1. Life of St. Seraphim Before
Monasticism
St.
Seraphim was born on July 19, 1759, and named after St.
Prokhor, whose feast day is celebrated on the 28th day of
that same month. His father’s name was Isidore, and
his mother’s Agafia. His parents came from respected
and wealthy merchant families. Isidore had taken up the
task of building a church dedicated to St. Sergius of
Radonezh, based on a design by the famous architect
Rastrelli, but he died before he could complete it. He
therefore conferred the task upon his wife. The young
Prokhor often accompanied his mother as she supervised the
church’s construction. One day he climbed with her
to the top of the belfry, and slipped through the
scaffolding, falling to the ground. His frightened mother
was sure she would find him dead. But the words of the
90th psalm seemed clearly to guard the blessed child:
For He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep
thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their
hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. When she
had descended to the ground she found the boy standing on
his feet, whole and unharmed; an indubitable indication
that Prokhor was under God’s special
protection.
His piety in childhood was exceptional, a
quality encouraged by his mother. At one time the young
Prokhor had become very ill, and the Mother of God
appeared to him in a dream, promising to heal him. Here is
how her promise was fulfilled: a procession was passing by
the house of Prohkor’s family, carrying the
wonder-working Kursk Root icon of the Mother of God. When
rain began to fall, the procession changed its course and
passed through Prokhor’s yard. Agafia carried her
sick boy to meet the miracle-working icon, and placed him
under the protection of the Mother of God. From that
moment the child quickly recovered.
In his younger years, Prokhor assisted his
older brother in his shop, but the desire of his soul was
to become a monk. His pious mother did not interfere with
his soul’s yearning—she blessed him for the
monastic path with a copper cross, which he never removed
from around his neck until the day he died.
As a beginning, Prokhor set off with five
companions to the Kiev Caves Lavra, desiring to receive
the blessing of the Kiev Elders. Among the ascetics of
that monastery was the famous elder Dositheus (who was
found to be a woman after she died). That clairvoyant
elder had been in continual contact with the blessed Elder
Paisius Velichkovsky, and with those monastics who were of
one mind with him. Dositheus gave Prokhor spiritual
instruction, counselled him to study the ancient Holy
Fathers on the work of interior prayer, and directed him
to go to Sarov Monastery and remain there until death, for
there he would find salvation. “Go, child of
God,” Elder Dositheus said to him. “Go, and
stay there. That place will be salvation unto you, with
God’s help. There you will end your earthly journey.
But strive to obtain a ceaseless remembrance of God
through continuous calling on the name of God: “Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a
sinner.” This will be the object of all your
attention and study—whether walking, sitting, or
standing in the church, everywhere and in every place,
entering and leaving—may this cry be ceaselessly on
your lips and in your heart. In it you will find peace,
attain purity of soul and body. The Holy Spirit will abide
in you as a well-spring of many blessings, and it will
lead your life into holiness, into great blessedness and
purity. In Sarov is Abbot Pachomius of God-pleasing
life—he is a follower of our Anthony and
Theodosius.”
Having received his hoped-for blessing,
Prokhor returned to Kursk where he stayed for two more
years, after which he departed from family and worldly
life with two friends, setting out upon the monastic
path.
On November 20, 1776, in the evening dusk,
three young pilgrims approached the gate of the Sarov
bell-tower. Among them was Prokhor. That evening the
All-night Vigil would be celebrated for the feast of the
Entrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. The
entrance to the Sarov Dormition Church was open, and the
festal All-night Vigil was beginning. Prokhor’s soul
rejoiced—he had found his place.
2. Novitiate
Period
On the next day the three pilgrims met
with the Abbot. He received them lovingly and accepted
them into the monastery. He paid particular attention to
Prokhor, since he himself was from Kursk and knew the
young man’s parents personally. Seeing in him the
great soul of a future ascetic, he committed him for
spiritual direction into the experienced hands of his
co-struggler and friend, the wise and loving treasurer,
Fr. Joseph. Prokhor received from him his first obedience,
as cell attendant. This was only an introduction. Soon the
novice Prokhor, in accordance with the general rule, was
given various difficult obediences—he served in the
bread and prosphora bakeries, in the furniture shop,
performed the task of waking the monks, was church
sacristan, sang on the cliros, and participated in the
general obediences of cutting wood, maintaining the
grounds, etc. Prokhor worked in the carpentry shop longer
than anywhere else, where he became very experienced, and
was known as “Prokhor the carpenter.”
