Bishop Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), Bishop of Dmitrov

The Hieromartyr Seraphim was born on March 26/April 7, 1883, into the family of an Edinoverie priest. He studied at the Zaikonospassky Theological School and the Moscow Theological Seminary/Academy; in 1902 he was miraculously healed of a serious illness through prayer to St. Seraphim of Sarov, which shaped his later spiritual path and choice of monastic name.

He was tonsured a monk in 1908 at the Zosimova Hermitage with the name Seraphim; he was ordained hieromonk; he taught homiletics at the Moscow Theological Seminary; he became archimandrite in 1914. On January 3, 1920, he was consecrated Bishop of Dmitrov, vicar of the Moscow diocese. He became renowned as a venerated spiritual elder, founded the Brotherhood of the Life-Giving Cross, and firmly opposed the Renovationist "Living Church" schism.

He belonged to the "non-commemorating" movement — those who ceased liturgical commemoration of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) after his 1927 Declaration of loyalty to the Soviet state, standing in this circle together with Metropolitan Agafangel (Preobrazhensky) of Yaroslavl and Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky) of Verey.

He was arrested in December 1922 (5 months in Butyrka prison); exiled in 1923-1925 to the Zyryansk region (Ust-Sysolsk); had his movement restricted in 1926-1932; was exiled in 1932-1935 to Kazakhstan and Western Siberia; was arrested for the last time in June 1937 in Ishim; an NKVD troika issued a death sentence on August 23, 1937; he was shot on August 26, 1937, in the Omsk region.

He was canonized church-wide by the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000, among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

IMPORTANT CORRECTION: the original feast_days (January 2/August 1/January 15) did not match the date of martyrdom — replaced with the correct date of August 13/26, 1937.