To make everything clear, I will tell you the background of the events. On the issue of acquiring relics St. Seraphim The late Archbishop of Tambov Evgeniy (Zhdan) helped a lot. It was with his appointment in 1987 to the Tambov department that great efforts began to be made to revive spiritual life in the Tambov region. Along the way, the bishop studied a lot of documents and accidentally came across those that contained a description of the opening of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov by NKVD officers. Of course, this is a terrible paper - looting was shown against the holy saint of God - but it is valuable for its literal, detailed description of every bone, every vertebra found in the saint’s cancer.
Having headed the Tambov department, Bishop Evgeniy began to revive spiritual life in the diocese. Of course, many questions have accumulated related to the return of former shrines and temples. By that time, in all of Tambov there was only a small two-story Church of the Intercession (majestically called a cathedral, although it could accommodate at most two or three hundred parishioners). I know that Bishop Eugene really wanted to find the relics of St. Pitirim, but for a long time he was unable to find documents that would indicate their location. I remember that in 1988 he reported this to His Holiness the Patriarch (then Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad).
In 1990, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, at which Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad was elected to the Patriarchal throne. And at the end of the year, the director of the Museum of the History of Religion in Leningrad, Stanislav Alekseevich Kuchinsky, called me: “Vladyka, I cannot say for sure, but we have discovered the relics of some saint of God. Skeletal relics, no coverings. Only one mitten on the relics has been preserved, on which there is the following inscription: “Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!” According to the inventory, these relics do not work for us; we found them by chance, wrapped in one of the tapestries...”
Of course, I immediately informed His Holiness the Patriarch. His Holiness spoke with Stanislav Alekseevich, and then, in December, a special commission was created under the chairmanship of Bishop Eugene. I, too, was a member of it, as well as some clergy of the St. Petersburg diocese.
And so, we arrived in St. Petersburg (then still Leningrad), and in the presence of the director, his deputies and museum employees, we went up to the room where the “find” lay. Of course, we are used to always trusting only documents, but here there were no documents. But I already said at the beginning that back in 1988, Bishop Eugene managed to discover act of opening the relics St. Seraphim of Sarov with a detailed description (in fact, that’s why Bishop Eugene became the chairman of the commission). Based on this act, we began to compare the found relics with the description. Everything found was in complete agreement with the remains of St. Seraphim of Sarov! Even this fact: do you remember from the life of the monk how he was beaten half to death by robbers who were looking for money from him? And even this agrees: the found relics have a rather strong dent on the sternum!
What struck me most then? The head of St. Seraphim was in a scufe with a round hole in the forehead. Apparently, some kind of round metal plate was previously glued to this hole so that people would touch it. So, the bones of the saint’s skull are dark in color, and this place is light-light , it’s so kissed. This gave me some kind of joyful feeling...
After examining the relics, His Holiness the Patriarch ordered the director of the Sofrinsky plant to make a shrine for St. Seraphim. Then he called Metropolitan Nicholas of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas and informed him about the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim.
The church people learned about this event a little later. At the Patriarchal Christmas greeting in the Epiphany Cathedral of Yelokhovsky, His Holiness the Patriarch, in response to the greeting of Metropolitan Juvenaly, addressing the worshippers, said: “And I also want, my dears, to report on one unusual phenomenon that the Lord has given us these days: the relics of the venerable and our God-bearing father Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov!” I was amazed how the whole cathedral literally sighed: such a deep experience was in the people!
In mid-January 1991, His Holiness the Patriarch departed for St. Petersburg (then still Leningrad), where the relics of the saint were carried out of storage with solemn singing to the Kazan Cathedral (it had not yet been handed over to the Church), where a short prayer was performed. Then the relics were transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, at the holy gates of which the dear shrine was greeted by the clergy and flock of the Leningrad diocese.
For several weeks the relics of St. Seraphim were venerated in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. On the feast of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg, His Holiness again visited the Northern capital, and on the evening of February 6, the relics of St. Seraphim were sung by a multitude of people gathered on the streets - “Reverend Our Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!”, “We magnify you, Reverend Our Father Seraphim!” - in a religious procession they were transferred from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra to the Moscow Station. Walking along Staro-Nevsky, along other streets that were designated for the religious procession, how touching it was to see so many people with candles, to hear this quiet prayerful singing! There was no shouting, no hubbub, no excitement... There was no chaos that usually accompanies rallies and meetings... Everything was permeated with a special, spiritual joy!
A special train carriage was allocated to deliver the relics of the saint to Moscow. When the procession with the procession approached the station, we saw that all the platforms and approaches to the station building were completely occupied by people! At that moment, it seems to me that the work of the station was completely paralyzed...
When we drove away, there was such a feeling that you can’t convey it without tears! The carriage with the relics of St. Seraphim was the last one on the train; His Holiness the Patriarch was also in it. When the train started, all the people standing on the platforms or at the entrance to the station knelt down. This moment - the bow of the residents of St. Petersburg, saying goodbye to the Reverend - is so imprinted in the memory that it is difficult to forget. It was a single emotional impulse...
On the way to Moscow, the clergy read akathists all night and served prayer services. In the morning we arrived at the Leningradsky station of the capital. Our arrival was not advertised in any way, but still: when our train arrived, there were much fewer of us than those who greeted the relics on the platform! Such joy filled everyone when somehow the news of the arrival of the relics spread, that people arrived without announcement.
A large religious procession with the relics of St. Seraphim took place from the Leningradsky station to the Epiphany Cathedral. I remember this happened on the feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “Quench My Sorrows”: a frosty day, drifting snow, but the weather had no effect on the mood of those gathered, joy overwhelmed everyone!
When the relics of the saint were brought into the Epiphany Cathedral, a thanksgiving prayer service immediately began spontaneously: no officials, no followers - everything was done by heart, by inspiration, there was such inspiration!
That same evening, at the relics of St. Seraphim, Bishop Barsanuphius was named bishop of Saransk, and the next day, February 8, his episcopal consecration took place. And this, I think, is also no coincidence: Saransk is in Mordovia, and Mordovia used to be part of the Tambov diocese, where the Monk Seraphim labored!
From February to July 1991, the relics of the saint remained in the Epiphany Cathedral. In the summer, a grand religious procession took place - already in cars - led by His Holiness the Patriarch, hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, to transfer the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov to Diveevo, to the newly opened Diveevo convent.
This religious procession took place literally throughout Russia: through the cities of the Moscow, Vladimir, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, and further - through Arzamas - to Diveevo. Of course, I remember a lot: many people of different ranks and positions who sought to join the shrine. Everywhere the religious procession was accompanied by a mass of people; I was especially struck by those who greeted me in Lakinsk. Since there was no stopping point in this city, and, in addition, a torrential downpour began already at the entrance to Lakinsk, we wanted to drive without stopping. But what did we see? Many people came out onto the road - with banners, crosses, flowers and icons. They came out to greet St. Seraphim! And then there’s the rain! And suddenly, seeing our motorcade, all these people, despite the pouring rain, kneel down! It’s hard to convey the feelings that overcome you when you see such reverence for a shrine!
And so it was along the entire route: everywhere people came to the side of the road, met the relics of the monk, each in his own way expressed the joy of meeting the shrine.
We are entering Vladimir... Vladyka of Vladimir, Archbishop Evlogy, with many clergy, went out to meet the relics at the Golden Gate of the city. And here is such an amazing picture: the relics stand in the center, Bishop Eulogius is at the gate, the clergy is near him, and everything around is filled with people! The huge square, down from the cathedral, is completely occupied by people who came to venerate St. Seraphim.
Then we arrived in Nizhny Novgorod: a large fair cathedral, a lot of people... The cathedral stands in an open square, there is no shade, it’s hot... We had to carry the relics to the porch of the southern aisle so that people could venerate: people walked in an endless stream. Further - to Arzamas, there in the cathedral the episcopal consecration of Bishop Hierotheus, who has now died, was performed. Next, the procession with the relics of the saint proceeded to Diveevo.
On the road to Diveevo there are several villages and villages, people also came out from there - with crosses and icons, standing along the side of the road... Of course, we had to stop here too.
This is how this amazing religious procession went - with large and small stops. Now I want to thank everyone who took part in it: some with help, some with prayer, some with something else... I will say thank you to everyone, because without our common solidarity it would have been impossible to organize such a significant event that completely captured our entire society.
And then the Lord vouchsafed us to receive the relics of other saints of God; St. Seraphim of Sarov was the first...
Arseny, Archbishop of Istra. Radio "Radonezh". Broadcast 07/24/03
Light of Easter joy
(Memoirs of Bishop Sergius (Sokolov) of Novosibirsk and Berdsk
The name of this “Easter” saint, who labored at the beginning of the last century in the remote forests of Nizhny Novgorod and Tambov, who was a contemporary of Napoleon, Kutuzov, Pushkin and Glinka and who revealed to the Christian consciousness a new formula of salvation through “acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit” in the heart and “gaining a peaceful spirit” , - is especially dear to an Orthodox person.
An exceptional place in the teachings of St. Seraphim is occupied by conversations about the future fate of Russia and the attitude of descendants to his remains. Before the time, every prophecy sounds somewhat strange and incomprehensible, and only after many years, when the predictions are clothed in specific historical events, the witness of this, with spiritual trepidation, begins to understand that the mercy of God is limitless, and that the eternal truth of God has again been revealed, putting our human to shame logic, pride and conceit.
For me, in those years, an inspector of the Moscow Theological Academy, the Lord destined not only to be a witness to the events described below, but, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, to take direct part in them. By Patriarchal Decree, I was appointed senior of the group of archimandrites, who were entrusted to constantly be with the holy remains of the Rev. during their transfer from Moscow to Diveevo.
There were ten of us priests, a kind of “guard of honor”, gathered from all the ancient monasteries, both newly opened and those that survived the hard times of persecution of the Church and now, with all the people, rejoicing at the grace-filled changes in our Fatherland. Today we can confidently say that the first years of the primatial ministry of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' undoubtedly entered the history of the Russian Orthodox Church as the beginning of a new, grace-filled period in the life of Orthodoxy. A sensitive believing heart perceives the events of this time as the direct influence of the host of saints of the Triumphant Church on the earthly Church, which is constantly waging “warfare not with flesh and blood, but with the ruler of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12).
God's mercy does not abandon our Fatherland during the period of trials and sends us great consolation through the holy saints.
