For many believers, Seraphim of Sarov is the most beloved heavenly intercessor, patron of Russia and prayer book for all Orthodox Christians. In 2022, it will be 115 years since the priest was officially recognized as a saint. Since then, his veneration among the people has only grown. Thousands of pilgrims annually come to the relics of Seraphim of Sarov to pray for themselves and their loved ones.
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Biography of Seraphim of Sarov
“Fiery” is how the name of the righteous is translated. This is exactly what his faith was - unquenchable. And the flame did not subside throughout 79 years of earthly life, despite all the trials. The priest lived as a hermit for three decades, suffered robbery and persecution, suffered from illness, stood on a pillar for three years, and prayed on a stone. But at the same time he always remained humble, believed in God and people.
On July 19, 1754, a boy was born into a merchant family, who was named Prokhor. His parents were pious. His father began building a temple in his native village; when he died, his mother continued the work. One day she took her son with her to see how construction was going on. The baby fell from the very top of the future bell tower, but remained intact thanks to a miracle. Prokhor was 7 years old at the time.
Then, at the age of ten, the boy fell seriously ill. The Mother of God appeared to him and promised to give him healing. And so it happened - a religious procession with the image of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos was taking place near the house. When the child was touched to the face, the disease subsided. Thus the fate of the boy was determined. Already in adolescence, he decided to go to a monastery, because earthly vanity did not attract him. Taking his mother’s blessing, the saint left for the Pechersk Lavra.
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With the blessing of the elder, the young man went to the Sarov Hermitage. After two years of obedience, Prokhor fell seriously ill and was diagnosed with dropsy. Despite the departure of his brothers, the young man’s strength left him. Then another miracle followed - the Mother of God appeared to the sick man along with the apostles Peter and John. The Virgin Mary healed the monk.
- 8 years after entering the monastery, Prokhor becomes a monk and receives the name Seraphim.
- 1793 - ordination to the rank of hieromonk (priest).
- Soon after this, the saint goes into seclusion - he eats little, works in the garden, and keeps an apiary. Spends most of his time in prayer.
Having learned about the priest’s piety, lay pilgrims began to flock to him. After the brutal robbery, Father Seraphim's health became much worse. Having received an ax to the head, he could no longer walk straight. The monk died on January 2, 1833, he was found in front of the icon of the Mother of God in a prayer position.
Seraphim left the monastery and began to live in the forest
After 16 years of staying in the monastery, Seraphim asked for a blessing to live in the desert. There were two reasons for this: the desire for solitude of Seraphim himself and illness of the legs, because of which it became difficult for Seraphim to bear monastic obedience.
Seraphim's cell, built by him with his own hands
Father Seraphim built himself a cell on the banks of the Sarovka River, five miles from the monastery, and began to live in solitude and prayer.
It was not possible to completely renounce the world: people came to St. Seraphim for consolation, advice, and instructions.
The elder was unable to hide from human malice either: on September 12, 1804, dashing people came to Seraphim and demanded money from him. They believed that people would definitely bring money to the monk for donations.
The bandits tied up and beat the old man and began to search the house. Finding nothing, they left, leaving the bound Seraphim to his fate.
The second traditional image of Elder Seraphim. After being beaten by robbers, he became stooped and lame.
God helped Seraphim get rid of his shackles and gave him strength to reach the monastery. Doctors arrived from Arzamas.
Again, as in childhood, the Mother of God appeared to Seraphim. She healed the ascetic again. Five months later he was able to return to his place.
The criminals were caught and wanted to be tried. But the elder asked not to subject them to human punishment, because they deserved God’s punishment.
The criminals were released. And soon they were overtaken by a well-deserved punishment - their houses burned down and they lost all their property. Then they came to the saint, fell at his feet and begged him to forgive them, which the saint did.
Father Seraphim fed wild animals from his hand. They say that one of the saint's frequent guests was a bear.
The Lord favored Seraphim. People saw special favor in relationships with wild animals. Seraphim shared his poor meal with them. Even such a ferocious animal as a bear ate crackers from the hands of the saint.
The saint was not afraid of wild animals. The Lord made them obedient to the elder
The fourth destiny of the Mother of God - Diveevo
There are only a few places on earth that the Virgin Mary surrounds with her special patronage: Iveria, Athos, Kyiv and Diveevo. The fourth lot is located near the city of Arzamas, on the banks of the river. Vychkinzy. In the village Diveevo is now home to about 9 thousand people. Just 200 years ago there was only a small settlement with a wooden church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The church was located on the road leading to Sarov. Therefore, pilgrims stopped there to rest.
