In 1866, on March 31, Muravyov Vasily Nikolaevich, whom we now know as Seraphim Vyritsky, was born. From childhood, the boy showed remarkable intelligence and piety. At a young age, Vasily decided that he would definitely become a monk, but the path to his dream was long and difficult.
Memorial Days:
- June 5 – Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints
- July 11 (movable) – Cathedral of St. Petersburg Saints
- April 3
Orthodox and church holidays and fasts
Today is an Orthodox church holiday: * Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised (memory of the miracle by which Orthodoxy was established, 451). * Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena (969) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Tomorrow:
* Martyrs Proclus and Hilary (c. 98-117).
* St. Michael Malein (962) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Holidays are expected: 07/26/2021
- * Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel.
* St. Stephen Savvait (794) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... 07.27.2021
- * Apostle Aquila of the 70 (I) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
07.28.2021
- * Martyrs of Kirik and Julitta, his mother (c. 305). *** Equal to the Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, in holy baptism Vasily, Baptist of Rus' (1015) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
All Orthodox and church holidays and fasts...
Song 8
Irmos: Sometimes the fiery furnace in Babylon divided the action, scorching the Chaldeans by God's command, and watering the faithful, singing: bless all the works of the Lord, the Lord.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
Having rejected Pharisaic pride, let us zealously approach your tomb, Seraphim, for it exudes an inexhaustible stream of healings and lifts us up in song: bless, all the works of the Lord, the Lord (twice).
Glory:
Through your prayer, reverend, you performed wondrous miracles: the one born blind received her sight, was dumb of the word, and was freed from the spirits of evil while possessed, and so did all the things: bless all the works of the Lord, the Lord.
And now:
Every nature has been deified, from You the Lord has become incarnate, the Lady, earthly beings, singing: Bless, all the works of the Lord, the Lord.
Orthodox Saints of God
The holy saints of God show special love and mercy to those who honor their holy memory.
It seems to many that the saints are far from us. But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The holy saints in their earthly life turned to God for help in healing their ailments, sorrows and deliverance from temptations, asking God that even after death He would honor them with the gift of helping people in various cases of life.
The saints have reached the Heavenly Kingdom and there they see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they also see the suffering of people on earth. Many holy saints of God received special grace from God, and He deigned them to be intercessors before Him for deliverance from our sorrows and bodily ailments, in which they themselves were tempted.
The saints rejoice at our repentance and mourn when people leave God and become like foolish cattle. They feel sorry that people live on earth, not knowing that if they loved each other, then there would be freedom from sin on earth: and where there is no sin, there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, so that, wherever you look, everything sweet, and the soul wonders why it feels so good, and praises God. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows about this. We must remember: in order for a prayer to be heard, one should pray to the holy saints of God with faith in the power of their intercession before God, in words coming from the heart.
In our prayers we turn to the Lord God, to His Most Pure Mother - our Intercessor and Helper, to the holy Angels and holy people - the saints of God, because for their sake the Lord God is more likely to hear us sinners, our prayers. The Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous, confessors. more>>
The Lord says: “When you light a candle, you do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). Saints are bright stars that show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us treasure the closeness of the holy saints of God to God and turn to them for help, remembering that they love us and care about our salvation. It is good to pray to the holy saints of God on those days when the Church celebrates their memory.
«Holy Saints of God, pray to God for us!»
Saints: life, memory, suffering...
Song 7
Irmos:
The ungodly command of the lawless tormentor rose high in flames. Christ spread spiritual dew to the godly youth, He is blessed and glorified.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
Imitating the venerable Seraphim and Barnabas, you were strengthened by their holy prayers, O Holy One, and from God you were also vouchsafed a prophetic gift: to foretell the coming of our people and the Church of Russia.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
Like Helen, your soul, O Reverend, aspires to the heavenly abode, preserved by the Providence of God from the captivity of the godless, singing: Blessed art thou, O God of our father.
Glory:
Your hands, Father Seraphim, continually lifted up to the Lord, you prayed on the stone, like the saint of God of Sarov, singing: Blessed are you, O God of our fathers.
And now:
The Angelic Powers sing Thee silently, O Mother of God, and we, sinners, dare to cry out: O Most Pure One, direct our life to Thy all-quiet refuge, calling to Thy Son: Blessed art thou, O God of our father.
Orthodox prayers and icons of the Mother of God and saints
The word “icon” comes from the Greek language and means “image”, “image”. The image of the icon is consecrated with holy water and special prayers, through this consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the icon, and the icon is already revered by us as holy. According to the Orthodox dogma of icon veneration, approved by the VII Ecumenical Council, “the honor given to an icon relates to its prototype, and the one who worships the icon worships the hypostasis of the person depicted on it.” The Council especially emphasizes that we give veneration to icons, and not the worship that is due to God alone. “The icon mysteriously contains within itself the presence of the one whom it depicts, and this presence is the closer, more grace-filled and stronger, the more the icon corresponds to the church canon.”
