Seraphim of Sarov (russian: Серафим Саровский; – ), born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) �ро́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н) is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is generally considered the greatest of the 18th-century ''startsy'' (elders). Seraphim extended the monastic teachings of contemplation, theoria and

self-denial Self-denial (related but different from self-abnegation or self-sacrifice) is an act of letting go of the self as with altruistic abstinence – the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of the increase ...

to the layperson. He taught that the purpose of the Christian life was to receive the Holy Spirit. Perhaps his most popular quotation amongst his devotees is "acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved." Seraphim was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1903.

Life

Born 19 July (O.S.) 1754, Seraphim was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

with the name of Prochor, after

Prochorus Prochorus (Latin form of the gr, Πρόχορος, ''Prochoros'') was one of the Seven Deacons chosen to care for the poor of the Christian community in Jerusalem (Acts ). According to later tradition he was also one of the Seventy Disciples se ...

, one of the first

Seven Deacons The Seven, often known as the Seven Deacons, were leaders elected by the early Christian church to minister to the community of believers in Jerusalem, to enable the Apostles to concentrate on 'prayer and the Ministry of the Word' and to address a ...

of the

Early Church Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

and the disciple of John the Evangelist. His parents, Isidore and Agathia Moshnin, lived in

Kursk, Russia Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German strug ...

. His father was a merchant. According to Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, a

wonderworking Thaumaturgy is the purported capability of a magician to work magic or other paranormal events or a saint to perform miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking. A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a "thaumaturge", "thaumat ...

icon of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

( Virgin Mary), Our Lady of Kursk, healed the young boy. Seraphim later experienced a number of

visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

. In 1775, at the age of 17, he visited Dorothea of Kiev. In 1777, at the age of 19, he joined the Sarov monastery as a novice (''poslushnik''). He was officially tonsured (took his

monastic vows Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

) in 1786 and given the religious name of Seraphim (which means "fiery" or "burning" in Hebrew). Shortly afterwards, he was ordained a hierodeacon (monastic deacon). In 1793, he was ordained as a hieromonk (monastic priest) and became the spiritual leader of the Diveyevo Convent, which has since come to be known as the Seraphim-Diveyevo Convent. Soon after this, Seraphim retreated to a log cabin in the woods outside Sarov monastery and led a solitary lifestyle as a hermit for 25 years. During this time his feet became swollen to the point that he had trouble walking. Sarov's eating and fasting habits became more strict. At first he ate bread obtained from the monastery and vegetables from his garden, then only vegetables. For three years, he ate only grass. Motovilov

One day, while chopping wood, Seraphim was attacked by a gang of thieves who beat him mercilessly with the handle of his own axe. He never resisted, and was left for dead. The robbers never found the money they sought, only an icon of the

(Virgin Mary) in his hut. Seraphim had a hunched back for the rest of his life. However, at the thieves' trial he pleaded to the judge for mercy on their behalf. He spent five months in the monastery, recovering from his injuries and then returned to the wilderness. After this incident Seraphim spent 1,000 successive nights on a rock in continuous prayer with his arms raised to the sky, a feat of

asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

deemed miraculous by the Eastern Orthodox Church, especially considering the pain from his injuries. In 1815, in obedience to a reputed spiritual experience that he attributed to the Virgin Mary, Seraphim began admitting pilgrims to his hermitage as a confessor. He soon became immensely popular due to his reputation for healing powers and gift of prophecy. Hundreds of pilgrims per day visited him, drawn as well by his ability to answer his guests' questions before they could ask. As extraordinarily harsh as Seraphim often was to himself, he was kind and gentle toward others – always greeting his guests with a prostration, a kiss, and exclaiming "Christ is risen!", and calling everyone "My joy". He died while kneeling before a tenderness icon of the Theotokos which he called "Joy of all Joys". This icon is kept currently in the chapel of the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow.

Relics, canonization and veneration

There was a widespread popular belief in Russia that a saint's remains were supposed to be

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their ...

, which was not the case with Seraphim as was officially ascertained by a commission that researched his grave in January 1903. This, however, did not deter canonisation, spearheaded by archimandrite Seraphim Chichagov as well as popular veneration. At the end of January (O.S.) 1903, the

Most Holy Synod The Most Holy Governing Synod (russian: Святѣйшій Правительствующій Сѵнодъ, Святейший Правительствующий Синод) was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church betwee ...

, having received approval from Emperor

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

, announced Seraphim's forthcoming glorification. In early July 1903, his relics were transferred from their original burial place to the church of Saints Zosimus and

Sabbatius Sabbatius of Solovki (russian: Савватий Соловецкий - Savvaty Solovetsky; died September 27, 1435) was one of the founders of the Solovetsky Monastery. Life Savvaty (Sabbatius) was a monk at Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Searchi ...

. Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra provided a new cypress coffin to receive the relics. The solemn canonisation (discovery of the relics) festivities took place in Sarov on 19 July (1 August) 1903 and were attended by the Tsar, his wife, his mother Empress Maria Feodorovna, and other senior members of the Imperial Family. On 18 July 1903, Metropolitan Anthony Vadkovsky of St. Petersburg officiated at the Last

Pannikhida A memorial service (Greek: μνημόσυνον, mnemósynon, "memorial"; Slavonic: панихида, panikhída, from Greek παννυχίς, ''pannychis'', "vigil"; Romanian: parastas and Serbian парастос, parastos, from Greek παρά ...

