Sarovsky's hometown. Through the prickly nebula. General information about the Nizhny Novgorod region

Recently I read in A. Markov's blog about Sarov.
http://macroevolution.livejournal.com/163216.html

I have great respect for Alexander Vladimirovich and we even met once (last summer) in the company of K.V. Anokhin at the Zvenigorod biological station, where Alexander Vladimirovich gave a lecture to students on the "moral" behavior of animals (I am the father of one of the young employees of Konstantin Vladimirovich and cooked pilaf there).
However, respected A. Markov was simply unlucky with Sarov. Firstly, the worst time is dirty, etc. You should come to the City either at the beginning of summer (possibly in May) or in autumn. Once there was a beautiful winter: sparkling snow, dry frosty air, blue sky but... the climate!
Secondly, as in any business, history is important here. Since from the age of 2 to the 9th grade of the school (until 1978) I lived with my parents in the City and now I often go there (at parties with classmates), I will take the liberty of telling Alexander Vladimirovich what they did not tell him (it was not lucky with the guide ).

The city was created, as is known, as a Design Bureau, a test site for gas-dynamic and other tests of units and components of nuclear weapons and a site for their production. The whole project was really supervised by L.P. Beria. The first chiefs of the "object" were the generals of state security, who built the "factory" and the City using the Gulag method. The camp was located inside the zone on the site of modern garages (between Silkina Street and "21 site"). During the first, so-called "heroic period", a small group of scientists and engineers were brought to the City to copy the American Fat Man plutonium bomb. The fact is that a group of American nuclear scientists headed by R. Oppenheimer quite consciously established contact with Soviet intelligence and handed over ALL (!, up to working drawings!) Documentation. It was a choice based on a deep understanding that there should be no nuclear monopoly. (If I'm not mistaken, still neutral Sweden received copies through N. Bora). In the USSR, probably Stalin, Beria, Kurchatov and Khariton knew about this (except for direct intelligence agents) (scientific supervisor - chief designer of the "product"). Stalin's order was: copy! What was the scientific and organizational genius of Kurchatov and Khariton: yes, they knew everything, but they created teams of scientists, engineers, production workers who knew nothing and who worked "as if" from scratch. It was a grandiose school (now it was called a "project"), where everyone understood the significance of the work (for the Motherland) and the impossibility of failure. It is clear that in reality, they could not be mistaken, because their two bosses KNEW EVERYTHING. But it is one thing to KNOW, and another thing - DO". The ingenious Khariton took advantage of situations by 100% - he invited his colleagues to the project, they called their employees and a team was formed that "as if blindly" carried out a grandiose complex of R&D (gas dynamics, nuclear research, creation of pilot production, design bureaus, etc.). As a result, by the time of the release of the "one-piece drawn" (according to the subsequent remark of A. D. Sakharov) product, the model of which was shown to you in the museum, our own original "product" was developed that surpassed the American one in all characteristics (also shown in the museum). As a result of this work, by 1949-50, a base appeared for the creation of a research and production Institute. And such a decision was made. As a result, in the fifties, several thousand young specialists came to work in the City every year. So, my parents appeared there, who did not know each other yet, one graduate of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, the other graduate of the Moscow Chemical Technology Institute ("Mendelavochki"). Everyone lived in a hostel. And everyone was like that: They arrived: scientists, engineers, teachers, doctors. Everyone knew each other. It was only later that I realized that when I was walking with my parents around the City, they greeted almost everyone they met! In kindergarten, we went to famous teachers (mother's friends), in polyclinics we were treated by doctors who once lived on the next floor in a hostel with dad, at school we were taught by teachers with whom our parents either played volleyball or worked for Komsomol subbotniks. It was a grandiose "collective farm", but the interests of business and science were valued above all else. It was a moral imperative that the project leaders supported.
It was a real "developed socialism" in a single point (zone). Moreover, I only recently realized why it was a happy and, in general, very patriotic team. Because they all went through the "sieve" of frames! There physically could not be a young specialist with a "wrong" profile! For example, my father and mother did not have any repressed grandfathers, uncles and other relatives. And my buddies too! And friends of friends! They were not, because they could not be - they took care of it! It was a targeted selection! The young man found himself in unique conditions. On the one hand, he had brilliant scientific supervisors and a super job, on the other hand, his problems were really dealt with. In the City (through the efforts of Khariton) a unique administrative team was formed, which was headed by the former director (during the war years) of Uralmash B.G. Muzrukov, whom Stalin, by personal order, sent to work in the atomic project. The style of work of this man is remembered not only in the City, but also at Uralmash. Suffice it to say that under him, order was established in the City, that any appeal of any employee to the director was considered on the same day! As for scientific supervisors, the following worked in the City at different times: physicists academicians Ya.B. Zeldovich and A.D. Sakharov, doctors of sciences D.A. Frank Kamenetsky, academician I.E. Tamm, doctor L.V. Altshuler, mathematicians academicians N.N. Bogolyubov, V.S., Vladimirov, etc. . These were not only Scientists (with a capital letter), but also Citizens of their country. It's amazing, now in the museum of atomic weapons they tell how Putin or the Patriarch came to the City. And our parents told us about how Lev Vladimirovich Altshuler publicly spoke out in support of biology and genetics (although because of Altshuler, my father did not receive a state award - and this was also told to me) and about the fact that Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was an impeccably honest person . It was truly heaven. (Or maybe Hell). People of about the same age born in 20-30-40, united by extremely respected leaders and really honestly working for the good of their homeland. Many (!!!) worked. Sometimes, objectively, at a risk to life and health. By the way, a special 6th Main Directorate under the USSR Ministry of Health was created - the famous "six", which dealt with all health issues, including statistics. It would be interesting for you to talk with someone, taking into account Sakharov's well-known idea about the non-threshold effects of radiation exposure on living organisms. There were many interesting ideas, for example, a friend of the father R.F. Trunin, who was engaged in underground testing of "products" in his main activity, carried out work to study the effect of shock waves on the germination of seeds (his wife was a biology teacher at the 20th school).
On the other hand, people who worked in the City (and this is very important to understand in order to understand the spirit of Sarov) took over from their leaders the principle of the highest responsibility for the final result. Suffice it to say that Khariton set things up in such a way that Minsredmash (the current Ministry of Atomic Energy) was responsible, for example, for how the warhead would behave in a rocket, how it would interact with the rocket, how it would resist missile defense, etc. Those. rocket men coordinated a rocket with Khariton, and not vice versa. Khariton was responsible for everything related to "products". This was the great organizing principle followed by the management and on which the employees were educated.
Well, of course, they were all there! (the best, of course). My parents' generation is now in their 80s. They raised some kind of similar shift, which fell on the famous 90s. And now everything is fine again. It is clear that the people in the City "saw" all sorts of changes in the coffin, because this is an analogue of a return to the dashing 90s!
Here is the City in full view! And Seraphim of Sarov is our saint. We went on pioneer trips past his small town with three birches, and we climbed around the monastery in search of an underground passage. Therefore, when I find myself in any church, I, of course, look for the icon of Seraphim, because this is my City, my childhood and youth, although I have been living in Moscow for a long time. And this is what every Sarov resident does, regardless of whether he believes or not. It's a matter of identity!

I always go to Sarov with love. In May. You can already swim. The people of Sarov who grew up there differ from everyone else, probably in that they clearly remember how they really once lived with their parents in the City in a real paradise. And that's not bad.

Father o. Seraphim entered the Sarov Hermitage in 1778, on November 20, on the eve of the Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple, and was entrusted with obedience to the elder hieromonk Joseph.

His homeland was the provincial city of Kursk, where his father, Isidor Moshnin, had brick factories and was engaged in the construction of stone buildings, churches and houses as a contractor. Isidor Moshnin was known as an extremely honest man, zealous for the temples of God and a rich, eminent merchant. Ten years before his death, he undertook to build a new church in Kursk in the name of St. Sergius, according to the plan of the famous architect Rastrelli. Subsequently, in 1833, this temple was made cathedral. In 1752, the laying of the temple took place, and when the lower church, with a throne in the name of St. Sergius, was ready in 1762, the pious builder, the father of the great elder Seraphim, the founder of the Diveevsky monastery, died. Having transferred all his fortune to his kind and intelligent wife Agathia, he instructed her to bring the work of building the temple to the end. Mother o. Seraphim was even more pious and merciful than her father: she helped the poor a lot, especially orphans and poor brides.

Agafia Moshnina continued the construction of St. Sergius Church for many years and personally supervised the workers. In 1778, the temple was finally finished, and the execution of the work was so good and conscientious that the Moshnin family gained special respect among the residents of Kursk.

Father Seraphim was born in 1759, on July 19, and was named Prokhor. At the death of his father, Prokhor was no more than three years old, therefore, he was fully raised by a God-loving, kind and intelligent mother, who taught him more by the example of her life, which took place in prayer, visiting churches and helping the poor. That Prokhor was the chosen one of God from his birth - everyone saw it spiritually developed people, and could not help but feel the pious mother. So, one day, while examining the structure of the Sergius Church, Agafia Moshnina walked along with her seven-year-old Prokhor and imperceptibly reached the very top of the bell tower that was being built at that time. Moving away suddenly from his mother, the fast boy leaned over the railing to look down, and, through negligence, fell to the ground. The frightened mother fled from the bell tower in a terrible state, imagining to find her son beaten to death, but, to indescribable joy and great surprise, she saw him safe and sound. The child stood up. The mother tearfully thanked God for saving her son and realized that the son Prokhor was guarded by a special providence of God.

Three years later, a new event clearly revealed God's protection over Prokhor. He was ten years old, and he was distinguished by a strong physique, sharpness of mind, quick memory and, at the same time, meekness and humility. They began to teach him church literacy, and Prokhor set to work eagerly, but suddenly he became very ill, and even his family did not hope for his recovery. In the most difficult time of his illness, in a dream, Prokhor saw the Most Holy Theotokos, who promised to visit him and heal him from his illness. When he woke up, he told this vision to his mother. Indeed, soon, in one of the religious processions, the miraculous icon of the Sign of the Mother of God was carried around the city of Kursk along the street where Moshnin's house was. It started raining heavily. In order to cross to another street, the procession, probably to shorten the path and avoid dirt, went through the Moshnin courtyard. Taking this opportunity, Agathia brought her sick son out into the yard, put it on the miraculous icon and brought it under its shadow. We noticed that from that time Prokhor began to recover in health and soon completely recovered. Thus, the promise of the Queen of Heaven to visit the boy and heal him was fulfilled. With the restoration of health, Prokhor continued his studies successfully, studied the Book of Hours, the Psalter, learned to write and fell in love with reading the Bible and spiritual books.

Prokhor's older brother, Alexei, was engaged in trade and had his own shop in Kursk, so the young Prokhor was forced to get used to trading in this shop; but his heart did not lie in trade and profit. Young Prokhor never let go of almost a single day without visiting the temple of God, and, being unable to be at the late Liturgy and Vespers on the occasion of classes in the shop, he got up earlier than others and hurried to matins and early Mass. At that time, in the city of Kursk, there lived some fool for Christ, whose name is now forgotten, but then everyone honored. Prokhor met him and with all his heart clung to the holy fool; the latter, in turn, loved Prochorus and, by his influence, disposed his soul even more towards piety and a solitary life. His clever mother noticed everything and sincerely rejoiced that her son was so close to the Lord. Rare happiness also fell to Prokhor to have such a mother and teacher who did not interfere, but contributed to his desire to choose a spiritual life for himself.

A few years later, Prokhor began to talk about monasticism and cautiously inquired whether his mother would be against him going to a monastery. He, of course, noticed that his kind teacher did not contradict his desire and would rather let him go than keep him in peace; from this, the desire for the monastic life flared up in his heart even more. Then Prokhor began to talk about monasticism with people he knew, and in many he found sympathy and approval. So, the merchants Ivan Druzhinin, Ivan Bezkhodarny, Alexei Melenin and two others expressed the hope to go with him to the monastery.

In the seventeenth year of his life, the intention to leave the world and embark on the path of monastic life finally matured in Prokhor. And in the heart of the mother, a determination was formed to let him go to the service of God. His farewell to his mother was touching! Having gathered completely, they sat for a while, according to Russian custom, then Prokhor got up, prayed to God, bowed at his mother's feet and asked for her parental blessing. Agathia gave him to venerate the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, then blessed him with a copper cross. Taking this cross with him, he always wore it openly on his chest until the end of his life.

Prokhor had to decide not an unimportant question: where and to what monastery should he go. Glory to the ascetic life of the monks of the Sarov Hermitage, where many of the Kursk residents were already there and Fr. Pakhomiy, a native of Kursk, persuaded him to go to them, but he wanted to be in Kiev beforehand in order to look at the labors of the Kiev Caves monks, ask for guidance and advice from the elders, learn through them the will of God, be affirmed in his thoughts, receive a blessing from some ascetic and, finally, to pray and be blessed by St. relics of St. Anthony and Theodosius, the founders of monasticism. Prokhor went on foot, with a staff in his hand, and with him were five more people of the Kursk merchants. In Kyiv, bypassing the local ascetics, he heard that not far from St. Lavra of the Caves, in the Kitaevskaya monastery, a hermit named Dositheus, who has the gift of clairvoyance, is saved. Coming to him, Prokhor fell at his feet, kissed them, opened his whole soul before him and asked for guidance and blessings. The perspicacious Dositheus, seeing the grace of God in him, understanding his intentions and seeing in him a good ascetic of Christ, blessed him to go to the Sarov Hermitage and said in conclusion: “Come, child of God, and abide there. This place will be your salvation, with the help "Lord. Here you will end your earthly journey. Just try to acquire the unceasing memory of God through the incessant invocation of the name of God like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner! In this may all your attention and training be; walking and sitting, doing and standing in the church, everywhere, in every place, entering and leaving, let this unceasing cry be both in your mouth and in your heart: with him you will find peace, you will acquire spiritual and bodily purity, and the Holy Spirit will dwell in you, the source of all good, and will govern your life in the shrine, in all piety and purity. In Sarov, and the rector Pachomius of a charitable life; he is a follower of our Anthony and Theodosius!

The conversation of the blessed elder Dositheus finally confirmed the young man in good intentions. After rebuking, confessing and partaking of the Holy Mysteries, bowing again to St. saints of the Kiev-Pechersk, he directed his steps on the path and, protected by the protection of God, safely arrived again in Kursk, at the house of his mother. Here he lived for several more months, even went to the shop, but he was no longer engaged in trade, but read soul-saving books as a warning to himself and others who came to talk with him, ask about holy places and listen to readings. This time was his farewell to his homeland and relatives.

As already mentioned, Prokhor entered the Sarov monastery on November 20, 1778, on the eve of the feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. Standing in the church at the all-night vigil, seeing the deanery of the service, noticing how everyone, from the rector to the last novice, fervently pray, he was delighted with the spirit and rejoiced that the Lord had shown him a place here for the salvation of his soul. Father Pakhomiy knew Prokhor's parents from an early age and therefore lovingly accepted the young man, in whom he saw a true desire for monasticism. He appointed him to the number of novices to the treasurer, Hieromonk Joseph, a wise and loving old man. At first, Prokhor was in the cell obedience to the elder and faithfully followed all the monastic rules and regulations at his direction; in his cell he served not only meekly, but always with zeal. Such behavior drew the attention of everyone to him and gained him the favor of the elders Joseph and Pachomius. Then, in addition to the cell, they began to assign him obedience in order: in the bakery, in the prosphora, in the carpentry. In the latter, he was an wake-up man and performed this obedience for quite a long time. Then he performed ponomari duties. In general, young Prokhor, vigorous in strength, went through all the monastic obediences with great zeal, but, of course, he did not escape many temptations, such as sadness, boredom, and despondency, which had a strong effect on him.

The life of the young Prochorus before being tonsured a monk was daily distributed as follows: at certain hours he was in the church for worship and rules. Imitating Elder Pachomius, he appeared as early as possible at church prayers, stood motionless throughout the entire service, no matter how long it was, and never left before the perfect end of the service. During the hours of prayer, he always stood in one specific place. To protect himself from entertainment and daydreaming, having his eyes downcast, he listened with intense attentiveness and reverence to singing and reading, accompanying them with prayer. Prokhor liked to retire to his cell, where, in addition to prayer, he had two kinds of occupations: reading and bodily labor. He read the Psalms and sitting, saying that it is permissible for the weary, and St. The Gospel and Epistles of the Apostles are always standing before St. icons, in a prayer position, and this was called vigil (wakefulness). He constantly read the works of St. fathers, for example. Six days of St. Basil the Great, Conversations of St. Macarius the Great, Ladder of St. John, Philokalia, etc. In the hours of rest, he indulged in bodily labor, carved crosses from cypress wood for blessing the pilgrims. When Prokhor passed the carpentry obedience, he was distinguished by great diligence, art and success, so that in the schedule he was one of all called Prokhor - the carpenter. He also went to work common to all the brethren: rafting timber, preparing firewood, and so on.

