Teachings of Father Seraphim
September 24 marks 10 years since the day when our unforgettable Father, beloved and irreplaceable mentor, Archimandrite Seraphim (Olkhovoy), passed away from earthly life. His service to the Lord ended at the age of 96. Until his last days, he was the rector of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Staraya Igren in Dnepropetrovsk, caring for a huge number of spiritual children. The parishioners had the greatest trust and respect for their mentor. For his selfless perseverance in faith, the Lord generously gifted him: inner strength, quick reaction, worldly acumen, and above this - the wisdom and insight of the Elder. Even Father’s appearance bore the stamp of God’s blessing—his noble face was almost without wrinkles. The further in time we are from contact with this great man, the deeper the understanding of the significance of his influence on our lives, the incomprehensibility of the vain mind’s understanding of God’s Providence for us. We remember how we listened with bated breath to the unforgettable sermons of Father Seraphim. His simple, unpretentious speech brought God's Truths directly to our hearts, and they settled on fertile soil. ...Batiushka’s teachings were distinguished by specific advice - spiritual and everyday, to which it is sometimes difficult to get an answer even now. His words endowed us with inner strength, purposefulness, purified us, elevated us above earthly attachments, evoked tears of repentance, and forced us to work on ourselves. He constantly reminded us: “You are soldiers of Christ!” From these wonderful sermons a huge handwritten book was compiled, consisting of several hundred pages.* * *
If you want to do spiritual alms, then teach those who want to take their children to church to baptize: how to be baptized, who to take as godmothers; that after Communion a child should not be given a pacifier, since there is a sacred thing in the mouth; that you cannot cross yourself and bow before the Chalice, so as not to knock you out, but this must be done in advance; an older child should be baptized and given communion on an empty stomach; You can’t go to church with painted lips, because they won’t let you kiss the cross; that you can’t talk in church; You can’t reproach anyone for anything in the church - they will gradually learn.
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Don’t give sacred things to dogs - this means: if you know that they won’t listen, then don’t say anything (don’t lead them into the sin of condemning you), but rather pray for them, and the Lord Almighty (that is, He can do anything when He wants) Himself will call them to faith and enlighten them, and will send such enlightenment that they will become, perhaps, more righteous than those who have been praying for a long time and constantly.
And if a person recognizes faith and wants to know about it, then tell him.
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If someone committed a minor sin and you saw it, then know that you do not see your big sins. And if you constantly watch and watch yourself: no matter how you sin, then you will stop seeing and noticing the sins of other people.
How can you help someone who sins? Do not tell anyone about his sin (that is, do not convey it), but find out what his name is and pray for him. If someone close to you sins (drinks, for example), then pray for him, pray intensely and constantly. The Lord may not help right away, maybe not in a year, but more, but he will definitely help.
The Lord will not leave intense, constant prayer unattended (1 John 3:20-22).
If the neighbors ask: “Well, is he still drinking?” - answer: “Thank God, it’s a little less. Thank God it’s a little better.” Maybe, or rather, it must be, it’s not much - so little that it’s not even noticeable to the eye. But if we pray intensely and constantly, it will be better.
If you say that he drinks, then the enemy will become more furious, and with your humility you make the enemy powerless.
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Whoever commemorates with drink is the same murderer as Herod, he kills those whom he commemorates. Where they are remembered by drinking, the place is cursed by God. Don’t go there and sit with them, even if you are relatives. Herod did not renounce his oath for the sake of those reclining with him, and those who commemorate with drink are afraid of people’s condemnation, but they must be afraid of the wrath of God.
At a wedding or name day, you can drink a little, but in moderation. You should never drink without moderation. And at the wake you can’t drink a drop, no one! Where they drink, they cannot do without sin. Name days, funerals, etc. you need to postpone it to a weekday, and on Saturday evening, Sunday, before a holiday in the evening and on a holiday you need to go to church.
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If someone does not believe and does not pray, then such a person cannot be taken as a godfather. The child is baptized for the faith of his godfather. And if they do not believe and do not pray, then for whose faith is the child baptized? And it is necessary that parents and godfathers wear crosses.