Father Seraphim put a lot of effort into setting up a monastery for the sisters here. In July 1827, the first nuns appeared here. The stone Church of the Nativity of Christ was erected at the expense of donors. The monastery grew. After the repose of Father Seraphim, in 1861 it received the status of a monastery. A cathedral was founded in the name of the Holy Trinity, the construction of which lasted 27 years.
Hard times came for the monastery during the years of Soviet power. At first it was registered as an artel. The sisters continued to live according to the monastic rules. But in 1927 the monastery was closed. Church life began to recover again in 1988, when the church parish was officially opened.
Prayer to the miracle worker
Believers are confident that prayer helps in difficult situations. And to whom does he pray, if not the Most Holy Saint?
When to read a prayer to the saint
They pray to Seraphim at any moment when the soul asks. But traditionally the time for prayer is early morning and late evening, when the morning and evening rules are read by the laity.
What do they pray for in front of the icon?
It doesn’t matter where the miracle worker is buried and how much of the past his life can be considered. You can always pray to him for the health of your relatives, for a successful marriage, for your daughter to marry a good man. About help in troubles, about calming the soul, about getting rid of addiction.
Figure 4. Another variation of the icon
How to pray to the holy image correctly
The icon of Seraphim in itself means nothing. It's just a painted board, a symbol - about the same as a grave - a symbol of a deceased person. Therefore, when praying, you need to think not about her, but about the person to whom the prayer is addressed. About the one who never refused help to anyone, whose prophecies were always true, to whom the Mother of God appeared more than once as a sign. The main thing is to remember that the Savior always stands behind him, and that without him the saint has no power.
Don't be distracted by worldly things. Don't think about vanity.
When did the discovery of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov take place?
Few people know when the discovery of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov took place. For the first time this happened in Sarov. On August 1, 1903, the tomb of the righteous man was opened by the brethren. Somewhat later, in a solemn atmosphere, the official canonization took place. About 300 thousand pilgrims gathered for the event, members of the royal family and representatives of the clergy arrived.
- During the Soviet era, the shrine was lost. They were found a second time in 1990 in the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism (now the Kazan Cathedral of St. Petersburg).
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On July 31, 1991, the solemn arrival of the relics of Father Seraphim took place at the revived Diveevo monastery. Today the shrine is located on the left side of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, with the saint’s staff standing nearby. Before his death, the elder left an oral will to his spiritual children. He ordered to address him as if he were alive. He promised that he would hear and keeps his word. This can be judged by the many miracles that occurred through prayers to the saint.
The righteous person helps to heal from envy and attacks from ill-wishers, restores difficult family relationships, helps to overcome despondency, and also heals from physical ailments.
Miracles of the Saint
In the life of Saint Seraphim there were enough deeds that can be called miracles:
- A bear came to him from the forest and served him, although according to all the rules he should have torn it to pieces.
- One day a clerk came to him and slandered the priest. The saint drove him away, and the clerk lost his tongue, and it remained so until he repented.
- During prayer, he sometimes rose above the ground.
The Lord gave Seraphim the gift of healing and prediction, wisdom to help with instructions and prayer power. But the most impressive thing is the time when the monk did not perform a miracle, but showed true Orthodox humility.
One day, robbers came to his cell and someone whispered to them that the saint was hiding a treasure. They beat him brutally, broke his head, broke his ribs, but he not only did not resist, even though these were the days of his youth, but subsequently asked for mercy from these people.
And his wounds healed, although they were fatal, leaving only a crooked back.
Figure 3. Saint Seraphim and the bear - a very common subject in paintings and icons
Where are the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov?
Diveyevo district, where the Holy Trinity Monastery is located, is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region . Visiting holy places is an ancient tradition of Orthodoxy, which many pious people follow. True, not everyone knows how to get to the relics of Seraphim of Sarov. This will not be difficult to do if you study this article in detail.
So, you can use Nizhny Novgorod as a transit point on your trip, because it is 170 km away. from Diveevo. By evening, get to Nizhny by plane or bus and stay at a hotel. You will have time to explore local attractions. Then you can calmly go to Father Seraphim.
The flight from the capital to Novgorod is very popular; the journey lasts about one and a half hours. Destination: Strigino Airport. The train journey will take longer - about 6 hours. There is also a direct flight on the Lastochka or Strizh trains; such a trip will be faster. Most pilgrims travel from Novgorod to the monastery by bus. Tickets should be booked in advance as the destination is very popular among tourists.
The bus leaves from the train station. Planting takes place on an area 150 m from the building. Bus No. 20 runs from the airport to the station, and you can also get to the metro (Moskovskaya station).
- How does the icon of Seraphim help?
- Prayer for help to Seraphim of Sarov;
- Strong Prayer for Trade to Seraphim.
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