Seeing examples of hermitage, Fr. hegumen Nazarius, hieromonk Dorotheus, schemamonk Mark, young Prokhor strove in spirit for greater solitude and asceticism, and therefore asked for the blessing of his elder, Fr. Joseph to leave the monastery during his free hours and go into the forest. There he found a solitary place, arranged a secret sanctuary, and in it, completely alone, indulged in divine meditation and prayer. The contemplation of wondrous nature elevated him to God, and, according to a man who was later close to Elder Seraphim, he performed here rule, hedgehog gave the Angel of the Lord to Great Pachomius, the founder of the monastic hostel. This rule is performed in the following order: Trisagion and according to our Father: Lord, have mercy, 12. Glory now: come and worship - three times. Psalm 50: Have mercy on me, God. I believe in one God... One hundred prayers: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and according to this: It is worthy to eat and let go.

This amounted to one prayer, but such prayers had to be performed according to the number of daily hours, twelve during the day and twelve at night. He combined abstinence and fasting with prayer: on Wednesday and Friday he did not eat any food, and on other days of the week he took it only once.

In 1780, Prokhor fell seriously ill, and his whole body swelled up. Not a single doctor could determine the type of his illness, but it was assumed that it was water sickness. The illness lasted for three years, of which Prokhor spent at least half in bed. Builder Fr. Pakhomiy and the elder Fr. Isaiah alternately followed him and were almost inseparable from him. It was then that it was revealed how everyone, and before others, the bosses, respected, loved and pitied Prokhor, who was then still a simple novice. Finally, they began to fear for the life of the patient, and Fr. Pachomius urged to invite a doctor, or at least open the blood. Then the humble Prokhor allowed himself to say to the abbot: “I have given myself, Holy Father, to the True Physician of souls and bodies, our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother; . Mystery". Elder Joseph, at the request of Prochorus and his own zeal, especially served about health the sick all-night vigil and liturgy. Prokhor was confessed and received communion. He soon recovered, which surprised everyone. No one understood how he could recover so soon, and only later Fr. Seraphim revealed the secret to some: after communion of the Holy Mysteries, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him in an indescribable light, with the Apostles John the Theologian and Peter, and turning her face to John and pointing her finger at Prochorus, the Lady said: "This one of our kind!"

“The right hand, my joy,” Father Seraphim said to the churchwoman Xenia, “she put it on my head, and in the left hand she held a rod; and with this rod, my joy, she touched the wretched Seraphim; I have on that in a place, on the right thigh, a depression became, mother; all the water flowed out into it, and the Queen of Heaven saved the wretched Seraphim; and the wound was very big, and the pit is still intact, mother, look, give me a pen!" “And the father used to take it himself, and put my hand into the pit,” Mother Xenia added, “and he had a big one, so the whole fist will rise!” This illness brought much spiritual benefit to Prokhor: his spirit grew stronger in faith, love and hope in God.

During the period of Prochorus' novitiate, under the rector Fr. Pachomia, many necessary buildings were undertaken in the Sarov desert. Among them, on the site of the cell in which Prokhor was ill, a hospital was built to treat the sick and calm the elderly, and at the hospital a church on two floors with altars: in the lower one in the name of Sts. Zosima and Savvaty, the miracle workers of the Solovetsky, in the upper - to the glory of the Transfiguration of the Savior. After an illness, Prokhor, still a young novice, was sent to collect money in different places for the construction of a church. Grateful for his healing and the care of his superiors, he willingly endured the difficult feat of the collector. Wandering around the cities closest to Sarov, Prokhor was also in Kursk, in the place of his homeland, but he did not find his mother alive. Brother Alexei, for his part, provided Prokhor with considerable assistance in building the church. Returning home, Prokhor, as a skilled carpenter, built with his own hands an altar of cypress wood for the lower hospital church in honor of the Monks Zosima and Savvaty.

For eight years, young Prokhor was a novice. By this time, his outward appearance had changed: being tall, about 2 ars. and 8 inches, despite strict abstinence and exploits, he had a full face covered with a pleasant whiteness, a straight and sharp nose, light blue eyes, very expressive and penetrating; thick eyebrows and light blond hair on the head. His face was bordered by a thick, bushy beard, with which, at the extremities of his mouth, a long and thick mustache was connected. He had a manly build, possessed great physical strength, a captivating gift for words, and a happy memory. Now he had already passed all the degrees of monastic prowess and was able and ready to take monastic vows.

On August 13, 1786, with the permission of the Holy Synod, Fr. Pachomius tonsured the novice Prokhor to the rank of monk. During his tonsure, his adoptive fathers were Fr. Joseph and Fr. Isaiah. At the initiation, he was given the name Seraphim (fiery). On October 27, 1786, monk Seraphim, at the request of Fr. Pachomius, was consecrated by His Grace Victor, Bishop of Vladimir and Murom, to the rank of hierodeacon. He completely devoted himself to his new, truly already angelic, service. From the day of his elevation to the rank of hierodeacon, he, keeping the purity of soul and body, for five years and 9 months, was almost continuously in service. He spent all the nights on Sundays and feast days in vigilance and prayer, standing motionless until the very liturgy. At the end of each Divine service, remaining for a long time in the temple, he, in accordance with the duties of a sacred deacon, put the utensils in order and took care of the cleanliness of the Altar of the Lord. The Lord, seeing the zeal and zeal for exploits, granted Fr. Seraphim was given strength and strength, so that he did not feel tired, did not need to rest, often forgot about food and drink, and, going to bed, regretted that a person, like the Angels, could not continuously serve God.

Builder Fr. Pachomius was now even more attached in his heart to Fr. Seraphim and without him did not perform almost a single service. When he traveled on monastery business or to serve, alone or with other elders, he often took Fr. Seraphim. So, in 1789, in the first half of June, Fr. Pakhomiy with the treasurer, Fr. Isaiah and Hierodeacon Fr. At the invitation of Seraphim, they went to the village of Lemet, located 6 versts from the present city of Ardatov, Nizhny Novgorod province, to the funeral of their wealthy benefactor, the landowner Alexander Solovtsev, and stopped on the way to Diveevo to visit the abbess of the community, Agafia Semyonovna Melgunova, highly revered by all the old woman and also his benefactor. Alexandra's mother was sick and, having received a notice from the Lord of her imminent death, she asked the ascetic fathers, for the love of Christ, to specialize her. Father Pachomius at first offered to postpone the consecration of the oil until they returned from Lemet, but the holy old woman repeated her request and said that they would not find her alive on the way back. The great elders performed the sacrament of unction over her with love. Then, saying goodbye to them, Alexander's mother gave Fr. Pachomia was the last thing she had and accumulated over the years of her ascetic life in Diveevo. According to the testimony of the maiden Evdokia Martynova, who lived with her, to her confessor, Archpriest Fr. Vasily Sadovsky, mother Agafya Semyonovna handed over to the builder Fr. Pachomia: a bag of gold, a bag of silver and two bags of copper, in the amount of 40 thousand, asking her to give her sisters everything they need in life, since they themselves will not be able to dispose of. Mother Alexandra begged Fr. Pachomias commemorate her in Sarov for repose, do not leave or leave her inexperienced novices, and also take care in due time of the monastery promised to her by the Queen of Heaven. To this, the old man Fr. Pachomius replied: “Mother! To serve the Queen of Heaven according to my strength and according to your will and care for your novices; I also will not only pray for you until my death, but our entire monastery will never forget your good deeds, but in I won’t give you my word about anything else, for I’m old and weak, but how can I undertake it, not knowing whether I will live to see this time. it's a big deal."

Matushka Agafya Semyonovna began to ask Fr. Seraphim not to leave her monastery, as the Queen of Heaven Herself will then instruct him on that.

The elders said goodbye, left, and the marvelous old woman Agafya Semyonovna died on June 13, on the day of St. martyr Akilina. On the way back, O. Pakhomiy and his brethren just arrived in time for the burial of Mother Alexandra. Having served the liturgy and the funeral service in a cathedral, the great elders buried the founder of the Diveevo community against the altar of the Kazan Church. The whole day of June 13th it rained so heavily that no dry thread was left on anyone, but Fr. Seraphim, in his chastity, did not even stay to dine in the convent, and immediately after the burial went on foot to Sarov.

Once on Great Thursday, the builder Fr. Pachomius, who never served without Fr. Seraphim, began the Divine Liturgy at 2 pm in the evening, and after a small exit and sayings, Hierodeacon Seraphim exclaimed: "Lord, save the pious and hear us!" centuries" - when suddenly he changed his appearance so much that he could neither move from his place nor utter a word. Everyone noticed this and understood that God's visitation was with him. Two hierodeacons took him by the arms, led him into the altar and left him aside, where he stood for three hours, constantly changing his appearance, and after that, having already come to his senses, he told the builder and treasurer in private his vision: “I, the wretched one, have just proclaimed: Lord save the pious and hear us! and, pointing the orarion at the people, he finished: and forever and ever! - suddenly a beam illuminated me, as if sunlight; looking at this radiance, I saw the Lord and God of our Jesus Christ, in the form of the Son of Man, in glory and inexpressible light shining, surrounded by heavenly powers, Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, like a swarm of bees, and from the western church gates of the coming air; Approaching in this form to the pulpit and raising up His most pure hands, the Lord blessed the servants and those present; according to this, having entered St. His local image, which is on the right side of the royal gates, was transformed, surrounded by Angelic faces, shining with inexpressible light on the whole church. But I, earth and ashes, having then met the Lord Jesus in the air, received a special blessing from Him; my heart rejoiced pure, enlightened, in the sweetness of love for the Lord!

In 1793 Fr. Seraphim was 34 years old, and the authorities, seeing that he had become superior to other brothers in his exploits and deserved an advantage over many, petitioned for his elevation to the rank of hieromonk. Since in the same year the Sarov monastery, according to the new schedule, moved from the diocese of Vladimir to Tambov, Fr. Seraphim was summoned to Tambov, and on September 2, Bishop Theophilus ordained him a hieromonk. With the receipt of the highest grace of the priesthood, Fr. Seraphim began to strive in the spiritual life with greater zeal and redoubled love. For a long time he continued his uninterrupted service, daily communing with ardent love, faith and reverence.

Having become a hieromonk, Fr. Seraphim had the intention to completely settle in the desert, since the desert life was his calling and appointment from above. In addition, from the incessant cell vigil, from the constant standing in the church on his feet with a little rest during the night, Fr. Seraphim fell into an illness: his legs swelled, and wounds opened on them, so that for some time he lost the opportunity to perform the priesthood. This illness was no small impetus to the choice of a desert life, although in order to rest he should have asked the rector Fr. Pachomius blessing to retire to hospital cells, and not to the desert, i.e. from lesser labors to greater and more difficult ones. The great elder Pachomius blessed him. This was the last blessing received by Fr. Seraphim from a wise, virtuous and respectable elder, in view of his illness and approaching death. Father Seraphim, remembering well how during his illness Fr. Pachomius, now served him with selflessness. Once about. Seraphim noticed that Fr. Pachomia was joined by some kind of mental concern and sadness.

What, holy father, are you so sad about? - asked him about. Seraphim.

I grieve for the sisters of the Diveyevo community, - answered the elder Pachomius, - who will oversee them after me?

Fr. Seraphim, wanting to calm the elder in his dying moments, promised himself to oversee them and support them in the same way after his death, as it was during his time. This promise calmed and rejoiced Fr. Pachomia. He kissed o. Seraphim and then soon rested in the peaceful sleep of the righteous. Father Seraphim bitterly mourned the loss of Elder Pachomius and, with the blessing of the new rector, Fr. Isaiah, also dearly beloved, retired to a desert cell (November 20, 1794, the day of his arrival in the Sarov Desert).

Despite the removal of Seraphim into the wilderness, the people began to disturb him there. The women also came.

The great ascetic, starting a strict hermit life, considered it inconvenient for himself to visit a female, since this could tempt both monastics and laymen prone to condemnation. But, on the other hand, to deprive women of the edification for which they came to the hermit could be a deed displeasing to God. He began to ask the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos for the fulfillment of his desire, and that the Almighty, if this is not contrary to His will, would give him a sign by bending the branches near the standing trees. In the traditions recorded in due time, there is a saying that the Lord God really gave him a sign of His will. The feast of the Nativity of Christ has come; O. Seraphim came to the monastery for a late mass in the temple of the Life-Giving Spring and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. After dinner in his monastery cell, he returned to the desert for the night. The next day, December 26, celebrated according to the situation (the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos), Fr. Seraphim returned to the monastery at night. Passing his hill, where he falls down the valley, which is why the mountain was named about. Seraphim of Athos, he saw that on both sides of the path the huge branches of centuries-old pines bent over and filled up the path; none of this happened in the evening. Father Seraphim fell to his knees and thanked God for the sign given, through his prayer. Now he knew that it was pleasing to the Lord God that women should not enter his mountain.

In the course of all asceticism, Fr. Seraphim constantly wore the same wretched clothes: a white linen robe, leather mittens, leather shoe covers - like stockings, over which they put on bast shoes, and a worn kamilavka. On the hoodie hung a cross, the very one with which his own mother had blessed him when he let him leave the house; and over his shoulders hung a bag in which he carried St. Gospel. Carrying the cross and the gospel had, of course, deep meaning. In imitation of the ancient saints, Fr. Seraphim wore chains on both shoulders, and crosses were hung to them: one in front of 20 lbs., others in the back of 8 lbs. each, and another iron belt. And the elder carried this burden throughout his life in the wilderness. In frosts, he put a stocking or a rag on his chest, but he never went to the bathhouse. His visible exploits consisted of prayers, reading books, bodily labors, observing the rules of the great Pachomius, etc. In the cold season, he heated his cell, chopped and chopped wood, but sometimes he voluntarily endured cold and frost. In the summer, he cultivated ridges in his garden and fertilized the land, collecting moss from the swamps. During such work, he sometimes walked without clothes, girdling only his loins, and the insects cruelly stung his body, which caused it to swell, turn blue in places and baked with blood. The elder voluntarily endured these ulcers for the sake of the Lord, guided by the examples of the ascetics of ancient times. On ridges fertilized with moss, Fr. Seraphim planted seeds onions and other vegetables, which he ate in the summer. Bodily labor gave rise to a benevolent state in him, and Fr. Seraphim worked with the singing of prayers, troparia and canons.

Spending his life in solitude, work, reading and prayer, Fr. Seraphim combined with this fasting and the strictest abstinence. At the beginning of his settlement in the desert, he ate bread, most of all stale and dry; he usually took bread with him on Sundays for a whole week. There is a legend that from this weekly portion of bread he gave part to desert animals and birds, which were caressed by the elder, loved him very much and visited the place of his prayers. He also ate vegetables harvested by the labors of his hands in a desert garden. This garden was arranged with this in order not to burden the monastery with "nothing else" and, following the example of the great ascetic Ap. Paul, eat, "working with your own hands" (1 Cor. 4, 12). Subsequently, he accustomed his body to such abstinence that he did not eat his daily bread, but, with the blessing of the abbot Isaiah, he ate only the vegetables of his garden. These were potatoes, beets, onions, and an herb called snit. During the first week of Great Lent, he did not take any food at all until Communion of the Holy Mysteries on Saturday. Some time later, abstinence and fasting, Fr. Seraphim reached an incredible degree. Having completely stopped taking bread from the monastery, he lived without any maintenance from it for more than two and a half years. The brethren, wondering, wondered what the elder could eat during all this time, not only in summer, but also in winter. He carefully hid his exploits from the view of people.

On weekdays, fleeing in the desert, Fr. On the eve of holidays and Sundays, Seraphim appeared at the monastery, listened to vespers, the all-night vigil, and during the early liturgy in the hospital church of Saints Zosima and Savvaty, communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Then, until Vespers, he received in the monastery cell those who came to him, for spiritual needs, from the monastic brethren. During Vespers, when the brethren left him, he took bread with him for a week and retired to his wilderness. He spent the entire first week of Great Lent in the monastery. During these days, he fasted, confessed, and communed with the Holy Mysteries. For a long time, his confessor was the builder - the elder Isaiah.

Thus the elder spent his days in the wilderness. Other desert dwellers had with them one disciple, who served them. Father Seraphim lived in complete solitude. Some of the Sarov brethren tried to cohabit with Fr. Seraphim and were received by him; but not one of them could endure the hardships of hermit life: no one had so much moral strength as to be an imitator of the exploits of Fr. Seraphim. Their pious attempts, bringing benefit to the soul, were not crowned with success; and those who settled with Fr. Seraphim, returned again to the monastery. Therefore, although after the death of Fr. Seraphim, there were some people who boldly declared themselves to be his disciples, but during his lifetime they, in the strict sense, were not disciples, and the name "Seraphim's disciple" did not exist at that time. "During his stay in the desert," the then Sarov elders said, "all the brethren were his disciples."

Also, many of the Sarov brethren temporarily came to him in the desert. Some simply visited him, while others came out of need for advice and guidance. The elder distinguished people well. He withdrew from some, wishing to remain silent, and those who needed it before him did not refuse spiritual food, lovingly guiding them to truth, virtue and the well-being of life. Of the regular visitors about. Seraphim are known: Schemamonk Mark and Hierodeacon Alexander, who also fled in the wilderness. The first visited him twice a month, and the last - once. Father Seraphim willingly talked with them about various soul-saving subjects.

