Video “Prayer to St. Seraphim of Sarov”
In this video you can listen to an audio recording of a prayer to St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Childhood and adolescence
Seraphim of Sarov (born Prokhor) was born on July 19, 1759 into a wealthy family of merchants from the city of Kursk. His father owned brick factories, and his mother helped the poor. Soon the parent died, leaving the children in the care of the widow. She continued her husband’s work, at the same time completing the construction of a temple in honor of St. Sergius.
From an early age, the future saint gravitated toward knowledge. He read a lot, quickly learned to write and devoted a lot of time to self-education. Almost every day the boy attended church, prayed fervently, and studied the Holy Scriptures. Once Prokhor met a holy fool who predicted his future glory.
On the way to monastic life
By the age of seventeen, the young man finally realized that he wanted to leave worldly life. The mother, who always supported her son, did not oppose Prokhor’s decision. Soon the future monk, together with five pilgrims, set off on foot to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Already near Kyiv, Prokhor learned about the seer Dosithea from the Kitaev monastery, and therefore immediately decided to go to him. There the elder blessed him to serve the Sarov Monastery and ordered him to bring the word of God to people.
The beginning of monastic exploits
Arriving at the Sarov Monastery on November 20, 1778, Prokhor was appointed cell attendant under the treasurer Joseph. He also became the young man’s first spiritual teacher. Working hard and praying, the future saint also managed to devote a couple of hours to solitude.
A couple of years later, the young minister was overcome by illness. The condition was so serious that they began to predict his imminent death. After three years of torment, the Holy Mother of God appeared to Prokhor during communion, and after Her visit the illness disappeared without a trace. At the place where the miracle happened, a temple was later erected, and a hospital was built nearby.
On August 13, 1786, Prokhor finally accepted monasticism and was named Seraphim. And a few months later he was ordained a hierodeacon. On September 2, 1793, Seraphim became a hieromonk, and a year later, at the request of Abbess Agafya Melgunova, he took the Diveyevo sisters into his care. After 16 years of monastic life, the future saint, with the permission of Father Isaiah, becomes a hermit.
Hermit life
The monk's cell was located not far from the monastery in a deep forest. There Seraphim constantly prayed, ate whatever God provided, wore poor clothes, and communicated with animals. He visited the monastery only on holidays or Sunday services to receive communion. Soon people began to come to his secluded home, and the hermit never refused those asking.
One day, Seraphim was attacked by thieves who decided to rob the monk. He did not resist, surrendering into the hands of the Lord. He was tied up, beaten severely, and his cell was turned upside down. Having found nothing, the robbers left. The monk could not get out of bed for eight days, and when the doctors arrived, losing consciousness, he saw the Virgin Mary. She appeared to him with Peter and John. Looking at the sick man, the Mother of God said: “This is from our generation.” A few days later the hermit began to recover, and five months later he returned to solitude.
After the death of the abbot of the Sarov Monastery, Seraphim was offered to head this position, but the monk refused. Instead, he took a vow of silence, which he maintained unquestioningly for three years.
The miracle worker helped people all his life
Last years of life and death
Three years after the death of Father Isaiah, the new abbot, the Monk Niphon, ordered Seraphim to visit the temple and receive communion or move to a separate cell on the territory of the monastery. So, on May 8, 1810, the Sarov monastery again received its monk. However, the monk did not abandon seclusion. Having asked permission, he completely secluded himself for five whole years.
One day the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him in a dream and ordered him to serve people. Only then did the hermit relax his vow, allowing him to visit him. And on November 25, 1825, the Mother of God came to him again to inform him that he was allowed to leave seclusion.
On the same day, on the way from the monastery, the Virgin Mary appeared before Seraphim. She hit the ground with her staff, causing a spring to flow out of it.
Later the source was named Serafimov, and a well was built in its place.
The Queen of Heaven reminded the monk of his duties to the Diveyevo sisters, ordering him to found a monastery for girls.
On March 25, 1831, at the Annunciation, the Mother of God appeared for the last time to the future saint to inform him of his imminent death. Seraphim of Sarov left this world on January 2, 1933, praying before the place of his future burial.
