, Ksenia Ilyinichna Potekhina, who later briefly was the head of our mill community, later the dean of our monastery, nun Claudia. Comes to Father Seraphim, the painter Tambovsky, Sarov novice Ivan Tikhonovich. For a long time the priest talked to him that it was in vain to be tempted by him, that he cared about us; that he was doing this not on his own, but on the orders of the Queen of Heaven Herself. “Let us pray,” he says Father Seraphim. - I think that this tree is more than a hundred years old..." - at the same time he pointed to a tree of enormous size. "It will stand for many more years... If I obey the Queen of Heaven, - this tree will bow in their direction !.." - and pointed at us. “So you know,” continued Fr. Seraphim, - that there is no way for me to leave them, although they are girls! And if I abandon them, then perhaps it will reach the Tsar!” We come the next day, and the priest shows us this very healthy and huge tree, as if some storm had torn up all its roots. And the joyful priest ordered , all shining, cut the tree and take it to us in Diva ev." (His root is still kept in the cemetery church with other things of Father Seraphim.)

The rector of the Nikolo-Barkovskaya Hermitage, Abbot Georgy, the former guest of the Sarov Hermitage Gury, testifies that, having once come to the elder Fr. Seraphim in the desert, found him cutting down a pine tree for firewood that had fallen by the roots. According to the usual greeting, the elder revealed the following about this pine tree, which he was cutting down: “Here, I am engaged in the Diveyevo community; you and many people have mocked me for this, why am I engaged in them? Behold, I was here yesterday, asking the Lord for assurance yours, is it pleasing to him that I am engaged in them? If the Lord wills, then, as an assurance, this tree will bow down. On this tree, from the root of an arshin and a half in height, a note was carved with a cross. I asked the Lord for this assurance; together with by the fact that if you or anyone takes care of them, will it please God? The Lord has fulfilled this for your assurance: behold, the tree has bowed. Why am I taking care of them? I have care for them because of the obedience of the elders, the builder Pachomius and the treasurer Isaiah, my patrons "; they promised to take care of them until their death, and after their death they commanded that the Sarov monastery would not leave them forever. And for what? When the cold cathedral church was being built, there was no money in the monastery, and then the widow of the colonel wandered, her name was Agathia; she came here, and with her were three like-minded slaves. This Agathia, wishing to be saved near the elders, chose the village of Diveevo as a place of salvation, settled here and made a donation of money for the construction of the cathedral; I don’t know how many thousands, but I only know that three bags of money were brought from her: one was with gold, one with silver, and the third with copper, and they were full of this money. The cathedral was built with her zeal; This is why they promised to take care of them forever and commanded me. So, I ask you: take care of them, because they lived here twelve people, and the thirteenth was Agathia herself. They worked for the Sarov monastery, sewed and washed linen, and they were given all the food from the monastery for their maintenance; as we had a meal, and they had the same. This went on for a long time, but Father Superior Niphon stopped it and separated them from the monastery; for what occasion, I don’t know! Father Pachomius and Isaiah took care of them, but neither Pachomius nor Joseph were ever at their disposal; I didn’t dispose of them either, and there is no way for anyone to dispose of them.”

In such a difficult time for the wonderful old man, Fr. Seraphim was approved and strengthened by the Queen of Heaven. This is what Archpriest Fr. writes about this. Vasily Sadovsky: “One day (1830), three days after the feast of the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, I came to Father Seraphim in the Sarov hermitage and found him in his cell without visitors. He received me very graciously, kindly and, having been blessed, began a conversation about the godly life of the saints, how they were vouchsafed by the Lord with gifts, miraculous phenomena, even visits from the Queen of Heaven Herself. And, having had enough of a conversation in this way, he asked me: “Do you, father, have a handkerchief?” I answered that I do.” Give it to me!" - said the priest. I handed it over. He laid it out, began to put handfuls of crackers from some vessel into a handkerchief, which were so unusually white that I had never seen anything like them since I was a child. “Here I have it too, father , there was a Queen, so that’s what’s left after the guests!” the priest deigned to say. His face became so divine and cheerful that it’s impossible to express! He put on a full handkerchief and, having tied it tightly himself, said : “Well, come, father, and when you come home, eat these very crackers, give them to your friend (that’s what he always called my wife), then go to the monastery and to your spiritual children, put three crackers in each of your mouths, even to those who live in cells near the monastery: they will all be ours!” Indeed, subsequently everyone entered the monastery. Due to my youth, I didn’t even understand that the Queen of Heaven visited him, but I just thought, maybe some kind of earthly queen was incognito with the priest, and I didn’t dare ask him, but then the saint of God himself already explained this to me, saying: “The Queen of Heaven , father, the Queen of Heaven Herself visited the poor Seraphim, and wow! What joy for us, father! The Mother of God covered the poor Seraphim with inexplicable goodness. “My beloved! - said the Most Blessed Lady, the Most Pure Virgin. “Ask from me what you want!” Do you hear, father? What mercy the Queen of Heaven has shown us!” - and the saint of God himself became completely enlightened and beamed with delight. “And the poor Seraphim,” continued the priest, “the poor Seraphim begged the Mother of God for his orphans, father! And he asked that everyone, all the orphans in the Seraphim Desert would be saved, father! And the Mother of God promised to poor Seraphim this indescribable joy, father! Only three are not given, three will perish, the Mother of God said! - at the same time, the bright face of the old man clouded. - One will burn, one mill will be swept away, and the third... (no matter how hard I tried to remember, I can’t I can; apparently, it’s necessary).”

The gracious sister Evdokia Efremovna, who was honored to be at the next visit of the Queen of Heaven, Fr. Seraphima, in 1831, reported her conversation with the priest about the same visit that Fr. Basil:

“Here, mother,” Father Seraphim told me, “up to a thousand people will gather in my monastery, and everyone, mother, everyone will be saved; I begged, poor thing, the Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven deigned to the humble request of the poor Seraphim; and, except for three, the Merciful Lady promised to save everyone, all of them, my joy! Only there, mother,” the priest continued, after a short silence, “there, in the future, everyone will be divided into three categories: combined who, through their purity, unceasing prayers and their deeds, through this and with their whole being, are united to the Lord; their whole life and breath is in God, and they will be with Him forever! Favorites who will do my deeds, mother, and will be with me in my monastery. AND invited, who will only temporarily eat our bread, for whom there is a dark place. They will only be given a bed, they will wear only their shirts, and they will always be sad! These are careless and lazy, mother, who do not take care of common cause and obedience and are busy only with their own affairs; how dark and difficult it will be for them! They will sit, swaying from side to side, in one place!" And, taking me by the hand, the priest began to cry bitterly. "Obedience, mother, obedience is higher than fasting and prayer!" - continued the priest. "I tell you, there is nothing higher than obedience , mother, tell everyone too!” Then, blessing me, he let me go.”

A year and 9 months before his death, Fr. Seraphim was honored with another visit to the Mother of God. The visit took place early in the morning, on the day of the Annunciation, March 25, 1831. The wonderful old woman Evdokia Efremovna (later mother Eupraxia) wrote it down and reported it in detail.

“In the last year of Father Seraphim’s life, I came to him in the evening, by his order, on the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. Father met and said: “Oh, my joy, I have been waiting for you for a long time!” What mercy and grace from the Mother of God is being prepared for you and me on this real holiday! This day will be great for us!” “Am I, father, worthy to receive grace for my sins?” I answer. But the father ordered: “Repeat, mother, several times in a row: “Rejoice, Unbrided Bride! Hallelujah!” Then he began to say: “And it never happened to hear what a holiday awaits you and me!” I started to cry... I say that I am unworthy; but the priest did not order, he began to console me, saying: “Although you are unworthy, I asked the Lord and the Mother of God for you, so that I could see this joy for you! Let’s pray!” And, taking off his robe, he put it on me and began to read akathists: to the Lord Jesus, the Mother of God, St. Nicholas, John the Baptist; canons: Guardian Angel, all saints. After reading all this, he says to me: “Do not be afraid, do not be afraid, the grace of God is coming to us! Hold on to me tightly!” And suddenly there was a noise like the wind, a brilliant light appeared, and singing was heard. I couldn’t see or hear all this without trembling. The priest fell to his knees and, raising his hands to the sky, cried out: “Oh, Most Blessed, Most Pure Virgin, Lady Theotokos!” And I see two Angels walking ahead with branches in their hands, and behind them is our Lady Herself. Twelve virgins followed the Mother of God, then another saint. John the Baptist and John the Theologian. I fell dead to the ground from fear and I don’t know how long I was in this state, and what the Queen of Heaven deigned to say to Father Seraphim. I also did not hear anything that the priest asked the Lady. Before the end of the vision, I heard, lying on the floor, that the Mother of God deigned to ask Father Seraphim: “Who is this lying on the ground?” The priest replied: “This is the same old woman for whom I asked You, Lady, to be her at Your appearance!” Then the Most Pure One deigned to take me, unworthy, by the right hand, and the priest by the left, and through the priest she ordered me to approach the virgins who came with Her and ask: what were their names and what kind of life they had on earth. I went down the row to ask. First, I approach the angels and ask: who are you? They answer: we are the Angels of God. Then I approached John the Baptist, he also told me his name and life in brief; exactly the same way St. John the Theologian. she went up to the maidens and asked them each about their name; they told me their lives. The holy virgins were named: Great Martyrs Barbara and Catherine, St. First Martyr Thekla, St. Great Martyr Marina, St. Great Martyr and Queen Irina, Venerable Eupraxia, St. Great Martyrs Pelageya and Dorothea, Venerable Macrina, Martyr Justina, St. Great Martyr Juliana and Martyr Anisia. When I asked them all, I thought: I’ll go, fall at the Feet of the Queen of Heaven and ask for forgiveness of my sins, but suddenly everything became invisible. Afterwards the priest says that this vision lasted four hours.