Seeing such a sincere, zealous and, truly, high asceticism of the elder, Fr. Seraphim, the devil, the primordial enemy of all goodness, armed himself against him with various temptations. By his cunning, starting with the lightest, he first directed various “insurances” on the ascetic. So, according to one venerable in years the hieromonk of the Sarov desert, once during a prayer he suddenly heard the howl of a beast outside the walls of the cell; then, like a crowd of people, they began to break down the door of the cell, knocked out the jambs at the door and threw at the feet of the praying old man a very thick log (cut) of wood, which eight people had with difficulty carried out of the cell. At other times during the day, and especially at night, while standing in prayer, he apparently it suddenly seemed that his cell was falling apart on four sides and that terrible beasts were rushing towards him from all sides with a wild and furious roar and cry. Sometimes an open coffin would suddenly appear before him, from which a dead man would rise.

Since the elder did not succumb to fears, the devil raised the most severe attacks on him. So, by God’s permission, he lifted his body into the air and from there hit the floor with such force that, if not for the Guardian Angel, the very bones from such blows could have been crushed. But even this did not overcome the old man. Probably, during temptations, with his spiritual eye, penetrating into the heavenly world, he saw the evil spirits themselves. Perhaps the spirits of malice themselves, apparently in bodily forms, appeared to him, as well as to other ascetics.

The spiritual authorities knew about. Seraphim understood how useful it would be for many to make such an elder an abbot, a rector somewhere in the monastery. The place of the archimandrite was opened in the city of Alatyr. Father Seraphim was appointed there as the head of the monastery with the elevation to the rank of archimandrite. In the past and in the current centuries, the Sarov Hermitage more than once gave good abbots from its brethren to other monasteries. But Elder Seraphim most convincingly asked the then Sarov rector Isaiah to reject this appointment from him. It was a pity for the builder Isaiah and the brethren of Sarov to let go of Elder Seraphim, a zealous prayer book and a wise mentor. The desires of both sides came together: everyone began to ask another hieromonk from Sarov, Elder Avraamy, to take on the title of archimandrite in the Alatyr Monastery, and the brother, solely out of obedience, accepted this title.

In all temptations and attacks on Fr. Seraphim the devil had the goal of removing him from the wilderness. However, all the efforts of the enemy were unsuccessful: he was defeated, retreated with shame from his winner, but did not leave him alone. Looking for new measures to remove the old man from the desert, the evil spirit began to fight against him through evil people. On September 12, 1804, three men unknown to him, dressed like peasants, approached the elder. Father Seraphim was chopping wood in the forest at that time. The peasants, impudently approaching him, demanded money, saying that "worldly people come to you and carry money." The elder said: "I don't take anything from anyone." But they didn't believe. Then one of those who came rushed at him from behind, wanted to knock him to the ground, but instead he fell down. From this awkwardness, the villains were somewhat timid, but they did not want to back down from their intention. O. Seraphim had a great physical strength and, armed with an axe, he could defend himself not without hope. This thought flashed through his mind instantly. But at the same time, he remembered the words of the Savior: “All who take the knife will die with the knife” (Matt. 26, 52), did not want to resist, calmly lowered the ax to the ground and said, meekly folding his arms crosswise on his chest: “Do what you need” . He decided to endure everything innocently, for the Lord's sake.

Then one of the peasants, picking up an ax from the ground, hit Fr. Seraphim in the head, that blood gushed from his mouth and ears. The elder fell to the ground and became unconscious. The villains dragged him to the vestibule of the cell, furiously continuing to beat him on the way, like hunting prey, some with a butt, some with a tree, some with their hands and feet, they even talked about throwing the old man into the river? .. And how did they see that he had already was as if dead, they tied his hands and feet with ropes and, having laid him in the hallway, they themselves rushed to the cell, imagining to find innumerable riches in it. In a wretched dwelling, they very soon went through everything, revised it, broke the stove, dismantled the floor, searched and searched, and found nothing for themselves; only saw St. icon, but a few potatoes came across. Then the conscience of the villains spoke strongly, repentance awakened in their hearts that in vain, without any benefit even for themselves, they beat a pious man; some fear fell upon them, and they fled in terror.

Meanwhile, oh Seraphim could hardly come to his senses from the cruel mortal blows, somehow untied himself, thanked the Lord that he was honored for His sake to suffer wounds innocently, prayed that God would forgive the murderers and, having spent the night in a cell in suffering, the next day with great difficulty, however, he himself came to the monastery during the liturgy itself. His appearance was terrible! The hair on his beard and head was soaked with blood, crumpled, tangled, covered with dust and rubbish; face and hands beaten; knocked out several teeth; ears and mouth were parched with blood; the clothes were wrinkled, bloody, dried up and in places stuck to the wounds. The brethren, seeing him in such a state, were horrified and asked: what happened to him? Without answering a word, oh. Seraphim asked to invite the rector Fr. Isaiah and the monastery confessor, to whom he told everything that had happened in detail. Both the rector and the brethren were deeply saddened by the sufferings of the elder. Such a misfortune. Seraphim was forced to stay in the monastery to improve his health. The devil, who raised up the villains, apparently now triumphed over the elder, imagining that he had driven him out of the wilderness forever.

The first eight days were very difficult for the patient: without taking any food or water, he did not even sleep because of the unbearable pain. The monastery did not hope that he would survive his suffering. The abbot, Elder Isaiah, on the seventh day of his illness, not seeing a change for the better, sent to Arzamas for doctors. After examining the elder, the doctors found his illness in the following condition: his head was broken, his ribs were broken, his chest was trampled, his whole body was covered with mortal wounds in different places. They wondered how the old man could survive after such beatings. According to the ancient method of treatment, doctors considered it necessary to open the blood of the patient. The abbot, knowing that the patient had already lost a lot of it from wounds, did not agree to this measure, but, on the urgent conviction of a council of doctors, he decided to suggest that Fr. Seraphim. The council again gathered in the cell of Fr. Seraphim. It consisted of three doctors; they had three assistants with them. While waiting for the abbot, they again examined the patient, for a long time Latin They argued among themselves and decided: to bleed, to wash the sick, to apply a plaster to the wounds, and in some places to use alcohol. We also agreed that assistance should be submitted as soon as possible. Father Seraphim, with deep gratitude in his heart, noticed their attentiveness and care for himself.

When all this was happening, someone suddenly shouted: "Father rector is coming, father rector is coming!" At this moment, o. Seraphim fell asleep; his sleep was brief, subtle, and pleasant. In a dream, he saw a wondrous vision: the Most Holy Theotokos in royal purple, surrounded by glory, approaches him from the right side of the bed. She was followed by Sts. Apostles Peter and John the Theologian. Stopping at the bedside, the Blessed Virgin pointed with the finger of her right hand at the patient and, turning with Her Most Pure Face in the direction where the doctors were standing, she said: “What are you working on?” Then again, turning her face to the old man, she said: "This is from Our kind"- and ended the vision, which those present did not suspect.

When the abbot entered, the patient regained consciousness. Father Isaiah, with a feeling of deep love and participation, suggested that he take advantage of the advice and help of doctors. But the sick man, after so many worries about him, in his desperate state of health, to the surprise of everyone, answered that he now did not want help from people, asking the father rector to give life to his God and the Most Holy Theotokos, the True and Faithful Physicians of souls and bodies. There was nothing to do, they left the elder alone, respecting his patience and marveling at the strength and strength of faith. He was filled with indescribable joy from the wondrous visit, and this heavenly joy lasted four hours. Then the elder calmed down, entered his usual state, feeling relief from his illness; strength and strength began to return to him; he got up from his bed, began to walk a little about the cell, and in the evening, at nine o'clock, he fortified himself with food, tasted some bread and white sauerkraut. From that day on, he again began to gradually indulge in spiritual exploits.

Even in the past, Fr. Seraphim, once engaged in work in the forest, was crushed by him while chopping a tree, and from this circumstance he lost his natural directness and harmony, became bent. After the attack of the robbers from beatings, wounds and illness, the bentness increased even more. From that time on, he began to walk, fortifying himself with an ax, a hank, or a stick. Thus, this bentness, this wound in the heel, served all his life as the crown of the victory of the great ascetic over the devil.

From the day of his illness, Elder Seraphim spent about five months in the monastery, not seeing his desert. When his health returned to him, when he felt himself again strong for the passage of the desert life, he asked the abbot Isaiah to let him go from the monastery to the desert again. The abbot, at the suggestion of the brethren, himself, sincerely pitying the elder, begged him to stay forever in the monastery, imagining the repetition of such extremely unfortunate events as possible. Father Seraphim answered that he did not impute such attacks and was ready, imitating Sts. martyrs who suffered for the name of the Lord, even to death endure all kinds of insults, no matter what happens. Yielding to the Christian fearlessness of spirit and love for hermit life, Fr. Isaiah blessed the elder's desire, and the elder Seraphim again returned to his deserted cell.

With the new settlement of the elder in the desert, the devil suffered a complete defeat. The peasants who had beaten the elder were found; they turned out to be serfs of the landowner Tatishchev, Ardatovsky district, from the village of Kremenok. But oh. Seraphim not only forgave them themselves, but also begged the abbot of the monastery not to exact from them, and then wrote the same request to the landowner. Everyone was so outraged by the act of these peasants that it seemed impossible to forgive them, but Fr. Seraphim insisted on his own: "Otherwise," the elder said, "I will leave the Sarov monastery and retire to another place." The builder, oh Isaiah, his confessor, he said that it would be better to remove him from the monastery than to inflict any punishment on the peasants. Father Seraphim presented vengeance to the Lord God. The wrath of God really overtook these peasants: in a short time the fire destroyed their dwellings. Then they themselves came to ask Fr. Seraphim, with tears of repentance, forgiveness and his holy prayers.

Elder Fr. Isaiah greatly revered and loved Fr. Seraphim, and also valued his conversations; therefore, when he was fresh, cheerful and enjoying health, he often went to the desert to Fr. Seraphim. In 1806, Isaiah, due to old age and from the labors incurred to save himself and the brethren, became especially weak in health and, at his own request, resigned from the duty and title of rector. The lot to take his place in the monastery, according to the general desire of the brethren, fell on Fr. Seraphim. This is the second time the elder has been elected to positions of authority in the monasteries, but this time too, out of his humility and out of extreme love for the desert, he refused the offered honor. Then, by the vote of all the brethren, the elder Nifont was elected rector, who until that time had fulfilled the obedience of the treasurer.

Elder Fr. Seraphim, after the death of the builder Isaiah, did not change the former kind of life and remained to live in the desert. He only took on even more work, namely, silence. He never went out to visit again. If he himself happened to unexpectedly meet someone in the forest, the elder fell on his face and did not raise his eyes until the one he met passed by. In this way he remained silent for three years and for some time stopped visiting the monastery on Sundays and Sundays. public holidays. One of the novices also brought him food in the desert, especially in winter, when Fr. Seraphim didn't have his own vegetables. Food was brought once a week, on Sunday. It was difficult for the appointed monk to perform this obedience in the winter, since Fr. There was no road for Seraphim. It used to be that during a blizzard he wandered through the snow, drowning in it knee-deep, with a week's supply in his hands for the silent old man. Entering the vestibule, he said a prayer, and the elder, saying to himself: "Amen", opened the door from the cell to the vestibule. Crossing his arms on his chest, he stood at the door, lowering his face down to the ground; he himself will not bless his brother, nor even look at him. And the brother who came, having prayed, according to custom, and bowing at the feet of the old man, put food on the tray, which lay on the table in the hallway. For his part, the elder put on the tray either a small particle of bread, or a little cabbage. The brother who came noticed this carefully. With these signs, the elder silently let him know what to bring him on the future resurrection: bread or cabbage. And again, the brother who came, having made a prayer, bowed at the feet of the elder and, having asked for his prayers for himself, returned to the monastery without hearing from Fr. Seraphim not a single word. All these were only visible, outward signs of silence. The essence of the feat did not consist in external removal from sociability, but in the silence of the mind, the renunciation of all worldly thoughts for the purest dedication of oneself to the Lord.

Silence about. Seraphim connected with standing on a stone. In a dense forest, halfway from the cell to the monastery, lay an unusually large granite stone. Remembering the difficult feat of Sts. pillars, oh. Seraphim decided to take part in asceticism of this kind. For this he ascended, so as not to be seen by anyone, in night time on this stone to enhance the prayer feat. He usually prayed either on his feet or on his knees, raised up, like St. Pachomius, with his hands, calling out in a publican's voice: "God, be merciful to me a sinner." In order to equalize nighttime exploits with daytime ones, Fr. Seraphim also had a stone in his cell. On it he prayed during the day, from morning to evening, leaving the stone only to rest from exhaustion and to reinforce yourself with food. This kind of prayer feat he carried, at times, for a thousand days.

From standing on stones, from the difficulty of this prayerful feat, his body changed very noticeably, a disease resumed in his legs, which from that time until the end of his days did not cease to torment him. Father Seraphim realized that the continuation of such feats would lead to exhaustion of the strength of the spirit and body, and left the prayer on the stones. He went through these feats in such secrecy that not a single human soul knew about them and did not guess. There was a secret request to Fr. Seraphim from the Bishop of Tambov. Preserved in the papers of the monastery draft Nifont’s review, in which the rector replied: “We know about the exploits and life of Father Seraphim; about what secret actions, as well as about standing 1000 days and nights on a stone, no one knew.” At the end of his days, so as not to remain a mystery to people, in the likeness of other ascetics, among other phenomena of his life, he, as an edification to the listeners, told about this feat to some of the brethren.

FATHER Seraphim, since the death of Elder Isaiah, having imposed the labor of silence, lived in his wilderness without a way out, just like in a seclusion. Previously, he used to go to the monastery on Sundays and holidays to partake of the Holy Mysteries. Now, since standing on the stones, his legs hurt; he could not walk. It was not known who communed him with the Holy Mysteries, although they did not doubt for a moment that he did not remain without partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. The builder convened a monastery council of senior hieromonks and the question of communion Fr. Seraphim offered for discussion. The matter was resolved thus: to propose Fr. Seraphim, so that he either walks, if he is healthy and strong with his legs, as before, to the monastery on Sundays and holidays for communion of the Holy Mysteries, or, if his legs do not serve, he would go to live forever in a monastery cell. The general advice was to ask through a brother who carried food on Sundays what Fr. Seraphim? The brother, on his very first visit to the elder, fulfilled the decision of the Sarov Cathedral, but Fr. Seraphim, having silently listened to the proposal of the council, let his brother go without saying a word. The brother, as it was, handed over to the builder, and the builder told him to repeat the cathedral proposal on the following Sunday. Having brought food for the next week, the brother repeated the offer. Then Elder Seraphim, having blessed his brother, went with him on foot to the monastery.

Accepting the second proposal of the council, the elder showed that, due to illness, he was unable to go, as before, on Sundays and holidays to the monastery. It was in the spring of May 8, 1810. Having entered the monastery gates, after 15 summer stay in the desert, Seraphim, without entering his cell, went straight to the hospital. It was during the day, before the all-night service. When the bell was struck, Fr. Seraphim appeared at the all-night vigil in the church of the Dormition of the Theotokos. The brethren were surprised when a rumor instantly spread that the elder had decided to live in the monastery. But their surprise increased even more when the following circumstances occurred: the next day, May 9, on the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Fr. Seraphim came, according to custom, to the hospital church for the early liturgy and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Upon leaving the church, he directed his steps to the cell of the builder Nifont and, having received a blessing from him, settled in his former monastic cell; he did not take anyone to himself, he did not go out anywhere and did not say a word to anyone, that is, he took upon himself the new most difficult feat of seclusion.

About the exploits Even less is known about Seraphim in seclusion than about his solitary life. In his cell, he did not want to have, to cut off his self-will, nothing, even the most necessary things. The icon, in front of which a lamp was burning, and a piece of a stump, which served instead of a chair, made up everything. For himself, he did not even use fire.

During all the years of seclusion, on all Sundays and feast days, the elder took communion of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In order to preserve the seclusion and silence in all its purity, the Celestial Mysteries, with the blessing of the builder Nifont, were brought to him from the hospital church to his cell after the early liturgy.

To never forget the hour of death, to visualize it more clearly and see it before you more closely, Fr. Seraphim made himself a coffin of solid oak and placed it in the hallway of the recluse cell. Here the elder often prayed, preparing for the departure from real life. Father Seraphim, in conversations with the Sarov brothers, often said about this coffin: "When I die, I beg you, brethren, put me in my coffin."

The elder spent about five years in seclusion, then somewhat weakened appearance his. His cell door was open, anyone could come to him, see him; The elder was not embarrassed by the presence of others in his spiritual studies. Some, having entered the cell, proposed various questions, having a need for advice and instructions from the elder; but, having taken a vow of silence before God, the elder did not give answers to questions, continuing his usual studies.

In 1815 the Lord, according to a new appearance, Fr. Seraphim of His Most Pure Mother, ordered him not to hide his lamp under a bushel and, having opened the doors of the shutter, to be accessible and visible to everyone. Taking Great Hilarion as an example, he began to receive everyone without exception, talking and teaching about salvation. His small cell was always lit only by a lamp and candles lit near the icons. It was never heated by a stove, had two small windows, and was always littered with sandbags and stones that served him as a bed; a stump of wood was used instead of a chair, and in the hallway there was an oak coffin made by his own hands. The cell was dissolved for all the brethren of the monastery at any time, for outsiders - after early mass until 8 pm.

