Memorial Day of St. Seraphim of Sarov

There are hardly many Russians among the Orthodox who have never heard of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery January 15 is the Day of St Seraphim of Sarov, whose name is inextricably linked with the fourth earthly Destiny of the Most Holy Theotokos According to Orthodox traditions, Iveria, Athos, Kyiv (Kievo-Pechersk Lavra), Diveevo are under the patronage of the Most Holy Theotokos The appearance of monastic settlements here, one way or another, was connected with the image of the Mother of God: • God’s lot fell on Iberia; • Athos - a place of salvation from bad weather during the sea voyage of the Queen of Heaven; • Kievo-Pechersk Lavra - the result of the appearance of the Mother of God to Theoktis - the abbot of the Athonite monastery ;• Diveevo The Mother of God miraculously showed Agafia Semyonovna, the widow of second lieutenant Melgunov, who dedicated herself to monastic life in the Kiev monastery after the death of her husband Agafia Semyonovna, who became Mother Alexandra after her tonsure, began construction of the Diveyevo church in the name of the Kazan Mother of God icon in 1773; it was completed in 1779 Three cells were built near the church Initially, there were 4 novices in the Kazan community In 1789, anticipating her death, Mother Alexandra turned to the fathers of the Sarov Monastery, Pachomius and Seraphim, with a request to take care of the novices Pachomius faithfully fulfilled this request until the end of his days Since 1822, the sisters of the Kazan community began to turn to Father Seraphim for spiritual advice In 1825, in the month of November, he had a vision of the Mother of God, she reminded him of the commandment of the nun Alexandra, indicated a place in the village of Diveevo for the construction of a new monastery, naming by name the novices who had to be taken from the Kazan community Seraphim, obeying the command of the Queen of Heaven, set about creating a second community In 1826, a mill and cells were built, and the community was called a mill community Subsequently, both communities were united into one; it was transformed into the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery in 1861 In the Orthodox Church, St Seraphim is remembered: • August 1 (July 19) - his birthday; • January 15 - the Day of St Seraphim of Sarov, when he left this world forever (January 2) On memorable dates, holidays are celebrated in all Russian churches and monasteries services Men named after the saint celebrate their name day The earthly path of the ascetic of the Russian Church lasted 79 years He was born in 1754 Parents, residents of Kursk, named their youngest son Prokhor His father Isidor Ivanovich died early Prokhor was raised by his mother Agafia Moshnina She, continuing the unfinished work of her husband, was engaged in the construction of the cathedral It happened once that Agathia took Prokhor to the construction site The child, having stumbled, flew down from the high bell tower It would seem that the outcome of the fall was obvious, but Prokhor remained safe and sound Another time, falling asleep, the seriously ill Prokhor saw the Mother of God She promised to visit the boy and completely heal him Indeed, soon it happened: a religious procession was taking place near the house Agathia carried her son in her arms so that he could venerate the icon of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos I took a kiss and quickly recovered Prokhor constantly attended church services since childhood The decision to devote himself to God matured in his early youth He reached Kyiv on foot Schemamonk Dosifei blessed Prokhor to go to the Sarov Hermitage After an eight-year stay as a novice, Prokhor took monastic vows with the name Seraphim The life of a monk in the Sarov monastery is filled with great deeds in the name of God and Orthodoxy His feat of desert living in a deep forest lasted for more than 15 years; another feat of stylite life lasted for 1000 days and nights, when the elder, standing on a stone, prayed at night in the forest, and during the day in his cell Returning to the monastery in the spring of 1810, he became a recluse Only in November 1825, after a vision of the Mother of God, who commanded him to come out of seclusion and receive people who needed consolation, guidance, and healing from the elder, having been blessed by the abbot, Seraphim changed his way of life Now the door of his cell was open to all those who suffered The elder left earthly life on January 2, 1833 This date, according to the new style, January 15, the Day of St Seraphim of Sarov, in the heart of every Christian evokes a grateful feeling for a person who, through prayerful works and severe deeds, has earned high spiritual purity, who has been awarded by God the greatest wisdom, special gifts of miracles and insight On July 19, 1903, the holy elder was canonized