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| The wonderful help of Father Seraphim today |
Stories from the editorial mail of the Pravoslavie.Ru portal
On the eve of the day of remembrance of St. Seraphim of Sarov, we asked readers to share their stories about the miraculous help of the holy elder.
Vladimir S. “Look, boy, he promised not to let you down”
In August 2007, my wife and I made a tourist trip around the Golden Ring. We toured museums, monasteries and churches. Not as pilgrims, but to improve their cultural level. They treated the Church with respect, considered themselves Orthodox, but had vague ideas about Christianity, gleaned mainly from Western films.
At the age of forty, I thought that Christians believe in One God - Jesus Christ. I was even slightly interested in the question, where did God the Father go after the resurrection of the Son? I also heard something about the Trinity, which was mixed in my head with Rublev, angels and Abraham. I also heard about the Holy Spirit, but it did not fit into my concept of Christianity, although I read the Gospels. Three whole and half from John. The last one turned out to be painfully difficult, and I couldn’t master it.
Well, of course, like any Orthodox Christian, I knew how to behave in the Church. He entered, crossed himself, bought candles, one for the repose, another for the Mother of God, a third for God, a fourth for the saint. Light a candle, light it, cross yourself, ask the Mother of God for family happiness, God for protection from enemies, the crucifix for help to relatives in the next world, and the saint for something for yourself.
My life by that time was more or less successful. Beloved wife, children, good job, material wealth, vacation on warm seas, in beautiful cities. Everything is normal, like with people. My wife suddenly wanted to take a ride around the Golden Ring instead of the Canary Islands. We’ve never been, let’s go, maybe, let’s join our native culture. Go.
And so, among other attractions, we were brought to visit the Resurrection Monastery in the city of Uglich. They took us off the bus, told us about when it was founded, when it was closed and when it was restored, and then we were taken to the monastery church. Simple room, whitewashed walls. It reminds me more of a hut than an Orthodox church.
I look: on one of the walls hang two large icons - Seraphim of Sarov and another stern old man. Despite the fact that I had no idea about the Trinity, I knew St. Seraphim of Sarov by sight and respected him. I looked at the saints and suddenly felt trust in them. I wanted to come up and ask for the most secret things. There was an inexplicable confidence that if you ask and they will give.
Due to the fact that my life was more or less successful, I allowed myself to acquire a substantial beer belly, a double chin, and thick cheeks. I drank a lot of expensive alcohol and ate frequent, high-calorie snacks. Mainly meat. This caused problems with physical education. I dreamed of going to the gym and losing excess weight, but my fat body resisted and wouldn’t let me go anywhere.
And so I looked at Seraphim of Sarov and the second old man and asked them: “Help me start going to the gym, I want to become slim and strong, I don’t want encroaching decrepitude, push me, give me the opportunity to take the first step, and I won’t let you down.”
I don’t know how to explain this, but they looked at me sternly, and I heard the answer: “Look, boy, I promised not to let you down.”
Youth? At forty-one? Why boy? “Of course, I promise, you will just push, help.”
Expecting an influx of unprecedented physical energy, I left the church, but nothing happened. I didn’t become stronger or more energetic the next day, or the week after, or the next...
A month later I stopped drinking. I woke up in the morning after another drinking session and realized that I wouldn’t drink anymore. Enough. Got drunk. True, I was sure that this whim would pass by evening. This is not the first morning I’ve quit, I’ve already accumulated a lot of experience. But nothing went anywhere. Two days later, at a loss as to what happened to me, I suddenly remembered the stern look of Father Seraphim and the demand not to let me down.
I haven’t been drinking for six years now, I go to the gym and pool, I’ve gained weight and gotten rid of many ailments. No craving for alcohol, no effort on yourself. Ordinary Miracle.
But the most important thing is that my wife and I now believe in the Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible, we know what repentance is, we partake of the Mysteries of Christ, and in our third decade of marriage we got married.
Thanks to the prayers of St. Seraphim, I now know that my life has not yet succeeded, and on the contrary, I drank and devoured most of it, but I am not offended by him for this knowledge.
Thank you, Father Seraphim, for your prayer for the forty-year-old boy, which saved his life!
Nikita Ovchinnikov “I feel warm, warm!”