All Icons of the Mother of God and Saints
Song 6
Irmos:
Lying in the abyss of sin, I call upon the unfathomable abyss of Thy mercy: lift me up from aphids, O God.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
We illuminate from above with the light of Christ, God-Wise One, and after your migration to God you endlessly exude healing to all who flow to you with faith.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
Divine love, which, Reverend Father, burns up unclean spirits in your soul, also frees those possessed by them and revives them to life in Christ.
Glory:
In a quiet and meek voice you instructed the love, humility and unceasing prayer that flows to you, burning away every sin.
And now:
Terrorized by the angels of the army and men, gave birth to, All-immaculate, terrible and more than the mind of Your Nativity, as You remained the Virgin, and You were honored to be the Mother of God, for this sake we all praise You worthily.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
Glory, and now
Prayer in the Christian life. What is prayer? About prayer
Prayer is the most important part of the spiritual life of every believer. Through prayer, a person turns to God, asks him and asks for forgiveness from him. In other words, prayer is nothing more than a person’s way of talking with God. About prayer...
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer, said Saint Philaret of Moscow, “is a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
Prayer does not require a specific time, place, circumstance or form. It can be verbose - long, and laconic - short. The prayer can be said at any time of the day or night, and anywhere. A person can pray under all circumstances of his life: when he is sick or healthy, when he is happy or sad, when he succeeds or fails, when he is in the company of his enemies or in the circle of his friends, when he is abandoned by everyone, or when he in the midst of your beloved family. But God’s temple serves as a special place of prayer. On Sundays, as well as on weekdays, if time permits, we should go to church to pray, where our brothers and sisters in Christ - Christians - gather to pray together, all together. This kind of prayer is called church prayer.
Every Orthodox Christian must pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before starting and at the end of any task (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).
In the morning we pray to thank God for preserving us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a successful day and ask him to keep us during the night.
Before and after meals we pray to thank God for His gifts and ask Him to bless and sanctify the food.
In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the upcoming work, and upon completion, thank God.
Unfortunately, many people forget about the necessity and importance of prayer, and resort to it only in cases of feeling hopeless. However, even in these cases, as practice shows, God does not forget about the person and gives him his love and support. But not a single prayer will bring anything good to a person if he simply reads it without thinking about what is said. Therefore, it is extremely important, when turning to the Creator in prayer, to truly feel every word.
God is the best of interlocutors; he will always hear a person and help him. You should not be embarrassed to talk to God even about the most secret things that are in your soul. The main thing is to do it with true faith in God.
“True prayer does not consist in words and saying them, but true prayer consists “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). When we pray to God, we must stand before Him not only in body, but also in spirit; and say prayer not only with your lips, but also with your mind and heart; and not only bow our heads and knees, but also our hearts before Him; and raise our intelligent eyes to Him with humility. For all prayer must come from the heart; and what the tongue says, the mind and heart must say.” Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
And no matter what happens during the day, everything happens according to the will of God; all, without exception, are circumstances in which the Lord wished to place you, so that you could be His presence, His love, His compassion. His creative mind, His courage... And, besides, whenever you encounter this or that situation, you are the one whom God put there to carry out the ministry of a Christian, to be a part of the Body of Christ and the action of God. If you do this, you will easily see that sometimes you will have to turn to God and say: “Lord, enlighten my mind, strengthen and direct my will, give me a fiery heart, help me!” At other times you will be able to say, “Oh my God, thank you!”
In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
In the New Testament, prayer is a living connection between the children of God and their infinitely good Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the unity of the entire Holy Trinity with the entire spirit.” Thus, prayer life is a constant and natural presence in the presence of the Trisagion of God and in communion with Him. Such vital communion is always possible because through baptism our being has become one with Christ. Prayer is Christian because it is communion with Christ and grows in the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are the dimensions of Christ's love.
“Prayer is not telling God our needs. Prayer is the condition under which Divine power can contact our spirit and act in us. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves.” Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin) (XX century).
Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky what helps and how to pray
Fr. himself
Barnabas was not arrested. On January 2, 1925, Nikolai was released and soon left for his place of exile - Rybinsk. In 1926-1929 Fr. Barnabas is the confessor of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
The exact date of the adoption of the great angelic image by the monk Barnabas has not yet been established: presumably in 1929 he accepted the great schema and was named Seraphim in honor of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, the wonderworker, whom Fr. Barnabas throughout his previous life.
Presumably in the spring of 1930, Fr. Barnabas, on the recommendation of doctors and with the blessing of Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov), left his cell in the Feodorovsky building of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and settled in Popovka, at the dacha of Archpriest Leonid Epiphany.
He escaped the general arrests of monastics that were carried out in Leningrad on February 17, 1932; in 1933 he settled in Vyritsa.