When we were left alone with the priest, I told him: “Oh, father, I thought that I would die of fear, and did not have time to ask the Queen of Heaven for the remission of my sins.” But the priest answered me: “I, poor one, asked the Mother of God for you and not only for you, but for everyone who loves me, and for those who served me and fulfilled my word; who worked for me, who loves my monastery, But rather, I will not leave you and I will not forget. I am your father, I will take care of you both in this age and in the next. And whoever lives in my desert, I will not leave them all, and your generations will not be abandoned. Behold, what joy is the Lord He has made us worthy, why should we lose heart!” Then I began to ask the priest to teach me how to live and pray. He answered: “This is how you pray: Lord, make me worthy to die a Christian death, do not leave me, Lord, at Thy terrible judgment, do not deprive me of the Kingdom of Heaven! Queen of Heaven, do not leave me!” After all, I bowed to the priest’s feet, and he, blessing me, said: “Come, child, in peace to the Seraphim Hermitage!”

In another story by Elder Evdokia Efremovna, there are even greater details. So, she says: “Two Angels walked ahead, holding - one in the right and the other in the left hand - a branch planted with newly bloomed flowers. Their hair, like golden-yellow flax, lay loose on their shoulders. The clothes of John the Baptist and the Apostle John the Theologian was white, shining with purity. The Queen of Heaven had on her a mantle, like the one written on the image of the Sorrowful Mother of God, shiny, but what color - I can’t say, of indescribable beauty, fastened under the neck with a large round buckle (clasp ), decorated with crosses, variously decorated, but I don’t know what, but I only remember that it shone with an extraordinary light. The dress, over which there was a mantle, was green, belted with a high belt. On top of the mantle there was a kind of epitrachelion, and on the hands there were girdles, which, like the epitrachelion, were decorated with crosses. The Lady seemed taller than all the virgins; on Her head was a sublime crown, decorated with various crosses, beautiful, wonderful, shining with such light that it was impossible to look with the eyes, as well as at the buckle (clasp) ), and on the Very Face of the Queen of Heaven. Her hair was loose, lay on her shoulders and was longer and more beautiful than an angel's. The maidens followed her in pairs, wearing crowns, clothes of different colors and with loose hair; they have become a circle around us all. The Queen of Heaven was in the middle. The priest's cell became spacious, and the entire top was filled with lights, as if burning candles. The light was special, unlike daylight and brighter than sunlight.

Taking me by the right hand, the Queen of Heaven deigned to say: “Get up, maiden, and do not be afraid of Us. Virgins like you came here with Me.” I didn't feel myself getting up. The Queen of Heaven deigned to repeat: “Do not be afraid, We have come to visit you.” Father Seraphim was no longer on his knees, but on his feet before the Most Holy Theotokos, and She spoke so graciously, as if to a loved one. Embraced by great joy, I asked Father Seraphim: where are we? I thought that I was no longer alive; then, when she asked him: Who is this? - then the Most Pure Mother of God ordered me to approach everyone myself and ask them, etc.

The virgins all said: “God did not give us this glory, but for suffering and reproach; and you will suffer!” The Most Holy Theotokos said a lot to Father Seraphim, but I couldn’t hear everything, but here’s what I heard well: “Do not forsake My virgins of Diveyevo!” Father Seraphim answered: “Oh, Lady! I collect them, but I cannot manage them on my own!” To this, the Queen of Heaven replied: “I will help you, My beloved, in everything! Place obedience on them; if they correct them, they will be with you and near Me, and if they lose wisdom, they will lose the fate of these nearby virgins of Mine; neither place nor "There will be no such crown. Whoever offends them will be stricken by Me; whoever serves them for the Lord's sake will have mercy before God!" Then, turning to me, she said: “Behold, look at these My virgins and at their crowns: some of them left the earthly kingdom and wealth, desiring the Eternal and Heavenly Kingdom, loving self-inflicted poverty, loving the One Lord. And for this, you see, "What glory and honor have you been awarded! As it was before, so it is now. Only the former martyrs suffered openly, and the current ones - secretly, with heartfelt sorrows, and their reward will be the same." The vision ended with the Most Holy Theotokos saying to Fr. Seraphim: “Soon, My beloved, you will be with Us!” - and blessed him. All the saints also said goodbye to him; the maidens kissed him hand in hand. I was told: “This vision was given to you for the sake of the prayers of Father Seraphim, Mark, Nazarius and Pachomius.” Father, turning to me after this, said: “Behold, mother, what grace the Lord has vouchsafed to us, the poor! Thus, this is already the twelfth time I have had a manifestation from God, and the Lord has vouchsafed you. Behold, what joy have we achieved! There is a reason for us to believe and have hope in the Lord! Defeat the enemy the devil and be wise in everything against him; the Lord will help you in everything!"

Father Seraphim, as stated, received many visitors. He taught the laity, denounced in them the wrong directions of mind and life. So, one priest brought with him to Fr. Seraphim the professor, who did not so much want to hear the elder’s conversation as to accept his blessing to enter monasticism. The elder blessed him according to the custom of the priesthood, but did not give any answer about his desire to enter monasticism, having engaged in a conversation with the priest. The professor, standing aside, listened to their conversation. The priest, meanwhile, during the conversation, often directed his speech towards the purpose with which the scientist came to him. But the elder, deliberately avoiding this subject, continued his conversation and only once, as if in passing, remarked about the professor: “Doesn’t he still need to finish learning something?” The priest resolutely explained to him that he knows the Orthodox faith, he himself is a seminary professor, and began to convincingly ask him to resolve only his bewilderment about monasticism. The elder replied to this: “And I know that he is skilled in composing sermons. But teaching others is as easy as throwing pebbles to the ground from our cathedral, and doing what you teach is the same as carrying pebbles to the top yourself.” cathedral. So, what is the difference between the teaching of others and going through the work yourself." In conclusion, he advised the professor to read the history of St. John of Damascus, saying that from it he will see what else he needs to learn.

One day four Old Believers came to him to ask about the double-fingered fold. They had just crossed the threshold of the cell, before they had time to say their thoughts, when the elder approached them, took the first of them by the right hand, put his fingers in a three-finger formation according to the rite of the Orthodox Church and, thus baptizing him, made the following speech: " This is the Christian folding of the cross! So pray and tell others. This folding was handed down from the Holy Apostles, and the two-fingered folding is contrary to the holy statutes. I ask and pray you, go to the Greco-Russian Church: it is in all the glory and power of God! Like a ship with many tackles, sails and a great helm, it is controlled by the Holy Spirit. Its good helmsmen are the teachers of the Church, the archpastors are the successors of the Apostles. And your chapel is like a small boat that does not have a helm or oars; it is moored with a rope to the ship of our Church, floating behind it , flooded by the waves, and would certainly have sunk if she had not been tied to the ship."

At another time, one Old Believer came to him and asked: “Tell me, Elder of God, which faith is better: the current church faith or the old one?”

“Leave your nonsense,” answered Fr. Seraphim. - Our life is the sea, St. Our Orthodox Church is a ship, and the Pilot is the Savior Himself. If, with such a Helmsman, people, due to their sinful weakness, have difficulty crossing the sea of life and not everyone is saved from drowning, then where are you striving with your little boat and on what do you base your hope - to be saved without a Helmsman?

One winter, a sick woman was brought on a sleigh to the monastery cell of Fr. Seraphim and this was reported to him. Despite the multitude of people crowding in the hallway, Fr. Seraphim asked to bring her to him. The patient was all hunched over, her knees were brought to her chest. They carried her into the elder’s dwelling and laid her on the floor. O. Seraphim locked the door and asked her:

Where are you from, mother?

From Vladimir province.

How long have you been sick?

Three years and a half.

What is the cause of your illness?

Before, father, I was of the Orthodox faith, but they gave me in marriage to an Old Believer. For a long time I did not lean towards their faith, and I was still healthy. Finally, they persuaded me: I changed the cross to two fingers and did not go to church. After that, in the evening, I went out into the yard to do some household chores; there one animal seemed fiery to me, and even scorched me; I fell in fright, I began to break and writhe. A lot of time has passed. The family caught me, looked for me, went out into the yard and found me lying there. They carried me into the room. I've been sick ever since.

I understand... answered the elder. Do you believe in St. again? Orthodox Church?

“Now I believe again, father,” answered the patient. Then Fr. Seraphim folded his fingers in the Orthodox manner, put a cross on himself and said:

Cross yourself like this, in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Father, I would be glad,” the patient answered, “but I don’t know how to use my hands.”

O. Seraphim took oil from the lamp of the Mother of God of Tenderness and anointed the sick woman’s chest and hands. Suddenly she began to straighten out, even her joints began to crack, and she immediately received perfect health.

The people standing in the hallway, having seen the miracle, spread throughout the monastery, and especially in the hotel, that Fr. Seraphim healed the sick woman.

When this event ended, she came to Fr. Seraphim is one of the Diveyevo sisters. O. Seraphim told her:

It was not the poor Seraphim, mother, who healed her, but the Queen of Heaven.

Then he asked her:

Do you, mother, have anyone in your family who doesn’t go to church?

There are no such people, father,” answered the sister, “but my parents and relatives all pray with the two-fingered cross.”

Ask them on my behalf,” said Fr. Seraphim, so that they fold their fingers in the name of the Holy Trinity.

I told them, father, about this many times, but they didn’t listen.

Listen, ask on my behalf. Start with your brother who loves me; he will be the first to agree. Did you have any deceased relatives who prayed with the double-fingered cross?

Unfortunately, everyone in our family prayed like that.

Even though they were virtuous people,” Fr. Seraphim, having thought about it, - and they will be bound: St. The Orthodox Church does not accept this cross... Do you know their graves?

The sister named the graves of those she knew and where they were buried.

Go, mother, to their graves, make three bows and pray to the Lord that He will resolve them in eternity.

My sister did just that. She also told the living that they should accept the Orthodox folding of their fingers in the name of the Holy Trinity, and they definitely obeyed the voice of Fr. Seraphim: for they knew that he was a saint of God and understood the mysteries of St. Christ's faith.