In the summer of 1990, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, which elected the fifteenth All-Russian Patriarch, canonized the great prayer book for Russia, Archpriest John of Kronstadt. This conciliar act stirred up the faith of the Russian people, deepened prayers for the Fatherland, which was once again in difficult situation, and the Lord heard the prayers of His Church and sent us new consolation.
The process of returning to the Church its shrines and temples is gaining, as it were, a second wind: from the unknown storerooms of state museums, the remains of the holy saints of God are beginning to be transferred to believers: the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, the Venerable Sergius and Herman, the Valaam wonderworkers, St. Joseph of Belgorod, and the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov.
The veneration of holy relics or the remains of God’s saints, who glorified the Creator with their entire lives, goes back to the very first days of the New Testament Church of Christ. The Church not only honors the memory of the holy men and women who witnessed the triumph of God’s truth on earth, but, confessing Christ’s incarnation and liberation from the “work of corruption” and the entire created, material world, it worships and honors the honest remains of holy Christians, who, through sanctification by Divine grace, given in the holy Sacraments, they themselves became true temples of the Holy Spirit.
Know that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you” (1 Cor. 6:19), the Apostle Paul reminds believers. Collecting and carefully preserving the remains of holy martyrs, confessors and saints, arranging churches and altars over them. The Church simultaneously testifies to the great miracles of God’s mercy given to people through these shrines. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church, such as Saints Gregory the Theologian, Ephraim of Syria, John Chrysostom, Blessed Augustine and many others, repeatedly testified to this before their flock, both verbally in sermons and in their creations.
Since ancient times, the Russian Orthodox Church has sacredly revered the many honest remains of people glorified by God. Confirmation of this is the abundance of reliquary crosses and reliquaries both in monasteries and in many churches of Rus'. The pious tradition of past years forced an Orthodox person to literally look for such shrines everywhere and fall to them, just as a tired traveler strives for life-giving sources of moisture and quenches his thirst. But the history of recent decades has been darkened not only by the atheistic process of closing churches and monasteries, but also by the blasphemous opening of holy relics and their confiscation from the Church. Along with many shrines, the relics of St. Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov were desecrated and confiscated.
An entire generation of Orthodox Christians, having been unable to see the holy remains of the All-Russian prayer book for decades, already considered them irretrievably lost. Therefore, the sudden news of the second discovery of the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the storerooms of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism in the city on the Neva, like lightning, illuminated the hearts of Orthodox people, many of whom reverently kept in their memory the prophecy of the saint himself about his second appearance with the preaching of repentance. The words of the Reverend immediately became clear that he should lie in Diveevo and come there not by land, but by air, and that there would be great Easter joy at the same time. Sarov, the place of the exploits and burial of the holy elder, is now a closed zone, but in Diveevo - one of the earthly inheritances of the Mother of God - the lamps were lit again and the women's monastery was revived. The joy experienced by many these days can truly be compared only with the joy of the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ.
Thousands of people from cities, towns and villages came out to venerate the venerable remains of the Venerable One, carried in the bishop’s arms (through the air), while singing Easter hymns. The reverent desire to see the reliquary with honest relics with their own eyes brought them to the roofs of multi-story buildings; some, like Zacchaeus, chose roadside trees as their place of worship, others knelt in the road dust or stood in the pouring rain. There were learned men here who remembered the elder’s words that only in the simplicity of the heart can one feel the touch of God’s grace on the heart; There were military men whose service in ensuring order during the religious procession became for them at the same time a source of revelation about peace of heart, leading thousands to salvation.
There were also those who, like the bleeding woman of the Gospel, came to the relics secretly, perhaps for the first time in their lives, crossing the threshold of the temple and in the depths of their hearts hoping for a miracle of healing of the suffering soul. And this miracle happened. The confessors of the monasteries, who accompanied the venerable relics along the entire route and continually stood at the holy shrine day and night, saw the tears of these souls saved by the Reverend, accepted their first, reverent confessions and witnessed the resurrection into eternal life of many, many former “Sauls.” From time to time, in front of the holy relics, children's voices were heard singing liturgical chants, greeting the High Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Easter exclamation “Christ is Risen!”
But the bulk of the many thousands of worshipers were simple women, standing for many hours of their usual divine services and ready to cover any distance on foot for the sake of worshiping the holy relics of the Sarov saint. It is they who, with their modest donations, are now restoring hundreds of destroyed temples, while simultaneously creating a temple in their souls.
There were a lot of people, there were only indifferent ones...
The second discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov took place in the city on the Neva. Is this a coincidence? Is this not the fruit of the prayer of the great righteous man of the Russian land, the great shepherd just glorified by the Church - Father John of Kronstadt, whose holy remains also rest in this land?
Finally, in the glorification of Elder Seraphim at the beginning of the century, the reigning house took an active part, and in connection with this, the entire northern capital, which was awarded the great honor of the first veneration of the newly discovered holy relics. Here the holy remains were again reverently dressed in sacred clothes and placed in a skillfully executed reliquary. It was here, in St. Petersburg, that the epoch-making procession of St. Seraphim across Russian soil began. Many thousands of believers took to the streets of this city to carry the shrine on its long journey through the ancient cities of Rus' to the blessed Diveyevo. Throughout the entire continuation of this path, the akathist singing at the holy relics did not cease, which was started by His Holiness himself. The Patriarch prayed at the shrine in a special carriage on the night of transportation from the city on the Neva to Moscow.
The capital greeted the Reverend on a cold February morning. Despite the frost, thousands of Muscovites came to the station, many stood with lit candles and sang praises to the saint. Has the Reverend been to the Mother See, and what brought him to this city? Although the life is silent about this, it also speaks of the obedience of the young monk Seraphim - traveling through the cities and villages of Russia to collect donations for the Sarov monastery.
There can be no doubt that this obedience prompted the young monk to visit not only all the Moscow shrines, where he showed perfect humility to the residents of the capital, asking them to donate to the monastery for the sake of saving their souls, but he also visited the holy relics of Abba Sergius in his Lavra, edifying himself with memories of monastic exploits on Mount Makovets. We do not know how much the young monk Seraphim collected at that time, but the months of residence of his holy relics in the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral showed nationwide veneration and worship of his honorable remains. Perhaps only today Russia is reaping that bountiful harvest of Christian souls reborn into eternal life, the sowing and cultivation of which was the lifelong feat of the humble Sarov ascetic.
During the six months that the holy relics were in the capital, many of our compatriots and believers from abroad visited the holy shrine. National akathist singing to the Reverend, generous donations for the restoration of Moscow shrines and churches, and for strengthening and expanding the social ministry of the church became traditional. The July farewell of the holy relics to their permanent place of residence - the Diveyevo monastery - resulted in a nationwide celebration. The pages of the life of St. Seraphim, listing the deeds and labors of the saint, show the pious reader the truly equal-angelic life of the ascetic, whose heavenly kinship was attested by the Queen of Heaven Herself, who appeared to her chosen one twelve times and said that “this one is from our race.” It is therefore natural that not only the earthly Church, but also the Heavenly Church took part in the procession of the Saint through the cities of Rus', honoring together with our compatriots the second appearance and glorification of the Sarov miracle worker.
The first stop for the holy relics was in the ancient city of Bogorodsk near Moscow. July 23 - commemoration of the location of the honorable robe of our Lord Jesus Christ in Moscow. But for Muscovites, this day for many years was associated with the birthday of the late His Holiness Patriarch Pimen, who strictly celebrated the days of memory of St. Seraphim with akathist singing. And if we remember that the city of Bogorodsk is the homeland of the late Patriarch, i.e. the place where for the first time the future High Hierarch, at the age of seventeen, decided, imitating the young Prokhor, to leave the world and put on monastic attire for the rest of his life, then a mysterious spiritual connection.
In Bogorodsk, the holy relics were received under its arches by the Epiphany Cathedral, which had just been restored from ruins, in the courtyard of which there were still traces of a great construction work. But even in this one could see something significant, if we do not forget the frequent visits by young Prokhor and his mother to the cathedral under construction in Kursk, which once ended with him falling from the scaffolding and miraculously surviving from inevitable death. “In the appearance of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov in this difficult time for the Fatherland,” said His Holiness Patriarch Alexy to the residents of Bogorodsk, “we see the mercy of God. The Lord visits us with spiritual joys, gives us consolation, shows us a strong prayer book, who throughout his life carried the joy of The Risen Lord Savior."
The cradle of Orthodoxy in northeastern Rus' - the ancient city of Vladimir greeted the holy relics with the ringing of bells at the Golden Gate. Low thunderclouds, threatening heavy rain, suddenly parted and the sun appeared. The High Hierarch of the Russian Church addressed a crowd of thousands that filled the entire city center from the porch of the Assumption Cathedral. “The Reverend Seraphim of Sarov found a word of consolation and encouragement for everyone,” he said. “The Reverend especially revered the Mother of God, he prayed to Her. He opened his heart to her and ended his life kneeling before the image of the Queen of Heaven, called “Tenderness.” And today the holy relics The monk enters the cathedral dedicated to the Mother of God, Her Honest and Glorious Dormition..." “Wonderful are the ways of God’s Providence!” wrote the local diocesan newspaper. “215 years ago, the humble Sarov ascetic came here to receive the Divine grace of the first degree of priesthood from the hands of Saint Vladimir. Now, in his holy relics, he again enters under the arches of this ancient Cathedral, but now already in order to receive from the faithful the worship befitting the saints and to ask them from the Lord for the gracious hope of eternal life.”
For two days the holy relics of the Saint remained in the oldest Russian cathedral, the vaults of which were painted by the brush of the great icon painters - the Venerable Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny. These ancient walls preserve the memory of many things: these are the groans of the long-suffering Russian people during the time of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, these are the fiery prayers for the power of Russia of its High Hierarch, Saint Metropolitan Peter, this is the glory of the patriotic service of the great sons of the land of Vladimir, the holy princes Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy ...
Remaining to this day one of the most important centers of the spiritual life of Rus', the Vladimir-Suzdal land, receiving the relics of St. Seraphim, thereby paid tribute to the great teacher of spiritual life. His Holiness, who visited the ancient city of Suzdal and its numerous monasteries these days, called on all local residents to actively achieve peace and church unity.
