Memorial Day of St. Seraphim Vyritsky

On April 3 (March 21 is the date according to the old style), the Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of Remembrance of St Seraphim Vyritsky For believers, he became a model of compassion and hard work, without demanding rewards for good deeds The life of the saint began in Vakhromeevo, located in the Yaroslavl province He was born on March 31, 1866 into a family of deeply religious Christians Father Nikolai Muravyov and mother Khionia named him Vasily, in honor of the great confessor - Vasily the New At an early age he studied the Bible and wanted to become a monk From his parents he learned hard work and caring for those in need When his father died, ten-year-old Vasily had to go to work in St Petersburg to feed himself and his sick mother He became a messenger at Gostiny Dvor At the age of 14, Vasily wanted to become a monk But the abbot recommended first living a worldly life: getting married, having children, and becoming a monk by the age of 40 Over the next years, he read a lot, prayed to the Lord, helped his mother, and became a student of Father Barnabas in the Gethsemane village for monks Vasily started a business selling fur skins He transferred the income received to church needs He completed commercial courses and received excellent knowledge, which later came in handy in monastic affairs At the age of 24 he married the righteous girl Olga Five years later they had a son, Nikolai, and after him a daughter, Olya, but the girl did not live even a year Then Vasily and Olga agreed to sleep separately They helped the poor and needy with money, food and kind words After the civil coup in 1920, Vasily closed the case and became a monk at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and with him took the name Varnava His wife went to the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent All their property was transferred to the needs of the above monasteries The revolution of those years greatly influenced church life There were disagreements between senior clergy The church was fenced further and further from the people But the church helped the people: it collected funds for orphans, helped disabled war veterans, and fed the hungry And Barnabas played an important role in this After 6 years, Barnabas (Vasily) moved to the highest clergy with strict ascetic rules He became a confessor and took the name Seraphim He took care of his flock and gave wise advice to those who asked Due to the frequent cold, he began to develop severe leg illnesses and fell ill In 1930, the priest was sent to Vyritsa to improve his health During the persecution of believers, a temple was miraculously built there, and Serophim was nicknamed Vyritsky Thousands of people came to him for help and blessing, and Seraphim did not refuse anyone, despite his poor health In 1949, Seraphim foresaw his death One morning I stopped taking it and spent time in prayer And by the evening of April 3, his soul went to God Believers continually went to the saint’s tomb for three days to say goodbye