In the summer of 2013, my mother’s friend came to us, who could not cure a severe cough for about two months. Her “bang-bang” echoed throughout the apartment. It is worth noting that this friend is a Muslim Tatar. During the conversation, between the next coughing fit, the friend takes the icon of Seraphim of Sarov and puts it to her chest. "Help me please!" - that's what she said before.
“I feel warm, warm!” - and she said this after. There was no limit to surprise; the heat was so strong that the icon left a red imprint behind it. This is how Father Seraphim helped a person in need, and strengthened us in the faith. God is marvelous in His saints!
Vladimir My wife and I didn’t have children for a long time
For me, St. Seraphim of Sarov is one of the most outstanding saints! I feel his miraculous help every time I turn to him in prayer. My wife and I didn’t have children for a long time. Family relationships did not work out.
In 2012, we took our mother-in-law with us to Diveevo, an unchurched person. So, we went to all the holy places. We plunged into all the springs and venerated the relics of the Venerable Father Seraphim. And a miracle happened. Less than a month passed and my wife became pregnant. Now we have a daughter, Nastenka, a strong, healthy child.
Now I continue to travel to Diveevo alone, on pilgrimage tours by bus, since my wife cannot travel because of her infant child. But when Nastenka grows up, we will definitely continue to visit Diveevo with the whole family. This is the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov - a great wonderworker! God help everyone!
Boris Savinov Despair overwhelmed the soul
Holy wonderworker and saint of God, great are his miracles! I always ask him to strengthen me in my faith. I always ask you to confirm me in faith and understanding of the will of God. I was serving a sentence in a zone in the Nizhny Novgorod region, and sometimes despair overwhelmed my soul.
Once it was really hard, I was in the hospital, and the brethren of the local church brought me oil blessed on the relics of the saint. I made a cross on their forehead and prayed. The example of a saint’s prayer on a stone has always given me strength. I recovered, was released earlier and have not disappeared for five years now. I live and work and, thank God, although not without problems, it’s not at all the pitch hell that it used to be. God bless. Rejoice, holy servant of God Seraphim!!!
Elena Babenko In the fall we learned that we would have a son
I couldn’t pass by and not write. My husband and I went to Diveevo a month after our wedding, in 2005. Married since 1998, but still no children. Both also began to become church members relatively recently - in 2002 and, of course, having read about Father Seraphim, both were eager to get to Diveevo. And somehow everything worked out in an amazing way, and the dream came true.
In the fall we found out that we were going to have a son. I was also very sick with vegetative-vascular dystonia and went with the hope that Father would heal me. We were there for about two weeks in total and probably visited all the holy springs around. My husband swam in all of them, but I couldn’t: only in the water—my muscles were cramping from the cold, I felt like I was suffocating.
And so, on the eve of departure, we went to the Batyushkin spring, there is a chapel there, it’s so good there, everything is arranged. And here’s the same story - everyone has already taken the plunge, but I still can’t... I prayed to God and Saint Seraphimushka, you rarely pray so fervently. She went straight to the chapel in her bathing shirt, fell to her knees and, with tears, asked Father to help.
And I plunged! At the moment when I plunged, I felt as if a current had passed through me - from my feet to my head. Amazing feeling! In general, I came out of the source, as if I was born again and completely forgot about my dystonia. I believe that through Father’s prayers, the Lord healed me. God bless! God is marvelous in His saints!! Father Seraphim, pray to God for us sinners!
Galina Everything was decided in a short period of time
For some reason I had never turned to Seraphim of Sarov for help before. Vacation came, the opportunity arose to go on a pilgrimage trip to Diveevo, I had never been there before, but I wanted to. A few days before the trip, I end up in the hospital, they operate on me, and I don’t go anywhere.
And there are a lot of problems, as always, I would like them to be resolved, preferably all of them at once. After the operation, I was sent to a sanatorium, there is a small church nearby, near the altar there is a large, full-length icon of Seraphim of Sarov.
I approached this icon, and told him that I wanted to go to him, ask for health, my son after the army has not been able to find a permanent job for more than a year, my daughter is also somehow having trouble finding work, and it’s time to get married .