That is, whoever does not obey the laws of the Church, do not take him as a godfather. And whoever you send to baptize, teach - godfathers and parents, and children, if older - to behave correctly in church: do not walk, do not talk, reverently, listen carefully, be baptized correctly, teach how to hold children, what to do so that the priest baptized churches, and did not waste time teaching everyone what they need to know from the cradle.
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Take (draw) your children and grandchildren to church, and give communion to your children (up to 7 years old) every Sunday, then they won’t get sick, and they will grow up to be strong Christians who will save their souls, and you will benefit greatly.
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Evil spirits exist and the invisible world too (Matthew 8:28-34). The possessed lived in caves where they buried the dead in order to instill the idea that the souls of the dead became demons. In fact, the soul, having left the body, does not wander in this world: the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. But the soul of the sinner is carried away, like the soul of the rich man in the parable.
Demons forced those possessed to come out to Jesus Christ and scream. The demons felt that Christ would drive them out, and asked to enter the pigs “before the time,” since demons are allowed to fight with us until the end of the century. “...Torturing demons...” means not allowing people to be harmed. Demons harm those people who are possessed by demons. This means that demons will not approach those who pray, receive communion regularly, go to church, and fulfill the 10 commandments. You just need to not give in to their power.
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The demons confessed to Saint Tryphon that fire comes out of the cross and burns them, so they fear the cross and run away from (the cross) those who baptize themselves.
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The demons slandered Job that it was easy for him to be a righteous man, since he was rich and others worked for him. To test Job's righteousness, God allowed demons to take away Job's wealth. They rejoiced and rushed to Job, but since Job was a righteous man (that is, he prayed, kept the commandments and did good deeds), the holy angels protected him, his family, and his wealth.
And only when God took away the holy angels, the demons were able to take away Job’s wealth, then his children and, finally, his health.
So, if we pray, take communion, keep the commandments, do good deeds - deeds worthy of repentance, then the holy angels - God's protection - will be near us. And only if God allows it - for our admonition, strengthening in faith, testing humility and patience, etc., only then will demons be able to approach us and harm us.
But Job did not grumble, but said: God gave and God took away, which means glory to God. God was convinced of Job’s humility, rejoiced and sent Job more than what Job had before: wealth, and, despite his advanced age, new obedient and righteous children, and health.
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The hermit (a saint living in the desert) was asked to cast out a demon from a girl, and he agreed. When the hermit entered, the girl, taught by the demon, ran up and hit the saint on the cheek, but he did not get angry, but asked her to hit his other cheek. Because of his great humility (he humbled himself before the child), the demon became powerless, cried out and left the girl. After which the girl became completely healthy.
Lord, You can do everything. If you want, Lord, send me such humility.
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How hard it is to suffer! Death delivers from prison, and alms from hell. Just let the hungry eat, not the well-fed; help is for the poor, not for the rich. Almsgiving to the poor brings you out of the abyss of hell.
In a nursing home you will find the thirsty, the suffering, and the poor.
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Joachim and Anna were rich and pious parents of the Most Holy Theotokos. They divided all their income for the year and all their wealth into three parts: the church, the poor and themselves. At that time it was believed: whoever is childless is a sinner. Therefore, those with many children made sacrifices first, and those without children came last. Joachim and Anna were childless for 50 years, they grieved for a long time and prayed to God to send them children. They were already old, helpless both to work and to life. When Joachim came to make a sacrifice to God, he did not know that not everyone who had children passed through, and he offered his sacrifice to God, for which the priest reproached him. Then Joachim imposed a 40-day fast on himself and went into the desert. Anna learned that her husband’s sacrifice had not been accepted, and she began to pray intensely and weep bitterly over the loss of children.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to her and said that her prayer had been heard by God and she would conceive and give birth to a daughter, whom she would name Mary. And he also said: go to Jerusalem and you will meet your husband at the Golden Gate. And an angel of the Lord also appeared to Joachim in the desert and announced the same joyful news as to his wife. And Anna went to Jerusalem, and she met her husband, and they made a sacrifice to God, and Anna promised that she would dedicate her daughter Mary to God.
