St Seraphim of Sarov

He met everyone who came to him with the same words — "My joy, Christ is risen!" — on any day of the year, fasting seasons included. His nationwide veneration grew out of that greeting.

The future saint was born into a merchant family in Kursk and was called Prochorus in the world. His family noticed the mark of God's mercy early: at seven he fell from the bell tower of a church under construction and was unhurt. He decided to become a monk while still very young, and spent the rest of his life in strict ascetic labour and prayer at the Sarov hermitage.

A thousand days on a rock

He lived for long stretches in a forest cell, fed a bear from his hand, and prayed a thousand nights in succession on a rock with his arms raised. Robbers once broke in looking for money and maimed him with the blunt end of an axe; he remained bent for the rest of his life and walked leaning on a staff. When the robbers were found, he asked that they not be punished.

After long years of seclusion he opened his cell door to everyone. Peasants and generals alike came to "poor Seraphim", and to each he said the thing that person had told no one. "Acquire the spirit of peace, and thousands around you will be saved" — his words are known today far beyond the Church.

Diveyevo

Near Sarov the saint cared for the women's community at Diveyevo, which he called the portion of the Mother of God. He died on 2 January 1833 by the old calendar; he was found kneeling before the icon of the Theotokos "Tenderness", his hands folded crosswise.

The relics

More than three hundred thousand pilgrims gathered at Sarov for his glorification in 1903. After the revolution the relics disappeared, and for decades they were thought lost. In the autumn of 1990, in the storerooms of the Leningrad Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, unidentified remains were found that had never been entered in the inventory; on a glove lay the inscription "Venerable father Seraphim, pray to God for us!". That December a commission established from many signs, among them old injuries visible on the bones, that these were the relics of St Seraphim. In 1991 they were carried in procession to Diveyevo, where they rest today.

How it is kept

His memory is celebrated twice a year: on 15 January (2 January old style), his repose and the second uncovering of his relics, and on 1 August (19 July), the first uncovering of the relics and the glorification of 1903.

From your youth you loved Christ, O blessed one, and ardently desiring to serve Him alone you struggled in the wilderness with unceasing prayer and labour; having gained the love of Christ with a compunctionate heart, you were shown to be the beloved chosen one of the Mother of God. Therefore we cry to you: save us by your prayers, O Seraphim our venerable father.