You know, and everything was decided in a short period of time: the son was offered a job at a large enterprise, which is almost impossible to get a job even through connections, and even without a job. My daughter also got a job in her specialty, without work experience. A few months later she got married. And after the operation I began to feel better. Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!
Oleg A difficult test for the whole family
Several years ago I read the life of Saint Father Seraphim, and it seemed to me that some spiritual issues became more clear to me. But at the same time, my daughter fell ill: a serious complication after chickenpox. A difficult test for the whole family. Thank God, my daughter recovered, but during this period of treatment there was a reassessment of values in our family.
And a year ago, my mother was suspected of having a tumor, and I again turned to the saint of God, Saint Seraphim of Sarov. And God, through the priest’s prayers, saved him from a terrible illness!!! God is marvelous in His saints!!!
Voronina Vera Fedorovna The trip took place
It just so happened that the first spiritual book that I bought and read was called “The Life of Elder Seraphim.” The kind, gentle face of the saint sunk into my soul. I look at the icon, and a warmth appears in my chest.
My friends went to holy places in Moscow and as a gift brought me crackers, blessed in the cast iron of Father Seraphim, and a box of chocolates with his image. My surprise knew no bounds! This time it seemed to me that I was flying on wings.
In March 2013, my brother and I decided to go to the Holy Land. A few days before leaving, my brother fell ill. I prayed to Father Seraphim that he would help. The trip took place. Father Seraphim came to his brother in a dream and talked to him. Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!
Elena Komarovskaya The doctor convinced me that both I and the child would die
Hello! I want to share my story about the help of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The story is very simple, there are probably tens of thousands of them. I became pregnant with my third child; before that I was already not very healthy (I had hypertension for several years, and my blood sugar began to rise).
The doctor recommended termination of pregnancy - she convinced me that both I and the child would die. I am a doctor myself and understood that my colleague was playing it safe. But I felt physically very bad, and was plagued by severe anxiety.
I gathered with my husband and friends in Diveevo, I didn’t understand how I would get there. But we got there well, and there I no longer remembered my problems: we plunged into the springs, prayed at the relics of St. Seraphim, then the Feast of the Transfiguration, communion.
I came back a different person - where did the depression and malaise go? I tried to take communion weekly during pregnancy. The pregnancy went without complications, and she gave birth to a healthy girl at term.
Thank God for everything! For me, the story of the birth of my youngest daughter always remains evidence of the help of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Asya “But I can’t even smoke!”
About three months ago I sent a parcel, the cashier didn’t have any change, she offered to take a choice of either a stamp or a wall calendar. I took the calendar without looking. At home I unfolded it and was surprised: it was a church calendar! I expected that I had bought some kind of New Year’s horse, but here was a colorful image of St. Seraphim of Sarov with a bear. I searched the Internet and read the life of this saint. I hung the calendar in a prominent place in the kitchen.
And then, completely without reason, but quite sincerely, I turned to the saint with a request to help me get rid of the passion of smoking, which I have been “suffering from” for 20 years. Well, I asked and forgot. It’s a big deal, I’ve given up a hundred times, I know it’s useless.
And a week or two later I came back from Communion, grabbed a cigarette - but I couldn’t light it! She sat like that for an hour, twirling it in her fingers, and then put it aside. And it’s a strange thing: I really want to smoke, there are plenty of cigarettes in the apartment, but I can’t light a cigarette—it’s disgusting. I hope forever now.
This is how Father Seraphim of Sarov helped me! Yes, wonderful is the Lord in His saints! I could have picked up a stamp at the post office then and would have been left without a miracle. People who smoke will understand me.
Elena Dorogina My legs couldn't hold me
Father Seraphim raised me on the morning of January 15 several years ago from a spinal stroke (which was caused by a serious injury after an accident). Those who know what it is will understand me.
The doctors said that I was recovering too slowly, hinting at something bad. Yes, I myself thought that was all. My legs couldn’t support me, I felt constantly bad. But from somewhere there was hope, not fully realized, for the priest.
On the 13th there was an attempt to get to my feet - they couldn’t hold me, it was impossible to get up even with someone else’s help. And so early in the morning, on the 15th, I got up myself, walked around the room, turned on the light and went to my parents!