Above all, brother Prokhor distinguished
himself by his unmurmuring obedience and meticulous
character, wholeheartedly carrying out all that was asked
of him, as perfectly as possible. He was later to say to
the Diveyevo sisters that there is no sin more deadly than
murmuring, judging or being disobedient to your superiors.
“Obedience is the foremost virtue, before fasting
and praying.”
From his advice to monastics one can
discern his own life as a novice. Second to obedience he
placed labor. “If you have handiwork,” he
instructed one monk, “work on it alone; if you are
in your cell without any handiwork, engage in some
reading, in particular the psalter. Try to read every line
several times in order to concentrate it in your
understanding.” He also considered reading to be a
special ascetic labor, which he called
“vigil.” The Gospels and the epistles of the
Apostles he read before the icons, and always standing
erect as in prayer. He sometimes allowed himself to read
the Psalter sitting down. “Such reading produces an
enlightening of the reason, which brings about a Godly
change.”
After work and reading, he would instruct
the novice on prayer, repeating that which was said to him
by Elder Dositheus, and in which he labored
ceaselessly:
“Those who have truly decided to
serve the Lord God should exercise themselves in the
remembrance of God, and the ceaseless prayer to Jesus
Christ. In handicrafts, or anywhere on obedience,”
he instructed one monk, “ceaselessly repeat the
prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a
sinner.’ Be heedful in prayer, that is, collect your
mind and unite it with your soul. At first one day, then
two, increasing [the labor], then saying the prayer with
the mind alone, attentive to every separate word. When God
warms your heart into one spirit, the prayer will flow in
you without end, and will always be with you, delighting
and nourishing you.… When this spiritual food in
constantly within you—that is, discourse with the
Lord Himself, then why go visiting the brothers’
cells, even should they invite you? Truly, I tell you that
idle talk is love of idleness.”
As for sleep—he encouraged sleeping
four hours (per day) from 9:00 in the evening till an hour
after midnight. Similarly did he suggest restraint in
eating: on Wednesdays and Fridays, especially during the
four fasts, he said, “Take food once a day, and an
Angel of God will cling to you.”
The Saint strongly advised to preserve
peace. “Acquire peace and thousands shall be saved
around you. If it is impossible not to become disturbed,
then at least try to hold your tongue, according to the
Psalmist: I was troubled and spake not (76:4). In order
to escape judgment, you should be attentive to yourself,
and ask: “Where am I?” In the same way the
Saint warned about struggles with despondency: “You
should throw off despondency, and strive to have a joyful
spirit, not a sorrowful one, in the words of Sirach:
‘Sorrow destroys much, and there is no use for
it’ (30:25). “This sickness,” the Saint
said, “is healed by prayer, restraint from idle
talk, handiwork as you are able, reading the Word of God
and patience; because despondency arises from
idleness.”
One Sarov monk was given over to such a
temptation. Wishing to find relief, he shared his grief
with a brother. After Vespers they left the monastery,
and, walking through the surrounding area, they came to
the stable. Suddenly they saw St. Seraphim. Deeply
honoring him, they fell at his feet. The God-Pleaser, with
extraordinary gentleness blessed them, and seeing the
brother’s depression, sang out: “Fill my heart
with joy, O Virgin, Thou who didst receive the fullness of
joy, and didst banish the grief of sin” (troparion
from the Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos). Then,
stamping the ground strongly and ecstatically, he said,
“You must not sorrow, for Christ has conquered all,
Adam is resurrected, Eve set free, death
slain.”