One day Fr. Seraphim, in indescribable joy, said to his trusted monk: “Behold, I will tell you about the poor Seraphim! I have taken delight in the word of my Lord Jesus Christ, where He says: in the house of My Father there are many abodes (that is, for those who serve Him and glorify His holy name). At these words of Christ the Savior, I, poor one, stopped and desired to see these heavenly abodes and prayed to my Lord Jesus Christ to show me these abodes; and the Lord did not deprive me, poor one, of His mercy; He fulfilled my desire and a petition; behold, I was caught up in these heavenly abodes; I just don’t know, with the body or apart from the body - God knows; it’s incomprehensible. And it’s impossible to tell you about the joy and heavenly sweetness that I tasted there.” And with these words Fr. Seraphim fell silent... He lowered his head, quietly stroking his hand against his heart, his face gradually began to change and, finally, became so bright that it was impossible to look at him. During his mysterious silence, he seemed to be contemplating something with tenderness. Then Fr. Seraphim spoke again:

“Oh, if you knew,” the elder said to the monk, “what joy, what sweetness awaits the soul of the righteous in heaven, then you would decide in your temporary life to endure all kinds of sorrows, persecution and slander with thanksgiving.” If this very cell of ours,” he pointed to his cell, “was full of worms, and if these worms ate our flesh throughout our entire temporary life, then with every desire we would have to agree to this, so as not to lose that heavenly the joy that God has prepared for those who love Him. There is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing; there is sweetness and joy unspeakable; there the righteous will shine like the sun. But if St. himself could not explain that heavenly glory and joy. Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12:2-4), then what other human language can explain the beauty of the mountain village in which the souls of the righteous will dwell?

At the end of his conversation, the elder spoke about how it is now necessary to carefully take care of one’s salvation before the favorable time has passed.

Elder Seraphim’s foresight extended very far. He gave instructions for the future, which an ordinary person could not foresee. So, one young lady, who had never thought of leaving the world, came to his cell to ask for guidance on how to save herself. As soon as this thought flashed in her head, the elder already began to say: “Don’t be embarrassed too much, live the way you live; God Himself will teach you more.” Then, bowing to her to the ground, he said: “I ask you only one thing: please, make all decisions yourself and judge fairly; by this you will be saved.” Being then still in the world and absolutely not thinking of ever being in a monastery, this person could not understand in any way what such words from Fr. Seraphim. He, continuing his speech, told her: “When that time comes, then remember me.” Saying goodbye to Fr. Seraphim, the interlocutor said that perhaps the Lord would bring them to meet again. “No,” answered Father Seraphim, “we are already saying goodbye forever, and therefore I ask you not to forget me in your holy prayers.” When she asked to pray for her, he answered: “I will pray, but now you come in peace: they are already grumbling greatly against you.” Her companions, indeed, met her at the hotel with strong murmurs for her slowness. Meanwhile, the words of Fr. Seraphim were not spoken into the air. The interlocutor, according to the inscrutable fate of Providence, entered monasticism under the name of Callista and, having been an abbess in the Sviyazhsky monastery of the Kazan province, remembered the elder’s instructions and organized her life according to them.

On another occasion we visited Fr. Seraphim are two maidens, spiritual daughters of Stephen, the schema-monk of the Sarov hermitage. One of them was of the merchant class, young in age, the other of the nobles, already elderly. The latter, from her youth, burned with love for God and long ago wanted to become a nun, but her parents did not give her their blessing. Both girls came to Fr. Seraphim accept the blessing and ask him for advice. The noble one, moreover, asked to bless her to join the monastery. The elder, on the contrary, began to advise her to get married, saying: “Married life is blessed by God Himself. In it, you only need to observe marital fidelity, love and peace on both sides. In marriage you will be happy, but there is no way for you to become a monk. Monastic life difficult; not bearable for everyone." The girl from the merchant rank, young in age, did not think a word about monasticism. I didn’t tell Seraphim. Meanwhile, he, on his own behalf, blessed her, out of his foresight, to enter the monastic order, and even named the monastery in which she would be saved. Both were equally dissatisfied with the elder’s conversation; and the older girl was even offended by his advice and lost interest in her zeal for him. Their spiritual father himself, Hieromonk Stefan, was surprised and did not understand why, in fact, the elder distracts an elderly person, zealous for the monastic path, from monasticism, and blesses a young virgin, who does not want monasticism, on this path? The consequences, however, justified the elder. The noble maiden, already in her old age, got married and was happy. And the young woman, indeed, went to the monastery that the perspicacious elder named.

With the gift of his insight, Fr. Seraphim brought a lot of benefit to his neighbors. Thus, there was a pious widow of a deacon in Sarov from Penza, named Evdokia. Wanting to accept the elder’s blessing, she, among many people, came for him from the hospital church and stopped on the porch of his cell, waiting behind everyone when it was her turn to approach Fr. Seraphim. But oh. Seraphim, having left everyone, suddenly says to her: “Evdokia, come here quickly.” Evdokia was unusually surprised that he called her by name, having never seen her, and approached him with a feeling of reverence and trepidation. O. Seraphim blessed her, gave her St. Antidora and said: “You need to hurry home to find your son at home.” Evdokia hurried and, in fact, barely found her son at home: in her absence, the authorities of the Penza Seminary appointed him a student at the Kiev Academy and, due to the distance of Kyiv from Penza, were in a hurry to send him to his place. This son, after completing a course at the Kyiv Academy, entered monasticism under the name Irinarch, and was a mentor in seminaries; currently holds the rank of archimandrite and deeply honors the memory of Fr. Seraphim.

Alexei Guryevich Vorotilov was told more than once by Fr. Seraphim that one day three powers will rise up against Russia and exhaust her greatly. But for Orthodoxy, the Lord will have mercy and preserve her. Then this speech, as a legend about the future, was incomprehensible; but events explained that the elder was saying this about the Crimean campaign.

The prayers of Elder Seraphim were so strong before God that there are examples of the restoration of the sick from the deathbed. So, in May 1829, the wife of Alexei Guryevich Vorotilov, a resident of Gorbatovsky district, the village of Pavlovo, became seriously ill. Vorotilov had great faith in the power of Fr. Seraphim, and the elder, according to the testimony of knowledgeable people, loved him as if he were his disciple and confidant. Vorotilov immediately went to Sarov and, despite the fact that he arrived there at midnight, hurried to Fr. Seraphim. The elder, as if waiting for him, sat on the porch of his cell and, seeing him, greeted him with these words: “What, my joy, hastened at such a time to the poor Seraphim?” Vorotilov tearfully told him about the reason for his hasty arrival in Sarov and asked him to help his sick wife. But oh. Seraphim, to Vorotilov’s greatest sorrow, announced that his wife should die of illness. Then Alexey Guryevich, shedding a stream of tears, fell at the feet of the ascetic, with faith and humility begging him to pray for the return of her life and health. O. Seraphim immediately plunged into smart prayer for about ten minutes, then he opened his eyes and, raising Vorotilov to his feet, joyfully said: “Well, my joy, the Lord will give your wife life. Come in peace to your house.” With joy, Vorotilov hurried home. Here he learned that his wife felt relief precisely in those moments when Fr. Seraphim was in a feat of prayer. Soon she completely recovered.

After the retreat Fr. Seraphim changed his lifestyle and began to dress differently. He ate food once a day, in the evening, and dressed in a cassock made of black, thick cloth. In the summer he threw a white canvas robe on top, and in the winter he wore a fur coat and mittens. In autumn and early spring weather, he wore a caftan made of thick Russian black cloth. To protect against rain and heat, he wore a half-robe made of solid leather, with cutouts for putting on. He wore a white and always clean towel over his clothes and wore his copper cross. He went out to work at the monastery in bast shoes in the summer, in shoe covers in the winter, and when going to church for divine services, he put on, out of decency, leather boots. He wore a kamilavka on his head in winter and summer. Moreover, when following the monastic rules, he put on a robe and, starting to receive the Holy Mysteries, put on the stole and armlets and then, without taking them off, received pilgrims in the cell.

One rich man, having visited Fr. Seraphim and seeing his squalor, began to say to him: “Why are you wearing such rags on yourself?” Father Seraphim responded: “Joasaph the prince considered the mantle given to him by the hermit Varlaam to be higher and more valuable than the royal scarlet robe” (Chet-Minea, November 19).

Against sleep o. Seraphim labored very strictly. It became known in recent years that he indulged in the night's peace, sometimes in the hallway, sometimes in his cell. He slept, sitting on the floor, with his back leaning against the wall and his legs stretched out. Other times he bowed his head on a stone or on a piece of wood. Sometimes he threw himself on the sacks, bricks and logs that were in his cell. Approaching the moment of his departure, he began to rest in this way: he knelt down and slept prostrate to the floor on his elbows, supporting his head with his hands.

His monastic self-sacrifice, love and devotion to the Lord and the Mother of God were so great that when one gentleman, Ivan Yakovlevich Karataev, who was at his blessing in 1831, asked if he would order something to be said to his brother and others relatives in Kursk, where Karataev was traveling, the elder, pointing to the faces of the Savior and the Mother of God, said with a smile: “Here are my Relatives, but for my living relatives I am already a living dead.”

The time that o. All that remained for Seraphim was to sleep and study with those who came, he spent time in prayer. Performing the prayer rule with all precision and zeal for the salvation of his soul, he was at the same time a great man of prayer and intercessor before God for all living and deceased Orthodox Christians. For this purpose, when reading the Psalter, at each chapter he unforgettably said the following prayers with all his heart:

1: For the living: “Save, Lord, and have mercy on all Orthodox Christians and Orthodox Christians in every place of Thy dominion: grant them, Lord, spiritual peace and bodily health and forgive them every sin, voluntary and involuntary: and through their holy prayers and me, the accursed, have mercy."

2: For the departed: “Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: the forefather, the father and our brothers who lie here and the Orthodox Christians who have passed away everywhere: grant them, O Lord, the kingdom and communion of Your endless and blessed life, and forgive them, Lord, every sin, freely and also involuntary."