This has always been the case: where there is no hope for human strength, the power of God has always appeared there. The parents of the Mother of God were rich, but did not leave the church. But now if you’re rich, the dacha and other things distract you. They want to leave it to the children, but they forget about the poor and needy. They believe and fast, but rarely go to church.
Without the poor, without alms, we will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven
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The cross is our weapon. From enemies visible and invisible. The cross is an adornment for Christians. You just need to cross yourself correctly, slowly, reverently, touching your forehead, chest, right shoulder, and then your left. The Cross is a symbol of the Orthodox Christian faith.
Baptists, evangelists and other sectarians reject the cross, which we worship with reverence. Baptists in their houses of worship place wooden crosses and lay floors on top, and whoever enters does not know that he is trampling on the Cross of the Lord.
Therefore, do not talk to them, and do not go, even out of curiosity, into their houses of worship. Do not take sin on your soul.
During the persecution of Christians, the king ordered the beheading of a Christian, and before carrying out the sentence he offered: if he tramples on the cross, he will be released. The Christian asked for a gold coin. They were happy and gave. Then the Christian began to trample the image of the king on the coin. The king became angry, and he said: “If you are angry, then the wrath of the Lord is worse, since that is hell, that is, eternal torment.”
They say that such and such a person was still a Christian, was a drunkard, but became a Baptist - and does not drink, and is completely “holy.”
It is written that before the second coming of Jesus Christ, the enemy the devil will be released and will rage. Sinners will go to hell anyway - he doesn’t need them, that is, diazol does not tempt sinners.
But the devil wants to take everyone to hell. Therefore, he throws the most selective forces of his dark angels on those who have approached or are striving to approach the Lord, that is, on those who pray intensely, on the descendants of the clergy, etc.
While that man was going to church, he was tempted by the devil, and maybe he drank sometimes and got irritated, and when he went to the Baptists, he trampled on the cross - he took the path of sin, the devil moved away from him, he does not tempt him, since the sinner perishes anyway.
But in the Gospel we read that the Lord Himself said: whoever does not bear the cross will not be saved. Everyone has their own cross: pain, sorrow, illness, deprivation, etc. To bear the cross means not to murmur, not to be indignant, not to complain, but to thank the Lord for everything that is sent to us in this earthly life. Without the cross it is impossible to be saved.
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The devil-tempter is a deceiver, because for short-term earthly pleasure, which, perhaps, will not give, but will only show, and even if it gives, it will not be for long, he wants to take away eternal bliss in paradise.
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— The Lord says that it is easier for Him to create a person than to teach him to pray, since we have been given freedom of action from God, that is, to choose our own path: to hell or to heaven. Without our action, the Lord will not save. And when the Lord sees our action, that is, fervent prayer and good deeds, then the Lord sends His assistance, that is, help to us for our salvation.
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- In 452, under Tsar Constantine, John the Baptist appeared to two monks who came to Jerusalem and told them where to unearth a clay vessel with his head. They dug it up, put the clay vessel in a bag and carried it. They met a potter, forced him to carry a sack, and they themselves walked behind and talked about vain things. John the Baptist appears to the potter and says: “Flee from these lazy monks.” And he ran and brought it to his home and kept the head with him.
If we pray but behave carelessly, then we will be like those monks. You need to check yourself:
- maybe I'm proud?
- maybe I'm arrogant?
- maybe - unfair?
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- Lately, many have been seeing visions from the devil - this is to make them proud. Then prayer will not help save the soul. In a vision to Saint Pachomius: two ascetics with a log could not enter the church because of pride, since neither of them wanted to enter second. It was discovered that although the ascetics had many virtues, pride did not allow them into heaven. If you are proud, then don’t pray, because it’s all the same - prayer will not help save the soul. First, humble yourself, overcome pride, then pray.