Within two years after entering the
monastery, Prokhor became extremely ill with dropsy. Abbot
Pachomius and Elder Joseph looked after him. Seeing the
sick one’s grievous condition, Abbot Pachomius
proposed calling a doctor. But Prokhor asked them to
provide him instead with heavenly medicine—communion
of the Holy Mysteries. Elder Joseph zealously served a
Vigil and Divine Liturgy for the healing of the sick one,
confessed him and served him Holy Communion in his cell.
After that Prokhor was quickly restored to health.
Later on, he described to many, that after
Holy Communion the Most Pure Virgin appeared to him in an
indescribable light with the Apostles Peter and John the
Theologian, and, turning to Apostle John, said, pointing
to the sick one: “He is one of our
generation,” that is, of the heavenly. The Mother of
God touched Her scepter to his thigh, from which water
came forth. Until the end of his life a deep impression
remained on his body.
In one year they began to build a large
enclosure containing a church over the place where his
cell was, with the church located directly over the spot
where the Mother of God had appeared.
After Prokhor’s health returned he
was sent out to collect donations. He was also in Kursk
and happened to see his mother. But he passed his former
house completely by, as his soul was already above the
world.
3.In the angelic
rank
At the end of the Dormition fast, August
13, 1786, Abbot Pachomius tonsured the novice Prokhor into
monasticism, and named him Seraphim, which means in Hebrew
“like a flame.” This name was given to him
because of his fiery love for God. After this he
intensified his podvig of silence. Three years later Fr.
Seraphim was blessed to become a deacon and was ordained
by Bishop Victor of Vladimir. The Superior rarely served
without Fr. Deacon Seraphim.
Before services Fr. Seraphim would spend
whole nights in prayer. At the end of the service he would
remain in the church, putting the utensils in order. He
would say: “Those who go to church should never say
anything within it that is not necessary. And what is more
beautiful, higher or glorious than a church?” He
also would say: “Why can’t a man serve God at
all times as do the angels?” He saw angels more than
once during divine services. “Their appearance was
as lightning, their clothes white like snow, or like
golden cloth, their singing is impossible to
describe,” he would speak of them.
An indescribable ecstasy would then
overtake the Saint. “Ready is my heart,”(Ps.
56:10) he said, “as wax melteth from unspeakable
joy. And I remember nothing from that joy, I remember only
how I entered and left the holy church.”
One day during the Liturgy on Great
Thursday, he was vouchsafed to see a vision, the likes of
which very few of even the greatest saints have ever been
worthy of seeing.…
“One day it so happened,” said
the Saint, “that I was serving Vespers on Holy and
Great Thursday. Divine Liturgy began at 2:00, as usual,
with Vespers. After the lesser entrance and reading, I,
the lowly one, pronounced at the royal doors: ‘Lord
save the pious and harken unto us!’ Entering the
royal doors and lifting my stole to the people, I
finished: ‘And to the ages of ages.’ Suddenly
I saw a ray of light as from the sun. Looking at this
radiance, I saw Our Lord and God Jesus Christ in the image
of the Son of Man, in glory and unspeakable light and
brilliance, surrounded by the heavenly powers, angels and
archangels, cherubim and seraphim, like a swarm of bees,
coming from the west church doors as from the air.
“Approaching with such a countenance
to the ambo and raising His Most Holy hands, the Lord
blessed those who served and those who stood in church. He
had stepped up, transfigured, to His holy icon, which was
to the right of the royal doors. The surrounding angelic
beings radiated unspeakable light throughout the entire
church. I, earth and ashes, meeting the Lord Jesus Who
stood upon the air, was deemed worthy to receive from Him
a special blessing. My heart was filled with pure, holy
and sweetest love for the Lord.”
St. Seraphim’s appearance changed,
and stricken completely by the divine vision, he could not
even move from his spot by the royal doors. Fr. Pachomius
noticed, and sent two other hieromonks, who, taking him
under the arms, led him to the altar. But he continued to
stand there for nearly three more hours without moving, in
total astonishment. Only his face changed the whole time,
becoming white as snow, then flushing red.
After the divine services were over, Elder
Pachomius asked him what had happened. Fr. Seraphim, who
never hid anything from his spiritual fathers, related it
all to them. They bid him to cloak himself in silence and
to delve ever deeper into humility, to save himself from
conceit that could arise from such an extraordinary
vision. The Saint accepted this instruction with all
meekness, and remained silent until the necessary
time.