On the morning of July 26, a prayer service was served at the walls of the reviving Bogolyubsky Monastery, and the clergy made a sign of the cross overshadowing the multitude of people gathered with holy relics. And again we hit the road across the endless Russian expanses. The world famous Church of the Intercession on the Nerl floats nearby. A short stop in Vyazniki is remembered by the radiant children’s faces, in the middle of the summer, proclaiming the Easter “Christ is Risen!”
By evening, the procession arrived in Nizhny Novgorod, where an endless stream of people reached the holy relics for two days, day and night. Much said that Nizhny Novgorod residents were exhausted from the spiritual thirst of past years, when the decoration of the city - the Transfiguration Cathedral was closed for many years. With his holy relics, the great prayer book of our land laid here the beginning again of the prayer and social ministry of the Church. This idea was reflected in the press conference given by His Holiness the Patriarch at the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Executive Committee, where the High Hierarch spoke in detail about the second discovery of the holy relics and their transfer to Diveevo.
The Patriarchal service of the Divine Liturgy in the Nizhny Novgorod Cathedral coincided with the memory of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, who brought the light of Christ's faith to our land a thousand years ago. The sermon of St. Seraphim in many ways brought closer to our compatriots the concept of enlightening Divine grace, the acquisition of which in one’s heart gives a person a feeling of complete joy. "My joy, Christ is risen!" - he invariably greeted everyone who came. And many people visited the Reverend: merchants and peasants, courtyards and landowners, the clergy and the military. The military personnel were visited by His Holiness the Patriarch while in Nizhny Novgorod. On the day of taking the military oath, when every warrior is especially aware of his sacred duty to the Fatherland, the young soldiers of the Vistula Tank Division received spiritual support, receiving the patriarchal blessing with the icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
The majestic Resurrection Cathedral of the city of Arzamas is the last stop of holy relics on the way to Diveevo. It was marked by a solemn service, during which His Holiness Patriarch Alexy and the bishops accompanying the Reverend performed the episcopal consecration of Archimandrite Hierotheus as Bishop of Balakhninsky, vicar of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese.
The joy of the festive service the next day gave way to a feeling of compassion and mercy when His Holiness again visited the site of the tragic explosion in 1988, which claimed dozens of lives. Archpastoral care brought the High Hierarch on this day to the orphanage, where he inspected the wards and utility rooms and met with the teaching staff.
The last stage of the procession of the holy relics of St. Seraphim across Russia has arrived. After the solemn religious procession around the cathedral, the shrine is again installed in a special car, in which monks - representatives of the largest monasteries of the Russian Church - constantly travel with it. The holy monks of the Trinity-Sergius, Kiev-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavra, Valaam, Danilovsky, Novo-Spassky monasteries and Optina Hermitage immediately begin harmonious prayer singing with an akathist to the Reverend. The majestic Resurrection Cathedral of Arzamas can be seen for a long time on the horizon, and local peasants rush to the road from the vast fields and meadows in streams, rushing to venerate the holy relics. In conversations with them, you immediately notice their special attitude towards the saint of Sarov, reflected in childish simplicity and in the confidence that from now on “our Father Seraphim” will forever reside in Diveevo - the fourth inheritance of the Queen of Heaven...
And now Diveevo is large locality rural type with a majestic bell tower and two large cathedrals. But somehow you immediately realize that what our eyes see is not what is important here, and the years of militant atheism have left their noticeable mark. The Diveyevo monastery has just begun to be revived: with donations pouring in from all over the world, the Trinity Cathedral has been restored, where a rich canopy has been built for the holy relics. But there is still no dome on the bell tower, and the ringing of small bells clearly does not correspond to the great event. But my heart tells me: this is not the main thing. The main thing is ahead, in the fulfillment of the prophetic words of the Mother of God, who appeared to the organizer of the Diveyevo community, nun Alexandra, and said: “... In your place of residence I will establish such a great monastery of Mine, to which I will bring down all the blessings of God and Mine, from all three of My lots to earth: from Iberia, Athos and Kiev... And like the stars of heaven, and like the sand of the sea, I will multiply those who serve the Lord God, and Me, the Ever-Virgin, Mother of Light and My Son Jesus Christ, magnifying: and the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God and the abundance of all earthly and heavenly blessings, with little human labor, will not become scarce from this place of My beloved!”
“The last page of the Diveyevo Chronicle has been turned,” His Holiness the Patriarch addresses thousands of believers. “The relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov passed through all of Russia - from the city on the Neva through Moscow, the Moscow region, Vladimir land, Nizhny Novgorod - and arrived at the Trinity Diveyevo Monastery.
The prophecy of the great old man was fulfilled. We saw with what spiritual joy Orthodox believers in cities and villages greeted the precious shrine of our Church - the holy relics of the Venerable One. Really, Our hearts were filled with Easter joy, and we sang Easter hymns, remembering his words that in the middle of summer they would sing Easter. A new page in the history of the Diveyevo monastery begins. It will have a huge attractive force for pilgrims who will come here to draw spiritual consolation and strength from St. Seraphim."
On July 31, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, with the bishops and clergy accompanying him, visited the place of the Saint’s exploits and prayers - the former Sarov Monastery, the near and far hermitages. Where the impenetrable forest once rustled, today modern city with multi-storey buildings and a population of thousands. Understanding the significance of the event, the city authorities declared this day a day off, and literally a sea of people surrounded the rare guests.
Who knows, maybe many of them only on this day thought about the eternal questions of life and death, about the glorious memory of unforgettable pages of history and unconsciousness. Alas, the holy land of Sarov, today turned into a closed zone due to the top-secret activities taking place here scientific works, does not even have a temple today. But “the Spirit breathes where it will” (John 3:8), and therefore here, behind the barbed wire, there already exists a children’s “Sunday” school, in which the seeds of faith and love are carefully planted in children’s pure hearts.
There are many people here who sacredly preserve the memory of their holy fellow countryman, who became an all-Russian prayer book and miracle worker. It was through their labors that the places of the Saint’s exploits were determined in the former dense forest: the nearby desert with the famous stone pillar, consecrated by the thousand-day prayer of the Sarov miracle worker, and the distant desert, where a prayer service was performed with an akathist to the Monk Seraphim.
After the consecration of the cemetery chapel, where from now on local residents will be able to perform funeral prayers, His Holiness the Patriarch and his entourage were invited to the former monastery refectory for a gala dinner, at the end of which the guests were given a wonderful souvenir - Sarov soil and water from the Venerable Spring.
On the very day of the feast of the discovery of the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, four Divine Liturgies were celebrated in Diveyevo. Practically, the worship service did not stop for the whole day. After the All-Night Vigil, after which His Holiness the Patriarch anointed all those praying with blessed oil at 12 at night, at 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning. Liturgies were celebrated in the main three chapels of the Trinity Cathedral.
The late Liturgy was preceded by a solemn meeting of His Holiness and was celebrated on a specially constructed podium in the courtyard of the monastery. Undoubtedly, the history of the Diveyevo monastery did not know such solemn services. Three choirs sang - a local one from the city of Arzamas, and a bishop's choir from Nizhny Novgorod. Many thousands of pilgrims were honored on this day to receive the Holy and Life-giving Mysteries of Christ. The earthly and heavenly Church rejoiced, glorifying the great intercessor before God for the Russian land.
The local administration presented His Holiness the Patriarch, and in his person the entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church, with a seemingly modest souvenir - land and water. Since ancient times, pious pilgrims, visiting holy places, not only sought to refresh themselves in blessed springs, believing in the life-giving power of them, but also took with them drops of this fertile moisture and grains of earth.
But here is a gift, and since ancient times it has had a deep symbolic meaning. It is unlikely that today’s owners of Sarov land remembered or knew about this. But let’s open the Bible and remember that land and water were presented by the ancients to the winner as a sign of complete submission and recognition of his power.
And again we ask ourselves: is this a coincidence, or is another facet of the mysterious prophecy of St. Seraphim, illuminated by the light of Easter joy, becoming the property of the spiritual experience of our people?
Bishop of Novosibirsk and Berdsk Sergius (Sokolov)
The story of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II
about the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim
The second discovery of the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov took place. He returned to us in days when there was so much contradiction and confrontation in society, and intolerance and enmity among people, the Lord showed us great mercy - the relics of His saint. St. Seraphim taught: “Acquire a peaceful spirit within yourself - and thousands will be saved around you,” greeting everyone at any time of the year: “My joy, Christ is risen!” His joy about the Risen Savior and special evangelical love warmed everyone who came to him.
The appearance of the relics of the monk in our time, when it is so necessary to melt the cold in the hearts of people, is providential. This is another reminder addressed to people about eternity and that the peace born of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a person will extend to those around him.
St. Seraphim of Sarov is especially close to the heart of a believer. It was difficult, impossible for Orthodox people to get used to the idea of losing his holy relics. This is probably why there were various assumptions that the relics were hidden and buried somewhere.
In 1920, in the city of Temnikov, Tambov province, atheists performed an autopsy of the holy relics of St. Seraphim. The report drawn up during the autopsy described in great detail both the relics themselves and what they were dressed in and on what they rested.
As it has now become clear, the relics were transported from the Donskoy Monastery to the Kazan Cathedral in Leningrad, to the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism. But, apparently, immediately after arriving at the museum they were covered by someone’s pious hands, because the holy remains were not listed in any inventories or lists.
During the inventory carried out in connection with the decision to return the Kazan Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church and the departure of the museum from it, holy relics were found. Sewn into matting, they lay in the museum's storerooms, in one of the rooms of the former sacristy, where the tapestries were kept. When they unrolled the mat, they saw the relics, mittens put on their hands, on one of which was embroidered “Reverend Father Seraphim,” and on the other, “Pray to God for us.” It was impossible to claim that these were the relics of the Sarov wonderworker, based only on this inscription. Therefore, we found the act and documents of the opening of the relics in 1920.
One of these documents states that the relics were removed from the monastery for their destruction or display in a museum. That is, the threat of destruction of the holy relics of St. Seraphim was quite real. But by God's Providence evil was turned into good, and everything worked out so that the hands of the atheists drew up a document describing in great detail the relics of the monk after their opening in the twentieth year.