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- Grief and illness are sent to us for our sins. This means that first you need to repent, and then ask the Lord for healing and help. And some come without faith, just in case. They will put in 5 rubles, order a prayer service, but will not even think of repenting, either in their souls or in their deeds (to confess, receive communion, reform), and they say that God did not help.
God helps those who grieve with all their hearts and sincerely repent of what they have done (anger, condemnation, remembrance, etc.), mourn their sins, try to atone for their sins with good deeds of mercy and try, sincerely try not to repeat them in the future.
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“We have leprosy of the soul: those who swear, those who smoke, those who do not fast, those who do not pray, those who are not baptized, and also those who pray but condemn, become angry, talk in church, are distracted by their thoughts, etc.
To be cleansed from this leprosy, one must cry out: “Lord, have mercy on us!” - as the lepers cried, since everyone has leprosy.
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- You can kill with words. He kills who offends widows and orphans, who encroaches on the property of the poor, because of whom the poor is forced to wander, who bears witness (to this end), although not falsely. If he does not have mercy, he will not be pardoned by God.
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- A hypocrite is outwardly a saint, but in his soul there are demons, they have no number.
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- Don’t be afraid if bad thoughts don’t leave you. Bad thoughts are coming, but you don’t accept them. Cross yourself, pray. For this you will receive a reward in heaven.
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- Don’t get addicted to anything in your heart: not to TV, not to the dacha, not to bees...
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- Don’t go to the dining room to commemorate. The soul goes to the house where it lived and died, and it must be commemorated there, or in church. If they invite you to go to the dining room for a memorial service, don’t go, let them eat themselves. And there is no need to invite 200 people, invite 5-6 people, but believers.
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— If you drank milk during Lent, it’s not the biggest sin. More terrible: anger, maliciousness, condemnation - these are serious sins. If you didn’t even shout, didn’t speak, but only thought, you’ve already sinned. It is necessary to control the slightest movement of the soul: towards good or towards evil. Purity of soul is important to the Lord. He who looks into his soul does not see the sins of others. If you saw someone’s sin, pray for that person, so that tomorrow you will not involuntarily fall into the same or even greater sin.
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“We, too, must prepare the Lord’s path to our hearts.” If a government leader is going, the police will also prepare the way for him so that there are no obstacles. How will we receive this voice? Where there is faith, there is a gate to accept the word of the Gospel, and where there is no faith, there is a wall of Pride. Pride is the mother of all vices, and envy is the daughter of pride. If we kill pride in ourselves, then envy itself will leave us.
The Pharisees were proud, they thought that they were pious, but they sought out sins from the Lord. A proud person does not see his own shortcomings, but he does see those of others.
When Patriarch John the Merciful lived, he ordered that a coffin be made for him, but not finished, and every Sunday that the master publicly approach him for a blessing to continue the work, but not finish, in order to constantly remind him of death. Nothing saves a person more than the thought of the last minute.
Apostle Pet, after renouncing the Lord, was able to overcome pride, repented and was forgiven. And Judas Iscariot, after betraying the Lord, was unable to repent out of pride, so he fell into despair and went to hang himself. Repent while your spirit is in your body.
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- The Lord does not deny any of the poor. Those who drink on drink are beggars, but not blessed. The blessed are those who voluntarily became poor for the sake of Christ (distributed their property), or became poor due to misfortune (fire, etc.). And if at the same time they do not cry, do not complain, do not murmur, then they are blessed.
Truth is a virtue. If they seek truth, that is, virtue, and do the truth with love (that is, show virtue), then they are blessed. Truth is a great thing. Truth (that is, virtue) never perished. Rejoice if you are persecuted or offended for telling the truth and for going to church, for for such your reward is in heaven.
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— Wealth, if it is used to support a family and to give alms to the poor, is not harmful, but beneficial.
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“You can’t walk without a cross around your neck.” The cross is our protection. When we cross ourselves, the unclean spirit jumps a fathom away, since fire invisibly comes from the cross and scorches the demon.
