Venerable Seraphim Of Vyritsa

Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa (born Vasily Nikolayevich Muravyov) was born on March 31 (April 12), 1866, in the village of Vakhromeyevo, Yaroslavl Province, into a peasant family. Though drawn to monasticism from youth, he was advised by an elder of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra to remain in the world and build a career. He became a highly successful fur merchant, trading internationally with Germany, Austria-Hungary, England, and France, amassing considerable wealth while also engaging extensively in charitable works. In 1920, after the Revolution and with the blessing of his wife (who herself took monastic vows as Khristina), he entered the Alexander Nevsky Lavra as a novice, was tonsured a monk with the name Varnava, and ordained hieromonk. In 1926 he received the great schema, taking the name Seraphim in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He served as father-confessor of the Lavra. Ill health forced his move to Popovka in 1930, and in 1933 he settled in Vyritsa near Leningrad, where, emulating St. Seraphim of Sarov, he prayed for a thousand days and nights upon a rock in his garden. During the Siege of Leningrad and the German occupation of Vyritsa, he continued this vigil, interceding for the city and for Russia. He reposed on March 21 (April 3), 1949, in Vyritsa, and was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000 among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.