The special commission found that power , found in the Kazan Cathedral, fully corresponded to the description relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
When there was no longer any doubt about the authenticity of the holy relics, they were solemnly installed in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and opened for worship. A month later, in February, the relics were transported to Moscow, to the Epiphany Cathedral. As soon as the relics of St. Seraphim were found, it became clear that they needed to be transferred to Diveevo. The monk himself, shortly before his death, in conversations with N.A. Motovilov said that with his flesh he would lie not in Sarov, but in Diveevo. After his death and subsequent glorification in 1903, the relics of the saint, of course, remained in the Sarov Hermitage. And only now is this prophecy of the wondrous old man coming true.
When deciding on the transfer of the holy relics of St. Seraphim, the idea of a religious procession from Moscow to Diveevo arose. But it would take two months to implement it. The religious procession can cover no more than 15 kilometers per day. This means that it is necessary to set up tent camps and food points every 15 kilometers. In addition, we could not close traffic on the highway that leads to Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan for a whole month. Therefore, the Holy Synod decided the issue of transferring the relics differently. On July 22, 1991, a solemn all-night vigil was held in the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral, and the next day, July 23, there was a Divine Liturgy and prayer service. On this day, Moscow said goodbye to the relics of St. Seraphim. After the prayer service, the procession proceeded to the Church of Nikita the Martyr. From there, in a car of a cancer with the relics of the saint, she went to the city of Voznesensk (now Noginsk) in the Moscow region, and then through Orekhovo-Zuevo, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas - to Diveevo. In all these cities, two or three kilometers from the cathedral, the relics were met by a procession of the cross. Then they were carried into the temple and remained there until the next day.
Our Church has gone through severe trials, hundreds of thousands of martyrs and confessors testified their loyalty to holy Orthodoxy with their blood. But even now we are going through difficult times. Although churches are opening, spiritual life is gradually resuming - this renewal is forced to fight the lack of spirituality and coldness in which we have lived for decades.
In these troubled times, the Lord strengthens us. Shrines are being returned, including the relics of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, Saints Pitirim of Tambov, Innocent of Irkutsk, Joasaph of Belgorod, Saints Zosima, Savvaty and Herman of Solovetsky. A special place is occupied by the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
St. Seraphim was the bearer of a special, inherent Seraphim joy, and his joy was transmitted to the people who came into contact with him. Finding the holy relics of St. Seraphim was received in a special way by all believing people. Both in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and in the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral in Moscow, the flow of pilgrims did not stop. People came from different cities and villages, in groups and alone, to venerate the holy relics and light a candle. I think that the discovery of the relics of the saint and their transfer to Diveevo should unite the Russian people today and encourage them to achieve peace in their souls and reconciliation in society, and help the revival of faith and Orthodoxy.
"Moscow Church Bulletin". 1991, No. 14 (59)
Christ is Risen! My joy!
(about the meeting of the relics of St. Seraphim in Moscow on February 7, 1991)
All Orthodox Moscow, all the honest people of this Third Rome came together to meet the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, the Wonderworker, whose relics were so miraculously and suddenly, but at the same time so long-awaited, rediscovered in the City of the Holy Apostle Peter during the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.
The miracle of recent times has come true and is with us, which elevates the Holy Church to the threshold of the ladder of new wondrous events predicted by the Sarov Pleasant of God. - Diveevo will become Lavra...
The Kremlin Tsar Bell will miraculously be transferred there...
The Reverend Father himself will rise for a three-day worldwide preaching of repentance, and peoples from all over the earth will come to Diveyevo to see the miracle of this resurrection...
This was all they talked about in the crowd of excited people awaiting the arrival of the Patriarchal train with the holy relics. They said that on the day the relics were found in St. Petersburg there was a winter thunderstorm. The thunderstorm also passed in Moscow - with rain. So the Prophet of God Elijah himself greeted his companion in preaching repentance in the days of the Antichrist, burning him with heavenly fire and clean water washing away the thorny shackles of the enemy’s spell, which separated the Church Militant - the earthly one from her Heavenly Shrine, in the relics of St. Seraphim, materially appearing on earth for us sinners.
A comparison with the first celebration involuntarily came to mind, when in 1903 the Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich himself with His August Relatives came to Sarov, hidden in the wilderness of the forest, to glorify the great miracle worker. Even during his lifetime, the holy father predicted: “The King who will glorify me, Him I will glorify even more.”
In memory of this, on the platform of the Nikolaevsky station, a portrait of the Passion-Bearer Sovereign rose above the joyful and prayerful crowd.
Prayer chants flowed quietly and continuously over the station. When suddenly the universally spoken “We please you!..” rang out harmoniously. In the distance, at the very beginning of the platform, a large, life-size icon of the Venerable appeared, slowly moving towards those who greeted him. Following the icon, rocking on the human waves, floated a golden boat with his holy, fragrant relics.
It was hard to believe that here on the sinful, on the Russian Earth, languishing in captivity, the beginning of the great Triumph of Orthodoxy, which was still incomprehensible to a world mired in vanity and vice, took place in everyday life.
The Orthodox people flowed for the relics, the procession of the Cross flowed with life-giving moisture across the desert scorched by the heat of death, returning life to it and filling it with the meaning of the earth, the soil into which the time had come to sow the seeds of eternity.
Following the ship with the holy flesh of the Pleasant walked the Patriarch. A little further away, as it should be. The Russian Tsar is a borne Image surrounded by Russian black, gold and white banners.
The Stream of the Cross washed the ancient Kalanchevskaya Square and rushed along Novoryazanskaya Street to the Patriarchal Epiphany Cathedral.
And the joyful rush began - as if out of time, on the eve of Candlemas before Great Lent:
“Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and giving life to those in the tombs!”
The prayer procession strictly entered the arches God's Temple. Waves of people swayed on the porch for a long time. The huge Cathedral could not accommodate everyone who had gathered for the great Church Celebration.
But the Emperor, but the icons of the Saints Royal Martyrs, banners and banners of the Russian Land entered the Temple as solemnly as the reliquary with holy relics.
The human element miraculously turned out to be disconnected precisely at the moment when those carrying these newly-minted Orthodox Shrines were supposed to enter the Cathedral. At that moment there was no fuss or crowd. Quietly, like dew on a fleece, a new miracle descended on the people.
For the first time in more than seventy years in captivity in Moscow, in the Patriarchal Cathedral there is a portrait of the Sovereign. For the first time - an icon of the Royal Family.
Without tears it is difficult to remember what was happening around. The Orthodox, crossing themselves, cried and flowed with tears to venerate the portrait of the Holy Martyr King and His icon, which was still persecuted.
Finally! - the pious women sighed through tears, - Glory to Thee, Lord! - The Tsar Martyr is with us! - Here they are, the Great Passion-Bearers...
They cried joyfully and kissed shrines - a portrait of the Emperor, an icon and even the staff of the Russian banner. And they couldn’t hold back their tears.
And the entire Russian Church saw this. Everyone saw the love for the saints. Love for St. Seraphim was united in one spirit with love for the August Passion-Bearer.
"Reverend Our Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!" - His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II sang with the people. And what had not yet been spoken out loud, but was happening in the hearts of the Orthodox, was ready to burst from the lips: “Holy Royal Martyrs, pray to God for us!”
And when the Patriarch turned his gaze to the people, the clear and powerful eyes of the Russian Tsar looked at him from the portrait.
One of the mothers, old parishioners of the Cathedral, as they later said, had a significant dream vision on the eve of the celebration. It was as if the Venerable Seraphim himself appeared to her and said:
She spent the whole morning in bewilderment; she could not understand the meaning of what the pious mother said to her. “After all, there are many saints...” And only when she saw a large portrait of the Emperor, which had never been here before, being solemnly brought into the Temple, I understood from my heartfelt delight and tearful tenderness who the venerable Sarov wonderworker had in mind.
In connection with this chain of miraculous signs, I would like to talk about one more, which, by its hidden nature, is still known to a small number of believers.
The pious servant of God Eugene lives in Moscow - the great-nephew of the elder Father Mitrofan Serebryansky, who was the confessor of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and the rector of the church in the Marfo-Mariinsky monastery. By inheritance from Father Mitrofan, in the house of the servant of God Eugene, there is kept a wonderful icon, painted in the Royal Kremlin workshops after the birth of the Holy Tsarevich-Martyr Alexy, probably in the same 1904.
This is an icon of the Feodorovskaya Mother of God - Patroness of the Royal Family of the Romanovs. Standing before her on the right and left are the Holy Hierarch of Moscow and All Rus', Metropolitan Alexy and the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. The wonderful image seemed to predict almost ninety years in advance about the meeting of the relics of two Great Russian Saints in Moscow under the arches of one Temple: the relics of St. Alexis, which have been in the Epiphany Cathedral since the time of the Great Patriotic War and the newly discovered relics of St. Seraphim. Thus, in a single shrine, the unity of both Saint Tsarevich Alexy, born after the Royal pilgrimage on the eve of Easter 1903 to the relics of Saint Alexy and the pilgrimage in the same year, called “Sarov Easter,” and the entire Romanov Family is visibly revealed.
Perhaps for those of little faith who doubt the authenticity of the relics of St. Seraphim, this sign will serve to strengthen faith. And it strengthens us, the faint-hearted, in the hope of the speedy glorification of the Holy Royal Martyrs of the House of Russia on the Russian Land.
Diveyevo Easter
Great are Your works, O Lord! What recently seemed impossible and mysterious has now been implemented and become a reality. And everything is done as stated in the prophecies of Father Seraphim, according to his seer’s verb. The Elder said: “I’ll tell you: then Diveev will be marvelous, when the poor Seraphim lies down in Sarov, and transfers his flesh to Diveev... Many saints rest in Sarov, but there are no open relics, there never will be, but for me, poor Seraphim, they will be in Diveevo!" Having heard this prediction from the lips of their mentor, the Diveyevo nuns then thought that Father Seraphim was going to visit their monastery, where he had only been twice, as a new monk, but during the life of the ascetic such a meeting never happened again.
And here are the honest relics of the Venerable One in Diveyevo. In the middle of the summer they sang Easter, as the Elder himself had predicted. The Easter stichera overwhelm us with the joy of what is to come; it seems that the universe itself is filled with these cries of tenderness. All Rus' pleases its heavenly intercessor.
