Seraphim is one of the renowned Russian saints venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, and the Anglican Communion. He is generally considered the greatest of 18th Century elders. Seraphim extended to the laity the monastic teachings of contemplation, Theoria, and self-denial to the laity.
He taught that the purpose of Christian life was to receive the Holy Ghost. His most popular quotation was “acquire a peaceful spirit and thousands around you will be saved.” He was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1903. He was baptized with the name Prochor, after Prochorus, one of the first Deacons of the early Church. He was a friend and close confidant of the Evangelist John.
According to Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, a wonderworking icon of the Theotokos, 0ur Lady of Kursk, healed him of a chronic ailment when he was a young child. As a result, he later had a series of visions. He had an audience at the age of 17 with the mystic caves Dorothea of Kiev who anointed him and sent him to Sarov, where he joined the monastery at the age of 19.
He was officially tonsured (which means he took his monastic vows) in 1786 and took the name Seraphim, a reference the Seraphim, highest echelon in the nine choirs of angels. Shortly afterwards, he was ordained a monastic deacon and became spiritual leader of the Diveyevo Convent, which has since become known as the Seraphim-Diveyevo Convent.
After a while Seraphim retreated to a log cabin in the woods outside the Sarov Monastery and led a life of solitude as a hermit for a quarter of a century. His habit of fasting allowed him to eat only fruits and vegetables. Eventually, he opted to go only with vegetables later and after that adopted a diet of grass for three years.
One day while chopping wood, a gang of thugs beat him unmercifully. He did not resist and after a brutal beating was left for dead. Entering his hut, his attackers found no money, only an icon of the Blessed Mother. The thieves were apprehended and brought to trial, but Seraphim pleaded to the judge for mercy on their behalf. After being assaulted, Seraphim spent 1,000 successive nights on a rock in continuous prayer with his arms raised to the sky. This was a feat of asceticism deemed miraculous by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
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Orthodox icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov with a blurred lighted candle. Along the
edges of the icon the deeds of Seraphim. The inscription in Old Slavonic Holy Reverend Seraphim of Sarov, the miracle worker File Photo
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Although Seraphim was brutally harsh on himself, he was amiable and gentle toward others. He greeted his guests with a kiss and prostration, exclaiming “Christ is Risen” and calling everyone “My Joy.”
He died while kneeling in front of a tenderness icon which today is kept in the chapel of the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow. He was canonized on July 19th 1903 at the Sarov Monastery by the Holy Governing Synod. His feast day is January 19th. Even Pope John Paul II, referred to him as a saint.