(Memorial Service) in the Dormition Cathedral at Sarov, with the royal family in attendance. These would be the last prayers offered for Seraphim as a departed servant of God; from that time forward, prayers would instead be addressed to him as a saint. On 19 July, Seraphim's birthday, the late liturgy began at 8:00. At the Little Entrance, twelve archimandrites lifted the coffin from the middle of the church and carried it around the holy table (altar), then placed it into a special shrine which had been constructed for it. The festivities at Sarov ended with the

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

of the first two churches dedicated to Saint Seraphim. The first had been constructed over his monastic cell in the wilderness of Sarov. The second church was consecrated on 22 July at the

Diveyevo Diveyevo (russian: Диве́ево) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Diveyevsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Population: Serafimo-Diveyevsky Convent, one of the largest and frequently visited mo ...

convent. Following the Bolshevik Revolution, Soviet authorities severely persecuted religious groups. As part of their persecution of Christians, they confiscated many relics of saints, including Seraphim. Furthermore, his biographer Seraphim Chichagov, who came to become a

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

, was arrested, sentenced to death and executed by firing squad in 1937 (and is also celebrated as a Russian Orthodox saint). In 1991, Seraphim's relics were rediscovered after being hidden in a Soviet anti-religious museum for seventy years. This caused a sensation in post-Soviet Russia and throughout the Orthodox world. A crucession (religious procession) escorted the relics, on foot, all the way from Moscow to Diveyevo Convent, where they remain to this day. On 19 October 2016, some relics of Seraphim were launched into space aboard the Soyuz MS-02. Seraphim is

remembered Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding (memory), encoding and storage (memory), storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: ...

in the Anglican Communion with a commemoration on

2 January Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. * 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empir ...

. Pope John Paul II also referred to him as a saint.

Quotes

"Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved."

"It is necessary that the Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, that we do for Christ, is given to us by the Holy Spirit, but prayer most of all, which is always available to us."

Seraphim and Old Believers

The available information about relations between Seraphim of Sarov and Russian

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

tradition is somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, in all the memoirs and biographies, and in the collections of his sayings, he is undoubtedly portrayed as a convinced supporter of the reforms in the church and the official hierarchy. On the other hand, on icons of Seraphim he is usually depicted with a lestovka in his left hand, and in some cases even in old Russian, Old-Believers-style monastic garments (with a peculiar

klobuk Klobuk of Patriarch Philaret of Moscow (1619-33), Kremlin museum A klobuk is an item of monastic clothing worn by monks and, in the Russian tradition, also by nuns, in the Byzantine Rite, composed of a kamilavka (stiffened round black headco ...

, and an old-fashioned cast bronze cross), as it is with these objects that he is depicted on the only lifetime portrait of him.Discussion at a religious history forum
kuraev.ru The lestovka used by St.Seraphim is preserved up to this time among his personal belongings.Сергей Чесноков. От отступничества к единоверию
(''"Sergey Chesnokov. From apostasy to common faith"'') According to some sources, the known problems with the beatification of Seraphim of Sarov did happen exactly due to his general support and sympathy towards the Old Believers tradition,Кутузов Б.П. Церковная «реформа» (''"Kutuzov B.P. Church "reform""'') XVII века. М., 2003. in which case the negative assessment of the old rite, ascribed to him, would have been interpreted as inventions of his followers, who tried to put their teacher in the most favorable light in the eyes of the official church functionaries. It was also suggested that Seraphim could have descended from a family of Old Ritualists, or from a family of secret, cryptic Old Believers (that were widespread in northern and eastern areas of Russia), possibly with consequent gradual shift towards edinoverie. In spite of some (alleged) controversy, Seraphim was known, at least at the level of official

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

, for his rejection of the Russian old rites. The majority of old believers authors doubt virtually all the facts known about Seraphim, as well as the very legitimacy of his beatification,В отсутствие святых
(''tr. "In the absence of the saints"'')] – Павел де Рико, Александр Духов (''Paul de Rico, Alexander Dukhov''), as published at staropomor.ru and his name is invariably used in interdenominational polemics.

Notes

References

External links

Quotes by St. Seraphim of Sarov
at Orthodox Church Quotes
St. Seraphim
article on OrthodoxWiki

on Kursk Root (Korennaya) Icon Hermitage of the Birth of the Holy Theotokos site

Spiritual conversation of Saint Seraphim

www.stseraphim.org
Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov
Orthodox icon and

synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...

Glorification of Saint Seraphim. Sarov, 1903

Photos of St. Seraphim glorification solemnity in Sarov (1903)
Martha and Mary Convent site
Photos of St. Seraphim glorification in Sarov (high res images)
sarov.net

by Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes
Portal devoted to 100-th anniversary of St. Seraphim of Sarov glorification
(in Russian)
English page on Sarov monastery web-site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seraphim Of Sarov 1759 births 1833 deaths 18th-century Christian saints 18th-century Christian mystics 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century Christian mystics Ascetics Eastern Orthodox mystics Russian Eastern Orthodox priests Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Hesychasts Starets Miracle workers 18th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 19th-century Eastern Orthodox priests Anglican saints