Before rest forever under the arches of the Trinity Cathedral in Diveevo, the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov visited many cities of Russia, everywhere comforting those who flowed to them with the truth of Christ's faith. From the day of the second discovery of the relics on January 11 of this year in the Kazan Cathedral of St. Petersburg, they were worshiped by the Orthodox in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and then from February 7 to July 23 in the Epiphany Cathedral of the Mother See of the capital, where the joy of Muscovites knew no end: so great was the veneration among Christians Elder Seraphim, who decayed in his efforts of prayer for his people.
And now there is a farewell religious procession through the streets of the capital with the gathering of a great many church children. The path lay ahead to the Diveyevo monastery for the nationwide glorification of the Sorrower of the Russian land, the comforter of his compatriots during the years of terrible trials and devastation of the earthly church. Seraphim's celebrations literally stirred up the believing Russian people throughout the entire Fatherland, washed their eyes with tears of enlightenment, and admonished those who were hesitant to take the path of life in Christ.
Everywhere a prayer was offered up to the saint of God with the hope of healing from the ulcers of everyday reality: “In you we place our hope now, merciful Father: be truly our guide and lead us to the unevening light of eternal life by God-pleasing intercession at the throne of the Most Holy Trinity...”
The capital's religious procession from the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral to the Church of St. Nikita the Martyr, then departure to Noginsk (Bogorodsk), where His Holiness the Patriarch performs a prayer service, then, without interruption, an all-night vigil. Prayers in the temple were held all night. On Wednesday, July 24 - departure from Bogorodsk to Orekhovo-Zuevo. Here, on Moscow soil, at 9 o’clock in the morning the Divine Liturgy and farewell prayer are celebrated. At 17.00 the celibate relics of the Saint are greeted by the Vladimir land. The pilgrims, led by Bishop Evlogii of Vladimir and Suzdal and the clergy of the diocese, honor the holy memory of the All-Russian saint with touching prayers. In 2 hours, at 7 pm sharp, there will be a meeting of the holy relics at the Golden Gate by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and the clergy. A majestic religious procession to the Assumption Vladimir Cathedral, where the All-Night Vigil took place. Prayer services in the temple did not stop all night. The chronicle of Seraphim's celebrations is saturated with further spiritual events. On July 25, a meeting of His Holiness the Patriarch took place at the Assumption Vladimir Cathedral. The Divine Liturgy began, then a prayer service at the saint’s shrine. After the meal, the Vladimir flock and clergy escorted the Patriarch to Nizhny Novgorod. The veneration of the holy relics took place throughout the day and the following night. On the morning of the 26th, Friday, the departure of the holy relics from Vladimir to Nizhny Novgorod took place, with stops in Vyazniki and Gorokhovets. So, while singing prayers, the Monk Seraphim continued to walk around the Russian land.
And here are the Nizhny Novgorod borders, the last borders before Diveevo, the eternal resting place of the unforgettable Father Seraphim. At the border of the region, the holy relics are met by Metropolitan Nicholas of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. I recall the words of Bishop Nicholas, spoken by him after the miraculous discovery of the relics of the saint: “The life and feat of Seraphim of Sarov are most closely connected with the Nizhny Novgorod land - the Nizhny Novgorod region. Even many years of violent destruction of all memory of him could not plunge this name into oblivion. And now the people of Nizhny Novgorod keep ", passing on from generation to generation, icons depicting our venerable father Seraphim. He is very close to the Russian spirit."
The meeting of the holy relics by His Holiness the Patriarch and the clergy of Nizhny Novgorod was impressive. The procession followed to the cathedral, where prayer singing was performed throughout the night. On July 27, they served the Divine Liturgy there, and at noon, small vespers with an akathist to the Venerable. Then the All-Night Vigil, after which prayer singing in front of the holy relics continued throughout the night of the 28th, Sunday, a solemn carrying of the holy relics took place throughout the city, accompanied by a procession of the cross. The procession went to Arzamas. Arrival in Arzamas, as planned, occurred at 20.00. While the religious procession moved through the city to the cathedral, in Diveyevo pilgrims observed a miraculous phenomenon in the sky. The previously calm sun suddenly began to pour out joyfully, as it does on Easter morning. The sun was so “rejoiced” that even the unbelievers were surprised at its unusual state. At the same time, many pilgrims were honored to see a rainbow over the cross of the Trinity Cathedral in Diveyevo. The monastery square, flooded with people, rejoiced along with the sun at the arrival of the holy relics in Arzamas, from where it is just a stone's throw from Diveevo. This is already the land prayed by the Venerable Seraphim himself, the land that has become heavenly icon Fatherland.
Diveevo in anticipation of the holy relics of St. Seraphim. The Trinity Cathedral is decorated; near the Kazan Church, crosses mark the graves of the founder of the monastery, Mother Alexandra Melgunova, ascetics from the time of the life of the Sarov Wonderworker, and the “servant of Serafimov” - Nikolai Motovilov, whose recordings of conversations with the Elder enriched the treasury of Russian knowledge of God. Pilgrims are everywhere, and everywhere here they have found a warm welcome. Tent cities grew up on the hills in the vicinity of Diveevo. Order is maintained by the Cossacks, who have come here from the Kuban, Don, and Transbaikalia. Their traditional clothes are colorful, their bearing is brave, and they are united by a spirit of camaraderie. To maintain order, patriotic formations of Muscovites and Sarov residents set up their detachments. July 30, Tuesday, 19.00. Arrival of the holy relics of the saint of God Seraphim in Diveevo. The banner bearers, and in their front ranks are nuclear physicists Vladimir Karyuk, Ivan Sidorov with his son Sergius, Alexey Fedorov, Leonid Bokan - all from Sarov - moved towards the shrine. Behind them are the clergy and numerous pilgrims. Cossacks from the Cossack Union and a hundred young people in black shirts with bands the color of the sovereign flag on their sleeves; holding hands, maintaining order. Prayer service before the holy relics in the monastery. Service all night. The next day, July 31, Wednesday, a meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, Divine Liturgy, prayer service, and at 15 o’clock - small vespers with an akathist to the Reverend. After the All-Night Vigil, already at night, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated.
The first of August is the nationwide glorification of St. Seraphim. The sun is rejoicing again, again, just like 88 years ago, when the same Sarov celebrations took place, Orthodox people are rejoicing. Many have tears of tenderness in their eyes. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the monastery square. Easter in the middle of summer. Christ is Risen! Truly risen! In the concelebration of His Holiness the Patriarch are twelve hierarchs and numerous clergy. Then a prayer service and procession. The pilgrims say goodbye to the relics of the All-Russian saint. The reliquary is carried inside the Trinity Cathedral and placed in the majestic canopy made by the craftsmen of the St. Daniel's Monastery. At night, near the holy relics of the saint, miracles repeatedly occurred in the healing of the possessed, who screamed so terribly at first and gradually died down, acquiring the saving grace of the Spirit.
“When I am gone, come to my grave... Just as you speak to me alive, I will always be alive for you,” St. Seraphim told his interlocutors. His memory is alive and holy to us. The Orthodox people who came to Diveevo from different parts of Russia also spoke to the Elder in prayerful communion with the living. And near Sarov at that time, the Second Seraphim Readings were taking place, bringing together famous scientists and writers into their circle. They honored the living memory of St. Seraphim and talked about everyday life, which is so difficult at this critical moment in Russian history. And hope was given for a better arrangement for our entire existence. For, according to the Elder’s verb, after crushing trials, “The Lord will have mercy on Russia and lead it through suffering to great glory.” So be it! The saint Seraphim grieves for the Russian land, standing prayerfully at the Throne of God.
Alexander Strizhev. 1991
The history of the second discovery of the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov
In 1991, a greatest event occurred that cannot leave our compatriots indifferent: a great shrine was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church - the relics of our reverend and God-bearing father Seraphim, the miracle worker of Sarov and all Russia.
In 1920, a provision was developed for the liquidation of St. relics "on an all-Russian scale." In November 1920, the district congress of councils in the city of Temnikov decided to open the cancer of the Rev. Seraphim, which was carried out on December 17. And on April 5, 1927, the holy relics were removed from the Sarov Monastery and taken away in an unknown direction.
The trail led to Moscow, to the Donskoy Monastery, and then was lost, but all these years Orthodox people kept hope that the great shrine of the Russian people could not be lost forever.
In 1988 - 1989 Orthodox Russia I was tensely awaiting the discovery of the relics of the Reverend, and no one doubted that it would certainly happen soon. And so, by the Providence of God, when our long-suffering land was again faced with terrible upheavals, the great intercessor and prayer book showed his intercession, whose entire life was the gospel of love and peace.
“As it has become clear now,” wrote Patriarch Alexy II, “the relics were transported to the city on the Neva, to a cathedral turned into a museum of the history of religion and atheism. But, apparently, immediately after their arrival they were covered by someone’s pious hands, because “The holy remains were not included in any inventories or lists.”
At the end of 1990, a decision was made to move the museum from the Kazan Cathedral. In one of the rooms of the cathedral, where the tapestries were located, matting was found, and when it was opened, the relics were discovered. What immediately caught my attention was that the relics had a copper cross and mittens on them. On one is embroidered: “Reverend Father Seraphim,” on the other: “Pray to God for us.” The director of the museum informed Patriarch Alexy II about this, who approved the commission and blessed, first of all, to find in the archives all the documents related to the relics of St. Seraphim. Copies of documents for the canonization of the Venerable One in 1903 and a very detailed act drawn up during the opening of the relics in Temnikov were obtained from the Russian Central Archives. When comparing the relics found in the museum with these documents, a complete match was established down to the smallest detail. There was no doubt that the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Bishop (now Archbishop) of Istra Arseny, who participated in the examination of the relics, reported that the cross that was on the relics was indeed copper with a slightly damaged enamel coating. When they took off the doll that was placed on the head, it was amazing a light, even white, spot on the frontal part. It was significantly different from yellowish-brown color of the relics . There was a hole in the doll, apparently framed previously with gold or silver trim, now torn off. All that remained were the threads that attached it. Probably, this part of the relics was opened and available for veneration by believers who reverently honored St. Seraphim. The gold-embroidered glazed armbands listed in the inventory were also intact. They are still on the relics. The only thing missing was the stole. Later they sewed a new one.
Vladyka Arseny recalled: “It is difficult to convey the feeling that I felt then: special reverence and at the same time indescribable internal tension from the consciousness that there was an extraordinary, great treasure nearby. When the examination was over, the holy relics were again covered with paper, transferred to a special room and sealed. "We called His Holiness the Patriarch, reported that these were undoubtedly the relics of St. Seraphim and congratulated His Holiness with great joy."