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- Never despair, for despair is from the demon. Repentance is the golden top. Ask: “Lord, I can’t do something right now. God help me!" With God's help a person can do anything.
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— Humility is the most important thing in the matter of salvation. Without humility, prayer and deeds will not help. If you have humility, then the grace of God will be with you.
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- You need unselfish love for your neighbor, that is, do to your neighbor without profit what you want them to do to you.
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— God requires inner prayer, inner repentance. What is the power of repentance? If the demon repents, then God will make an angel out of the demon. If you do not have inner repentance, then do not despair. We must try to make prayer with tenderness, with attention, then over time we will develop inner prayer.
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- If we talk about saving the soul, but do nothing for this, then there is no benefit to us. If we know that we should not condemn, but condemn, what is the use of what we know. If you say at home that you need to wash it, but you don’t wash it, it won’t wash itself.
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- Fight against sinful thoughts and sinful desires. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work out right away, because if you have been spinning in sin for a long time, then it’s difficult to give up on sin; and we must work long and hard on ourselves and call on the Lord for help, for without the help of the Lord we are weak and cannot do anything.
The Lord does not help right away so that a person does not become proud, but he will definitely help.
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“The Lord allows a person to fall into sin several times, so that the person does not become proud and so that he is compassionate towards others. We must work hard, like the apostles and saints.
The Apostle James taught: in the evening, when you pray, say that you have committed a sin during the day, then: “Lord, forgive me!” - and bow to the ground and read “Our Father.” Do not accumulate sins, but confess every day in front of an icon or in front of your family, then you will win (and not immediately), that is, the Lord will make you feel relief.
This war against sin is necessary until death. The tempter does his own thing - tempts, and you do yours - pray and be baptized. The dark forces of the cross are afraid. To strengthen our strength, we need to baptize not only ourselves, but also food, drink, and the door when entering and leaving.
“Lord, have mercy” can be read standing, sitting, lying down, and in transport in the mind (that is, to oneself), and everywhere. Pray that prayer will become like bread for you. Then it will be easy. Never delay saving your soul and check yourself:
- maybe she was proud?
- maybe she condemned?.. etc.
Fasting is a great power, because if you are hungry, then you won’t even want to talk about vanity: the body is like a snake, if you warm it, it will bite.
After his sin, the Prophet David did not eat clean bread and clean food until his death, but sprinkled him with ashes and straw - this is how he punished himself, although he was a king. But we want to say: “Lord, I repent” - and we think that this is enough. Humble yourself, for grace is given to the humble, and you will overcome sinful habits. Amen
Biography
Childhood
Reverend Seraphim Vyritsky was born on March 31 in the village of Vakhromeevo. Some sources call the year of his birth 1865, others - 1866. In the world, the future saint was called Vasily - he was baptized on April 1.
He came from a peasant family. The parents of the future saint, Nikolai Ivanovich and Khionia Alimpievna Muravyov, were peasants in the village of Vakhromeevo, Arefin volost, Rybinsk district, Yaroslavl province, parish of Spas-on-Ukhre. In addition to Vasily, the Muravyovs had two younger daughters who died in infancy - Elizaveta and Evdokia.
The Muravyov family was pious, but not rich. They raised their son Vasily in the same piety. In addition, the boy was very gifted. At an early age, he practically independently mastered literacy and basic mathematics. His first books were the Gospel and the Psalter.
This is all that can be said about the early childhood of the future reverend. Other details are unknown.
When Vasily was about ten years old, his father, Nikolai Ivanovich, died. The family was left with virtually no means of subsistence. The widow, Khionia Alimpievna, was in poor health. Vasily had to become the sole breadwinner of the family.
However, a ten-year-old boy was not able to carry the entire peasant household on himself, and the family was threatened with impoverishment. Then one of the neighbors, who worked as a clerk in St. Petersburg, suggested that the boy try his luck in the capital, getting a job as an employee in one of the merchant shops. Moreover, fellow villagers noted in young Vasily those qualities that could bring him success in this field: quick wits, diligence and perseverance, patience and perseverance and a very good memory.
