Serafim Sarovskiy — "Serafim, miracle-worker of Sarov for all of Russia" (Prokhor Isidorovich Mashnin; in some sources Moshnin) — a Russian saint, a venerable; canonized by the Russian Church in 1903 at the initiative of Emperor Nicholas II.
January 2/January 15 — repose (1833), second finding of the relics (1991); July 19/August 1 — finding of the relics (1903).
Biography
He was born in 1754 in the city of Kursk, into the family of a local merchant, Isidor Moshnin, and his wife Agafiya. He lost his father at an early age. In his youth he fell from the bell tower of the church of Sergiy of Radonezh, then under construction, but remained unharmed. In 1776 he made a pilgrimage to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, where the elder Dosifey blessed him and indicated the place where he was to take his vows and receive monastic tonsure — the Sarov Hermitage. In 1778 he became a novice under the elder Iosif at the Sarov Monastery in Tambov Governorate. In 1786 he took monastic vows and was ordained a hierodeacon; in 1793 he was ordained a hieromonk.
In 1794, drawn to solitary life, he went to live in the forest in a cell five kilometres from the monastery. His ascetic labors at that time included: bodily mortifications (he wore the same clothing in winter and summer, gathered his own food in the forest, slept very little, observed strict abstinence and fasting in many things), reading (the Gospels and patristic writings), lengthy daily prayer, and pillar-standing. Near his cell, Serafim cultivated a vegetable garden and kept bees. The hagiography relates the occasion on which the venerable monk fed a bear bread from his own hands. Once, robbers attacked him in the forest. Learning that visitors frequently came to the elder, among them quite prosperous ones, the bandits decided to plunder the cell. They set upon Serafim, split his head open with the butt of an axe, and beat him severely, leaving him permanently badly stooped. They found nothing of value in the cell. The perpetrators were identified later, but Father Serafim forgave them and pleaded that they not be punished. In 1807 he took upon himself the monastic labor of silence, endeavoring to meet and converse with no one. In 1810 he returned to the monastery but entered seclusion until 1825. After his seclusion ended, he received many visitors from both monastic and lay life, possessing, as the hagiography states, the gifts of clairvoyance and healing. He was visited by distinguished persons, including Emperor Alexander I. He greeted all who came to him with the words "My joy!" and in any season welcomed them with "Christ is risen!" He patronized the Diveevo women's community. The Holy Trinity Serafimo-Diveevo Monastery in the Nizhny Novgorod Region was founded and established with the blessing of Venerable Serafim Sarovskiy.[1] In 1831 he was vouchsafed a vision of the Mother of God surrounded by John the Baptist, John the Theologian, and twelve maidens. He died in 1833 at the Sarov Monastery in his cell during prayer. Serafim Sarovskiy was a resident of the Sarov Monastery, which was subsequently closed during the Soviet years; later, within the territory of the closed administrative-territorial entity that bore the names "Kremlyov" and "Arzamas-75," facilities for developing Soviet nuclear weapons were established.[2]
The iconographic image of Serafim Sarovskiy was painted from a portrait made during his lifetime by the artist Serebryakov (subsequently a monk of the Sarov community) five years before the elder's death.
On the feast day of Venerable Serafim Sarovskiy (August 1), festive services are held annually at the Serafimo-Diveevo Monastery; the liturgy is celebrated in the open air in the square before the Transfiguration Cathedral, at the shrine containing the saint's relics.[1] Every year on August 1, the Holy Trinity Serafimo-Diveevo Women's Monastery in the Nizhny Novgorod Region becomes the center of Orthodox celebrations on the day of the finding of the relics of Venerable Serafim Sarovskiy: the service is held in the open air in the square before the Transfiguration Cathedral and draws thousands of pilgrims from across the country.[3] The day of the finding of the relics of Serafim Sarovskiy (August 1 by the new calendar) is celebrated annually by the Russian Orthodox Church; on this day Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Serafimo-Diveevo Monastery in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.[2] In 2026, two significant dates are being marked for the Serafimo-Diveevo community: the 123rd anniversary of the finding of the relics and the glorification of Venerable Serafim Sarovskiy among the saints, as well as the monastery's 200th anniversary.[1] In 2026, the Diveevo community marks several memorable dates connected with the legacy of Serafim Sarovskiy: the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Mill Community, the 35th anniversary of the second finding of the venerable one's relics, and the 35th anniversary of the renewal of monastic life at the monastery.[3] A spiritual and educational center named after Serafim Sarovskiy has been built in Diveevo, and as part of the pilgrimage and tourism cluster "Arzamas — Diveevo — Sarov," landscaping of the monastery grounds and restoration of the buildings of the Holy Uspensky Men's Monastery in Sarov are under way.[1]
Some Notable Sayings
- Passions are destroyed by suffering and sorrow, either voluntary or sent by Providence.
- My joy, I implore you: acquire a peaceful spirit, and then thousands of souls will be saved around you.
- One should not without need lay open one's heart to another. When among people in the world, one should not speak of spiritual things, especially when no desire to hear them is apparent in those present.
- The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.
- All will pass and come to an end, and the communities, father, will be destroyed, but at poor Serafim's in Diveevo the Bloodless Sacrifice will be offered until the very day of Christ's coming.
See Also
Websites
Sources
- NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Celebrations in honor of Venerable Serafim Sarovskiy held in Diveevo
- NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Patriarch Kirill called the creation of the nuclear bomb in Sarov an act of God's mercy (archive)
- NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Thousands of pilgrims in Diveevo: how the feast of the finding of the relics of Serafim Sarovskiy unfolded (archive)