How happy everyone was and thanked Father Seraphim! We can talk a lot about him! Great is our God! God is marvelous in His saints! And how kind and tender the Reverend Father Seraphim was and is! Father Seraphim, thank you for everything! Pray to the Lord and Mother of God for us!
Marina All family problems have subsided
I came to Father at the end of 2011, there were problems at work and in the family, in my relationship with my husband. I really asked him to solve the problem. In February 2012, I unexpectedly found out that I was pregnant. The child was unexpected and not planned (the eldest son was 10 years old).
This is how, through Father’s prayers, all the problems were resolved: she left work on maternity leave, and after the birth of her second son, all family problems subsided. Father helps me in all my hardships. Pray to God for us, Rev. Father Seraphim!
Victor Kasyanenko To be a monk or to get married?
This was probably in 2004. I went with a pilgrimage group to Diveevo. One of the sisters of the monastery met us at the Diveyevo monastery and led us around the monastery. She took her to Motovilov’s grave, where there was a birch tree, and, talking about the servant of the Monk Seraphim, added that the sisters always turn to Father Seraphim in difficult situations, as if he were alive, and the priest always helps.
At that time I was tormented by the question of what to do: be a monk or get married. I labored for some time in the St. Nicholas Tikhon Monastery. I didn’t have a bride, and so I was wondering what to do.
I turned to Father Seraphim with this question, and literally a few seconds later several decorated cars drove up to the monastery with sound signals. It was a wedding. I didn’t need anything else, since Father Seraphim’s answer was so quick and so obvious that I understood everything.
As a result, in 2006 I met my future wife, and in 2007 we got married. So St. Seraphim helped me.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!
Evgenia An icon of the Venerable One literally appeared on the desktop
I prayed to the Reverend for healing of my back (I have had a curvature since my student days, and it was already becoming noticeable to the naked eye). Something always got in the way of doing physical education: either there was no time, or I couldn’t find a good instructor. When I plunged into the spring in Tsyganovka, I dreamed of a miracle.
But Father Seraphim helped me differently. A week after returning from Diveyevo, an icon of the saint literally appeared on my desktop at work! It turned out that our Muslim employee found her on the street, picked her up and brought her to work. So it turned out to be with me, it was a great consolation!
And a month later, a colleague brought her friend, an experienced physical therapy instructor, to work with us. They gave us a room, and now we have classes twice a week at lunchtime! What a miracle! I didn't even hope for this. We practice regularly, and by the grace of God, there is already a result.
God is marvelous in His saints! All this happened in 2013. Thank God for everything!
Alexy M. Partners openly threatened with violence
In 2006, I was doing business and found myself in a very difficult situation: my partners wanted to “dump me” and openly threatened me with violence. Having honestly worked for them for free for a year and a half, I could have stayed at great expense. The situation was heating up by the hour, I was 27 years old, I had practically no money, I was left without a wife, I was living with a friend, I had no one to consult with - everything spiraled in such a way that it cannot be conveyed in two lines.
It somehow came to mind that the situation could not be resolved by human forces, and even though I was not a church member, I borrowed money and went to Father Seraphim in Diveevo to ask for help. Everything was in a fog, I don’t remember where I stopped, where I went, I remember that I could not hold back my tears at the shrine with the relics, and that I prayed for a long time in the corner.
I remember how the nun raised the glass, and people began to approach Father’s things and kiss them. I literally got hit on the back and spine with a hoe from a nun - it was probably a tradition. It didn’t hurt, it just seemed to feel better right away.
I visited the source and went home. When I turned on the phone again, there were a lot of missed calls from partners. I called back, thinking that maybe help had already arrived, but it was even worse because I didn’t pick up the phone for two days.
I got home, and on the same day an old acquaintance called and asked how things were. Well, I cried to him, just to talk it out. I knew that he was an ordinary guy and couldn’t help me, I just hoped that it would make me feel better if I shared it with someone. We agreed to see each other sometime, and that was all. He calls back an hour later and urgently insists on a meeting.
It turned out that he had owned a business in the past and told his old friends in the capital my story. And they, God bless them, settled everything themselves within the shortest possible time. And even so that I didn’t hear a word from my partners and didn’t see them at all anymore. The business failed, I didn’t receive any money either, but at least I was alive.