Seeing no other way out, the Muravyov family agreed with their neighbor’s proposal, and Vasily went with him to St. Petersburg.
Start of independent life
In the capital, a neighbor, as promised, got Vasily a job as a messenger in one of the Gostiny Dvor shops, or, as they said then, “an errand boy.” From the very first steps, Vasily showed such diligence, diligence and diligence that he earned the complete trust of the owner. Subsequently, the merchant for whom he worked began to entrust him with more and more complex matters. Vasily sent almost all of his salary to his sick mother’s homeland.
Among the many temptations of the capital, the young man maintained family piety, diligently visiting churches on Sundays and holidays. In addition, he diligently engaged in self-education, reading spiritual and secular literature.
When Vasily was about sixteen years old, he became one of his master's clerks. Vasily was not at all happy with such a career - he dreamed not of wealth and success, but of monasticism.
One day he decided to fulfill his dream - having come to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Vasily asked for a meeting with the governor. The young man hoped to persuade the governor to accept him as a novice. But the governor was not there that day. When the monks learned about the purpose of his coming to the monastery, they advised Vasily to visit one of the schema elders and ask for his blessing to become a monk. He did just that. But the schema-monk, in response to the young man’s tearful pleas for a blessing for his monastic feat, said: “Vasenka! You are still destined to go through the worldly path, thorny, with many sorrows. Do it before God and your conscience, and the Lord will reward you” [4, p. eleven]. In a further conversation, he advised Vasily to get married, create a pious family and, only after raising children, with the consent of his wife, take monastic vows.
The elder’s advice greatly upset the young man, but he did not dare to insist on his own. Vasily returned to his owner and continued to live an ordinary life.
A year later, the owner appointed him senior clerk. Although usually merchants preferred to choose older and more experienced people for this position. On trade matters, Vasily often had to travel around Russia. During these trips he visited many monasteries. Once, while in Moscow on business, Vasily visited the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Gethsemane monastery. There, talking with the Monk Barnabas of Gethsemane, Vasily told him about the blessing of the elder from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Elder Barnabas confirmed that the blessing of the Elder of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra was precisely the will of God.
Then Vasily asked the Monk Barnabas to become his spiritual mentor. Elder Varnava agreed - from that time until his departure, he maintained a spiritual relationship with Vasily Muravyov, guiding him along the paths of salvation. With the blessing of Elder Barnabas, Vasily began to practice the Jesus Prayer.
Vasily managed to combine intense spiritual work with a busy worldly life. He still worked hard - no longer so much as a senior clerk, but as his master's companion. Vasily combined travel on commercial matters with frequent visits to his sick mother. He did not give up self-education either.
Literature
- Church Gazette, 1912, No. 39 p. 370.
- Church Gazette, 1914, No. 22 p. 261.
- Church Gazette, 1914, No. 34 p. 409.
- Life of Bishop Seraphim (Zvezdinsky).
Letters and sermons. Paris: YMKA-Press, 1991. - Acts of His Holiness Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, later documents and correspondence on the canonical succession of the highest church authority, 1917-1943
: Sat. in 2 parts / Comp. M.E. Gubonin. M., 1994. P.890. - Manuil (Lemeshevsky V.V.), Metropolitan. Russian Orthodox hierarchs of the period from 1893 to 1965.
(inclusive) . Erlangen, 1979-1989.T.6. P.46-49. - Dubinsky A.Yu. Moscow Theological Seminary: Alphabetical list of graduates of 1901-1917 (genealogical directory)
. M.: Prometheus, 1998. 123 p. P.30. - Lists of students who completed the full course of the Imperial Moscow Theological Academy during the first century of its existence (1814-1914)
. Sergiev Posad, 1914. P.144. - Act of the Jubilee Consecrated Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on the conciliar glorification of the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian 20th century
. Moscow, August 12-16, 2000 - Sergius, nun of the Holy Dormition Alexander Convent. Those who suffered for Christ in the land of Vladimir.
Brief biographical reference . Typescript. P.93.
