There is no greater obedience than obedience to the Church! And if we merely wipe the floor of the Lord's house with a rag, it will be held in high esteem by God above all other deeds. - St. Seraphim of Sarov

 

The Relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov

On December 25, 1990, the relics of St. Seraphim were found in the State Museum of the History of Religion in Leningrad.

After the decision to return the Leningrad Kazan Cathedral, which housed the State Museum of the History of Religion, to the Church, the liberation of the storerooms began. They began to transfer icons, Gospels, and various liturgical objects to the churches. And then, in one of the storerooms, museum employees saw in the corner of the room where the tapestries were kept, a rectangular object the size of a man, covered with canvas. When they ripped open the canvas, they saw the complete skeleton of a man with a preserved beard, hair, and pieces of muscle tissue, who had on his hands light satin mittens with the embroidery “Reverend Father Seraphim” on one and “Pray to God for us” on the other.

“A wise man walks in silence”

 

(Proverbs 11, 12).

Nothing contributes so much to the acquisition of inner peace as silence and talking as much as possible with yourself and less with others. The characteristic of the spiritual life is introspection and the secret work of the heart.

Verbosity is enough to disrupt the mental peace of a spiritual person.

The saddest thing of all is that verbosity can extinguish the fire that the Lord came to kindle on earth in the human heart.

Nothing quenches the fire that the Holy Spirit kindles in the heart for the sanctification of the soul, writes Saint Isaac the Syrian, as much as association, talkativeness, and discussion, unless it is with spiritual brothers and has as its content the knowledge of God and our approach to Him…

Therefore, put away talkativeness, in order to guard your soul.

“A wise man leads a quiet life” (Proverbs 11:12).

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim of Sarov

 

“Let any Christian, upon arising from sleep stand before the holy icons, and read the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father” thrice, in honor of the Most-holy Trinity, then the hymn to the Theotokos “O Theotokos and Virgin, rejoice…” three times as well, and finally, the Symbol of Our Faith once. Having completed this rule, let each one attend to the tasks to which he was appointed or to which he is called.

St. Seraphim meets the Most Holy Theotokos

On November 25/December 8, 1825, after many years of hermitage, the starets Seraphim went for the first time to the woods. Making his way through the thicket of the woods to his remote wilderness, he saw Our Lady close to the bank of the Sarovka River, and behind Her on the mound of two apostles: Peter the First-Called and the Evangelist John the Theologian. The Queen of Heaven struck the ground with her rod and sprinkled the spring, promising to give its waters a greater blessing than the waters of Bethesda of Jerusalem once had. She affirmed that Father Seraphim must do the will of the Venerable Alexandra and take care of the monastery founded by her. Since the superior of the Diveyevo community Ksenia Mikhailovna did not wish to obey him, the Venerable Seraphim was commanded to found a new, maiden monastery in Diveyevo.

January 15 is the day of memory of St. Seraphim of Sarov

Before the icon of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, it is very useful to pray for spiritual help in moments of despair or loss of strength due to the overwhelming everyday troubles. Venerable Seraphim believed that the most serious sins are grief and despondency, therefore sincere prayers to him can help you overcome these misfortunes and gain spiritual strength.

Even during the lifetime of the Monk Seraphim, a large number of people came to him for help in protecting from temptation, and the saint helped them, gave those who stumbled consolation and hope for solving problems. Even now he hears us, sinners, and with holy prayers before the Lord helps all those who repent.

Diveyvo monastery

On November 25 / December 8, 1825, on the day of remembrance of the holy martyrs Clement, Pope of Rome, and Peter of Alexandria, the Monk Seraphim, having received permission from the Mother of God in a dream to leave the seclusion, was blessed by the hegumen Niphont and went through the thicket of the forest along the banks of the Sarovka River to his distant wilderness.
Near the bank of the Sarovka River, where its source was later, he saw the Mother of God, and behind Her, on a hillock, two apostles - Peter and John. The Mother of God struck the ground with a rod so that a source boiled out of the ground with a fountain of light water, and showed Father Seraphim a new place in the village of Diveyevo for the construction of Her promised monastery, Her fourth lot on earth. And she named eight sisters by their names, whom he should have taken for the new monastery from the community of Ksenia Mikhailovna.
She pointed out the place in the east, opposite the altar of the Kazan church, and told how to surround this place with a ditch and a rampart, and ordered to cut down a windmill and the first cells from the Sarov forest. She gave a commandment as an indispensable rule that only virgins should be accepted into this monastery. And She herself gave a charter for the new monastery, which had not existed before that time.

St Seraphim of Sarov

 “What the Church laid down at the seven Ecumenical Councils, fulfill. Woe to him who adds one word to this or subtracts it. "

“Do not lead friendship and do not have an alliance with the enemies of the Church of Christ, with heretics and schismatics; with those who do not observe holy fasts ”.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim of Sarov

Here I am, poor Seraphim, passing through the Gospel daily. On Monday I read from Matthew from beginning to end, on Tuesday - from Mark, on Wednesday - from Luke, on Thursday - from John, in the last days of the week I read Acts and the Epistles of the Apostles and do not miss a single day so as not to read the Gospel and the Apostle and the saint.

Through this, not only my soul, but also the body itself is delighted and revitalized because I talk with the Lord, keep in my memory His life and sufferings, day and night I praise and thank my Redeemer for all His mercies poured out to the human race and me unworthy.

It is necessary to supply the soul with the word of God, for the word of God, as Gregory the Theologian says, is angelic bread, and souls who hunger for God feed on it. Most of all, one must practice reading the New Testament and the Psalter. From this there is enlightenment in the mind, which is therefore changed by the Divine change.

It is necessary to accustom oneself so that the mind, as it were, floats in the Law of the Lord, which, being guided by, must arrange one's life. It is very helpful to study the word of God in solitude and read the entire Bible intelligently. For one such exercise, besides other good deeds, the Lord does not leave a person with His grace, but fulfills him with the gift of understanding. "

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov.

Blessed feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov (Jan. 15/2)

Today the Orthodox Church remembers the day of the death of the marvelous saint of God, the patron and prayer-keeper of the Russian land, our Father Seraphim of Sarov.

187 years ago, a great ascetic moved on from great labors to the great joy of eternity. He left, but the experience of his life, his advice and love remained with us.

One day, while talking to his brother in Sarov, Father Seraphim made a heavy sigh and said: "We, living on earth, have lost much of our way of salvation; anger the Lord and do not keep holy fasts; now Christians are allowed to eat meat for the holy forty days (Lent) and at any fast; Wednesdays and Fridays do not keep; and the Church has a rule: those who do not keep holy fasts and do not fast Wednesdays and Fridays sin a lot. But the Lord is not completely angry, he has mercy on him. We have the Orthodox faith, the Church, which has no vice. "