After the occupation of Vyritsa in August 1941 by German units, the Kazan Church (closed in 1938) was opened, of which Hieroschemamonk Seraphim counted himself as a parishioner; he continued to live in the Tomberg house at 7 Pilny Ave.; still did not get up due to illness, but received those who came to him.
He reposed on April 3 (March 21 according to the Julian calendar), 1949, in the 4th Sunday of Great Lent, in memory of John Climacus.
Holy Fathers on Prayer
“Prayer is a great weapon, an unfailing treasure, wealth that never runs out, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings and is more powerful than royal power.” St. John Chrysostom.
“Prayer in its rank is higher than alms.” St. Isaac the Syrian.
“Prayer is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God.” St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.
“During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty. Let us think about the fact that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God both by the position of the body and the sound of the voice.” Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage.
“You must abstain from marital affairs in order to engage in prayer; to abstain from worries about wealth, from the desire for earthly glory, from the enjoyment of pleasures, from envy and every evil deed against our neighbor, so that when our soul is in silence and not disturbed by any passion, in it, as in a mirror, God’s purity and uncloudedness will be insight." St. Basil the Great.
“When starting a prayer, leave yourself, your wife, your children, part with the earth, pass through heaven, leave every creature visible and invisible, and begin by praising Him who created everything, and when you praise Him, do not wander your mind here and there, do not talk about fabulous things. pagan, but choose words from the Holy Scriptures.” St. Basil the Great.
“Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” St. John Chrysostom.
Orthodox prayers to the holy saints. Holy saints of God.
Orthodox prayers for those in need for various needs and infirmities.
Song 5
Irmos:
Thou art an intercessor for God and man, O Christ God: for by Thee, O Lord, didst thou bring the imams to the Master of Light, Thy Father, from the night of ignorance.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
The human tongue cannot, out of duty, praise your labors and deeds, which you did in secret in your cell, Reverend Father, but a lamp standing on top of a mountain cannot hide itself, for this reason the Lavra brethren and worldly people flow to you, for the sake of advice and spiritual guidance.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
In the midst of the storm of persecution and discord, you appeared firm and unshakable, O Reverend, the eyes of your heart are lifted up to the Lord, having received enlightenment from Him to do His holy will.
Glory:
You accepted the image of the great angelic schema, Father, and you were named in memory of the Venerable Seraphim, the saint of Sarov, whom you loved with all your heart from your youth, and you tried to imitate his life in Dusty and in truth.
And now:
Your glory is marvelously exalted, O Virgin Mother of God, for in the womb of Christ you had God more than words, as Isaiah proclaimed, and above this nature, You gave birth to the Mother of God.
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable to know by heart.
1. The Lord's Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). 2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). 3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 5, 3-12; Matt. 5, 21-48; Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 3; Matt. 6, 6; Matt. 6, 14-21; Matt. 6, 24-25; Matthew 7, 1-5; Matthew 23, 8-12; John 13, 34). 4.Symbol of Faith. 5. Morning prayers and evening prayers according to a short prayer book. 6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination) ...
Song 3
Irmos:
The desert flourished like a cranium, Lord, the pagan barren church by Your Coming, and my heart was established in it.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
In your worldly life, you flocked to Elder Barnabas for spiritual guidance, diligently showing obedience to him in everything, and you were also honored with blessings and spiritual gifts from him.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
Having always cared for the poor, reverend, you did not disdain to serve them with your hands, showing how every person is beloved to your heart.
Glory:
Preserving well the words of your Abba Barnabas, having purified your mind, body and soul, reverend, you were a house of the Trisolar Light, adorned with virtues.
And now:
The Most Blessed, All-Immaculate Mother of God Mary, who gave birth to the Word of God for us, freed Her chosen ones from the corruptible world, and through their prayers save us.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
Song 1
Irmos:
In the depths of the post, sometimes the Pharaoh's all-armed force was transformed into power, but the incarnate Word consumed all-evil sin, so that the glorified Lord became gloriously glorified.
Chorus:
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
How can we worthily glorify your godly life, reverend; Having been wounded by the love of Christ from your youth, you have kept this Divine fire in your heart unharmed and increased it, so grant us enlightenment as well, according to our duty to glorify you.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us.
Angels Chini rejoices, seeing your zeal and desire to serve God in other ranks, but God’s will was for you to live piously in the world, building holy abodes and churches, caring for the poor and orphans, preparing your soul for the Lord as a chosen vessel.
Glory:
Thou hast renounced self-interest and love of money, O Reverend Father, trampled upon the proud serpent with thy humility, thou hast slain the lusts of the flesh, and thou hast cut off worldly pleasures with patience; in joy thou hast served all those who require thy help.
And now:
Oh, Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, do not despise us sinners who require Your help and intercession, be the Intercessor for our people, so that through repentance we may find remission of sins and eternal life.