In prayer for the dead and the living, the wax candles that burned in his cell in front of the shrine were of particular importance. This was explained in November 1831 by the elder himself, Fr. Seraphim in conversation with N. A. Motovilov. “I,” said Nikolai Alexandrovich, “saw at Father Seraphim’s place many lamps, especially many piles of wax candles, both large and small, on different round trays, on which, from the wax that had melted for many years and dripping from the candles, it seemed as if wax mounds, I thought to myself: why does Father Seraphim light such a multitude of candles and lamps, producing in his cell an unbearable heat from the fiery warmth? And he, as if making my thoughts fall silent, said to me:

Do you want to know, your love for God, why I light so many lamps and candles in front of the holy icons of God? This is why: I have, as you know, many persons who are zealous for me and do good to my mill orphans. They bring me oil and candles and ask me to pray for them. So, when I read my rules, I remember them first once. And since, for the multitude of names, I will not be able to repeat them at every place of the rule where it should be - then I would not have enough time to complete my rule - then I put all these candles for them as a sacrifice to God, for each one candle, for others - for several people one large candle, for others I constantly warm the lamps; and, where it is necessary to remember them in the rule, I say: Lord, remember all those people, Your servants, for their souls I, wretched one, lit these candles and candila for you (i.e., lamps). And that this is not my, poor Seraphim’s, human invention, or just my simple zeal, not based on anything divine, then I will give you the words of Divine Scripture to support it. The Bible says that Moses heard the voice of the Lord, speaking to him: “Moses, Moses! Say to your brother Aaron, let him burn candles before Me day and night: this is more pleasing to eat before Me, and the sacrifice is acceptable to Me.” So, your love for God, why St. The Church of God has adopted the custom of lighting fires in St. churches and in the homes of faithful Christians there are kandilas or lamps in front of the holy icons of the Lord, the Mother of God, St. Angels and St. people who have pleased God."

Praying for the living, especially those who required his prayerful help, Fr. Seraphim always remembered the dead and commemorated them in his cell prayers according to the rules of the Orthodox Church.

Once, myself o. Seraphim related the following circumstance: “Two nuns, who were both abbess, died. The Lord revealed to me how their souls were led through aerial ordeals, that during the ordeals they were tortured and then condemned. I prayed for three days, poor thing, asking the Mother of God for them. The Lord, in His goodness, through the prayers of the Mother of God, had mercy on them: they went through all the airy ordeals and received forgiveness from God’s mercy.”

Once it was noticed that during prayer Elder Seraphim stood in the air. This incident was told to Princess E.S.Sh.

Her sick nephew, Mr. Ya, came to her from St. Petersburg. She, without hesitating for long, took him to Sarov to Fr. Seraphim. The young man was overcome by such illness and weakness that he could not walk on his own, and he was carried into the monastery enclosure on a bed. At that time, Father Seraphim stood at the door of his monastery cell, as if expecting to meet the paralytic. He immediately asked to bring the sick man into his cell and, turning to him, said: “You, my joy, pray, and I will pray for you; just watch, lie as you lie, and don’t turn around in the other direction.” The sick man lay for a long time, obeying the words of the elder. But his patience weakened, curiosity tempted him to look at what the elder was doing. Looking back, he saw Fr. Seraphim standing in the air in a prayerful position and from the surprise and unusualness of the vision, he cried out. O. Seraphim, after completing the prayer, approached him and said: “Now, you will now explain to everyone that Seraphim is a saint, praying in the air... The Lord will have mercy on you... And you see, protect yourself with silence and do not tell no one until the day of my death, otherwise your illness will return again.” G. Ya., indeed, got out of bed and, although leaning on others, he himself, on his own feet, left the cell. In the monastery hotel he was besieged with questions: “How and what did Father Seraphim do and what did he say?” But, to everyone's surprise, he didn't say a single word. The young man, having been completely healed, was again in St. Petersburg and again after some time returned to the estate of Princess Sh. Then he learned that Elder Seraphim had died from his labors, and then he spoke about his prayer in the air. One case of such prayer was accidentally observed, but, of course, the elder was raised into the air more than once by the grace of God during his long labors of prayer.

A year before his death, Seraphim felt extreme exhaustion of mental and physical strength. He was now about 72 years old. The usual order of his life, established since the end of the retreat, was now inevitably subject to change. The elder began to go to the desert cell less often. The monastery also found it difficult to constantly receive visitors. The people, accustomed to the idea of seeing Fr. Seraphim at all times grieved that now he began to shy away from gaze. However, zeal for him forced many to live at the monastery hotel for quite some time in order to find an opportunity that would not be burdensome for the very old man to see him and hear from his lips the desired word of edification or consolation.

In addition to making predictions for others, the elder now began to predict his own death.

So, one day the sister of the Diveyevo community, Paraskeva Ivanovna, came to him with other employees from the sisters. The elder began to tell them: “I am weakening in strength; live alone now, I am leaving you.” The mournful conversation about separation touched the listeners; They began to cry and with that they parted with the elder. However, about this conversation, they thought not about his death, but about the fact that Fr. Seraphim, due to his old age, wants to postpone caring for them in order to retire into seclusion.

Another time, the elder was visited by Paraskeva Ivanovna alone. He was in the forest, in the nearby desert. Having blessed her, Fr. Seraphim sat down on a piece of wood, and his sister knelt next to him. O Seraphim led a spiritual conversation and came into extraordinary delight: he stood on his feet, raised his hands to grief, and looked to the sky. A gracious light illuminated his soul from the vision of the bliss of the future life. For this time the elder was actually talking about what eternal joy awaits a person in heaven for the short-term sorrows of temporary life. “What joy, what delight,” he said, “embraces the soul of the righteous when, after separation from the body, it is gathered by Angels and presented before the Face of God!” Expanding this thought, the elder asked his sister several times: does she understand him? The sister listened to everything without saying a word. She understood the elder’s conversation, but did not see that the speech was leading to his death. Then Fr. Seraphim again began to say the same: “I am weakening in strength; live alone now, I am leaving you.” The sister thought that he wanted to go into seclusion again, but Fr. Seraphim responded to her thoughts: “I was looking for your mother (abbess), I was looking... and could not find it. After me, no one will replace me. I leave you to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother.”

Six months before his death, Fr. Seraphim, saying goodbye to many, said with determination: “We will not see you again.” Some asked for blessings to come during Lent, talk in Sarov and once again enjoy seeing and talking with him. “Then my doors will be closed,” the elder answered, “you will not see me.” It became very noticeable that the life of Fr. Seraphim fades away; only his spirit, as before, and even more than before, was awake. “My life is shortening,” he said to some of the brethren, “in spirit I seem to have been born now, but in body throughout I am dead.”

January 1, 1833, Sunday, Fr. Seraphim came for the last time to the hospital church in the name of Sts. Zosima and Savvaty, he put candles to all the icons and venerated himself, which had not been noticed before; then, according to custom, he received Holy Communion of Christ. At the end of the liturgy, he said goodbye to all the brethren who were praying here, blessed everyone, kissed them and, consoling, said: “Save yourself, do not lose heart, stay awake: this day crowns are being prepared for us.” Having said goodbye to everyone, he venerated the cross and the image of the Mother of God; then, walking around St. throne, made the usual worship and left the temple by the northern doors, as if signifying that a person enters this world through one gate, through birth, and leaves it through another, that is, through the gate of death. At this time, everyone noticed in him the extreme exhaustion of his bodily strength; but in spirit the old man was cheerful, calm and cheerful.

After the liturgy, he had the sister of the Diveyevo community, Irina Vasilievna. The elder sent Paraskeva Ivanovna 200 rubles with her. assign. money, instructing the latter to buy bread in a nearby village with this money, for at that time the entire supply was gone, and the sisters were in great need.

Elder Seraphim used to leave the candles lit in the morning in front of the images burning in his cell when leaving the monastery for the desert. Brother Pavel, taking advantage of his favor, sometimes told the elder that a fire could occur from lit candles; but oh. Seraphim always answered this: “As long as I am alive, there will be no fire; but when I die, my death will be revealed by fire.” And so it happened.

On the first day of 1833, Brother Pavel noticed that Fr. During that day, Seraphim went out three times to the place that he had indicated for his burial, and, remaining there for quite a long time, looked at the ground. In the evening Fr. Paul heard the elder singing Easter songs in his cell.

On the second day of January, at about six in the morning, Brother Pavel, leaving his cell for the early liturgy, felt Fr. Seraphim smells of smoke. Having said the usual prayer, he knocked on Fr.'s door. Seraphim, but the door was locked from the inside with a hook, and there was no answer to the prayer. He went out onto the porch and, noticing the monks walking into the church in the darkness, said to them: “Fathers and brothers! A strong smoky smell is heard. Is something burning near us? The elder must have gone into the desert.” Then one of those passing by, novice Anikita, rushed to Fr. Seraphim and, feeling that it was locked, with an intense push he tore it off the inner hook. Many Christians, out of zeal, brought to Fr. Seraphim has various canvas items. These things, along with the books, lay this time on the bench in disarray near the door. They were smoldering, probably from candle soot or from a fallen candle, the candlestick of which stood right there. There was no fire, but only things and some books were smoldering. It was dark in the yard, a little light; in the cell of Fr. Seraphim of the light was not there, the elder himself was also not seen or heard. They thought that he was resting from his nightly exploits, and in these thoughts those who came crowded around the cell. There was a little confusion in the entryway. Some of the brothers rushed to get the snow and extinguished the smoldering things.

The early liturgy, meanwhile, continued unceasingly in its own order in the hospital church. Sang Worthy to eat... At this time, a boy, one of the novices, unexpectedly ran into the church and quietly told some of what had happened. The brethren hurried to Fr. Seraphim. Quite a few monks gathered. Brother Pavel and novice Anikita, wanting to make sure whether the elder was resting, began to feel the small space of his cell in the darkness and found him kneeling in prayer, with his hands crossed in a cross. He was dead.

After mass Fr. Seraphim was placed in a coffin, according to his will, with an enamel image of the teacher. Sergius, received from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The grave of the blessed elder was prepared in the very place that had long been planned by him, and his body stood open in the Assumption Cathedral for eight days. Until the day of the burial, the Sarov desert was filled with thousands of people gathered from surrounding countries and provinces. Everyone vied with each other to kiss the great old man. Everyone unanimously mourned his loss and prayed for the repose of his soul, as during his life he prayed for the health and salvation of everyone. On the day of the burial, there were so many people in the cathedral during the liturgy that the local candles near the coffin went out from the heat.