And so I, stupid and ungrateful, only now truly realized that it was Father Seraphim who settled everything.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of the Venerable Father Seraphim, have mercy and save us!
Maria Agafonova St. Seraphim got me a job!
Reverend Seraphim, one might say, got me a job! For a long time I could not get a job in a new profession (architect), since I was still in my second year, and everywhere you need at least three years of work experience.
Study is paid, dear, at some point I prayed to St. Seraphim of Sarov in complete despair and a feeling of hopelessness to the point of tears. In the prayer book there was a small paper calendar for 1999 with a picture of his icon. I kissed it in tears, and I looked - and it appeared like oil on the icon (without smell). At first I didn’t understand, then I kissed it again - and it came out again.
I was overcome with joy and bewilderment, and soon her friend called my mother and said that they were looking for an architect to work for her, she should come and talk. I came, talked, and they said: they are ready to take students too. So, thank God, this is the third year I’ve been working there! Reverend Seraphim is now like a family and mentor to me! Pray to God for us, Father Seraphim!
Maria “Seraphim woke him up”
One day a baritone, about 40 years old (however, did not stay long), who received a musical education at a provincial conservatory, came to our choir to learn church singing; but he never sang in the choir, and he also left music long ago. And suddenly his eyes bulged when he saw the icon of Seraphim of Sarov; asked: who is he? We said, and he told us, that when he was studying at a provincial music school or conservatory (I have already forgotten this), somehow, to keep warm, he wrapped himself in a heating pad and fell asleep. And then he sees an old man (whom he recognized on the icon), and he woke him up to urgently get up. The heating pad was already smoldering. If Seraphim had not woken him up then, he would have burned.
NN “All blood tests showed that things were bad”
How Father Seraphim helped me.
In 2007, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and they could not determine where exactly it was. And that made it even worse. All blood tests showed that things were bad. After a month of examination, nothing was found.
I have long wanted to go to Diveevo to visit St. Seraphim, but my sister said that this is a very holy place and we need to prepare for the trip, read the life, fast, take communion (at that time we were not yet churchgoers). But for some reason, after a month of tears about my mother, I confidently told my parents: “We’re going to Diveevo!”
We arrived on Saturday after lunch and, as soon as we stepped over the monastery fence, our souls felt so calm and so quiet... I really wanted to preserve this state. Then we venerated the relics of Father Seraphim, defended the akathist in the morning and went home to Moscow. On Monday, my mother went to her next appointment with the doctor, and he ordered an additional examination, and it was there that they found a polyp and there was oncology.
Then it was as if someone had arranged and done everything for us: some people helped with hospitalization in a good clinic - for free, others - with a good ward, which is important for morale in such a situation, others helped with medical professors. And so help came from those people from whom I did not expect, not from relatives and friends, but from strangers - this is how Father Seraphim managed everything. Mom had a very complicated operation, and two months later we were all going again to Diveevo to see Father Seraphim, mom was reclining, but we were already on our way to say thank you.
Seven years have passed. Thank God everything is fine with mom. We joined the church as a family, our parents got married.
The help of Father Seraphim is felt in everything. Every trip to Diveevo is a great consolation.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!
***
Troparion to St. Seraphim of Sarov for his repose
voice 4
From your youth you loved Christ, O blessed one, / and you ardently desired to work for Him alone, / you labored with unceasing prayer and labor in the desert, / with a tender heart the love of Christ Having acquired the wealth,/ the chosen one, beloved of God, appeared to the Mother./ For this reason we cry out to you // Save us with your prayers, Seraphim, like our Father.
Translation: From your youth you loved Christ, O blessed one, and having ardently desired to serve Him alone, you labored in the desert with unceasing prayer and labor, and having acquired the love of Christ with a tender heart, you appeared as the chosen beloved of the Mother of God. Therefore we cry to you: “Save us with your prayers, Seraphim, our reverend father!”
It is impossible to retell ALL the miracles...in the source
Miracles of Seraphim of Sarov
The miracle worker spent his entire life helping people who came to him for help. However, he himself experienced the miracles of the Lord:
- One day, standing with his mother on the bell tower, little Prokhor leaned out over the railing, lost his balance and fell. The frightened mother who ran downstairs noted with surprise that her son was not injured. This was the first miracle associated with Seraphim.