The elder welcomed everyone willingly, gave a blessing, and to each, depending on the needs of the soul, gave various kinds of brief instructions. The elder received those who came: he was dressed in an ordinary white robe and a half-mantle; he had an epitrachelion around his neck and handrails. He did not wear the epitrachelion and the commissions for himself, not always when receiving visitors, but only on those days when he communed the Holy Mysteries, therefore, on Sundays and holidays. In whom he saw sincere repentance for sins, who showed in himself an ardent zeal for Christian life, he received those with special zeal and joy. After a conversation with them, he, forcing them to bow their heads, laid the end of the stole and his right hand on it, offering to say the following prayer of repentance behind him: "I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned in soul and body, in word, deed, mind and thought, and with all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, will or not, knowledge or ignorance. He himself then said a prayer for permission from sins. At the end of such an action, he anointed the forehead of the one who came with oil from St. icons and, if it was earlier than noon, therefore, before eating, he gave to eat from the bowl of the "great agiasma", that is, St. Epiphany water, blessed with a particle of antidoron, or St. bread consecrated at the all-night service. Then, kissing the one who came on the mouth, he said at all times: "Christ is Risen!" and gave to be applied to the image of the Mother of God or to the cross that hung on his chest. Sometimes, especially to noble persons, he advised to go into the temple to pray to the Mother of God before St. the icon of Her Dormition or the Life-Giving Source.

If the visitor did not need special instructions, then the elder did general Christian edification. In particular, he advised to always have the memory of God and for this purpose to constantly call on the name of God in the heart, repeating the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. “In this, let it be,” he said, “all your attention and training! Walking and sitting, doing in church before the start of the service, standing, entering and leaving, keep this unceasingly on your lips and in your heart. With thus invoking the name of God you will find peace, achieve spiritual and bodily purity, and the Holy Spirit, the Source of all blessings, will dwell in you, and He will rule you in the shrine, in all piety and purity.

Many, coming to Fr. Seraphim, they complained that they prayed little to God, even leaving the necessary daily prayers. Others said that they were doing it out of illiteracy, others out of lack of time. Father Seraphim bequeathed to such people the following rule of prayer: "Rising from sleep, every Christian, standing in front of the holy icons, let him read the Lord's Prayer: Our Father- three times; in honor of the Rev. Trinity, then the song of the Virgin: Virgin Mary, rejoice- also three times and, finally, the Creed: I believe in one God- once.

Having made this rule, let every Christian go about his business, to which he was appointed or called. While working at home or on the way somewhere, let him read quietly: G Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner or sinful; and if others surround him, then, doing business, let him say only this with his mind: Lord have mercy and continue until lunch.

Just before dinner, let him perform the above morning rule.

After dinner, doing his work, let every Christian also read quietly: Holy Mother of God, save me a sinner and let it continue until sleep.

When it happens to him to spend time in solitude, then let him read: Lord Jesus Christ, Mother of God, have mercy on me a sinner or sinful.

Going to bed, let every Christian again read the above morning rule, that is, three times Our Father, thrice Mother of God and one day Symbol of faith. After that, let him fall asleep, protecting himself with the sign of the cross.

Once a simple peasant ran to the monastery with a hat in his hand, with disheveled hair, asking in despair at the first monk he met: "Father! Are you, Father Seraphim?" He was pointed out. Seraphim. Rushing there, he fell at his feet and said convincingly: "Father! They stole my horse from me, and now I'm completely beggar without it; I don't know how I will feed my family. And, they say, you guess!" Father Seraphim, affectionately taking him by the head and putting it to his, said: “Protect yourself with silence and hasten to such and such(he named it) village. When you approach it, turn off the road to the right and pass four houses behind: there you will see a little gate; enter it, untie your horse from the log and take it out silently. " The peasant immediately ran back with faith and joy, not stopping anywhere. After that, there was a rumor in Sarov that he really found the horse in the place shown.

Nizhny Novgorod province, Ardatovsky district, in his family estate, the village of Nucha, lived orphans, brother and sister, noble landowners Mikhail Vasilyevich and Elena Vasilievna Manturovs. Mikhail Vasilyevich served for many years in Livonia in military service and married there a native of Livonia, Anna Mikhailovna Ernts, but then he became so ill that he was forced to leave the service and move to live in his estate, the village of Nucha. Elena Vasilievna, much younger than her brother in years, was of a cheerful nature and dreamed only of a secular life and a speedy marriage.

The illness of Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov had a decisive influence on his whole life, and the best doctors found it difficult to determine its cause and properties. Thus, all hope for medical help was lost, and it remained to turn to the Lord and His holy Church for healing. Rumor about the holy life of Father Fr. Seraphim, who had already traveled all over Russia, of course, also reached the village of Nuchi, which lay only 40 miles from Sarov. When the disease assumed alarming proportions, so that pieces of bone fell out of Mikhail Vasilyevich's legs, he decided to go, on the advice of relatives and friends, to Sarov to Fr. Seraphim. With great difficulty, he was brought by his serfs into the canopy of the cell of the hermit elder. When Mikhail Vasilievich, according to custom, made a prayer, Father Fr. Seraphim came out and graciously asked him: "What did you wish to look at the wretched Seraphim?" Manturov fell at his feet and began to tearfully ask the old man to heal him of a terrible illness. Then, with lively participation and paternal love, he asked Fr. Seraphim: "Do you believe in God?" And, having also received the most sincere, strong, ardent assurance of unconditional faith in God three times in response, the great elder said to him: “My joy! believe that the Lord will heal you, and I, poor Seraphim, will pray." Then about. Seraphim seated Mikhail Vasilyevich near the coffin, which stood in the hallway, and he retired to his cell, from where he emerged a little later, carrying the holy oil with him. He ordered Manturov to undress, bare his legs, and, preparing to rub them with the brought holy oil, he said: "According to the grace given to me from the Lord, I am the first to heal you!" Father Seraphim anointed Mikhail Vasilievich's feet and put on them stockings made of linen. After that, the elder took out of the cell a large number of crackers, poured them into the folds of his coat and ordered him to go with the burden to the monastery hotel. Mikhail Vasilievich at first carried out the order of the priest not without fear, but then, having made sure of the miracle performed with him, he came to inexpressible joy and some kind of reverent horror. A few minutes ago he was not able to go up to Fr. Seraphim without outside help, and then suddenly, according to the word of the holy elder, he was already carrying a whole pile of crackers, feeling completely healthy, strong and as if he had never been sick. In joy, he threw himself at the feet of Fr. Seraphim, kissing them and thanking them for the healing, but the great elder lifted Mikhail Vasilyevich and said sternly: “Is Seraphim’s business to kill and live, to bring down to hell and raise up? He listens to them! To the Lord Almighty, give thanks to His Most Pure Mother!" Then about. Seraphim released Manturov.

Some time has passed. Suddenly, Mikhail Vasilyevich remembered with horror about his past illness, which he had already begun to completely forget, and decided to go to Fr. Seraphim, accept his blessing. On the way, Manturov thought: after all, as the father said, I must thank the Lord ... And as soon as he arrived in Sarov and entered Fr. Seraphim, as a great old man met him with the words: "My joy! But we promised to thank the Lord that He gave us life back!" Surprised at the elder's foresight, Mikhail Vasilyevich replied: "I don't know, father, what and how; what do you order?!" Then about. Seraphim, looking at him in a special way, cheerfully said: "Behold, my joy, give everything you have to the Lord and take upon yourself spontaneous poverty!" Manturov was embarrassed; a thousand thoughts ran through his head in an instant, for he did not expect such a proposal from the great old man. He remembered the gospel youth, to whom Christ also offered voluntary poverty for a perfect path to the Kingdom of Heaven... He remembered that he was not alone, had a young wife, and that, having given everything, there would be nothing to live with... But the perspicacious old man, understanding his thoughts , continued: "Leave everything and do not worry about what you think; the Lord will not leave you either in this life or in the future; you will not be rich, but you will have your daily bread." Hot, impressionable, loving and ready, in the purity of his soul, to fulfill every thought, every demand of such a great and holy elder, whom he saw only the second time, but he loved already, no doubt, more than anything in the world, Mikhail Vasilyevich immediately answered: " I agree, father! What do you bless me to do?" But the great wise old man, wishing to test the ardent Mikhail Vasilievich, answered: "Well, my joy, let us pray, and I will show you how God will enlighten me!" After that, they parted as future friends and the most faithful servants of the Diveevo monastery, chosen by the Queen of Heaven for Herself in the earthly lot.

With the blessing of Father Fr. Seraphim, Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov sold his estate, set his serfs free, and, saving money for the time being, bought only 15 acres of land in Diveevo on the island indicated to him. Seraphim place, with the strictest commandment: keep this land, never sell it, never give it to anyone and bequeath it after the death of your Seraphim monastery. On this land, Mikhail Vasilyevich settled with his wife and began to suffer shortcomings. He endured a lot of ridicule from acquaintances and friends, as well as reproaches from his wife Anna Mikhailovna, a Lutheran, who was not at all prepared for spiritual exploits of a young woman who did not tolerate poverty, a very impatient and ardent character, although, in general, a good and honest person. All his life, the wonderful Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, a true disciple of Christ, endured humiliation for his gospel deed. But he endured everything without a murmur, silently, patiently, humbly, meekly, with complacency, out of love and extraordinary faith for the holy elder, obeying him in everything unquestioningly, not taking a step without his blessing, as if betraying himself and his whole life in hands about. Seraphim. It is not surprising that Mikhail Vasilievich became the most faithful student of Fr. Seraphim and his closest, most beloved friend. Father o. Seraphim, speaking about him with anyone, called him no other way than “Mishenka”, and entrusted everything related to Diveev’s device only to him alone, as a result of which everyone knew this and sacredly honored Manturov, obeying him in everything unquestioningly, as if the manager of the father himself.

Father Seraphim, after the healing of M.V. Manturov, began to receive other visitors and, true to the promise given by Fr. Pachomius, did not forget the Diveevo community. He sent some novices to the headmaster Xenia Mikhailovna and, praying for them daily, received revelations about the future of this community.

Taking visitors to his monastery cell for 15 years, Fr. Seraphim still did not leave the shutter and did not go anywhere. But in 1825 he began to ask the Lord for his blessing on the completion of the shutter.

On November 25, 1825, on the feast day of St. Clement, Pope of Rome, and Peter of Alexandria, in a dreamy vision, the Mother of God, accompanied by these saints, appeared to Fr. Seraphim and allowed him to leave the seclusion and visit the desert.

As is known, from 1825 to Fr. Seraphim began to be blessed first by the sisters, and then by the virtuous head of the Diveevo community herself, Ksenia Mikhailovna, whom the priest called: "a pillar of fire from earth to heaven" and "spiritual lingering". Of course, the old woman Xenia Mikhailovna deeply respected and highly revered Fr. Seraphim, but, however, she did not agree to change the charter of her community, which seemed difficult, as Fr. Seraphim, and to all the sisters who were saved in the community. The number of sisters in the community increased so much that it was necessary to extend their possessions; but it was impossible in either direction. Father o. Seraphim, having called Ksenia Mikhailovna to him, began to persuade her to replace the heavy Sarov charter with a lighter one, but she did not want to hear. "Listen to me, my joy!" - was talking about. Seraphim - but the unshakable old woman finally answered him: "No, father, let it be the old way, the builder father Pakhomiy has already arranged for us!" Then about. Seraphim let go the head of the Diveevo community, reassured that what commanded him by the great old woman Alexandra no longer lies on his conscience, or that the hour of God's will had not yet come to him. Temporarily about. Seraphim did not enter into the affairs of the community, and only by the gift of foresight sent the sisters chosen by the Mother of God to live in Diveyevo, saying: “Come, child, to the community, here, nearby, Mother Colonel Agafia Semyonovna Melgunova, to the great servant of God and the pillar , mother Xenia Mikhailovna - she will teach you everything!

In the notes of N. A. Motovilov on the foundation of the mill monastery, Fr. Seraphim says:

“When, on November 25, 1825, on the day of the saints of God, Clement, Pope of Rome, and Peter of Alexandria, Father Seraphim himself, as well as to many, constantly used to say, making his way, as usual, through the thickets of the forest along the bank of the Sarovka River to his distant hermitage, he saw below the place where the Bogoslovsky well had once been, and almost near the bank of the Sarovka River, the Mother of God, who appeared to him here (where his well is now, and where then there was only a quagmire), and further and behind Her, on a hillock, two Apostles: Peter the Supreme and the Apostle Evangelist John the Theologian. And the Mother of God, striking the ground with a rod so that the spring boiled from the ground with a fountain of bright water, said to him: “Why do you want to leave the commandment of My servant Agathia, the nun Alexandra? Leave Xenia with her sisters, and not only do not leave the commandment of this servant of My, but try to fulfill it completely, for by My will she gave it to you. And I will show you another place, also in the village of Diveevo, and on it arrange this My promised abode. And in memory of the promise given to her by Me, take eight sisters from the place of her death from the community of Xenia. And she showed how to surround this place with a ditch and a shaft, and from these eight sisters she ordered him to start this monastery, Her fourth ecumenical lot on earth, for which she ordered him first from the Sarov forest to cut down a two-stage windmill and the first cells, and then , according to time, to build in honor of the Nativity of Her and Her Only Begotten, a two-altar church for this monastery, attaching it to the porch of the church of the Kazan appearance of Her Diveevo nun Alexandra. And She herself gave him a new charter for this monastery and nowhere before that time in any monastery yet And she made a commandment as an indispensable rule that not a single widow would dare to be admitted to this monastery, but he would accept it, and then only maidens would always be accepted, to whom She herself expresses her good pleasure; and she promised herself to be the everlasting Abbess of this monastery of Hers, pouring out on her all His mercy and all the graces of God, blessings from all of Her three previous lots: Iberia, Athos and Kiev. But the place where the Most Pure Feet of Her Feet stood and where, from the impact of Her rod, the spring boiled and received healing in memory of future births by digging a well here, promised to give Her waters a greater blessing than the waters of Bethesda of Jerusalem once had.

Now, on the site of the appearance of the Mother of God to Father Seraphim on November 25, 1825, a well has been built, distinguished by miraculous power, and below, near it, there is the former Theological Well. In the summer of 1826, at the request of the elder, the Bogoslovsky spring was renewed. The roll-up covering the pool has been removed; a new log house was made with a pipe for the source of water. Near the pool, the elder now began to engage in bodily labor. Collecting pebbles in the Sarovka River, he threw them ashore and humiliated the spring pool with them. He arranged ridges for himself here, fertilized them with moss, planted onions and potatoes. The elder chose this place for himself because, due to illness, he could not go to his former cell six miles from the monastery. It even became difficult for him, after the morning labors on his feet, to visit Fr. Dorothea, who stood only a quarter of a mile from the spring. For about. Seraphim was arranged on the shore of the mountain, near the spring, a new small frame, three arshins high, three arshins long and two wide. From above it was covered with a slope on one side. It had no windows or doors. The entrance to this log cabin was opened by an earthen one from the side of the mountain, under the wall. Crawling under the wall, the elder rested in this shelter after labors, hiding from the midday heat. Then, in 1827, right here, on a hill near the spring, they put up a new cell for him with doors, but no windows; inside it there was a stove, on the outside, senets were knocked together from boards. During 1825-1826, the elder used to go to this place every day. And when they arranged a cell for him, he began to constantly spend all his days here in the desert; returned to the monastery in the evening. Going to and from the monastery in an ordinary white, shabby linen robe, in a wretched kamilavka, with an ax or a hoe in his hands, he carried a bag over his shoulders, heavily filled with stones and sand, in which St. Gospel. Some asked: "Why is he doing this?" He answered with St. Ephraim the Syrian: "I torment the languishing me." This place has been known since then under the name near desert about. Seraphim, and the spring began to be called well about. Seraphim.

Since the construction of a new cell, in 1827, the activities and works of Fr. Seraphim were divided between the monastery and the nearby hermitage. In the monastery, he remained on Sundays and holidays, taking communion at the early liturgy; on weekdays, he went almost daily into the forest to the nearby desert. He spent the nights in the monastery. The number of visitors has greatly increased. Some waited for him in the monastery, eager to see him, accept his blessing and hear the word of edification. Others came to him in a deserted cell. The elder had almost no rest either in the desert, or on the road, or in the monastery. It was touching to see how the elder, after receiving the Holy Mysteries, returned from the church to his cell. He walked in a mantle, stole, and handrails, as he usually approached the sacrament. His procession was slow because of the multitude of the crowding people, from whose midst everyone tried, even slightly, to look at the elder. But at that time he did not speak to anyone, did not bless anyone, and no matter how he saw a soul around him; his gaze was downcast, and his mind was immersed inward. In those moments he entered with his soul into contemplation of the great blessings of God revealed to people by the sacrament of Holy Communion. And, reverent for the wonderful old man, no one dared even touch him. Arriving in his cell, he already received all those who were zealous, blessed them, and offered a soul-saving word to those who wished.