At that time, Hieromonk Philaret labored in the Glinsk monastery, Kursk province. His student reported that on January 2, leaving the church after Matins, Father Philaret showed an extraordinary light in the sky and said: “This is how the souls of the righteous ascend to heaven! This is the soul of Father Seraphim ascending!”

Archimandrite Mitrofan, who held the position of sacristan in the Nevsky Lavra, was a novice in the Sarov desert and was at the tomb of Fr. Seraphim. He told the Diveyevo orphans that he had personally witnessed a miracle: when the confessor wanted to put a prayer of permission into the hand of Fr. Seraphim, then the hand unclenched on its own. The abbot, the treasurer and others saw this and remained perplexed for a long time, amazed at what had happened.

Burial of Fr. Seraphim was committed by Fr. Abbot Nifont. His body was buried on the right side of the cathedral altar, near the grave of Mark the recluse. (Subsequently, through the diligence of the Nizhny Novgorod merchant Ya. Syrev, a cast-iron monument in the form of a tomb was erected over his grave, on which it is written: he lived for the glory of God for 73 years, 5 months and 12 days).

The people who have their heavenly patrons are strong. All hope and hope lies in them. Such a Russian intercessor at the throne of God is Saint Seraphim of Sarov. His biography, photo of the monastery in which he labored, as well as his life are known to all believers in our country. He is revered and loved. It is difficult to find a temple in Russia that does not have his image. Our story is about him.

The childhood of the future ascetic

The Holy Reverend Seraphim of Sorov, whose biography is an example of selfless service to God, was born in 1754 in Kursk. His parents led a strict and pious life, raising their son Prokhor (that was the name of the future saint from birth) in the spirit of the commandments of God. His father, Isidor Moshnin, was involved in construction contracts. When the boy was still at an early age, his father died before finishing the construction of the temple in Kursk. His work was continued by Agathia, Prokhor's widowed mother.

From that time on, the future Saint Seraphim of Sarov was already marked by the Lord. His biography tells about an amazing incident that happened during these years. One day his mother took him with her to the bell tower of a temple under construction. The boy stumbled and fell from a great height, but by the will of God he remained safe and sound.

Everyone was amazed by the future ascetic’s extraordinary memory and diligence in study. From an early age he learned to read and write and could freely read the Bible and the lives of saints. But even more surprising was the boy’s love for church services. He preferred them to the games and amusements so typical of children of his age.

First appearance of the Queen of Heaven to Prokhor

Soon a new miracle was revealed, foreshadowing that from the quiet and pious youth the future lamp of the church, Seraphim of Sarov, would grow. His biography mentions such a case. The boy fell ill and was in extremely serious condition. Everyone was afraid that he would die. But one day the Queen of Heaven appeared to him in a dream and said that she would soon visit and heal him. Indeed, a few days later a religious procession with the icon of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos took place near their house. His mother took Prokhor out of the house, and he venerated the icon. A miracle happened and he recovered.

The decision to devote oneself to serving God

When he grew up, he announced to his mother his cherished desire to devote his life to serving God and embark on the path of monasticism. Agathia blessed her son, and he and his comrades made a pilgrimage to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

One of the elders of the Lavra, Schemamonk Dosifei, endowed with the gift of clairvoyance, ordered Prokhor to go to the Sarov hermitage and save his soul there. This is how the future holy elder Seraphim of Sarov was born. His biography is a path of continuous labor on the path of spiritual growth. On the way from Kyiv, he stopped only for a short time at his mother’s house, said goodbye to her and went on to Sarov. In November 1778, the future ascetic entered the gates of the monastery for the first time.

In the Sarov monastery

The abbot of the monastery in those years was the respected elder Father Pachomius. From the first days, he treated the young novice with warmth and love and entrusted the care of him to the wise elder Joseph. He led the novice at the very beginning of his journey. The main thing that he put into the mind of the young man was the complete rejection of idleness and boredom, which are the worst enemies of young, “novice” monks. From them arise sinful thoughts and desires. Elder Joseph taught Prokhor to fill his time as much as possible with prayers and work.

Already during this period, a desire for solitary prayer was noted in him. For this purpose, the young novice went into the forest thicket and there he talked with God alone. The second appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to him dates back to this period, which is mentioned, due to the importance of the event, even in a short biography. Seraphim of Sarov had several such phenomena during his earthly life.

Appearance of the Mother of God and healing from dropsy

In the third year of his stay in the monastery, he became seriously ill with dropsy, but refused the help of doctors, relying only on the Queen of Heaven. And she did not leave him, appearing in a dream along with the apostles Peter and John. The Mother of God touched Prokhor's body, and the water that was causing him suffering erupted out. Complete healing has occurred. Here the Mother of God testified before the holy apostles that Prokhor belonged to the Kingdom of God. Subsequently, a hospital church was built at the site of the appearance of the Virgin Mary.

Taking monastic tonsure

Eight years have passed, and the time has come to take monastic vows. From now on, Prokhor Mashnin died for the world and a young monk was born, the future Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, whose life and teachings would become a reference book for many pious people. The name Seraphim, given upon entering monasticism, perfectly conveys the fervor of his faith.

A year later he was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon. Daily services in the temple were accompanied by incessant prayers the rest of the time. The Lord vouchsafed his faithful servant to see visions of grace. Angels of God appeared before him repeatedly, and once during the service there was a vision of Jesus Christ himself coming on the clouds. Only the most zealous servant of God could be honored with this. This gave strength for new works and monastic deeds. Leaving himself only the smallest time for sleep, he served in the monastery during the day, and at night he went to a distant forest cell for prayer and vigil.

Life in a forest cell

At the age of 39, Seraphim of Sarov rose to a new level of service to the Holy Church. The biography reports that, having been ordained as a hieromonk, he asked for blessings from the abbot of the monastery for the feat of living in the desert. From that time on, the monk settled in a lonely forest cell, devoting himself entirely to prayer and spiritual contemplation. He appeared within the walls of the monastery once a week to receive the Holy Gifts.

There is a Charter of the ancient desert inhabitants. His demands are unusually strict and full of asceticism. It was they who guided the ascetic. In addition to constant prayer, he filled his time with reading the works of the holy fathers of the church, and, of course, the New Testament, which he knew almost by heart. Near his cell, he planted a vegetable garden, where he grew the essentials for food. He ate food once a day, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he abstained from food altogether. Occasionally they brought him bread from the monastery. Living this way, the saint entered into complete unity with nature. A bear even began to visit him, and, treating him, the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov shared his last piece of bread with him. The biography for children, illustrated with scenes from the life of the saint, necessarily shows this episode of feeding the clubfooted guest.

Removal from people and 1000 days and nights on stone

Gradually, the fame of the new hermit began to spread among the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, and people began to come to the monk for spiritual instructions. This greatly distracted him from his internal concentrated prayer, and over time, at his request, the brethren of the monastery blocked the path to his cell with branches and logs. Now only the birds of the air and animals visited him. The time has come for absolute silence.

At all times, monks who took the path of ascetic deeds were subjected to angry attacks from the enemy of the human race, and the monk was no exception. Even his short biography tells about this important episode. Seraphim of Sarov survived the most difficult “internal battle.” The enemy tormented him with harmful temptations, and to fight them he took upon himself the feat of stylite life. From then on, the saint spent every night standing in the thicket of the forest on a huge stone and constantly reciting the Jesus Prayer, raising his hands to the sky. During the day, he returned to his cell and continued his feat of prayer, standing on a smaller stone, specially brought from the forest, and interrupted his work only for a short rest and reinforcement. The feat continued for 1000 days and nights.

Robber Attack

Unable to break the spirit of the ascetic, the enemy tried to take his life, showing the way to the cell to the robbers. They, threatening death, demanded money, but the hermit, filled with humility, did not resist them, although he was armed with an ax. Having searched the home and found nothing, the villains brutally beat him, and, leaving him alone to die, they left. The Lord saved the life of his faithful servant and helped him get to the monastery. Here the Mother of God appeared to him again and, touching him again, granted healing. The monk recovered, but until the end of his earthly life he walked bent over. Returning to the forest cell, he resumed the feat of silence. The reward for this was peace in the soul and “joy in the Holy Spirit.” After some time he returned to the monastery.

Feat of old age

Soon Seraphim of Sarov was honored to enter a new stage of spiritual growth. The biography, a brief summary of which conveys only a small part of the saint’s exploits, shows everyone an example of the highest asceticism and selflessness. The Lord was pleased to place him in service in the highest monastic feat - eldership. From now on, the doors of his cell were open to everyone who thirsted for spiritual nourishment.

The monks of the monastery built a cell for him near a spring called Bogoslovsky. Every time he left her, the elder carried a knapsack with stones on his shoulders. In this way the monk exhausted the flesh, driving out harmful passions. His main occupation was conversations with pilgrims. Weak souls flocked to him from all over, demanding guidance, consolation and help. And the holy elder found the right words for everyone.

Among his admirers was a man who, through the prayers of the elder, received healing from an illness. His name was Nikolai Aleksandrovich Motovilov. He stayed with Father Seraphim for a long time, talked with him and wrote down his teachings. In addition, listening to the elder’s stories about life, Motovilov composed a whole essay, which could be entitled “St. Seraphim of Sarov. Biography".

Diveevo

Constantly busy receiving everyone who needed him, Father Seraphim devoted time to caring for the nearby Diveyevo convent. His contribution to the well-being of the lives of the sisters of the monastery and their spiritual growth is invaluable. Providing them with personal assistance, the monk convinced influential persons from among the pilgrims of the need for patronage of the monastery. Shortly before his death, the monk was honored with another appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to him. She informed the saint about the imminent end of his earthly life and entrusted him with the sisters of the Diveyevo monastery.

Repose and canonization of the saint

The strength of the holy elder began to leave. He left his cell less and less often. In his entryway there was a coffin, prepared in advance for the day of his death. On January 1, 1833, having served the Liturgy for the last time and received Holy Communion, Father Seraphim locked himself in his cell. The next day, his lifeless body was found, bowed in a prayerful position in front of the images.