What the God-pleaser experienced during
Holy Communion is known to him alone.
He gave the Diveyevo sisters the following
instructions: “It is not right to forego the chance
to benefit as often as possible from the blessing given
through the Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Concentrate as hard as you are able, in meek awareness of
your utter sinfulness and with hope and firm faith in
God’s unspeakable mercy, upon approaching His Holy
Mysteries by which He has redeemed all and everyone. Say
with tender feeling: Forgive me my sins, O Lord, that I
have committed with my soul, heart, words, deeds, and all
my senses.”
Especially remarkable were St.
Seraphim’s following words to Fr. Vasily, the
father-confessor of the Diveyevo Convent:
“I want them to receive
Christ’s Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries, Batiushka,
during all the four fasts, and all the twelve major
feasts. I would even like them to receive more often than
on feast days alone; the more often the better.
“You are their
father-confessor—do not prohibit them, I say to you.
For the gift of Holy Communion is so great, that even
though a person be sinful, he may, with humility and
awareness of his sinfulness only, approach the Lord who
has redeemed us all. And though he be covered with
festering sins from head to toe, he will be cleansed,
Batiushka, by Christ’s blessing, and will become
lighter and lighter, until he is completely enlightened
and is saved. There, Batiushka, you are their
father-confessor, and I tell you all this so that you will
know.”
However, Fr. Seraphim cautioned: “If
they approach without sufficient repentance, it sometimes
happens thus: on earth they have received Communion, but
with the Lord they have not communed. He who reverently
receives the Holy Mysteries more than once a year will be
saved, happy, and live long upon the earth. I
believe,” he added, “that by God’s great
mercy he and all his kin shall be marked with grace. One
man who performs God’s will is greater in
God’s eyes than many lawless ones.”
In 1789 Abbot Pachomius, the treasurer
Isaiah, and Hierodeacon Seraphim visited Blessed Agafia
Semyonovna Melgunova, in monasticism Mother Alexandra.
Having received a warning from God that her life was near
its end, she asked of Fr. Pachomius that he not abandon
the sisters. Fr. Pachomius answered that he himself was
not long for this earth, “But here is Hierodeacon
Seraphim—his spirituality is already well-known, and
he is young. Give the job to him.”
Mother Alexandra said that she could only
ask, but it is the Heavenly Queen Herself who would give
him this duty.
In this way was St. Seraphim given the
Diveyevo Convent, which he later directed to the last
detail of its life, although the Convent was located seven
miles from Sarov, and he never even once went there
personally.*
Seven years had passed from the time Fr.
Seraphim was tonsured into monasticism and four years
since his ordination as a deacon. Fr. Pachomius grew
nearer to death, and wished to see Fr. Seraphim in full
priestly glory. On September 2, 1793, he was ordained by
Bishop Theophilus of Tambov. The years that had led St.
Seraphim to the staff of God ignited in him a fiery thirst
to leave for the desert. His mentors were leaving one
after the other for a better world. Fr. Joseph, his first
elder, left long ago. Fr. Pachomius, who loved him
fervently, was preparing to depart. Fr. Seraphim looked
after him, and gave him his word to care for the Diveyevo
sisters. Fr. Pachomius was overjoyed and kissed him. After
that, he peacefully departed to God. Having cried over his
friend and benefactor, Fr. Seraphim requested permission
from the new abbot, Fr. Isaiah, to depart for the
hermitage, and he received written permission. This was
again on the feast of the Entrance into the Temple of the
Most Pure Mother of God, November 20. On this day, sixteen
years before, the young Prokhor had stepped through the
monastery gates. Now, with a flaming soul Fr. Seraphim
stepped through them in the other direction—not into
the world, but deep into the desert. The Mother of God
knew him, and sent him into the Holy of Holies, closer to
Herself and to God.
From St. Seraphim
Wonderworker of Sarov and His Spiritual Heritage by
Helen Kontsevich (St. Xenia Skete)
Source-pravoslavie.ru
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