But what was most delightful was his conversation. Mind at Fr. Seraphim was bright, his memory was firm, his gaze was truly Christian, his heart was accessible to everyone, his will was unbending, his gift of words was alive and plentiful. His speech was so effective that the listener received spiritual benefit from it. His conversations were filled with the spirit of humility, warmed the heart, removed some kind of veil from the eyes, illuminated the minds of the interlocutors with the light of spiritual understanding, brought them to a feeling of repentance and aroused a decisive change for the better; involuntarily conquered the will and heart of others, poured peace and silence into them. Elder Seraphim based both his own actions and his words on the word of God, confirming them most of all in the New Testament, on the writings of St. fathers and on the examples of the saints who pleased God. All this had a special power because it was directly applied to the needs of the listeners. By the purity of his spirit, he had the gift of clairvoyance; to others, before revealing the circumstances, he gave instructions that related directly to their inner feelings and thoughts of the heart.

Love and humility of mind were a special feature of his manners and conversations. Whoever came to him, whether a poor man in rags, or a rich man in bright clothes, no matter who came with needs, no matter what sinful state his conscience was in, he kissed everyone with love, bowed to the ground with everyone and, blessing , he kissed the hands of not even dedicated people. He struck no one with cruel reproaches or severe reprimands; he did not place a heavy burden on anyone, he himself carried the cross of Christ with all sorrows. He spoke to others and denunciations, but meekly, dissolving his word with humility and love. He tried to arouse the voice of conscience with advice, pointed out the ways of salvation, and often in such a way that his listener for the first time did not understand that it was about his soul. After that, the power of the word, overshadowed by grace, certainly produced its effect. Neither the rich, nor the poor, nor the simple, nor the learned, nor the nobles, nor the common people, did not go out from him without real instruction; for everyone there was enough living water flowing from the lips of the former silent, humble and wretched old man. The people, especially in the last ten years of his life, flocked to him every day as many as thousands. Every day, with a large gathering of newcomers in Sarov, he had about 2,000 people or more in his cell. He was not burdened and found time to talk with everyone for the benefit of the soul. In short words, he explained to everyone what exactly was useful to him, often revealing the most secret thoughts of those who turned to him. Everyone felt his benevolent, truly kindred love and its strength, streams of tears sometimes burst out from such people who had a hard and petrified heart.

One day, Honored Lieutenant General L. arrived in Sarov. The purpose of his arrival was curiosity. And so, having looked at the monastery buildings, he already wanted to say goodbye to the monastery, not having received any spiritual gift for his soul, but he met the landowner Alexei Neofitovich Prokudin here and started talking with him. The interlocutor suggested that the general go to the hermit Elder Seraphim, but the general only with difficulty yielded to Prokudin's persuasion. As soon as they entered the cell, Elder Seraphim, walking towards them, bowed at the general's feet. Such humility struck the pride of L ... Prokudin, noticing that he should not remain in the cell, went out into the vestibule, and the general, decorated with orders, talked with the hermit for about half an hour. A few minutes later, a cry was heard from the elder’s cell: then the general was crying, like a small child. Half an hour later the door opened, and Fr. Seraphim led the general under his arms; he continued to cry, covering his face with his hands. Orders and a cap were forgotten by him from grief at Fr. Seraphim. Tradition says that the orders fell from him during the conversation by themselves. Father Seraphim carried it all out and put the medals on his cap. Subsequently, this general said that he had traveled all over Europe, knew many people different kind, but for the first time in his life he saw such humility with which the Sarov recluse met him, and he had never known about the perspicacity by which the elder revealed to him his whole life to secret details. By the way, when the crosses fell from him, Fr. Seraphim said, "That's because you didn't deserve them."

With special zeal, Elder Seraphim cared for those in whom he saw a disposition towards goodness; on the path of good, he tried to establish them with all spiritual Christian means and forces. However, despite the love for everyone, Fr. Seraphim was strict with some. But even with those who did not love him, he was peaceful, treated meekly and lovingly. It was not noticed that he attributed any deed to himself or praised himself, but always, blessing the Lord God, he said: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory” (Psalm 113, 9). When he saw that those who came to him listened to his advice, followed his instructions, he did not admire this, as if the fruit of his work. “We,” he said, “must remove all earthly joy from ourselves, following the teachings of Jesus Christ, Who said:“ Do not rejoice about this, for souls obey you: rejoice, for your names are written in heaven "(Luke 10 , 20)".

In addition to the gift of clairvoyance, the Lord God continued to show in Elder Seraphim the grace of healing ailments and bodily illnesses. So, on June 11, 1827, Alexandra was healed, the wife (of the Nizhny Novgorod province, Ardatovsky district, the village of Elizariev) of a courtyard man Varfolomey Timofeev Lebedev. At the time, this woman was 22 years old and had two children. On April 6, 1826, on the day of the village feast, she returned after the liturgy from the church, dined, and then went outside the gate to take a walk with her husband. Suddenly, God knows why, she became dizzy, dizzy; her husband could hardly bring her to the entrance hall. Here she fell to the floor. With her began vomiting and terrible convulsions; the patient became dead and fell into complete unconsciousness. Half an hour later, as if coming to her senses, she began to grind her teeth, gnaw at everything that came across, and finally fell asleep. A month later, these painful attacks began to recur with her every day, although not every time to the same degree.

At first, the patient was treated by the home village doctor Afanasy Yakovlev, but the means he took did not have any success. Then they took Alexandra to the Ilevsky and Voznesensky iron works - there was a foreign doctor; he undertook to treat her, gave her various medicines, but, seeing no success, refused further treatment and advised her to go to Vyksa, to the iron factories. “In Vyksa, according to the description of the patient’s husband, the doctor was a foreigner with great privilege". By good agreement with the manager, who took part in the patient, the Vyksinsky doctor exhausted all his attention, knowledge and art, and finally gave this advice: "Now you rely on the will of the Almighty and ask him for help and protection; none of the people can cure you.” Such an end to the treatment made everyone very sad, and plunged the patient into despair.

On the night of June 11, 1827, the patient had a dream: an unfamiliar woman appeared to her, very old, with sunken eyes, and said: "Why are you suffering and not looking for a doctor?" The patient was frightened and, putting the sign of the cross on herself, began to read the prayer of St. Cross: "May God rise again and scatter His enemies..." The one who appeared answered her: "Do not be afraid of me, I am the same person, only now not of this world, but from the kingdom of the dead. Get up from your bed and hurry to the Sarov monastery to Father Seraphim: he is expecting you tomorrow and will heal you." The patient dared to ask her: "Who are you and where are you from?" The one who appeared answered: "I am from the Diveevo community, the first abbess Agafia there." The next day, in the morning, the relatives harnessed a couple of master's horses and drove to Sarov. Only it was impossible to take the patient very quickly: fainting spells and convulsions were incessantly done to her. The patient reached Sarov after the late Liturgy, during the meal of the brethren. Father Seraphim shut himself up and did not receive anyone, but the sick woman, approaching his cell, barely had time to pray, when Fr. Seraphim went out to her, took her by the hands and led her into his cell. There he covered her with an stole and quietly said prayers to the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos; then he gave the sick St. Epiphany water, gave her a particle of St. antidora and three crackers and said: “Every day take a cracker with holy water, and moreover: go to Diveevo to the grave of the servant of God Agathia, take land for yourself and make bows in this place as much as you can: she (Agathia) is about you regrets and wishes you healing." Then he added: "When you are bored, you pray to God and say: Father Seraphim! Remember me in prayer and pray for me a sinner, so that I do not again fall into this disease from the adversary and enemy of God." Then the ailment departed from the aching one with a great noise; she was healthy all the following time and unharmed. After this illness, she gave birth to four more sons and five daughters. The healed husband's handwritten note about this ends with the following afterword: "We hold the name of Father Seraphim in our hearts and commemorate him with our relatives at every memorial service."

On December 9, 1826, in the Diveevo community, by order of Fr. Seraphim, the laying of the mill took place, and in the summer, on July 7, it was ground.

In the same 1827, Father Seraphim said to Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, who constantly came to him for orders and orders: “My joy! it is necessary: ​​they are girls. The Queen of Heaven wants them to have their own church attached to the porch of the Kazan Church, since this porch is worthy of an altar, father! , my joy, and build this temple for the Nativity of Her Only Begotten Son - for my orphans! Mikhail Vasilievich Manturov kept intact the money from the sale of the estate, which the priest ordered to hide for the time being. Now the hour has come for Mikhail Vasilyevich to give all his property to the Lord, and such money was undoubtedly pleasing to the Savior of the world. Consequently, the Church of the Nativity of Christ was created at the expense of a person who voluntarily accepted the feat of begging.

How often did the Diveevsky sisters have to go to Fr. Seraphim had to work for food, which he sent them from himself from Sarov, is evident, for example, from the story of sister Praskovya Ivanovna, later nun Seraphim. He also forced others to come more often to those who entered again, in order to teach them spiritual edification. On the feast of the Presentation of 1828-29. he ordered his sister Praskovya Ivanovna, as she had just entered the monastery, to have time to come to him twice and return. Consequently, she had to walk 50 miles and spend more time in Sarov. She was embarrassed and said: "I won't be able to do it, father!" “What are you, what are you, mother,” Father Seraphim answered, “after all, the day now lasts 10 hours.” "All right, father," Praskovya said with love. The first time she came to the cell to the priest in the monastery, when there was an early Mass. Batiushka opened the door and greeted her cheerfully, saying: my joy! He sat him down to rest, fed him with particles of prosphora with holy water, and then gave him a large bag of oatmeal and breadcrumbs to carry to the monastery. In Diveevo she rested a little and again went to Sarov. Vespers were being served when she entered the priest, who greeted her in delight, saying: "Come, come, my joy! Here I will feed you with my food." He seated Praskovya and placed a large dish of steamed cabbage with juice in front of her. "It's all yours," said the father. She began to eat and felt a taste that surprised her indescribably. Later, from inquiries, she learned that this food does not exist at the meal, and it was good, because the priest himself, through his prayer, prepared such extraordinary food. Once the father ordered her to work in the forest, collect firewood, and stocked up food for her. At one o'clock in the afternoon, he himself wanted to eat and said: "Come, mother, to the desert, there I have a piece of bread hanging on a string, bring it." Sister Praskovya brought it. Batiushka salted the stale bread, soaked it in cold water and began to eat. He separated a particle from Praskovya, but she could not even chew it - the bread was so dry - and she thought: this is what the father is suffering from. Answering her thought, oh. Seraphim said: "This, mother, is still my daily bread! And when I was in seclusion, I ate potions, poured hot water over the grass, and ate it; this is desert food, and you eat it." On another occasion, Sister Praskovya Ivanovna fell into temptation: she began to faintheartedly, to be bored, to yearn, and she decided to leave the monastery, but did not know whether to open herself to the priest? Suddenly he sends for her. She enters confused and timid. Batiushka began to talk about himself and about his life in the monastery, and then added: “I, mother, have gone through my entire monastic life and never, beyond thought, have ever left the monastery.” Repeating this several more times and citing examples from his past, he completely healed her, so that Praskovya Ivanovna testifies in her narration that, in the continuation of the story, “all my thoughts gradually calmed down, and when the father finished, I felt such consolation, as if sick member cut off with a knife." When Praskovya Ivanovna was with the priest, Kursk merchants, who had come to Sarov from the Nizhny Novgorod fair, approached him in a nearby hermitage. Before parting, they asked the priest: "What would you like to say to your brother?" Father Seraphim answered: "Tell him that I pray for him to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother day and night." They departed, and the priest, raising his hands, repeated several times with delight: "There is no better monastic life, no better!" Once, when Praskovya Ivanovna was working at the spring, the priest came out to her with a bright, shining face and in a new white overall. From a distance he exclaimed: "What have I brought you, mother!" - and approached her, holding a green twig with fruit in his hands. Picking one, he put it in her mouth, and the taste of it was inexpressibly pleasant and sweet. Then, putting the same fruit into his mouth, he said: "Taste, mother, this is heavenly food!" At that time of the year, no fruit could yet ripen.

The elder sister in the mill monastery Fr. Serafima, Praskovya Semyonovna, testified a lot about the father's favors to the sisters and, among other things, told how terrible it was to disobey him. Once the father ordered her to come with the maiden Maria Semyonovna on two horses for logs. They went straight to the priest in the forest, where he was already waiting for them and prepared two thin logs for each horse. Thinking that one horse could carry all four logs, the sisters shifted these logs on one horse along the way, and loaded a large, thick log onto the other horse. But as soon as they started off, this horse fell, wheezed and began to stun. Realizing that they were guilty that they acted against the blessing of the father, they, falling on their knees, immediately, in tears, began to ask for forgiveness in absentia, and then threw off the thick log and laid the logs as before. The horse jumped up on its own and ran so fast that they could barely catch up with it.

Father o. Seraphim constantly healed his orphans from various diseases. Once sister Ksenia Kuzminichna suffered from a toothache, from which she could not sleep at night, did not eat anything and was exhausted, as she had to work during the day. They told their elder sister Praskovya Semyonovna about her; she sent Xenia to the priest. “As soon as he saw me,” Xenia said, “he says: what is it you, my joy, haven’t come to me for a long time! Go to Father Pavel, he will heal you.” And I thought: what is this? can heal me? But I didn’t dare to object. I found Father Pavel and told him that the father had sent me to him. He tightly squeezed my face with both hands and stroked my cheeks several times.

Sister Evdokia Nazarova also said that, as a young girl, she suffered for two years with paralysis of her arms and legs, and she was brought to Father Fr. Seraphim, who, seeing her, began to beckon to him. With great difficulty they brought her to the priest, but he gave her a rake in her hands and ordered her to rake the hay. Then she felt that something had fallen off her, and she began to row like a healthy one. At the same time, Praskovya Ivanovna and Irina Vasilievna worked for the priest. The latter began to reprimand her why she, so sick, had come to work with them, but the priest, having enlightened their thoughts with the spirit, said to them: "Take her to your place in Diveevo, she will spin and weave for you." Thus she labored until vespers. Batiushka fed her lunch, and then she reached the house completely healthy.

Elder Varvara Ilyinichna also testified to the cure of her father Seraphim: “He, my breadwinner, healed me twice,” she said. I came to him, he put me at a distance from himself, and he ordered me to open my mouth, he blew hard on me, tied my whole face with a handkerchief, and immediately ordered me to go home, and the sun was already at sunset. I was not afraid of anything for his holy prayer, but at night I came home, and the pain was taken away like a hand. I often visited the priest. He used to say to me: "My joy! You will be forgotten by everyone. "And for sure, it happened, I would come to mother Xenia Mikhailovna to ask for something, either from shoes or clothes, and she would say:" You would come and ask on time; go to bows. "He gives it to everyone, but not to me. Since Tatyana Grigorievna was offended by something and said:" Oh, you oblivious one! ”, And I remembered this word of the priest, but when I scream, I cry! : all my life I have been "forgotten" by everyone. Since Akulina Vasilyevna and I came to the priest, he spoke to her for a long time in private, he convinced everyone of something, but, apparently, she obeyed. He went out and said: " Take out of my ark (as he called his coffin) crackers. "I imposed a whole bundle of them, gave them to Akulina, and another bundle to me; then he poured a whole bag of crackers, and he began to beat him with a stick, and we laugh, and we roll with laughter! Father "He looks at us, beats him even harder, but we - know, do not understand anything. Then the priest tied it up, and hung Agrafene around his neck and ordered us to go to the monastery. After that, we already understood how this sister Akulina Vasilievna left the monastery and went to The world endured terrible beatings. She then again came to us and died in Diveevo. When I returned to the monastery, I went straight to Mother Ksenia Mikhailovna, and said that we had spent the night in Sarov for three nights. She sternly reprimanded me: "Oh, you self-willed woman! How you lived so long without blessing!" I apologize, I say: the priest detained us, and I give her the crackers that I brought. She answers: "If the father left, then God will forgive. Only he gave them to you for patience." So it soon happened: they told my mother a lot about me, and she sent me away. I kept crying, and I went to Father Seraphim and told him everything; I cry myself, I kneel before him, and he laughs, and so he knocks his hands together. He began to pray and ordered to go to his girls at the mill, to the boss Praskovya Stepanovna. She, with his blessing, left me with her." - "Once I come to Father Seraphim in the wilderness, and he has flies on his face, and blood runs in streams down his cheeks. I felt sorry for him, I wanted to brush them off, but he says: "Do not touch them, my joy, let every breath praise the Lord!" He is such a patient person."