Over the course of the seventy years that have passed since his death, miraculous healings took place at the elder’s grave through prayers addressed to him. In 1903, Seraphim of Sarov was canonized and canonized. The solemn ceremony took place in the presence of the royal family, representatives of the Synod and a large crowd of believers. From this day on, the holy Venerable Seraphim of Sarov also appeared among the heavenly patrons of our Fatherland.

“Father Seraphimushka,” they lovingly call him in Diveevo, and in Sarov, and throughout the vastness of Russia. In all Orthodox families, children know the good old man Seraphim of Sarov. The biography, a summary for children of its main episodes and illustrations for them are loved by many boys and girls from an early age.

Saint's Instructions

The teachings and spiritual instructions of the holy ascetic that have reached us are an invaluable treasure. The main idea in them is the task of “acquiring the Holy Spirit.” The monk not only indicates the purpose of human life in this, but also helps to find the way to achieve it. One of the most important moments on this path is the constant calling of the Lord, who, by His coming into the souls of people, is able to expel from them the cold instilled by the Devil and breathe in the warmth of love not only for him, but also for his neighbors. The holy Venerable Seraphim of Sarov generously shared such warmth with people. His biography, days of remembrance and his teachings are kept in the memory of many generations of believers.

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was born on July 19, 1754. The saint's parents, Isidore and Agafia Moshnin, were residents of Kursk. Isidor Ivanovich took out contracts for the construction of buildings, and at the end of his life he began the construction of the cathedral, but died before the completion of the work. The youngest son Prokhor remained in the care of his mother, who raised a deep faith in her son. After the death of her husband, Agafia Fotievna, who continued the construction of the cathedral, once took Prokhor with her there, who, having stumbled, fell from the bell tower. But 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 saints to his peers, but most of all he loved to pray or read the Holy Gospel in solitude. One day Prokhor fell seriously ill and 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 Moshnin estate; his mother carried Prokhor out in her arms, and he venerated the holy icon, after which he began to quickly recover.

Even in his youth, Prokhor made the decision to completely devote his life to God and enter a monastery. The pious mother did not interfere with this and blessed him on his monastic path with a copper cross, which the Reverend wore on his chest all his life. Prokhor and the pilgrims set off on foot from Kursk to Kyiv to worship the Pechersk saints. The schemamonk elder Dosifei, whom Prokhor visited, blessed him to go to the Sarov hermitage and save himself there. Returning briefly to his parents' house, Prokhor said goodbye to his mother and relatives forever. On November 20, 1778, he came to Sarov, where the wise elder Pachomius was then rector. He kindly received the young man and appointed Elder Joseph as his confessor. Under his leadership, Prokhor underwent many obediences in the monastery: he was the elder’s cell attendant, worked in the bakery, prosphora and carpentry shop, carried out the duties of a sexton, and performed everything with zeal and zeal, serving as if the Lord Himself. By constant work he protected himself from boredom - this, as he later said, “the most dangerous temptation for new monks, which is cured by prayer, abstinence from idle talk, feasible handicraft, reading the Word of God and patience, because it is born from cowardice, carelessness and idle talk.” .

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 desire to serve Him zealously. A year later, Seraphim was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon. Burning in spirit, he served in the temple every day, constantly praying even after the service. The Lord vouchsafed the monk visions of grace during church services: he repeatedly saw holy Angels serving with the brethren. The Reverend was honored with a special vision of grace during the Divine Liturgy on Maundy Thursday, which was performed by the rector, Father Pachomius, and Elder Joseph. When, after the troparions, the Reverend said: “Lord, save the pious,” and, standing at the royal doors, pointed his orar at those praying with the exclamation “and forever and ever,” suddenly a bright ray overshadowed 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 the Heavenly Ethereal Forces. Having reached the pulpit, the Lord blessed all those praying and entered the local image to the right of the Royal Doors. The Monk Seraphim, looking in spiritual delight at the wondrous phenomenon, could not utter a word or leave his place. He was led arm in arm into the altar, where he stood for another three hours, his face changing from the great grace that illuminated him. After the vision, the Reverend intensified his exploits: during the day he worked in the monastery, and spent his nights in prayer in a deserted forest cell.

In 1793, St. Seraphim was ordained to the rank of hieromonk and continued serving in the church. After the death of the abbot, Father Pachomius, having his dying blessing for a new feat of desert living, the Reverend also took the blessing from the new abbot - Father Isaiah - and went to a desert cell several 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 all-night vigil, and returning to his cell after the liturgy, during which he received communion of the Holy Mysteries.

The monk spent his life in severe exploits. He carried out his cell prayer rule according to the rules of the ancient desert monasteries; I never parted with the Holy Gospel, reading the entire New Testament during the week, and also read patristic and liturgical books. The monk learned many church hymns by heart and sang them during his work hours in the forest. Near the cell he planted a vegetable garden and built a beekeeper. Father Seraphim kept a very strict fast, ate once a day, and on Wednesday and Friday he completely abstained from food. For about three years, Father Seraphim ate only one herb, snitis, which grew around his cell. In the first week of Holy Pentecost, he did not take food until Saturday, when he received Holy Communion. The holy elder, in solitude, was sometimes so immersed in inner heartfelt prayer that he remained motionless for a long time, neither hearing nor seeing anything around him. The hermits Schemamonk Mark the Silent and Hierodeacon Alexander, who visited him from time to time, finding the saint in such prayer, quietly withdrew with reverence, so as not to disturb his contemplation.

Seeing the exploits 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 holy elder protected himself with prayer and the power of the Life-giving Cross. To repel the onslaught of the enemy, the Monk Seraphim intensified his labors by taking upon himself the feat of stylite mongering. Every night he stood on a huge stone in the forest and prayed with raised hands, crying: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” During the day, he prayed in his cell on a stone that he brought from the forest, leaving it only for a short rest and refreshing his body with meager food. So the Reverend spent 1000 days and nights in deep prayer.

The shamed devil planned to kill the Monk Seraphim and sent robbers. Approaching the saint, who was working in the garden, the robbers began to demand money from him. The Reverend at that time had an ax in his hands, he was physically strong and could have defended himself, but the saint, lowering the ax to the ground, said: “Do what you need.” The robbers began to beat the Reverend, broke 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 his cell in search of money. Having destroyed everything in the cell and finding nothing in it except an icon and a few potatoes, they were ashamed of their crime and left. The Monk Seraphim, having regained consciousness, crawled to his cell and, suffering severely, lay there all night. The next morning, with great difficulty, he reached the monastery. The brethren were horrified when they saw the wounded ascetic. The Reverend lay there for eight days, suffering from wounds; Doctors were called to him, surprised that Father Seraphim remained alive after such beatings. But the Reverend did not receive healing from doctors: the Queen of Heaven appeared to him in a subtle dream with the apostles Peter and John. Touching the head of Father Seraphim, the Most Holy 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 the desert cell. Remaining bent forever, the Reverend walked, leaning on a staff or hatchet, but forgave his offenders and asked them not to punish them. After the death of the rector, Father Isaiah, Father Seraphim took upon himself the feat of silence, completely renouncing all worldly thoughts for the purest stand before God in unceasing prayer. If the saint met a person in the forest, he fell on his face and did not get up until the passerby moved away. The Elder spent about three years in such silence, stopping even from visiting the monastery on Sundays.

The fruit of silence was for St. Seraphim the acquisition of peace of soul and joy in the Holy Spirit. The great ascetic later said: “...my joy, I pray you, acquire a peaceful spirit, and then thousands of souls will be saved around you.”

The new abbot, Father Nifont, and the elder brethren of the monastery suggested that Father Seraphim either continue to come to the monastery on Sundays to participate in divine services and receive communion at the monastery of the Holy Mysteries, or return to the monastery. In the spring of 1810, the Reverend returned to the monastery after 15 years in the desert. Without breaking his silence, he added seclusion to this feat and, without going anywhere or receiving anyone, he was constantly in prayer and contemplation of God. While in retreat, the Monk Seraphim acquired high spiritual purity and received from God the special grace-filled gifts of clairvoyance and miracle-working. Then the Lord appointed His chosen one to serve people in the highest monastic feat - eldership.

On November 25, 1825, the Mother of God, together with the two saints celebrated on this day, appeared in a dream vision to the elder and commanded him to come out of seclusion and receive weak human souls that required instruction, consolation, guidance and healing. Having been blessed by the abbot for a change in lifestyle, the Reverend opened the doors of his cell to everyone.

The elder saw the hearts of people and, as a spiritual doctor, healed mental and physical illnesses with prayer to God and a word of grace. Those who came to St. 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 they built a small cell for him. When leaving his 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 brainchild - the Diveyevo women's monastery. While still in the rank of hierodeacon, he accompanied the rector, Father Pachomius, to the Diveyevo nun Alexandra, and then Father Pachomius blessed the Reverend to always take care of the Diveyevo orphans. He was a true father for the sisters, who turned to him in all their spiritual and everyday difficulties. Father Seraphim’s concerns for the Diveyevo monastery were shared by his spiritual children - Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, who was healed by the Reverend from a serious illness and, on his advice, accepted the feat of voluntary poverty; Elena Vasilievna Manturova, one of the Diveyevo sisters, who voluntarily agreed to die out of obedience to the Elder for her brother, who was still needed by the monastery; Nikolai Aleksandrovich Motovilov, also healed by the Reverend and became “a servant of Seraphim and the Mother of God.” N. A. Motovilov recorded the teaching of St. Seraphim about the purpose of 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 revered St. Seraphim as a great ascetic and wonderworker.

A year and ten months before his death, on the Feast of the Annunciation, the Monk Seraphim was honored with the twelfth appearance of the Queen of Heaven, accompanied by the Baptist of the Lord John, the Apostle John the Theologian and twelve virgins - holy martyrs and saints. The Most Holy Virgin talked for a long time with the Reverend and said: “Soon, My beloved, you will be with us.”

In the last year of his life, St. Seraphim began to noticeably weaken and told many about his imminent death. At this time, he was often seen at the coffin, which stood in the entryway of his cell. The monk himself indicated the place where he should be buried - near the altar of the Assumption Cathedral. On January 1, 1833, the Monk Seraphim came for the last time to the hospital Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Church for the liturgy and took communion of the Holy Mysteries, after which he blessed the brethren and said goodbye, saying: “Save yourself, do not lose heart, stay awake, today crowns are being prepared for us.”