- When the boy was ten years old, he became seriously ill. One day the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream, promising deliverance from his illness. Soon the icon of the Heavenly Queen was carried around the city. The mother took her child in her arms and brought it to the holy face. Almost immediately Prokhor felt better, and after a short time he completely recovered.
- Taking bread with him to feed the animals, the monk himself said that it never diminished from his basket.
According to Tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Seraphim of Sarov twelve times. Her last coming was with John the Baptist, when the Mother of God informed the monk of his imminent death.
“I had no goal of exposing the life of a saint”
— So you saw that in reality, some key stories in the life of the saint either happened differently or did not happen at all. But for what reason did such a vision develop among believers? Is this a simple human craving for the miraculous? Or are there some more complex laws of the Christian and specifically Orthodox worldview behind this?
“I repeat that the most significant moments in the saint’s biography—falling from a bell tower, feeding a bear, praying on a stone—cannot be ignored. They are real, memorable, reflected in lithographs and icons, which were located in the red corners of not only peasant huts. I just corrected some of them based on archival documents.
I also want to note that among the first biographers of the reverend there were no real writers. There were poorly educated eyewitnesses who, sometimes trying to embellish the elder’s biography, lost their sense of proportion. For example, the desire to show St. Seraphim as a man overcoming all the hardships of life, relying only on his own strength, led to the fact that for a long time the name of his novice, Paul, was kept silent.
In this sense, it is significant that, for example, around the Optina elders we do not encounter such a layering of various legends. And this is due precisely to the fact that Optina Pustyn, in comparison with the Sarov Monastery, is a more ancient monastery - the biographies of the elders were created here, one might say, by professionals in their field. The Sarov hermitage was mainly peasant, and the “Tales” about the saint, figuratively speaking, were written by ordinary people. Therefore, the text sometimes seems primitive - I, of course, mean the first biographies.
However, it is worth noting that such speculation about the life of a famous person is a constantly occurring phenomenon. This is the fate of everyone whose biography attracts thousands of people. After all, it is somehow perceived, interpreted, translated, and in the process of such reflection some glitches always arise, which sometimes distort the real historical texture.
This is the task of the researcher - to remove such layers and get, if possible, to reality. It is not for nothing that I chose the words of the abbot of the Sarov Hermitage, Isaiah (Putilov), as the epigraph for my book: “Indeed, just as the decrease in truth in the descriptions of righteous men and anything worthy of note, so their excessive praise takes away their honor.” Unfortunately, the first biographers, and indeed the biographers of modern times, did not always follow this path.
Raev V.E. Portrait of Elder Seraphim. 1830
— So we are talking specifically about human weakness, about the desire to discern the supernatural in everything? Why then does the Church not correct what is clearly embellished in the biography of Seraphim of Sarov?
— Firstly, too little time has passed to make such changes. I published the documents only now, and the Church is never in a hurry, especially in those matters that concern the life of such significant saints as St. Seraphim. And this, in my opinion, is wise.
It is important that the events set forth precisely in the official life of the saint, accepted by the Church, are beyond doubt. Immediately after canonization, church censorship sifted out from the saint’s biography everything that was clearly colored by human imagination.
Secondly, I am not at all a supporter of making any significant changes to the lives of saints on the basis of even the most conscientious historical research. The hagiographic genre is not a historical chronicle or a collection of testimonies. This is a story about the Christian feat of a really existing person, who is formed and written according to completely different canons - with an emphasis on the manifestations of his personal holiness, on the moments through which the process of human transformation increasingly emerges. In the end, we are not comparing an icon and a painting - they are from completely different worlds and, obviously, serve different purposes. Also here. You must always remember this boundary and not erase it.
— What goal did you set for yourself in your research?
— Help to see the person being described from a historical point of view. However, this perspective in no way obscures the holistic reality that life reveals to us. In the process of writing the book, I did not set out to expose this life or any myths. However, the myths themselves have a right to exist, since behind them you can always find a veiled truth, which is described not in scientific language, but in another, which means this “text” needs to be deciphered differently.
The facts I found in archives and books are presented to correct those inconsistencies that were made by researchers and writers of previous generations due to an understandable ignorance of this topic. After all, they did not yet have in their hands the documents that I had.