THE GREAT old woman, of high life, Evdokia Efremovna (nun Evpraksia) spoke of the persecution that Fr. Seraphim: “Everyone already knows how the people of Sarov disliked Father Seraphim for us; they even persecuted and persecuted him for us all the time, making him a lot of patience and sorrow! And he, our dear, endured everything complacently, even laughed, and often, knowing this myself, he joked with us. I come to the priest, and he, after all, during his lifetime, he himself fed and supplied us with paternal care, asking: is there everything? Is there anything needed? With me , it used to be, but with Ksenia Vasilyevna he sent, more honey, linen, oil, candles, incense and red wine for the service. So it was here, I came, he put me, as usual, a large bag-carrying, so that he lifted it by force from the coffin, grunted indo, and said: “In, bring it, mother, and go straight to the saints Gates, don't be afraid of anyone!" What is it, - I think, - the priest, it always happened, he himself sends me past the horse yard by the back gate, and then suddenly he sends me right to patience, but to sorrow through the holy gates! And at that time there were soldiers in Sarov and they were always at the gates on watch. The Sarov abbot and the treasurer with the brethren painfully mourned the priest, who gives us everything, sends us; and they ordered the soldiers to always watch and catch us, especially they pointed me out to them. I did not dare to disobey the father and went, not myself, and I was shaking all over, because I did not know what the father had imposed on me so much. As soon as I came up, this, to the gate, I read a prayer; two soldiers, now they arrested me by the collar. "Go," they say, "to the hegumen!" I pray to them, and I tremble all over; it wasn't there. "Go," they say, "and that's all!" They dragged me to the abbot in Senki. His name was Nifont; he was strict, he did not like Father Seraphim, but he did not like us even more. He ordered me, so severely, to untie the bag. I untie it, but my hands are shaking, they walk like that, and he looks. I untied it, I took everything out ... and there: old bast shoes, broken crusts, cuts and different stones, and everything was so tightly stuffed. “Ah, Seraphim, Seraphim!” exclaimed Nifont. - and let me go. So another time I came to the priest, and he gives me a purse. "Go," he says, "straight to the holy gates!" I went, but they stopped me and took me again and led me to the abbot. Unleashed the bag, and in it sand and stones! The abbot ahal-ahal, let me go. I’m coming, I told the father, and he said to me: “Well, mother, now for the last time, go and don’t be afraid! They won’t touch you anymore!” And indeed, it used to be that you go, and at the holy gates they will only ask: what are you carrying? “I don’t know, breadwinner,” you answer them, “father sent it.” They'll miss it right there."

In order to apparently convince everyone that the Lord and the Queen of Heaven are pleased, so that Fr. Seraphim was engaged in the Diveevo monastery, the great elder chose an age-old tree and prayed that it would bow, as a sign of God's determination. Indeed, in the morning this tree turned out to be uprooted with a huge root in completely calm weather. About this tree there are many recorded stories of orphans about. Seraphim.

So, Anna Alekseevna, one of the 12 first sisters of the monastery, tells the following: “I also witnessed a great miracle with the late sister of the monastery, Ksenia Ilyinichnaya Potekhina, who later briefly was the head of our mill community, later the dean of our monastery, nun Claudia. to father Seraphim, the painter Tambovsky, the Sarov novice Ivan Tikhonovich. For a long time the father talked with him that they were blaming him in vain, that he cared about us; that he was doing this not from himself, but by order of the Queen of Heaven Herself. "Let us pray," he says Father Seraphim. - I think that this tree is more than a hundred years old ... "- while he pointed to a tree of enormous size. "It will stand for many more years ... If I do obedience to the Queen of Heaven, this tree will bow in their direction !.." - and pointed to us. "So know," continued Fr. Seraphim - that there is no way for me to leave them, although they are girls! And if I leave them, then it will probably come to the Tsar! "We come the next day, and the father shows us this most healthy and huge tree, as if uprooted by some kind of storm with all its roots. And the father ordered, joyful , all shining, cut the tree and take it to us in Divaev. (Its root is still kept in the cemetery church with other things of Father Seraphim.)

The abbot of the Nikolo-Barkovskaya hermitage, hegumen Georgy, the former hotel guest of the Sarovskaya hermitage Guriy, testifies that, having once come to the elder, Fr. Seraphim in the wilderness, found him that he was cutting down a pine tree for firewood, which had fallen down with the roots. Following the usual greeting, the elder revealed the following about this pine tree, which he was chopping: “Behold, I am engaged in the Diveevo community; you and many people despised me for this, why I am engaged in them; behold, I was here yesterday, I asked the Lord for assurance yours, is it pleasing to him that I deal with them? If the Lord pleases, then, as an assurance that this tree will bow. On this tree, from the root of a yard and a half height, a note was carved with a cross. I asked the Lord for this assurance; along with by the fact that if you or anyone takes care of them, will it be pleasing to God? The Lord fulfilled for your assurance: behold, the tree has bowed. Why do I deal with them? I have care for them for the obedience of the elders the builder Pachomius and the treasurer Isaiah, my patrons They promised to take care of them until their death, and after their death they commanded that the Sarov monastery would never leave them. she came here, and with her three slaves of the same mind. This Agathia, desiring to be saved near the elders, chose the village of Diveevo as the place of salvation, settled here and made a donation of money for the construction of the cathedral; I don’t know how many thousands, but I only know that three bags of money were brought from her: one was with gold, one with silver, and the third with copper, and they were full of this money. The cathedral was built by her diligence; behold, for which they promised to bake forever about them and commanded me. Here, and I ask you: take care of them, because they lived here twelve people, and the thirteenth was Agafia herself. They worked for the Sarov monastery, sewed and washed linen, and they were given all the food from the monastery for maintenance; as we had a meal, and they had the same. This went on for a long time, but Father Superior Nifont stopped this and separated them from the monastery; on what occasion, I don't know! Father Pachomius and Isaiah cared for them, but neither Pachomius nor Joseph were ever at their disposal; even then I did not dispose of them, and no one has a way to dispose of them.

In such a difficult time for the marvelous old man, Fr. Seraphim approved and strengthened the Queen of Heaven. Here is what Archpriest Fr. Vasily Sadovsky: “Once (1830), three days after the feast of the icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God, I came to Father Seraphim in the Sarov Hermitage and found him in a cell without visitors. He received me very mercifully, affectionately and, having been blessed, began a conversation about the charitable life of the saints, how they were granted gifts from the Lord, miraculous phenomena, even visits from the Queen of Heaven Herself. Give it to me!" - said the father. I gave it. He laid it out, began to put handfuls of crackers in a handkerchief from some dish, which were so unusually white that I had never seen such ones in my life. "Here, I have, father , there was the Queen, and so, after the guests, there was something left!" - the father deigned to say. His face became so divine at the same time and cheerfully, which is impossible to express! He put on a full handkerchief and, tying it tightly, said : "Well, come, father, and when you come home, then eat these very crackers, give them to your friends (that's what he always called my wife), then go to the monastery and your spiritual children, put three crackers in each mouth, even to those who live near the monastery in cells: they will all be ours!” Indeed, later everyone entered the monastery. In my youth, I didn’t even understand that the Queen of Heaven visited him, but I simply thought if the priest had some kind of earthly queen incognito, but I didn’t dare to ask him, but then the saint of God himself already explained this to me, saying: “The Queen of Heaven , father, the Queen of Heaven herself visited the wretched Seraphim, and in! What a joy to us, father! The Mother of God covered the wretched Seraphim with inexplicable goodness. "My beloved! - said the Most Blessed Lady, the Most Pure Virgin. - Ask me what you want! "Do you hear, father? What mercy the Queen of Heaven has shown us!" - and the saint of God all himself brightened up, and shone with delight. “But wretched Seraphim,” the father continued, “Seraphim was wretched and begged the Mother of God for his orphans, father! this unspeakable joy to poor Seraphim, father! I can; apparently, it’s necessary).

Gracious sister Evdokia Efremovna, who was honored to be on her next visit to the Queen of Heaven, Fr. Seraphim, in 1831, reported her conversation with the priest about the same visit that Fr. Basil:

“Here, mother,” Father Seraphim told me, “up to a thousand people will gather in my monastery, and everyone, mother, everyone will be saved; I begged, poor, the Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven deigned to the humble request of the wretched Seraphim; and, except for three, the Merciful Lady promised to save everyone, everyone, my joy! combined who, by their purity, by their unceasing prayers and deeds, through this and with their whole being, are united to the Lord; their whole life and breath is in God, and forever they will be with Him! Favorites who will do my deeds, mother, and they will be with me in my monastery. AND called who will only temporarily eat our bread, for whom there is a dark place. They will be given only a bed, they will be in the same shirts, but they will always yearn! These are negligent and lazy, mother, who do not take care of the common cause and obedience and are busy only with their own affairs; how dark and hard it will be for them! They will sit, all swaying from side to side, in one place!" And, taking my hand, the father wept bitterly. "Obedience, mother, obedience is higher than fasting and prayer!" continued the father. "I tell you, there is nothing higher than obedience , mother, and you tell everyone! "Then, having blessed, he let me go."

A year and 9 months before his death, Fr. Seraphim was honored with another visit to the Mother of God. The visitation was early in the morning, on the day of the Annunciation, March 25, 1831. The marvelous old woman Evdokia Efremovna (later mother Evpraksia) wrote it down and reported in detail.

“In the last year of Father Seraphim’s life, I come to him in the evening, by his order, on the eve of the feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. The father met and said: “Oh, my joy, I have been waiting for you for a long time! What mercy and grace from the Mother of God is being prepared for you and me on this real holiday! This day will be great for us!” “Am I worthy, father, to receive grace for my sins?” I answer. Then he began to say: "And it never happened to hear what kind of holiday awaits you and me!" I started to cry ... I say that I am unworthy; but the father did not order, he began to comfort me, saying: "Although you are unworthy, I begged the Lord and the Mother of God for you, so that you could see this joy! Let's pray!" And, taking off his mantle, put it on me and began to read akathists: to the Lord Jesus, the Mother of God, St. Nicholas, John the Baptist; canons: Guardian Angel, all saints. After reading all this, he says to me: "Do not be afraid, do not be afraid, the grace of God appears to us! Hold on to me tightly!" And suddenly there was a noise, like the wind, a shining light appeared, singing was heard. I could not see and hear all this without trembling. Batiushka fell to his knees and, raising his hands to the sky, called out: “Oh, Blessed, Most Pure Virgin, Lady Mother of God!” And I see how two Angels walk ahead with branches in their hands, and behind them our Lady Herself. Twelve virgins followed the Mother of God, then another St. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. I fell dead from fear on the ground and I don’t know how long I was in this state, and what the Queen of Heaven deigned to say to Father Seraphim. I also didn’t hear anything about what the father asked the Lady. Before the end of the vision, I heard, lying on the floor, that the Mother of God deigned to ask Father Seraphim: “Who is this lying on the ground with you?” The father answered: “This is the same old woman, about which I asked You, Lady, to be her at Your appearance!” Then the Blessed One deigned to take me, unworthy, by the right hand, and the father by the left, and through the father she ordered me to go up to the virgins who came with Her and ask: what were their names and what kind of life was they on earth. I went down the line to ask questions. First, I approach the angels and ask: who are you? They answer: we are the angels of God. Then she approached John the Baptist, he also told me his name and life in brief; just like St. John the Theologian. went up to the virgins and asked them, each of them about the name; they told me their lives. The holy virgins by name were: Great Martyrs Barbara and Catherine, St. First Martyr Thekla, St. Great Martyr Marina, St. Great Martyr and Empress Irina, Venerable Eupraxia, St. Great Martyrs Pelageya and Dorothea, Saint Macrina, Martyr Justina, St. Great Martyr Juliana and Martyr Anisia. When I asked them all, I thought: I will go, fall at the Feet of the Queen of Heaven and ask for forgiveness for my sins, but suddenly everything became invisible. Afterwards, the priest says that this vision lasted four hours.

When we were left alone with the father, I said to him: "Ah, father, I thought I would die of fear, and did not have time to ask the Queen of Heaven for the remission of my sins." But the father answered me: “I, the wretched one, asked the Mother of God for you, and not only for you, but for all those who love me, and for those who served me and fulfilled my word; who worked for me, who loves my monastery, but more than that, I will not leave you and forget you. vouchsafed us, why should we lose heart! Then I began to ask the priest to teach me how to live and pray. He answered: “This is how you pray: Lord, grant me to die a Christian death, do not leave me, Lord, at Your terrible judgment, do not deprive the Kingdom of Heaven! Queen of Heaven, do not leave me!” After everything, I bowed at the feet of the priest, and he, having blessed me, said: "Come, child, in peace to the Seraphim Hermitage!"

In another story of Elder Evdokia Efremovna, there are even greater details. So, she says: “Two Angels walked ahead, holding - one in the right and the other in the left hand - along a branch planted with freshly blossomed flowers. Their hair, similar to golden-yellow flax, lay loose on their shoulders. The clothes of John the Baptist and the Apostle John the Theologian was white, shining with purity.The Queen of Heaven had on herself a mantle, similar to the one written on the image of the Sorrowful Mother of God, shining, but what color - I can’t say, inexpressible beauty, fastened under the neck with a large round buckle (clasp ), adorned with crosses, variously decorated, but I don’t know what, but I only remember that she shone with an unusual light. The dress, over which the mantle was, was green, girded with a high belt. which, as well as the epitrachelion, were removed with crosses. The Lady seemed to be taller than all the virgins; on Her head was an exalted crown, decorated with various crosses, beautiful, wonderful, shining with such light that it was impossible to look with your eyes, as well as at the buckle (clasp ), and on the very face of the Queen of Heaven. Her hair was loose, lying on her shoulders and was longer and more beautiful than Angelic. The virgins followed her in pairs, in crowns, in clothes of different colors and with loose hair; they became the circle of all of us. The Queen of Heaven was in the middle. The cell of the priest became spacious, and the whole top was filled with lights, as if burning candles. The light was special, unlike daylight and brighter than the sun.

Taking my right hand, the Queen of Heaven deigned to say: "Get up, maiden, and do not be afraid of Us. Virgins like you have come here with Me." I didn't feel like I got up. The Queen of Heaven deigned to repeat: "Do not be afraid, We have come to visit you." Father Seraphim was no longer on his knees, but on his feet before the Most Holy Theotokos, and She spoke so mercifully, as if with a loved one. Embraced by great joy, I asked Father Seraphim: where are we? I thought I was no longer alive; then, when she asked him: Who is this? - then the Most Pure Mother of God ordered me to go up to everyone myself and ask them, etc.

The virgins all said: "God did not give us this glory, but for suffering and for reproach; and you will suffer!" The Most Holy Theotokos spoke a lot to Father Seraphim, but I couldn’t hear everything, but what I heard well: “Do not leave My Diveyevo virgins!” Father Seraphim answered: "Oh, Lady! I collect them, but I cannot control them by myself!" To this the Queen of Heaven answered: “I will help you, My beloved, in everything! Place obedience on them; if they correct them, they will be with you and near Me, and if they lose wisdom, they will lose the fate of these near My maidens; neither place nor there will be no such crown. Whoever offends them will be smitten by Me; whoever serves them for the Lord's sake will have mercy before God!" Then, turning to me, she said: “Look, look at these My virgins and their crowns: some of them left the earthly kingdom and wealth, desiring the Kingdom of Eternal and Heavenly, loving self-willed poverty, loving the One Lord. And for this, you see, what glory and honor they were honored with! As it was before, so it is now. Only the former martyrs suffered openly, and the current ones secretly, with sorrows of the heart, and their reward will be the same. The vision ended with what the Most Holy Theotokos said to Fr. Seraphim: "Soon, My beloved, you will be with Us!" - and blessed him. All the saints also said goodbye to him; the virgins kissed him hand in hand. I was told: "This vision was given to you for the sake of the prayers of Father Seraphim, Mark, Nazarius and Pachomius." After that, the father, turning to me, said: “Behold, mother, what grace the Lord has vouchsafed to us, the poor! Thus, for the twelfth time I have had a manifestation from God, and the Lord has vouchsafed you. and hope to have in the Lord! Defeat the enemy-devil and be wise in everything against him; the Lord will help you in everything!"

Father Seraphim, as it is said, received many visitors. He taught the laity, denounced in them the false directions of mind and life. So, one priest brought with him to Fr. Seraphim of the professor, who did not so much want to hear the elder's conversation as to accept his blessing to enter monasticism. The elder blessed him according to the custom of the priesthood, but he did not give any answer about his desire to enter monasticism, engaging in a conversation with the priest. The professor, standing aside, listened to their conversation. The priest, meanwhile, during the conversation often directed his speech to the goal with which the scientist came to him. But the elder, deliberately evading this subject, continued his conversation and only once, as if in passing, remarked about the professor: "Doesn't he still need to finish his studies?" The priest resolutely explained to him that he knew the Orthodox faith, he himself was a seminary professor, and began to ask most convincingly to resolve only his perplexity about monasticism. The elder answered this: “And I know that he is skilled in composing sermons. But teaching others is as easy as throwing stones from our cathedral on the ground, and doing what you teach is the same as carrying stones to the top yourself.” So that's the difference between teaching others and doing things yourself." In conclusion, he advised the professor to read the history of St. John of Damascus, saying that from it he will see what else he needs to learn.

One day four Old Believers came to him to ask about the two-fingered constitution. They had just crossed the threshold of the cell, before they had time to say their thoughts, when the elder approached them, took the first of them by the right hand, folded his fingers into a three-finger addition according to the order of the Orthodox Church and, thus baptizing him, made the following speech: " Here is the Christian formation of the cross! So pray and tell others. This composition was betrayed by the Holy Apostles, and the composition of the two fingers is contrary to the holy statutes. I beg and pray you, go to the Greek-Russian Church: she is in all the glory and power of God! Like a ship that has many riggings, sails and a great helm, it is guided by the Holy Spirit. Its good helmsmen - the teachers of the Church, the archpastors - are the successors of the Apostles. And your chapel is like a small boat that does not have a helm and oars; it is moored with a rope to the ship of our Church, sails after it , flooded with waves, and would certainly have drowned if it had not been tied to the ship.