On January 2, the cell attendant of the Reverend, Father Paul, at six o'clock in the morning left his cell, heading to the church, and smelled the smell of burning coming from Father Seraphim's cell; Candles were always burning in the saint’s cell, and he said: “As long as I am alive, there will be no fire, but when I die, my death will be revealed by fire.” When the doors were opened, it turned out that the Reverend was kneeling before the icon of the Mother of God in a position of prayer, but already lifeless. During prayer, his pure soul was taken by the Angels and flew up to the Throne of God Almighty, whose faithful servant and servant the Monk Seraphim was all his life.

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Prayer to St. Seraphim of Sarov

Oh, great servant of God, reverend and God-bearing Father Seraphim! Look down from the heavenly glory upon us, the humble and weak, burdened with many sins, your help and consolation to those who ask. Penetrate us with your compassion and help us to immaculately preserve the commandments of the Lord, to firmly maintain the Orthodox faith, to diligently bring repentance for our sins to God, to gracefully prosper in piety as Christians and to be worthy of your intercession in prayer to God for us. To her, Holiness 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 protect us with your prayers from the evil slander of the devil, so that those powers do not possess us, but May we be honored with your help to inherit the bliss of the abode of paradise. We now place our hope in you, merciful Father: be truly a guide to our salvation and lead us to the unevening 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 venerable name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever centuries. Amen.

Life of St. Seraphim of Sarov
(1759–1833)

“This, Father Timon, this, this wheat given to you everywhere. This one is on good soil, this one is on the sand, this one is on a stone, this one is along the way, this one is in thorns: everything will vegetate somewhere and grow, and bear fruit, although not soon.”

The last instruction of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov to the hermit, and subsequently to the abbot, Father Timon

Youth

“Remember my parents, Isidore and Agathia,” said the saint with love. Elder Seraphim, saying goodbye to the abbot of the Vysokogorsk desert who came to him. Let us also remember his kind parents, whose memory he honored until his death.

Father St. Seraphim of Sarov, Isidor Moshnin was a builder-contractor, and mother Agathia, having become a widow, continued her husband’s work. A resident of the city of Kursk, Isidor Moshnin belonged, as St. himself said about him. Seraphim, to the merchant class, that wealthy class of Russia in the 18th century, which knew how to bear responsibility for the technical serviceability of its enterprises and thereby contributed to a large extent to the creation of Russian national property. While engaged in the construction of various buildings, stone houses and even churches, the Kursk builder himself produced the building materials he needed at his own brick factories.

The last and best thing he undertook was the construction of a large church in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the city of Kursk; but the pious merchant, in the last ten years of his life, managed to finish only the lower church of St. Sergius, and the upper one still had to be erected. After his death in 1762, his wife Agathia continued work for sixteen years. The temple was completed in 1778 - that was the year St. Seraphim to the Sarov Monastery; much later - again a remarkable coincidence - in 1833, that is, in the year of the death of St. Seraphim, this temple became the cathedral of the city of Kursk.

Although Agafia Moshnina was not a contractor in the technical sense of the word, she was still able to supervise the progress of work after the death of her husband and complete the construction of the temple in a relatively short time. The first significant episode in the life of St. is associated with one of her visits to the church under construction. Seraphim. One day, Agathia Moshnina, taking her seven-year-old son Prokhor with her to a construction site (this was the name given to St. Seraphim at Baptism), ascended with him to the top of the bell tower; playful Prokhor, like all children, wanted to look down and accidentally fell from a rather large height. Death threatened him after such a fall, but when his mother ran away from the bell tower, she saw Prokhor standing safe and sound... Oh, pious mother, God is returning your son alive! Is it necessary to talk about the gratitude that filled your heart at the appearance of such a miracle?

A few years later, a second unusual incident led the mother to think about God’s special providence regarding her son. Ten-year-old Prokhor, a boy of very strong build and attractive in appearance and liveliness, suddenly became very ill, and again Agathia began to fear for the life of her beloved son. The situation seemed hopeless, but at the most critical moment of the boy’s illness, the Mother of God appeared in a dream with a promise to personally come and heal him. The believing Moshnin family could only indulge in the hope of the promised recovery. At that time, religious processions were held along the streets of Kursk with the icon of the Sign of the Mother of God. When the procession approached the Moshnins' house, heavy rain occurred, which forced the procession to turn into Agathia's courtyard; Seeing this, the mother, inspired by faith, hastened to carry out her sick son and place him near the miraculous icon. From that day on, Prokhor felt better, and soon he became completely stronger. The hand of God brought Agathia’s son back to life for the second time. Undoubtedly, such wondrous signs should have subsequently strengthened the mother’s heart when the time came for her to give her beloved son to serve God - unquestioningly.

From the time of the miraculous healing, Prokhor’s life proceeded calmly. He learned to read in Russian and Slavic, learned to write and count so successfully that his elder brother Alexei, who was engaged in trading, took Prokhor as his assistant in his shop; there the boy learned the art of buying, selling and making profit... “We used to,” Elder Seraphim himself used to say, “we traded goods that gave us more profit!” Who doesn’t remember how St. Seraphim loved to borrow images and terms from the merchant business in order to better explain the higher spiritual paths: “Acquire (that is, acquire) the grace of the Holy Spirit and all other virtues for Christ’s sake, trade them spiritually, trade those of them that give you a greater profit. Collect the capital of the grace-filled excesses of God's goodness, put them in God's eternal pawnshop from immaterial interest, and not four or six per hundred, but one hundred per spiritual ruble, and even that countless times more. Approximately: prayer and vigil gives you more of God’s grace, watch and pray; Fasting gives much of the Spirit of God, fast; Alms give more, do alms... So, if you please, trade in spiritual virtue...” 1
Motovilov N. A. Conversation of St. Seraphim of Sarov about the purpose of Christian life: The Spirit of God, clearly resting on Father Seraphim of Sarov, in his conversation about the purpose of Christian life with the Simbirsk landowner and conscientious judge N. A. Motovilov (from the handwritten memoirs of N. A. Motovilov). San Francisco, 1968.

Prokhor's adolescence took place in an environment favorable to his spiritual development. When he began to show a desire to read spiritual books, to attend church services, sometimes very early, or to become friends with the holy fool revered in Kursk, there were no obstacles on the part of his deeply religious mother. Among his peers, merchant children, the son of Agathia had faithful friends who, like him, strived for a spiritual life. We know that four of them later became monks.

Having reached the age of 16, Prokhor had already definitely chosen the path of monastic achievement and asked for his mother’s blessing. In those days, parental blessing was of exceptional importance for children and was a solemn and holy sign of God’s favor on their chosen path in life. Prokhor bowed to his mother's feet; she blessed him with a large copper cross, which he accepted from her hands. Until the end of St.'s life. Seraphim wore this copper cross on his chest, over his clothes, thereby showing his spiritual connection with his Christian mother, as well as the power of parental blessing.

The Sarov Hermitage was well known in the city of Kursk. 2
A desert is a monastery with a surrounding area in which desert hermits can settle. In the 18th century, a state order was issued: “hermits should not be anywhere.” Since then, the hermits have been assigned to the monastery.

Where some residents of this city lived in monasticism, such as Hieromonk Pachomius, in the world Boris Nazarovich Leonov, who became abbot in Sarov a year before Prokhor entered there, and who previously knew his parents, Isidore and Agathia, from childhood. Inclining to enter Sarov, young Prokhor wished to have confirmation from above on his choice and for this he went to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which was revered, especially in those difficult times for monasticism, as our undoubted main spiritual shrine. Prokhor was accompanied by his friends from the Kursk merchants; all six of them walked, and it was necessary to walk from Kursk to Kyiv about 500 versts.

Having reached Kyiv, the pilgrims began to walk around all the holy places of the ancient Lavra. In the so-called Kitaevskaya monastery lived the recluse Dosifei, who had the gift of clairvoyance. Prokhor went to him, asking for his guidance. This is what the recluse answered to the young son of Agathia: “Come, child of God, and remain there (that is, in the Sarov desert). This place will be your salvation, with the help of the Lord. Here you will end your earthly journey. Just try to acquire unceasing memory of God through the constant invocation of the name of God, (praying) like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! Let all your attention and training be in this: walking and sitting, doing (working) and standing in church, everywhere, in every place, entering and leaving, let this unceasing cry be in your mouth and in your heart; with him you will find peace, you will acquire spiritual and physical purity, and the Holy Spirit, the source of all blessings, will dwell in you and guide your life in holiness... In Sarov, the rector of Pachomius - a godly life; he is a follower of our Anthony and Theodosius!

This answer, recorded in the biography of Elder Seraphim, published by the Diveyevo Monastery in 1874, clearly shows the spiritual unity of the Orthodox monastic tradition, into which Prokhor soon joined, and also, as it were, his entire life path with his highest achievement has already been outlined: and he will dwell in you The Holy Spirit... Having received by faith and without doubt the words of St. the recluse Dosifei 3
Let us note here that St. the recluse Dosifei died on September 25, 1776; therefore, Prokhor was no more than 17 years old when he came to him, probably in the summer of 1776, shortly before the recluse’s death. It is significant that the image of the death of the recluse Dositheus and others. Seraphim is the same: both were found dead in a position of prayer, kneeling, just as Saint Demetrius of Rostov also died at the beginning of the 18th century.

Prokhor returned to Kursk, where he stayed for about another year and a half. Tradition says that he still went to his brother’s shop, but was no longer engaged in trade, and told those who came to him about the holy places of Kyiv and read spiritual books to them. So peacefully, as in his time, St. Sergius of Radonezh, young Prokhor was preparing to leave his home.

Novice

The holy abbot Pachomius received Prokhor into the Sarov monastery on November 20, 1778, on the eve of the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.

According to the Diveyevo Chronicle, we can trace what obediences the young novice Prokhor carried out for eight years: at first he was a cell attendant for the treasurer, Hieromonk Joseph, then he worked in the bakery, prosphora, and carpentry; His carpentry was so successful that they even began to call him Prokhor the joiner.