During the period of examination of the holy relics - from December 25 to January 10 - all the necessary documents were completed, permission from the Ministry of Culture was obtained, a shrine was made and new vestments were sewn. In the presence of Archbishop Evgeniy of Tambov and Michurinsky and Archbishop Arseny of Istra, the venerable relics of St. Seraphim.
On January 11, 1991, a solemn ceremony of transferring the holy relics took place in the Kazan Cathedral of the city on the Neva. Upon arrival at the cathedral of Patriarch Alexy II and the bishops, under the quiet singing of glorification to the Reverend, his holy relics were transferred to the central part of the cathedral. The prayer service immediately began. Seraphim, after which His Holiness the Patriarch and the director of the museum signed the act of transferring the relics of the Russian Orthodox Church. The director of the museum presented the Patriarch with an image of St. Seraphim with a particle of his relics and a piece of clothing.
After completion of the act of transfer, the holy relics were transported to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where they were met at the Holy Gate by the clergy and a huge crowd of people. Having sung the troparion and kontakion to the Wonderworker of Sarov, everyone sang: “We bless you, Reverend Our Father Seraphim...” The Patriarch blessed the city on four sides with the donated icon. Following this, under the ringing of bells and the prayerful singing of the people, the holy relics of St. Seraphim were brought into the Trinity Cathedral. And immediately a thanksgiving prayer began for the return of the shrine. According to Archbishop Arseny, it was unusual to see the Patriarch pronouncing the litany, and the clergy singing with the people. This spiritual joy brought everyone closer together. At the end of the prayer singing, His Holiness led the festive All-Night Vigil. In the city on the Neva the holy relics of St. Seraphim were kept until the day of remembrance of St. Blessed Xenia of Petersburg (January 24/February 6), and then they were transported to Moscow in a special carriage.
The meeting in Moscow on February 7, the day of the icon of the Mother of God “Quench My Sorrows,” was unusually solemn. Despite the cold and snow, people, on their knees, greeted the relics of St. Seraphim. The station and surrounding streets were filled with people. In the hands of many are icons of St. Seraphim, hundreds of lit candles. The transfer of the holy relics to the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral was accompanied by a grand procession of the cross. On thanksgiving prayer More than twenty bishops were present in the cathedral.
In Moscow the holy relics of St. Seraphim stayed until July 23. And all this time, pilgrims came there: clergy from many dioceses, residents of various regions of our vast Russia. From early morning until late evening, people walked and walked, venerated the holy relics, and anointed themselves with consecrated oil. Prayers were constantly performed with the singing of an akathist to the Reverend: “Rejoice, glorified by the Lord with many miracles. Rejoice, you who have shone with your love to the whole world. Rejoice, praise and joy to the holy churches. Rejoice, glory and protection to the Russian Empire. Rejoice, reverend Father Seraphim, miracle worker of Sarov.” .
On July 23, accompanied by the Patriarch, bishops, priests and many believers, the crayfish with holy relics departed from the Mother See, accompanied by the ringing of bells. Her route is to Diveevo through Bogorodsk, Orekhovo-Zuevo, Vladimir, Bogolyubovo, Gorokhovets, Vyazniki, Nizhny Novgorod, Arzamas. In Bogorodsk, Patriarch Alexy II performed a prayer service, then an All-Night Vigil without interruption.
Prayer services were held in the temple all night. Upon arrival in Orekhovo-Zuevo, the Divine Liturgy began, then a prayer service, and in the evening the celibate relics were met at the Golden Gate by the Vladimir-Suzdal land. The majestic religious procession headed to the Assumption Cathedral, where the All-Night Vigil took place. Prayer services in the temple did not stop until the morning. And in the morning the Divine Liturgy began, then a prayer service at the saint’s shrine. The next day, the holy relics departed for Nizhny Novgorod with stops in Vyazniki and Gorokhovets.
The meeting of the holy relics in Nizhny Novgorod by the clergy and many people was impressive. The procession followed to the cathedral, where prayer singing did not stop all night. On July 27, in the morning, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated; at noon, small vespers began with an akathist to the Reverend. Then the All-Night Vigil, after which the prayer singing continued the whole night. On the 28th, on Sunday, a solemn religious procession took place with honest relics throughout the city, and then went to Arzamas.
In Arzamas, Patriarch Alexy II said about the Rev.: “He was the bearer of special love for people. And he drew this love from the joy of the Resurrection of Christ. The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of our faith, St. Seraphim was the bearer of this Easter joy throughout his life.” The joy of the Reverend was transmitted to people. Father Seraphim said: “Oh, what joy there will be! In the middle of summer they will sing Easter! And the people, the people - from all sides, from all sides!” And indeed, everyone accompanying the holy relics was so filled with general rejoicing and joy that people in the middle of the summer sang: “Christ is Risen...”, “...Easter! Let us embrace each other with joy!..”, “The angel cries out with the Most Blessed. .."
Everywhere Orthodox Christians greeted the honorable relics with holy icons and lit candles, with tears of joy in their eyes. This procession through the cities and villages of Russia, from the Neva banks through Moscow to the Nizhny Novgorod land, was an event of enormous unifying significance. Throughout the entire journey, the reliquary with the holy relics was accompanied by Patriarch Alexy P. He said: “We are going through a difficult time. A time of confrontations, contradictions, intolerance. And at this time the second discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov takes place. And again his instructions come to life with great force: "Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands will be saved around you." St. Seraphim, who taught so long and meekly about acquiring the Holy Spirit, today once again reminds us all of the Christian peaceful spirit. The relevance of this call is obvious. And I would like to appeal with a heartfelt, prayerful appeal to the Reverend: “Our Father Seraphim! During your life you were a source of Divine love and joy. Now, standing before the shrine with your holy relics, we ask: teach us brotherly love and joy in the Holy Spirit, help us overcome all disagreements and discord, grant peace and prosperity to the Holy Church, to our Fatherland in this day and in the times to come.”
One of the participants in these events, Father Nikolai Bulgakov, recalls: “We woke up in the Resurrection Cathedral of Arzamas early in the morning. It was already filled with people. And again the line went out onto the street to the holy relics of St. Seraphim and kept growing, growing... It was felt that This is an event for all the townspeople. And this was clearly felt as a miracle: the fact that everyone - even those who did not go to church at all - came, came not just to look, but to venerate the relics. Something happened ... There is something mysterious in the very soul of the people. Early in the morning on the square, the grandmother, beaming, was leading her grandson of about eight years old: “I,” he says, “had a kiss in the evening, but he is just now.”
Grandmothers, our dear grandmothers, who tirelessly woke us up, pulled us by the hand, no matter how much we resisted, kept our faith, kept everything... Life comes to life. It is being erected again around the only true core, which gathered, preserved, and raised us - around the Orthodox faith."
The religious procession in Diveyevo ended on July 30. And the next day - the Divine Liturgy, prayer service, and at 15 o'clock - small vespers with an akathist to the Saint and a solemn All-Night Vigil; At night the Divine Liturgy was celebrated. Father Seraphim predicted that his resurrection will be like the resurrection of the seven youths in the Okhlonskaya cave in the days of Theodosius the Younger, and after his resurrection he came from Sarov ( !!! - ed.) will move to Diveev and there the sermon of worldwide repentance will open. "In this sense, the acquisition of the relics of St. Seraphim should be understood: they were found and resurrected (??? - ed.) for worship of all Christians,” explained Metropolitan Nikolai of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. The prophetic words of Father Seraphim have been fulfilled: his holy relics are in the Trinity Cathedral of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery, where people come from cities and towns of different countries and continents to confess and receive communion of the Saints of Christ Secrets and pray to the wondrous saint of God, the great representative of the Russian Land.
“Rejoice today, all the Russian land, and, holy monastery of Diveyevo, rejoice. The multitude of the faithful, having gathered together today, let us glorify the reverend father, shepherd and teacher, the godly mentor to the lost, the speedy healer of all the sick, the Russian land is a great adornment, we praise him saying: Reverend Seraphim, save us with your prayers" (stichera at the litia).
From the memo
Canonization Commission
To the Synod of Bishops of the Russian True Orthodox Church
about the situation with the Relics of St. Rev. Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker
The text is abbreviated
“Repeatedly,” writes Motovilov, “I heard from the lips of the great saint of God, Elder Father Seraphim, that he would not lie in Sarov in his flesh. And then one day I dared to ask him: “Here you are, father, do you deign to say everything that is in the flesh?” You won’t be yours in Sarov. So, why don’t the Sarov people give you up?
To this, the priest, smiling pleasantly and looking at me, deigned to answer me like this:
- Oh, your love for God, your love for God, how are you! Why did Tsar Peter, the king of kings, wish for the relics of St. the noble Prince Alexander Nevsky to be transferred from Vladimir to St. Petersburg, and the holy relics did not want that and there are none in St. Petersburg.
- Why didn’t you want to? - I dared to object to the great old man. - How could you not want to, when they are resting in St. Petersburg in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra? - In the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, you say? How is this so? In Vladimir they rested upon opening, but in the Lavra they lay hidden - why is that so? “And because,” said the priest, “they are not there.”
- And having expanded a lot on this matter with his god-speaking lips, Father Seraphim told me the following:
“I, poor Seraphim, am destined by the Lord God to live much more than a hundred years. But since by that time the Russian bishops will be so wicked that they will surpass the Greek bishops in their wickedness during the time of Theodosius the Younger, so that they will no longer even believe in the most important dogma of the Christian faith - the Resurrection of Christ and the general resurrection, then therefore the Lord God is pleased to take me, the wretched one. Seraphim, until the time of sowing temporary life and therefore, in confirmation of the dogma of resurrection, resurrect me, and my resurrection will be like the resurrection of the seven youths in the Okhlonskaya cave during the time of Theodosius the Younger."
“Having revealed this great and terrible secret, the great elder said that after his resurrection he would move from Sarov to Diveevo and there he would open a sermon of worldwide repentance. For that sermon, and especially for the miracle of the resurrection, a great crowd of people would gather from all over the earth... And then soon the end of everything will come.”