It is also important to understand that there is no conflict between the historical study of this or that material and established life. There are just different ways of working, different goals, ways of interpretation. In France, for example, there are descriptions of the lives of saints for a variety of people. This includes canonical hagiography, adaptations for Catholics, studies for secular people, and even comics for children.
— Your research does not impose any conclusions. But today people often tend not to be calm about the facts, but to immediately begin to interpret. And it is quite likely that there will be those who will say: this, supposedly, was what needed to be proven - Orthodoxy is based on fairy tales, which are believed by people without critical thinking. What would you answer to this? Have you ever had this question yourself?
- It didn’t occur to me. And it cannot be said that Orthodoxy rests on fairy tales. Otherwise, the history of the Church would not have been counted for two thousand years. Different interpretations of historical facts and events were present before, they are present today - and it is probably impossible to do without it. This is completely normal.
For me, another thought is more important in all this: there are situations in life when a person is ready to believe in any miracle, strives to feel it for himself, and sometimes it happens, contrary to the claims of skeptics. Such situations fall outside the scope of external scientific studies, because they relate to phenomena of a completely different order. These are, as it were, internal, personal “key moments” that are understandable only to the person who experienced them and are a priori not suitable for any, even the most refined, rational manipulations. And here everyone already proves to himself exactly what he wants.
Veneration of the Reverend
The Wonderworker has been deeply revered among Christians for many centuries, and therefore you can worship him in any church of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Memorial Days
St. Seraphim is commemorated several times:
- January 15;
- 27th of June;
- August 1;
- 10th of August;
- on the day of the Council of Nizhny Novgorod Saints.
Often, icon painters depict the monk as a gray-bearded old man
Iconography
Often, icon painters depict the monk as a gray-bearded old man, standing up to his waist or at full height. He wears simple black clothes, and a halo shines above his head. The saint holds the cross with his left hand and blesses with his right hand. One of these images is located in the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra. There are also icons depicting scenes from the life of the miracle worker.
Prayer to Seraphim of Sarov
Prayer
O wonderful Father Seraphim, great Sarov wonderworker, quick and obedient helper to all who come running to you! During the days of your earthly life, no one left you weary and inconsolable, but everyone was blessed with the vision of your face and the benevolent voice of your words. Moreover, the gift of healing, the gift of insight, the gift of healing for weak souls has appeared abundantly in you. When God called you from earthly labors to heavenly rest, your love ceased from us, and it is impossible to count your miracles, which multiplied like the stars of heaven: for throughout the ends of our earth you appeared to the people of God and granted them healing. In the same way, we cry out to you: O most quiet and meek servant of God, daring man of prayer to Him, denying no one who calls you, offer up your powerful prayer for us to the Lord of hosts, may He strengthen our power, may He grant us all that is useful in this life and all that is spiritual useful to salvation, may he protect us from the falls of sin and teach us true repentance, so that we can enter without stumbling into the eternal Heavenly Kingdom, where you now shine in unfathomable glory, and there sing with all the saints the Life-Giving Trinity until the end of the age. Amen.
Prayer
O Reverend Father Seraphim! Offer up for us, servants of God (names), your powerful prayer to the Lord of hosts, may He grant us all that is useful in this life and all that is useful for spiritual salvation, may He protect us from the falls of sins and may He teach us true repentance, in order to heed us without stumbling to the eternal Heavenly Kingdom, where you now shine in eternal glory, and there sing with all the saints the Life-Giving Trinity forever and ever.
Prayer
O great servant of God, venerable and God-bearing Father Seraphim! Look down from the heavenly glory on us humble and weak, burdened with many sins, your help and consolation to those who ask. Approach us with your mercy and help us to preserve the commandments of the Lord immaculately, 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 prayerful intercession 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 yes With your help, let us be worthy 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.
People come to the saint with various requests. It helps strengthen the spirit, resist temptation, and overcome illness. Along with the prayer, it is also customary to read the troparion and kontakion.
St. Seraphim of Sarov gave this world his wisdom in the form of instructions and teachings. Through his words, the holy Ascetic through the centuries brings us the main idea - the acquisition of God's Spirit.
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