He was a burglar, then a sexton; There were also more difficult jobs, such as rafting timber and collecting firewood. Fr. himself Seraphim, recalling his young years, said: “So I, when I entered the monastery... I was also at the choir, and how cheerful I was... it used to be, no matter how I came to the choir, the brothers would get tired, and despondency would set in at them, and they don’t sing like that, and others won’t come at all. Everyone will gather, I make them happy, they don’t even feel tired... after all, cheerfulness is not a sin... it drives away fatigue, but fatigue can cause despondency, and there is nothing worse than it, it brings everything with it...” (1).

Another peculiarity of the young novice was that from the very beginning of his monastic life he indulged in reading spiritual books as much as he could. One of the hagiographers of St. Seraphim, V.N. Ilyin, correctly notes that “a sharp, exceptional memory and tireless diligence helped him (St. Seraphim) master the Holy Scriptures 4
The Diveyevo Chronicle indicates only a few works, not counting the Holy Scriptures as a whole: “Six Days” by St. Basil the Great, "Conversations" of St. Macarius the Great, “The Ladder” of St. John, “Philokalia”...

Patristic hagiographic literature and ascetic literature on an unprecedented scale. One can say about him that he was, as it were, nourished with holy writing." 5
V. N. Ilyin. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. 2nd ed. Paris, 1930. P. 110.

As a novice, Prokhor showed himself to be an exceptional ascetic: on Wednesday and Friday he did not take food, and on other days he ate only once a day; He slept very little, about three hours a night, strictly fulfilling the difficult rule of St. Pachomius the Great. In the thicket of the Sarov forest, hermits have long lived, devoting themselves entirely to prayer; Prokhor himself received a blessing from his elder Joseph to go into the forest for solitary prayer in his free time from obedience. Here he performed the rule of St. Pachomia. Two years after entering the monastery, Prokhor suffered a very serious illness, which lasted about three years. Doctors of that time could not accurately determine the type of illness, but were inclined to believe that it was dropsy: Prokhor’s swollen body did not allow him to move, and he lay there almost the entire time of his illness. His condition, as with his first serious illness in childhood, seemed hopeless after three years. The constant care for the sick on the part of Abbot Pachomius, as well as the treasurer Isaiah, was touching. Despite their requests, Prokhor refused the intervention of doctors at a critical moment, surrendering himself entirely to the will of God. The Divine Liturgy was served, the sick man was given communion, after which he felt better, and in a way incomprehensible to everyone, he recovered. Only later, shortly before his death, St. Seraphim told about what happened that day: having received communion, he saw the Mother of God illuminated by the Tabor light, approaching him, accompanied by the apostles Peter and John. Pointing to Prokhor, She said to John: “This one is of our kind!” Moreover, She placed her right hand on the patient’s head, and with the staff touched his right thigh, where a large wound soon opened, from which all the water flowed out. This wound left a mark for life in the thigh of the saint, who, in confirmation of the miracle performed, gave Mother Capitolina, the “church” of the community he founded, to put her entire fist into the hollow of his right thigh, as Christ once gave Thomas to put his hand into His rib.

The words spoken by the Mother of God to such a young novice, who had only spent two years in the monastery, instill in us a certain fear and trembling... From the later life of St. Seraphim, we will see that the Mother of God chose for herself in the person of the monk an amazingly faithful novice, to whom she entrusted the difficult task of creating the Diveyevo new convent. The saint himself called himself a “servant” of the Mother of God, saying that without Her instructions he does nothing, but She does everything. The words of the Mother of God did not confuse Prokhor, who had been cut off from everything earthly by such a long and serious illness; for the third time he was saved from death, and the Queen of Heaven again took a direct part in his healing, pointing in Her words not only to the path Prokhor had traversed, but also to the height of his further exploits: he had to carry out the great obedience to Mary, endure a particularly heavy cross, establish yourself in the highest virgin chastity. Thus, the Mother of God prepared for Herself, from the very beginning of his monastic path, a great humble collaborator and wise executor of Her commands.

When Prokhor was fully strengthened, Abbot Pachomius sent him to collect money for the construction of a hospital church in the Sarov Monastery. The work of collecting money was not considered easy, but the grateful novice willingly performed it, going around the surrounding cities.

Having reached Kursk, Prokhor learned that his mother had already died. His brother Alexey donated a considerable amount for the construction of the Sarov Church. When the collector returned to Sarov, as a token of gratitude for the healing, he himself began to build a beautiful new altar made of cypress wood, intended for the lower floor of the hospital church.

Years of maturity

In 1786, at the age of 27, Prokhor was tonsured a monk with the name Seraphim and in the same year he was ordained a deacon. His service in this rank lasted six years, and Fr. Seraphim almost never left the church.

Here we should note the first instruction from above, Fr. Seraphim for the great work that he had to complete in the last years of his life, and for this, first briefly point out the path and calling of a certain Agafia Semyonovna, the widow of Colonel Melgunov, a wealthy noblewoman-landowner of the Yaroslavl region, who had up to seven hundred peasant souls. Having become a widow at an early age, Agathia decided to end her life in the famous Florovsky Kiev Monastery, where she took monastic vows under the name of Alexandra; but as a result of the appearance of the Mother of God to her, who instructed her to go north and be the founder of a great monastery in the future, she, hiding her monastic title on the advice of the Kiev-Pechersk elders, after many wanderings, settled near the village of Diveevo. This village, located twelve miles from Sarov, at first glance was not at all suitable for a women’s monastery, for it was inhabited by riotous miners working in the iron mines and was considered dangerous. Despite this, the village of Diveevo was indicated to Mother Alexandra by the Queen of Heaven who again appeared to her.

Alexander's mother met the Sarov elders, first with her predecessor, Fr. Pachomius, the holy life of Abbot Ephraim, then with Fr. Pachomius, Fr. Isaiah, Fr. Joseph and others. The elders of Sarov, experienced in spiritual life, helped Mother Alexandra in creating a small women’s community in Diveevo, where, at her expense, a parish church was already built on the site of the appearance of the Mother of God to her. Subsequently, Alexander's mother helped the Sarov abbots complete the construction of the temple in honor of the Assumption in the desert itself, donating considerable sums to them. In 1789, Alexander’s mother died, entrusting the care of her young community to Fr. Pachomius, who, already old and weak, in turn entrusted the so-called Diveyevo orphans to Fr. Seraphim.

At the time described, Fr. Seraphim was 30 years old. He had already served as a deacon for three years and, after another three years, he was to become a priest, after which he had to undergo various feats for 36 years, mainly in solitude, and only at the end of his life, seven years before his death, according to At the direction of the Mother of God who appeared to him again, he was destined to begin especially actively to create a new great monastery in Diveevo, that monastery, the future of which the Queen of Heaven Herself predicted to Mother Alexandra Melgunova. Surprising in its length is the period between the first indication of what was entrusted to Fr. Seraphim's work and its implementation at the end of the elder's life!

While the diaconal ministry of Fr. Seraphim was marked by a vision of Angels concelebrating in the church; his heart melted like wax from indescribable joy at this time. We know the great vision given to him on Holy Thursday during the liturgy; Having exclaimed: “Lord, save the pious and hear us...” and raising the orarion, Deacon Seraphim could no longer speak or move from his place. He was led into the altar, where he remained in an unusual state for about three hours. Hegumen Pachomius learned later that Fr. Seraphim was given the opportunity to see the Lord of glory Himself, surrounded by all the ranks of Angels, “as if by a swarm of bees,” as Fr. Seraphim. Christ, walking through the air from the western gates, reached the pulpit, blessed the servants and worshipers, especially Seraphim himself, after which, shining with an indescribable Tabor light, he entered His image on the iconostasis.

Hegumen Pachomius, a friend of Deacon Seraphim’s parents from a young age, who undoubtedly had long known the extraordinary spiritual talent of their youngest son, his novice, was in no hurry to guide him along the steps of the spiritual path: Seraphim was a novice for 8 years, a deacon for 7 years, and was only ordained a priest in the 34th year of his life... Hegumen Pachomius, experienced in spiritual life, knew that wisdom, even of a very gifted soul, is not immediately achieved, a person does not suddenly change, but grows into the Divine life through a long and humble feat.

After the Bishop of Tambov ordained Deacon Seraphim as a priest in Tambov in 1793, the newly ordained minister served, the chronicle says, for a long time every day. From almost continuously standing near Fr. Seraphim's legs became so swollen and covered with wounds that he was no longer able to continue his priestly service. By this time, in 1794, everyone’s beloved abbot Pachomius had died in Sarov, under whose shadow the monastic life of Fr. Seraphim. The latter was sad to part with his mentor; Wanting to console him on his deathbed, Fr. Seraphim promised him to fulfill his covenant to protect the Diveyevo community.

But on the days described, Fr. Seraphim had to change his lifestyle due to the aforementioned leg disease; Having asked for the blessing of the new abbot, Fr. Isaiah, he retired to the so-called “distant desert,” that is, a secluded wooden house in the forest, 5-6 versts from Sarov. Here his hermit’s life began, which lasted 15 years. Other hermits lived in this forest, famous for their holy lives; We know the names of abbot Nazarius, Fr. Dorothea, St. Schemamonk Mark.

Cell o. Seraphim was on a hill, at the foot of which the Sarovka River flowed; There was a vegetable garden around the cell, surrounded by a fence. The paths leading to the cell were littered with branches, logs, and twigs, so that there was no access to it, especially for women, whom, according to instructions from above, Fr. Seraphim did not consider it possible to receive in the wilderness of the forest. The latter could address their spiritual needs to the priest-monks who lived in the Lavra itself.

Among the centuries-old Sarov forest, where wild animals lived under the cover of pines and spruces, Fr. Seraphim began a new feat, a feat of hermitage associated with severe hardships: he suffered from cold, from monotonous and meager food (only many years later did they learn that for almost three years he ate only the grass “snitka”, which he boiled with roots), suffered from mosquitoes from which I did not protect myself; sometimes, when he cut down trees or split firewood, his whole body was covered with bloody spots from their bites.