This is the great Diveyevo mystery of piety, discovered by me (S.A. Nilus - ed.) in the handwritten notes of the Simbirsk conscientious judge Nikolai Aleksandrovich Motovilov, the secret man of the great seer of the rank of prophet - the reverend and God-bearing father of our Seraphim of Sarov and the wonderworker of all Russia "
(Nilus S.A. On the banks of God's River. Notes of an Orthodox Christian. - San Francisco, USA, 1969. - Vol. 2. - P. 192-194; Russian Pilgrim, No. 2, 1990. - Chico, California, USA. – P. 93-96; Literary studies. – Book 1, 1991. – P. 132-133; Fomin S. Russia before the second coming. – M.: Publishing house of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1993. – P. 335-339 ; Pleaser Seraphim of God/ Comp. A. N. Strizhev. - M., 1993. - T. 1. - P. 175-192)
The Great Diveyevo Mystery is one of the most mysterious eschatological prophecies left by St. Seraphim of Sarov. Today it is the property of not only the Catacomb Church, but is reprinted in publications in thousands of copies.
From the time it was first published by S.A. Nilus, many tried to comprehend its mysterious meaning. Motovilov, then Nilus, many Russian New Martyrs and Fathers-Confessors of the Catacomb Church noted that this prophecy refers to the fate of the holy relics of St. Seraphim, and the fate of the Russian Church connected with them (apparently, it is no coincidence that the disappearance of the relics of St. Seraphim coincided with 1927 - ed.). And as can be seen from the prophecy itself, the holy elder ambiguously indicated that times would come when everyone would assume that his relics seemed to exist, but in reality they would not exist...
Already in the 1920s, when the atheistic authorities in Russia began a massive campaign to desecrate holy relics, the expectation and confidence became widespread in the Russian Orthodox consciousness that with the relics of St. St. Seraphim of Sarov, something incredible and miraculous must happen. The Orthodox were ready for the relics of St. Seraphim must leave them. Such departure of the saint’s relics was experienced as a punishment for sins and a call to repentance. In the lives of saints, there are cases of the departure of a patron saint from a city defiled by crime or unbelief. This is exactly how many were inclined to look at future fate holy relics of St. Seraphim. Therefore, when Archbishop of Tambov Zinovy (Drozdov), even before the attempt of the atheists to remove the honorable remains, gave an order in advance to hide them in the Caucasus, the hieromonk to whom such an order was given did not take them away prematurely from Sarov, being confident that the Saint himself would not give your relics into the hands of the blasphemers. And until 1927, the relics of St. Seraphim remained open in Sarov for public worship, and only after the atheists attempted to take them to Moscow were they miraculously hidden.
Even Russian poetry, sensitive to the spiritual experiences of the people, did not remain indifferent to the Seraphim’s secret. Back in 1919, in the poem “Seraphim,” Nadezhda Pavlovich uniquely connected the departure of the saint (his revived relics!) into the midst of the suffering people with the then-expected opening of the shrine in Sarov (RGALI. F. 410 (N.A. Pavlovich). Op. 1. D. 5). In Pavlovich’s poem, St. Seraphim is resurrected during a blasphemous “examination”... Another poetess, Anna Akhmatova, with even greater insight inherent in her, in 1922 says goodbye to the saints - and in particular to St. Seraphim of Sarov - who for the sins of people left the “court of the Lord”:
“...And they leave the monastery, having given away the ancient vestments, Wonderworkers and saints, Leaning on their sticks. Seraphim - to the forests of Sarov, to graze the rural flock..."
(Akhmatova A. Poems and poems. - L., 1977. - P. 163).
Anna Akhmatova's poetic sensitivity and insight genuinely convey the experiences of the Orthodox Russian people themselves, associated with the passing of the relics of St. Seraphim.
Coming into contact with the Great Diveyevo Mystery, it is impossible not to wonder: what is actually said in the prophecies of the holy elder? And what kind of “disposal” of his relics and “resurrection” of the saint can we talk about if they were officially transferred by the Soviet government to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991 and are open to public worship?
The study of this issue shows that it is precisely this fact that may be directly related to some solution to the Great Diveyevo mystery.
Neither in Moscow nor in Leningrad are the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov never it wasn't and couldn't be, since in 1927 they were stolen from the atheists and reliably hidden by the Diveyevo nuns. For the first time this, after a long forced silence, was openly witnessed back in 1991 in a conversation published by the official publication of the ROCOR “ Orthodox Rus'"(see more about this below).
Unknown remains declared to be the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, were found in the storerooms of the All-Union Museum of the History of Atheism in Leningrad, and they were not listed in any of the museum’s inventories. How and when they got there is unknown. The remains were discovered in December 1990 on the eve of the dissolution of the museum, whose workers for 60 years did not even suspect their presence. According to the official legend of the museum director, they were among a mass of old carpets, fabrics and other materials, dusty from time to time, wrapped in matting. There were no markings on the relics, so it was absolutely impossible to find out whose remains these were.
A direct participant in those events, Archbishop Arseny (Epifanov) of Istra, tells in his report how these remains were found and declared “the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov”:
“The director of the museum officially announced that there are no more relics in the museum’s collections, except for particles in icons that are supposed to be returned to the churches. But... Suddenly S.A. called. Kuchinsky (museum director). We agreed to meet, and he came to me. Stanislav Alekseevich reported that after the decision to return the Russian Orthodox Church to the Kazan Cathedral, which housed the Museum of Atheism, the liberation of the storerooms began... And in one of the storerooms, among the tapestries, the remains of apparently some saint were found wrapped in matting . They were not listed in the inventory. When they unrolled the matting, they saw the relics with mittens on their hands. On one was embroidered: “Reverend Father Seraphim,” on the other, “Pray to God for us.”
What the director of the museum said was amazing, but this did not yet give grounds to claim that the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov had been found.
I informed the Patriarch and S.A. about the find. Kuchinsky repeated his story to him. His Holiness the Patriarch blessed, first of all, to find in the archives documents related to the relics of St. Seraphim, keeping everything secret until there is confidence that these are the relics of the saint. It took some time to find the documents. Finally, copies and acts related to the opening of the relics of St. Seraphim after the revolution were obtained from the Russian Central Archives.
...Finally, we arrived at the Kazan Cathedral, we were led into a room where they brought a long bed covered with thick blue paper, under which, in some kind of cloth and cotton wool, were the remains of the saint. When we removed the paper, we saw that the holy relics were assembled into a skeleton, at full height... I must say that from the very beginning we were amazed at how everything coincided with the act of opening the relics in the 1920s. The only thing is the bones were not located in the order described in the document. But this is not surprising... There was not enough stole. Later, a new one was sewn to clothe the relics... When the examination was over, the holy relics were again covered with paper, transferred to a special room and sealed. We immediately went to the diocesan administration, from where we called His Holiness the Patriarch, reported that these were undoubtedly the relics of St. Seraphim, and congratulated His Holiness.
Now the question of the solemn transfer of the relics of St. Seraphim had to be resolved. It was necessary to announce their acquisition and clarify the date of the official transfer.
From December 25 (the day of examination of the holy relics) to January 10, all documents were drawn up, permission was received from the USSR Ministry of Culture, which was in charge of the museum of atheism, a shrine was made and a new vestment was sewn for the relics of St. Seraphim. This determined the date of the official transfer of the holy relics - January 11, 1991." (Bishop of Istra Arseny, Second Finding of the Relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov / Passion for the Relics. - St. Petersburg, 1998. - P. 73 - 81).
Strangely, the unknown remains that ended up in the museum of atheism were declared “the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.” The fact that mittens with a prayer to St. Seraphim were found on them cannot in any way serve as a basis for such a serious conclusion. This is too little. An attempt to refer to unreliable acts of examination by the atheists of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the 20s does not stand up to criticism. As already noted, in reality the relics of St. Seraphim was kidnapped by the Diveyevo nuns, but only an empty box was delivered to Moscow for examination by the Commission. So it’s not difficult to guess how the acts could have been drawn up by the blasphemers. But even if the acts of the atheists were genuine, it would be unacceptable for the Christian consciousness to assert only on their basis that the unknown remains found - “the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov” - are unacceptable.
And how in general are the acts of blasphemers, executioners who shot thousands Orthodox clergy and believers, destroyed churches, confiscated, mocked, replaced and destroyed Orthodox shrines, can serve the only one And undeniable proof in such an important matter as the identification of the relics of unknown saints? After all, they could replace any shrine in order to violate the sacraments of the Church.
But even here, not everything is so smooth. It turns out that the unknown remains found did not correspond to the descriptions in the Bolshevik acts. As the archbishop let it slip. Arseny (Epifanov): “the bones were not located in the order described in the document” (Bishop Arseny of Istra, Second Finding of the Relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. - P. 76).
It also looks suspicious that the documents of the Church Commission for the acquisition and examination of the authentic relics of St. were ignored. Seraphim of Sarov in 1903 and memories and eyewitness accounts of the seizure, desecration and confiscation of the relics of the holy elder in the 20s, who were still alive at that time. This question has not been thoroughly studied at all.
Based on the report of the archbishop. Arseny (Epifanov), the only, more or less compelling evidence that the discovered unknown remains belong specifically to St. Seraphim of Sarov, is that mittens with an embroidered inscription were worn on his hands: “Reverend Father Seraphim” - “Pray to God for us” . We have already noted above that such a solution to such a serious and responsible issue only causes bewilderment. After all, the mere fact of the inscription on the mittens with the name of Seraphim cannot yet be proof that the remains belong specifically to St. Seraphim of Sarov.
To understand how mittens that played a decisive role could have appeared on unknown remains, it is enough to turn to the museum’s archival documents.
It turns out that in 1947, to the Leningrad museum from the Moscow Central Anti-Religious Museum, we quote: "separate items(kept in Moscow in a reliquary with particles of the relics of St. Seraphim - ed.) - epitrachelion, armbands, etc. are packed and sent to Leningrad, box No. 268» . As we see, some items of church vestments, previously stored in Moscow in a reliquary with a particle of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, were indeed delivered to Leningrad. But in these documents we're talking about only about a particle of the relics, but not about the relics themselves. In addition, not even particles of relics were transferred to Leningrad, but only some individual objects, among which were armbands, stoles, etc. Most likely, the mittens that the archbishop is talking about. Arseny (Epifanov) as the only evidence, it was from this “box No. 268”, and they did not get to the museum with the remains, but were put on them much later.