At another time, an Old Believer came to him and asked: "Tell me, elder of God, which faith is better: the current church or the old one?"

Leave your nonsense, - answered Fr. Seraphim.- Our life is the sea, St. Our Orthodox Church is a ship, and the Pilot is the Savior Himself. If with such a Pilot, people, due to their sinful weakness, with difficulty cross the sea of ​​\u200b\u200blife and not everyone is saved from drowning, then where are you striving with your little boat and on what do you base your hope - to be saved without the Pilot?

One winter, a sick woman was brought on a sledge to Fr. Seraphim and this was reported to him. Despite the multitude of people crowding in the passage, Fr. Seraphim asked to bring her to him. The patient was all crouched, her knees brought to her chest. They carried her into the elder's dwelling and laid her on the floor. Father Seraphim locked the door and asked her:

Where are you from, mother?

From the Vladimir province.

How long have you been sick?

Three years and a half.

What is the cause of your illness?

Before, father, I was of the Orthodox faith, but they gave me in marriage to an Old Believer. For a long time I did not bow to their faith, and everything was healthy. Finally, they persuaded me: I changed the cross to two fingers and did not go to church. After that, in the evening, I once went about household chores to the yard; there one animal seemed to me fiery, even scorched me; I, in fright, fell, I began to break and writhe. A lot of time has passed. The family grabbed me, looked for me, went out into the yard and found - I was lying. They carried me into the room. Since then I have been sick.

I understand... the old man answered. Do you still believe in St. Orthodox Church?

I believe now again, father, - answered the patient. Then about. Seraphim folded his fingers in the Orthodox manner, laid a cross on himself and said:

Cross yourself like this, in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Father, I would be glad, - answered the patient, - but I don’t own my hands.

Fr. Seraphim took oil from the icon lamp from the Mother of God of Tenderness and anointed the chest and hands of the patient. Suddenly it began to straighten, even the joints crackled, and immediately received perfect health.

The people standing in the hallway, seeing the miracle, divulged throughout the monastery, and especially in the hotel, that Fr. Seraphim healed the sick.

When this event was over, she came to Fr. Seraphim is one of the Diveevo sisters. Father Seraphim said to her:

This, mother, was not the wretched Seraphim who healed her, but the Queen of Heaven.

Then he asked her:

Are there any in your family, mother, who do not go to church?

There are no such people, father, - answered the sister, - but my parents and relatives all pray with a two-fingered cross.

Ask them on my behalf, - said Fr. Seraphim, so that they lay down their fingers in the name of the Holy Trinity.

I told them, father, about this many times, but they do not listen.

Listen, ask on my behalf. Start with your brother who loves me; he is the first to agree. Did you have relatives of the deceased who prayed with a two-fingered cross?

Unfortunately, in our family, everyone prayed like that.

Even though they were virtuous people, Fr. Seraphim, having thought, - but they will be connected: St. The Orthodox Church does not accept this cross... Do you know their graves?

The sister named the graves of those she knew, where they were buried.

Go, mother, to their graves, make three bows and pray to the Lord that He will resolve them in eternity.

The sister did just that. She also told the living to accept the Orthodox folding of fingers in the name of the Holy Trinity, and they definitely obeyed the voice of Fr. Seraphim: for they knew that he was a servant of God and understood the mysteries of St. Christian faith.

Once about. Seraphim, in indescribable joy, said to the trusted monk: "Behold, I will tell you about the wretched Seraphim! I delighted in the word of my Lord Jesus Christ, where He says: in the house of My Father are many abodes (i.e. for those who serve Him and glorify His holy name). At these words of Christ the Savior, I, the wretched one, stopped and desired to see these heavenly abodes and prayed to my Lord Jesus Christ to show me these abodes; and the Lord did not deprive me, the wretched one, of His mercy; He fulfilled my desire and petition; behold, I was caught up into these heavenly abodes; only I do not know whether with or without a body—God knows; it is incomprehensible. And with these words, Fr. Seraphim fell silent... He hung his head, gently stroking his hand against his heart, his face began to gradually change and, finally, became so bright that it was impossible to look at him. During his mysterious silence, he seemed to contemplate something with emotion. Then about. Seraphim spoke again:

Oh, if you knew, - said the elder to the monk, - what joy, what sweetness awaits the soul of the righteous in heaven, then you would decide in a temporary life to endure all sorrows, persecutions and slander with thanksgiving. If this very cell of ours,” he pointed to his cell, “were full of worms, and if these worms ate our flesh throughout our temporal life, then with every desire one would have to agree to this, so as not to be deprived of that heavenly the joy that God has prepared for those who love Him. There is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing; there is sweetness and joy inexpressible; there the righteous will shine like the sun. But if that heavenly glory and joy could not be explained by St. Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12, 2-4), then what other human language can explain the beauty of the mountain village, in which the souls of the righteous will dwell?

At the end of his conversation, the elder spoke about how it is now necessary to carefully take care of your salvation, before the favorable time has passed.

The clairvoyance of Elder Seraphim extended very far. He gave instructions for the future, which the ordinary man could never foresee. So, a young lady came to his cell, who never thought of leaving the world to ask for guidance on how to save herself. As soon as this thought flashed through her head, the elder already began to say: “Don’t be embarrassed for a lot, live the way you live; God Himself will teach you more.” Then, bowing to the ground to her, he said: "Only one thing I ask you: please, enter into all orders yourself and judge fairly; by this you will be saved." Being at that time still in the world and not at all thinking of ever being in a monastery, this person could not understand in any way what such words of Fr. Seraphim. He, continuing his speech, said to her: "When this time comes, then remember me." Saying goodbye to Fr. Seraphim, the interlocutor said that perhaps the Lord would bring them to see each other again. “No,” Father Seraphim answered, “we are already saying goodbye forever, and therefore I ask you not to forget me in your holy prayers.” When she asked to pray for her, he answered: "I will pray, and now you come in peace: they already grumble strongly at you." Companions, indeed, met her at the hotel with a strong murmur for her slowness. Meanwhile, the words of Seraphim were not uttered into the air. The interlocutor, due to the inscrutable fate of Providence, entered monasticism under the name Callista and, being abbess in the Sviyazhsky monastery in the Kazan province, remembered the instructions of the elder and arranged her life according to them.

On another occasion, they visited Fr. Seraphim, two maidens, spiritual daughters of Stefan, the Schemamonk of the Sarov Hermitage. One of them was of the merchant class, of young years, the other of the nobility, already elderly age. The latter, from her youth, burned with love for God and wished for a long time to become a nun, only her parents did not give her blessing for that. Both girls came to Fr. Seraphim to accept the blessing and ask him for advice. Noble, moreover, asked to bless her to enter the monastery. The elder, on the contrary, began to advise her to enter into marriage, saying: “Marriage life is blessed by God Himself. In it, you only need to observe marital fidelity, love and peace on both sides. In marriage you will be happy, but there is no way for you to become a monk. difficult; not for everyone tolerable. The girl from the merchant rank, young in age, did not think a word about monasticism, Fr. Seraphim did not speak. Meanwhile, he, on his own behalf, blessed her, in his perspicacity, to enter the monastic order, even named the monastery in which she would be saved. Both were equally dissatisfied with the elder's conversation; and an elderly maiden was even offended by his advice and grew cold in her zeal for him. Their spiritual father, Hieromonk Stefan himself, was surprised and did not understand why, in fact, the elder diverts an elderly person, zealous for the monastic path, from monasticism, and blesses a young virgin, who does not want monasticism, on this path? The consequences, however, justified the elder. The noble girl, already in her advanced years, married and was happy. And the young one, indeed, went to that monastery, which the perspicacious elder named.

With the gift of his foresight, Fr. Seraphim brought many benefits to his neighbors. So, there was a pious widow of a deacon in Sarov from Penza, named Evdokia. Wishing to accept the blessing of the elder, she, in the midst of many people, came for him from the hospital church and stopped on the porch of his cell, waiting behind everyone when it was her turn to approach Fr. Seraphim. But oh. Seraphim, leaving everyone, suddenly says to her: "Evdokia, come here as soon as possible." Evdokia was unusually surprised that he called her by name, having never seen her, and approached him with a feeling of reverence and trembling. Father Seraphim blessed her, gave St. Antidoron and said: "You need to hurry home to find your son at home." Evdokia hurried and, in fact, barely found her son at home: in her absence, the authorities of the Penza Seminary appointed him a student Kyiv Academy and, due to the distance of Kyiv from Penza, it was in a hurry to send him to the place as soon as possible. This son, at the end of the course at the Kyiv Academy, went to monasticism under the name of Irinarch, was a mentor in seminaries; at present he holds the rank of archimandrite and deeply honors the memory of Fr. Seraphim.

Alexei Gurevich Vorotilov spoke more than once about. Seraphim, that once three powers will rise against Russia and exhaust it a lot. But for Orthodoxy, the Lord will have mercy and keep her. Then this speech, as a legend about the future, was incomprehensible; but events explained that the elder was talking about the Crimean campaign.

The prayers of Elder Seraphim were so strong before God that there are examples of the restoration of the sick from the deathbed. So, in May 1829, the wife of Alexei Gurevich Vorotilov, a resident of the Gorbatovsky district, the village of Pavlovo, became very ill. Vorotilov had great faith in the power of Fr. Seraphim, and the elder, according to the testimony of knowledgeable people, loved him, as if his disciple and confidante. Vorotilov immediately went to Sarov and, despite the fact that he arrived there at midnight, hurried to the cell of Fr. Seraphim. The elder, as if waiting for him, sat on the porch of the cell and, seeing him, greeted him with these words: “Why, my joy, hastened at such a time to the wretched Seraphim?” Vorotilov told him with tears about the reason for his hasty arrival in Sarov and asked him to help his ailing wife. But oh. Seraphim, to the greatest grief of Vorotilov, announced that his wife must die from an illness. Then Alexey Gurevich, shedding a stream of tears, fell at the feet of the ascetic, begging him with faith and humility to pray for the return of her life and health. O. Seraphim immediately plunged into smart prayer for about ten minutes, then opened his eyes and, lifting Vorotilov to his feet, said with joy: "Well, my joy, the Lord will give your wife a belly. Come in peace to your house." With joy, Vorotilov hurried home. Here he learned that his wife felt relieved precisely at those moments when Fr. Seraphim was in a prayerful feat. She soon recovered completely.

After the shutter Seraphim changed his way of life and began to dress differently. He ate food once a day, in the evening, and dressed in a cassock of black, thick cloth. In the summer he threw a white linen robe over it, and in the winter he wore a fur coat and mittens. In autumn and early spring weather, he wore a caftan made of thick Russian black cloth. From rain and heat, he put on a half-mantle made of whole leather, with cutouts for donning. Over his clothes he girded himself with a white and always clean towel and wore his copper cross. He went out to work at the monastery in bast shoes in the summer, in shoe covers in the winter, and, going to church for worship, put on, by decency, leather cats. He wore a kamilavka on his head in winter and summer. Moreover, when he followed the monastic rules, he put on a mantle and, starting to receive the Holy Mysteries, put on an epitrachelion and handrails and then, without taking them off, received pilgrims in the cell.

One rich man, visiting Fr. Seraphim, and seeing his wretchedness, began to say to him: "Why do you wear such a rag on yourself?" Father Seraphim answered: “Prince Joasaph considered the mantle given to him by the hermit Barlaam higher and more expensive than the royal purple” (Four Menaion, November 19).

Against sleep Seraphim labored very strictly. It became known in last years that he indulged in the night's rest, sometimes in the hallway, sometimes in the cell. He slept sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wall and stretching out his legs. At other times he would bow his head on a stone or a piece of wood. Sometimes he fell on bags, bricks and logs that were in his cell. Approaching the moment of his departure, he began to rest in this way: he knelt down and slept prostrate on the floor on his elbows, supporting his head with his hands.

His monastic self-denial, love and devotion to the Lord and the Mother of God were so great that when one gentleman, Ivan Yakovlevich Karataev, who was with him in 1831 for a blessing, asked if he would order him to say something to his own brother and others relatives in Kursk, where Karataev was going, the elder, pointing to the faces of the Savior and the Mother of God, said with a smile: "Here are my relatives, and for living relatives I am already a living dead."

The time that Seraphim was left with sleep and work with those who came, he spent in prayer. Performing the prayer rule with all precision and zeal for the salvation of his soul, he was at the same time a great prayer book and intercessor before God for all the living and deceased Orthodox Christians. For this, when reading the Psalter, at each chapter, he relentlessly uttered the following prayers from the bottom of his heart:

1: For the living: "Save, Lord, and have mercy on all Orthodox Christians and in every place of Your dominion living Orthodox: give them, Lord, peace of mind and bodily health and forgive them every sin, voluntary and involuntary: and with their holy prayers and me, the accursed one, have mercy."

2: For the departed: "God give rest, Lord, to the souls of your departed servants: forefather, father and our brothers, lying here and everywhere Orthodox Christians who have reposed: give them, Lord, the kingdom and communion of Your endless and blessed life, and forgive them, Lord, any sin, voluntary or involuntary."

In prayer for the dead and the living, the wax candles that burned in his cell in front of the shrine were of particular importance. This was explained in November 1831 by the elder Fr. Seraphim in conversation with N. A. Motovilov. “I,” said Nikolai Alexandrovich, “having seen many lamps at Father Seraphim’s, especially many heaps of wax candles, both large and small, on various round trays, on which, from the wax that melted for many years and dripped from the candles, it was as if formed mounds of wax, I thought to myself: why is Father Seraphim lighting so many candles and lamps, producing an unbearable heat in his cell from the heat of fire? And he, as if silencing my thoughts, said to me:

Do you want to know, your love of God, why do I light so many lamps and candles in front of the holy icons of God? This is for this: as you know, I have many persons who are zealous towards me and do good to my mill orphans. They bring me oil and candles and ask me to pray for them. So, when I read my rule, then I remember them once at first. And since, according to the multitude of names, I will not be able to repeat them at every place of the rule, where they should, - then I would not have enough time to complete my rule - then I put all these candles for them as a sacrifice to God, for each one candle, for others - for several people one large candle, for others I constantly warm lamps; and, where it is necessary to commemorate them on the rule, I say: Lord, remember all those people, Your servants, for their souls I kindled for you, poor, these candles and kandila (i.e., lamps). And that this is not my, wretched Seraphim, human invention, or so, my simple zeal, not based on anything divine, then I will bring you to reinforce the word of Divine Scripture. The Bible says that Moses heard the voice of the Lord, who spoke to him: "Moses, Moses! Rice to your brother Aaron, let him burn a candila before Me day and night: this is pleasing before Me and the sacrifice is acceptable to Me." So, your love of God, why St. The Church of God has adopted the custom of burning in St. churches and in the homes of faithful Christians candila or lampadas in front of the holy icons of the Lord, the Mother of God, St. Angels and St. people who are pleasing to God.

Praying for the living, especially for those who demanded his prayerful help, Fr. Seraphim always commemorated the dead and created the memory of them in his cell prayers according to the charter of the Orthodox Church.

Once, oh. Seraphim related the following circumstance: “Two nuns died, both of whom were abbesses. The Lord revealed to me how their souls were led through the ordeals of the air, that they were tortured at the ordeals and then condemned. For three days I prayed, poor, asking the Mother of God for them. The Lord, in His goodness, through the prayers of the Mother of God, had mercy on them: they went through all the airy ordeals and received forgiveness from God's mercy.

Once it was noticed that during prayer, Elder Seraphim stood in the air. This incident was told by Princess E. S. Sh.

Her sick nephew, Mr. Ya, came to her from St. Petersburg. She, without delay, took him to Sarov to Fr. Seraphim. The young man was seized with such illness and weakness that he could not walk on his own, and they carried him on the bed into the monastery fence. Father Seraphim at that time was standing at the door of his monastic cell, as if expecting to meet the paralytic. Immediately he asked to bring the patient to his cell and, turning to him, said: "You, my joy, pray, and I will pray for you; just look, lie down as you lie down, and do not turn around in the other direction." The patient lay for a long time, obeying the words of the elder. But his patience weakened, curiosity tempted him to see what the old man was doing. Looking back, he saw Fr. Seraphim standing in the air in a position of prayer, and from the unexpectedness and extraordinaryness of the vision, he cried out. Father Seraphim, after completing the prayer, went up to him and said: “Now, you will explain to everyone that Seraphim is a saint, he prays in the air ... The Lord will have mercy on you ... And you look, protect yourself with silence and do not tell no one until the day of my death, otherwise your illness will return again. G. Ya., indeed, got up from his bed and, although leaning on others, he himself, on his own feet, left the cell. In the monastery hotel he was besieged with questions: "How and what did Father Seraphim do and what did he say?" But, to everyone's surprise, he didn't say a single word. The young man, completely healed, was again in St. Petersburg and after a while returned to the estate of Princess Sh. Then he learned that Elder Seraphim had died from his labors, and then he told about his prayer in the air. One instance of such a prayer was inadvertently seen, but, of course, the elder was raised into the air more than once by the grace of God during his lengthy prayer struggles.

A year before his death, Seraphim felt an extreme exhaustion of the forces of his soul and body. He was now about 72 years old. The usual order of his life, wound up from the end of the shutter, has now inevitably undergone a change. The elder began to go to the deserted cell less frequently. The monastery also found it difficult to constantly receive visitors. The people, accustomed to the idea of ​​seeing Fr. Seraphim at all times, grieved that now he began to deviate from the eyes. However, zeal for him forced many to stay at the monastery hotel for quite a while, in order to find an opportunity that would not be burdensome for the elder to see him and hear from his lips the desired word of edification or consolation.

In addition to predicting others, the elder now began to predict about his own death.

So, once the sister of the Diveevo community, Paraskeva Ivanovna, came to him with other employees from the sisters. The elder began to tell them: "I am weakening in strength; now live alone, I leave you." The mournful conversation about separation touched the listeners; they wept, and with that they parted from the elder. However, they thought, about this conversation, not about his death, but about the fact that Fr. Seraphim, in his declining years, wants to put off caring for them in order to retire into seclusion.

On another occasion, Paraskeva Ivanovna alone visited the elder. He was in the forest, in the nearby desert. Bless her, oh Seraphim sat down on a piece of wood, and his sister knelt beside him. O Seraphim led a spiritual conversation and came to an extraordinary delight: he got to his feet, raised his hands to grief, and looked to the sky. The blessed light illumined his soul from the imagining of the bliss of the future life. For the elder was talking for the present time about what eternal joy awaits a person in heaven for the short-lived sorrows of temporal life. “What joy, what delight,” he said, “embracing the soul of the righteous, when, after being separated from the body, Angels meet it and present it before the Face of God!” Expanding this thought, the elder asked his sister several times: does she understand him? The sister listened to everything without saying a word. She understood the elder's conversation, but did not see that the speech was leaning toward his death. Then about. Seraphim again began to say the same: "I am weakening in strength; now live alone, I leave you." My sister thought that he wanted to go into seclusion again, but Fr. Seraphim answered her thoughts: "I was looking for your mother (abbot), I was looking ... and could not find it. After me, no one will replace me for you. I leave you to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother."

Six months before the death of Fr. Seraphim, saying goodbye to many, said with determination: "We will not see you again." Some asked for blessings to come to Great Lent, to speak in Sarov and once again enjoy the sight and conversation of him. “Then my doors will be closed,” the elder answered, “you won’t see me.” It became very noticeable that the life of Fr. Seraphim fades away; only his spirit, as before, and even more than before, was awake. "My life is shortening," he said to some among the brethren, "in spirit I am as it were now born, but in body I am dead all over."

January 1, 1833, Sunday, Fr. Seraphim came for the last time to the hospital church in the name of Sts. Zosima and Savvatiy, he himself put candles to all the icons and kissed, which had not been noticed before; then he took communion, according to custom, of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. At the end of the Liturgy, he said goodbye to all the brethren who were praying here, blessed everyone, kissed them and, consolingly, said: "Be saved, do not lose heart, stay awake: this day the crowns are being prepared for us." Having said goodbye to everyone, he kissed the cross and the image of the Mother of God; then, going around St. throne, made the usual worship and left the temple through the northern doors, as if signifying that a person enters this world through one gate, by birth, and comes out of it through another, that is, through the gates of death. At that time, everyone noticed in him an extreme exhaustion of bodily forces; but in spirit the old man was cheerful, calm and cheerful.

After the liturgy, he had a sister of the Diveevo community, Irina Vasilievna. The elder sent Paraskeva Ivanovna with her 200 rubles. assign. money, instructing the latter to buy bread in a nearby village with this money, because at that time the entire supply was gone, and the sisters were in great need.

Elder Seraphim used to, when leaving the monastery for the wilderness, leave candles lit in the morning in front of the icons burning in his cell. Brother Pavel, taking advantage of his favor, sometimes told the elder that a fire could start from lit candles; but oh. Seraphim always answered this: "As long as I am alive, there will be no fire; and when I die, my death will open with fire." And so it happened.

On the first day of 1833, brother Pavel noticed that Fr. During this day, Seraphim went out three times to the place that he indicated for his burial, and, remaining there for quite a long time, looked at the ground. In the evening about Pavel heard how the elder sang Easter songs in his cell.

On the second day of January, at about six in the morning, brother Pavel, leaving his cell for the early Liturgy, felt in the hallway near the cell of Fr. Seraphim smell of smoke. Having made the usual prayer, he knocked on the door of Fr. Seraphim, but the door was locked from the inside with a hook, and there was no answer to prayer. He went out onto the porch and, noticing the monks passing into the church in the darkness, he said to them: “Fathers and brothers! There is a strong smoky smell. Then one of those passing by, the novice Anikita, rushed to Fr. Seraphim and, feeling that it was locked, with an intensified push tore it off the inner hook. Many Christians, out of zeal, brought to Fr. Seraphim different canvas things. These things, along with the books, this time lay in disarray on a bench near the door. They smoldered, probably from candle soot or from a fallen candle, the candlestick of which was immediately standing. There was no fire, and only things and some books were smoldering. It was dark outside, it was a little glimmering; in the cell of There was no light for Seraphim, and the elder himself was neither seen nor heard. They thought that he was resting from his nightly exploits, and in these thoughts those who came crowded around the cell. There was some confusion in the hallways. Some of the brethren rushed after the snow and put out the smoldering things.

The early liturgy, meanwhile, continued unceasingly in its own way in the hospital church. sang Worthy to eat... At this time, a boy, one of the novices, unexpectedly ran into the church and quietly told some of what had happened. The brethren hastened to the cell of Fr. Seraphim. Enochs gathered quite a few. Brother Pavel and the novice Anikita, wanting to make sure that the elder was not resting, in the darkness began to feel the small space of his cell and found him himself, kneeling in prayer, with his hands folded crosswise. He was dead.

After dinner, Fr. Seraphim was placed in a coffin, according to his will, with an enamel image of the teacher. Sergius received from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The grave of the blessed elder was prepared at the very place that he himself had long planned, and for eight days his body stood open in the Assumption Cathedral. The Sarov hermitage until the day of burial was filled with thousands of people who had gathered from the surrounding countries and provinces. Everyone vied with each other to kiss the great old man. Everyone unanimously mourned his loss and prayed for the repose of his soul, just as he prayed during his lifetime for the health and salvation of all. On the day of the burial, there were so many people in the cathedral at the liturgy that the local candles near the coffin went out from the heat.

At that time, Hieromonk Filaret was ascetic in the Glinsky monastery, Kursk province. His disciple reported that on January 2, leaving the church after Matins, Fr. Philaret showed an extraordinary light in the sky and said: “This is how the souls of the righteous ascend to heaven! It is the soul of Fr. Seraphim who ascends!”

Archimandrite Mitrofan, who served as a sacristan in the Nevsky Lavra, was a novice in the Sarov desert and was at the tomb of Fr. Seraphim. He told the Diveyevo orphans that he personally witnessed a miracle: when the confessor wanted to put a prayer of permissiveness in the hand of Fr. Seraphim, then the hand itself unclenched. The abbot, the treasurer and others saw this and remained for a long time in bewilderment, amazed by what had happened.

Burial about. Seraphim was committed about. abbot Nifont. His body was interred on the right side of the cathedral altar, near the grave of Mark the Recluse. (Subsequently, by the zeal of the Nizhny Novgorod merchant Y. Syrev, a cast-iron monument in the form of a tomb was erected over his grave, on which it is written: he lived for the glory of God for 73 years, 5 months and 12 days).

During the Great patriotic war shells for Katyushas were produced here, and every 5th shell fired at the enemy was made at this plant, the older generation of the city is especially proud of this, and now they can already tell stories from their youth to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But it was not always so. For a very long time the city was very secret.

Even during the war, Soviet intelligence obtained information about the development of an atomic bomb in the West, which prompted the country's government in February 1943 to adopt a decree on the creation of a "tsar bomb". To speed up the process of its creation (after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Americans), Stalin ordered the creation of a number of closed cities in which development and testing of an even more powerful atomic bomb would be carried out. This is how 10 “nuclear” cities were created, now they are known under the names: Sarov, Snezhinsk, Novouralsk, Zarechny, Lesnoy, Ozersk, Zheleznogorsk, Seversk, Zelenogorsk, Trekhgorny, and all of them still have the status of HIGH secrecy.

All these cities were built by prisoners Stalin's Gulag, and after the construction, some of them were shot right in the freight cars, where they were supposedly placed for transportation to the construction of the next facility. It's scary, but it happened, and you need to know about it.

After the war, in 1946, the famous scientists I.V. Kurchatov and Yu.B. Khariton, the site of the former monastery, where a factory producing various shells is already operating, is chosen as the territory of a secret facility in order to create a “product” here, that is, an atomic bomb. Deputy Minister of Transport Engineering P.M. Zernov was appointed head of the closed design bureau, and Professor Yu.B. Khariton - its chief designer.

In 1947, design bureau number 11 became a highly sensitive enterprise, and the entire village of Sarov was seized from all teaching aids. Due to strict secrecy, all employees of the facility and members of their families could not leave the zone even on vacation, only on a business trip until the mid-1950s. Passes for people permanently residing in the zone were introduced later.

Since 1946, the best scientists, engineers, and production workers have been brought to the city. According to the country's universities, the most capable students from Moscow, Leningrad, Gorky, Kazan, Kharkov, Sverdlovsk were searched for, who, after defending their diplomas, were offered to work in various areas of science, on very interesting topics, and even with favorable living conditions, and many gladly agreed .

At that time, entire sleeping areas were being built in Sarov for future scientists and engineering and technical workers who came with their families. For the lonely, comfortable hostels were built in the very center of the city, a stadium was laid, a house of culture was built (by the way, it was in this palace that my dad studied in a musical circle - he learned to play the button accordion, and at one time I ran there to gymnastics classes, fortunately, they lived near.),

Cinema "October" (Now the exhibition hall is located in the former building of the cinema).

The “object” received the city status in 1954, but its name often changed: either it was KB-11, then Moscow Center-300, then Shatki-1, then Kremlev, then Gorky-150, then Arzamas-75, then Arzamas- 16.

This is interesting: in my Komsomol ticket there was a note that it was issued by the Kremlin department of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, and at first this record surprised me, because this ticket was handed to me in the city of Arzamas-75. I did not know then that these different names meant the same place. A little later, my father told me something - what he considered necessary and sufficient at that time.

From 1948 to 1968 Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov worked in the research group for the development of thermonuclear weapons. My mother was lucky enough to see him at work several times, and she always spoke of this man with warmth of heart, noting his intelligence and modesty.

In August 1949, the first atomic bomb was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site, these tests were successful. In August 1953, a hydrogen bomb was successfully tested there. The secret facility, which at that time was headed by the leading scientists of the country I.V. Kurchatov and Yu.B. Khariton, fulfilled their main task, and since then the city has been called the Nuclear Shield of Russia.

In 1954 it received city status. By this time, the life of the townspeople had become more free - they were allowed to leave for the holidays. I remember how happy my father was when our family was going to his homeland - to the Krasnoyarsk Territory - to show his mother her granddaughters. But it will take many more years until the regime city gives permission for its relatives to visit the townspeople. Already married and having children, I came to my parents in the city only with my children, my husband was not allowed. And I so wanted to show him my city! For the first time we came there with the whole family in 1985, just before the New Year 1986.

Since 1995, the city began to be officially called Sarov, but to this day it is one of the closed cities of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of Russia, a closed administrative-territorial entity (ZATO). Currently, the Russian Federal Nuclear Center deals with the development, storage and disposal of nuclear weapons, processing of radioactive and other materials. In addition, work is underway in fundamental and applied physics, and, of course, work in the field National economy Russia.

Back in 1989, the conversion program provided for two areas: the production of medical equipment and trailers. The BP-3 perfusion unit, the SP-1 perfusion system, and the artificial kidney apparatus created at the Sarov plant are already successfully operating in hospitals in various regions of Russia. One of them (block "BP-3") also works in Melitopol, where my husband and I brought it in our car from Sarov. He is located in our regional oncology center, and I am very glad that my husband and I have a merit in the fact that he helps many people.

August 1, 2003 is the date of the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov. By this time, the restoration work of the Cathedral of Seraphim of Sarov had been completed.

On the evening of July 30, Patriarch Alexy and representatives of all Orthodox churches from all over the world arrived in Sarov by special train. The next day, July 31, Putin arrived, then the president of Russia.

In 2010, when there were numerous areas of forest fires throughout Russia, the Mordovian forests were no exception. The fire came so close to the city of Sarov that there was a real danger, both for the inhabitants and for the storage of nuclear weapons. The situation was indeed difficult. The forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia were involved in the fires. Sergei Shoigu told reporters at the time:

“All crews of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working with a serious load. Six field air traffic stations have been deployed, gunners are working on fire sites. Complicate the work of bad weather conditions and poor visibility. Four aircraft are working to prevent the forest fire from spreading to the nuclear center in Sarov. 180 people and 80 pieces of equipment are involved, including 20 aircraft and helicopters, which operate mainly in the Central region. Huge thanks to residents settlements who are threatened by fire, for helping firefighters and plowing villages themselves and carrying out other preventive measures.”

The fire was dealt with in that hot summer, but the conclusions were drawn, and today there is already a fire clearing around the city. Honor and praise to all who took part in extinguishing fires and in all auxiliary activities.

Today Sarov is a young, beautiful, clean and well-groomed city with a well-developed infrastructure. I like to come there, meet my classmates, just wander along the forest paths (I really miss the forest, living in the Tauride steppes of the Melitopol region).

This is my city, where I was born and raised, where my parents' graves are, where my relatives and friends live. For many years I could not tell anyone about him. Even when I was in a pioneer camp in the Crimea, I said that I was from Moscow (as our "uncles" taught us). Now that the veil of secrecy has been lifted, I am glad that many can learn about Sarov, but, unfortunately, they will not be able to get there, since it has remained closed. The city is surrounded by a double iron wire, divided by a border strip. Entrance to it is possible only with special passes. There are several checkpoints, including those by rail.

Over the years, I have become accustomed to such procedures, and I consider them quite justified. As long as the Russian Federal Nuclear Center exists, Russians (and not only them, but also many CIS countries) can feel safe. And, nevertheless, if you are in the church, light a candle for Seraphim of Sarov ("fire-winged"), because his shield is no less important for Russia.

The amazing and mysterious city of Sarov. Many people know about him, many have heard ... even more secret information about him is circulating somewhere in the country, and even abroad. But be that as it may, it just so happened that in the same administrative unit, on the same land, a scientific city grew up behind barbed wire - the Russian Federal Nuclear Center and the Center for Orthodox Culture - a kind of VIP mecca of our Motherland, St. Seraphim-Sarovskiy male monastery. (Diveevo is a real Mecca, they let everyone in there whom God sends, they live with this, they are happy with this, and in "prickly" Sarov in this monastery they live, recently, by the way, 14 monks, hermit there in their own way, in general only our Presidents visit them ...)
In general, there are many different rumors around Sarov. And it’s hard to somehow describe it, show pictures - where a mysterious, almost mystical halo appears, where prison-military associations flash in connection with external pricklyness ...
But once comrade Artemy Lebedev came to us and clicked on his camera - and we all saw the light: so this is the "Uryupinsk" of the cities "Zato" we live in (ZATO - a closed administrative territorial association). His report came out interesting, I, as a native of those places, really liked it. I post everything in full. Otherwise, Sarov will remain unseen. After all, personally, for example, I can only bring my husband to Sarov. You can't make everyone a husband.)
I will only add something relevant: but in Sarov, a poster hangs along the entire length of the madhouse: "ZATO Sarov is unique!"
Well, how to understand it?)

The small city of Sarov is located in the Nizhny Novgorod forests. It is so small that in the Nizhny Novgorod forests there is only one pointer to it, and in front of the city there is not even a stele with the name. And not all maps mark it.

The city is famous for Seraphim of Sarov, for whose sake Orthodox pilgrims come here. For their sake, temples were repainted here.

Services are held for them.

And the pilgrims themselves tend to the forest - to drink healing water from the spring, to scratch a cross on a pine tree.

Sarov does not like sudden changes. Therefore, the new here does not cancel the old.

Modern traffic lights hang on a non-modern pole.

The tags on the wall are new, and the decorative holders under the balcony are old.

The payphone is push-button, and the telephone booth is strongly pre-perestroika. The call is free.

New cars drive past the Brezhnev pavilions.

Modern garbage lies in museum urns.

The new entertainment center is called "Samira", but it is read, of course, as "Satire".

The construction, previously intended for portraits and other important propaganda, is installed in the central square. Today only the funeral home is advertised here. But not because the city is dying, but because there is nothing more to advertise.

In general, the old Soviet establishments are well preserved here.

And public transport.

And the nature here is pristine.

The houses, by the way, are almost all brick. Half of the balcony railings are decorated with a special corner.

They also love to connect houses with at least something. Possibly balconies.