The Museum of Atheism created a myth that the relics of St. Seraphim were allegedly delivered to Leningrad from the Moscow Central Anti-Religious Museum, where, in turn, they were allegedly delivered from the chapel on First Meshchanskaya Street in Moscow.
Back on December 3, 1947, the director of the Leningrad Museum of the History of Atheism, V. Bonch-Bruevich, sent two lists to the chairman of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, General of the NKVD Karpov. One included a list of relics sent to Leningrad after the abolition of the Moscow Central Anti-Religious Museum in 1946. The second list included the relics that still remained in the collections of the museum in Moscow. Both lists, with inventory numbers of the “exhibits,” were compiled on November 5, 1947. In the second list we read: “5985 Relics of Seraphim of Sarov. Skeletal bones, poorly preserved, in a specially arranged display case under glass, obtained from the chapel - 1st Meshchanskaya Street. in Moscow, the relics are in the fund, individual items - stole, armbands, etc. are packed and sent to Leningrad, box No. 268" (GA RF. F. R-6991. Op. 2. D. 605. L. 7).
Based on information from Bonch-Bruevich, the head of the department of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR I.I. Ivanov, who was in charge of the transfer of relics and other shrines, in 1948 compiled “Information about the “relics” located in the funds of the Museum of the History of Religion, as well as museums subordinate to the Committee for Cultural and Educational Institutions under the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR” (GA RF. F. R-6991. Op. 2. D. 605. Ll. 12-15). According to this Information, the Museum of the History of Religion in Moscow contains the relics of “Seraphim of Sarov - poorly preserved bones” (GA RF. F. R-6991. Op. 2. D. 605. L. 12).
At first, superficial glance, it may seem that these two documents are enough to substantiate the legend of the appearance of the “relics of St. Seraphim” in the storerooms of the Leningrad Museum of Atheism. But, as the same Bonch-Bruevich notes, “poorly preserved skeletal bones” that belonged to St. Seraphim of Sarov were “received by the Moscow Museum from the chapel - 1st Meshchanskaya Street. in Moscow". However, as it turned out, of the four chapels located on First Meshchanskaya Street, only the chapel of St. Seraphim of the Sarov Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery was kept reliquary with a particle of the saint's relics and a copy of the miraculous Seraphim-Diveyevo Icon of the Mother of God. The chapel was closed in the fall of 1929 (See: Soro-Sorokov / Author-compiler P.G. Palamarchuk. - M., 1995. - T. 3. - P. 453). It should be noted that there were not entire relics here, but only a particle of them. There is not a word in any documents or memoirs about the presence of the relics of the saint on First Meshchanskaya. Yes, they couldn’t be there, because... Before they were seized by the security officers, they remained available for public worship in the Sarov monastery. The difference between the relics and their particles could not be seen only by a person completely far from the Church, of whom the majority of museum workers were. Similar reliquaries with particles of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov were then kept in many churches throughout Russia. There is no doubt that in the museum’s documents, due to the ignorance of its workers, there was a confusion that connected the origin of the entire relics of St. Seraphim and their particles, which the museum could actually receive from a closed chapel.
Thus, from the above it is clear that in the chapel on First Meshchanskaya, and then in the Moscow Central Anti-Religious Museum, not the entire relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov were kept, but only a reliquary with a particle of his relics. This piece of relics and other items of church vestments had their own “inventory number.” In addition, the documents do not indicate anywhere that the particle of the relics itself was sent to Leningrad. Let us repeat, according to the documents, only “ individual items - epitrachelion, armbands, etc.” And even more than that, it is said that “ the relics are in the fund", and items of vestments were transferred to Leningrad: "the relics are in the fund, individual items - stole, armbands, etc. were packed and sent to Leningrad, box No. 268"
This explains that in 1991, the unexpectedly found unknown remains, declared “the relics of St. Seraphim,” were not listed in the museum inventory. After all, if even a particle of relics had been delivered to Leningrad, which had its own inventory number in the Moscow museum, then upon receiving it in Leningrad, the employee who accepted the “exhibits” was obliged to make an appropriate entry. However, this was not done, which is why the inventories of the Leningrad museum did not even mention anywhere not only the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, but also particles of his relics. Thus, the possibility of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov appearing in the Leningrad Museum of Atheism is excluded here too.
From all of the above, it becomes clear that the remains, apparently, belonged to some other saint of God, or a generally unknown person.
One of the significant and reliable confirmations of the dubiousness of the “relics of St. Seraphim” are the memoirs of one of the last Diveyevo nuns, Mother Seraphima (Bulgakova, + 1998), who was a direct witness to the seizure of the honest relics of St. Seraphim by the security officers in 1927. Seraphim of Sarov and their miraculous salvation:
“...On Monday of the Week of the Cross, a lot of authorities came. All the shrines were raked: miraculous icon The Life-Giving Spring, the coffin-deck in which Father Seraphim lay in the ground for 70 years, the cypress coffin in which the relics were located, and more. They put all this between the royal chambers and the northern entrance of the Assumption Cathedral, made a fire, and lit it. Novice Boris managed to take a photograph; he brought it to show us a photograph of this fire. The relics of Father Seraphim, that is, his bones, as they were dressed in a mantle and clothes, were all rolled up together and placed in a blue prosphora box. They sealed the box, and they themselves divided into four parties, sat on several sleighs and drove in different directions, wanting to hide where they were taking the relics. The box with the holy relics was taken to Arzamas through the village of Onuchino, where they stopped to spend the night and feed the horses. However, no matter how much they wanted to hide the ends, when the troika with the holy relics entered the village of Kremenki, the alarm bell sounded in the bell tower there.
The relics were taken directly to Moscow. There they were received by a scientific commission. Priest Vladimir Bogdanov managed to join this commission (famous Moscow confessor, associate of Fr. Alexy and Sergius Mechev, Archimandrite Seraphim / Batyukov /), Fr. Vladimir Krivolutsky and others, - ed.). When they opened the box, then, according to the testimony of Father Vladimir, there were no relics in it. I heard this from his spiritual children. The same was said by the late Bishop Afanasy (Sakharov - author), who was later in exile with Father Vladimir in Kotlas.
They said that, having arrived for the night, the blasphemers locked the box with the holy relics in the barn, and took the keys for themselves. But they drank themselves..."
From these scant testimonies of one of the last Diveyevo nuns, it is clear that the authentic relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov were not taken to Moscow for examination, since they were rescued and safely hidden by nuns near Diveevo.
Another, also one of the last Diveyevo nuns, Mother Seraphima (Kurkai), in 1927, from the words of eyewitnesses, repeatedly testified (including to the authors of this note) that the Diveyevo nuns got the Bolsheviks heavily drunk, and when they fell asleep, the original relics St. Seraphim of Sarov was kidnapped and reliably hidden from the atheists, so that they could not get into either the Moscow or Leningrad Museum of Atheism. In the beginning. 90s Mother Serafima (Kurkai) went to Diveevo and met with Mother Serafima (Bulgakova), who recognized her and greeted her with joy.
These living testimonies of the last Diveyevo nuns-confessors are for us the most important and reliable documents confirming that the authentic relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov was never found.
However, the Seraphim-Diveyevo secret was revealed in more detail back in 1991 in an interview with the official body of the ROCOR “Orthodox Rus'” by His Eminence Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko, +2005) of Odessa and Tambov:
“In 1966, I was in Diveevo with the Tambov and Diveevo nuns. We arrived on the day of St. Seraphim July 19 / August 1. We prayed in private, as the laity usually do when they are without a deacon or priest. The next day we went to the Kazan spring, then Mother Anna (Tregubova) took me along the ditch, two nuns came up to us and told us about the place in Diveevo where the relics of the saint were hidden. Not the entire Diveyevo monastery knew about this, but only selected nuns. “We are old, we can die, but you are young - we pass on this knowledge to you,” they said. And they showed this place.
The story of the acquisition of relics from the godless is as follows:
Mother Anna lived at the monastery from the age of ten. Her brother Fr. Gideon, later a martyr, lived in Sarov; in 1927 the monastery was closed, and he lived with it as a forester. When the atheists came to take the relics to take them to Moscow, he found out about this and sent his sister, Mother Anna, to Diveevo to notify the abbess about this: “the relics of St. Seraphim are being taken away.” Then the abbess equipped her nuns, and they arrived in Arzamas, where the monastery had a hotel taken away by the Bolsheviks, although part of it continued to be occupied by nuns. And so, in the evening, security officers arrived with a box. The nuns fed them a lot of sausage and gave them vodka, so they lay unconscious. Then the nuns smashed the box and took away the relics of St. Seraphim was loaded onto a horse and taken to Diveevo. They were hidden there, and only a small number of trusted people knew about this place. This is the story, I am telling it exactly as it was told to me.
When this year (1991, – ed.) When the relics were brought from Moscow, the Diveyevo residents did not believe in their truth, and one nun, Mother Euphrosyne, who knows the truth, wanted to shout when the relics were brought: “Don’t believe people,” but she was locked up.” (Vladyka Lazar answers questions from the editors / Orthodox Rus', organ of the ROCOR, Jordanville, USA. - No. 22 (1451), November 15/28, 1991).
The fact that the true relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov were hidden from the atheists is indirectly evidenced by other facts.
In the mid-1940s, the Soviet government transferred the relics of many saints to the Church. In particular, they gave away the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Saints Alexy of Moscow, Theodosius of Chernigov, and Tikhon of Zadonsk. The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR received requests for the transfer of relics of other saints.
Thus, in Karpov’s letter to Molotov dated May 21, 1947, the names of saints are named whose relics the leadership of the MP would like to receive. Oddly enough, there is no mention of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Although, it would seem, it was his power that the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church should have tried to obtain in the first place. Why didn’t anyone in the Russian Orthodox Church ask for the transfer of the relics of St. Seraphim?
Today, more than fifty years later, few people remember what kind of mood reigned among believers and the clergy at that time. Therefore, the question of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov - why no one from the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church even tried to petition for their transfer - which did not cause so many bewilderments then, today seems insoluble.
In fact, in the 40s - 50s. The story of the rescue of the relics from the atheists, based on fresh traces and from the words of eyewitnesses, was so widely known that it was perceived by everyone as an absolute fact. Even in Moscow in the 1960-1970s they knew for sure: the relics of St. Seraphim were securely hidden, and in Diveevo there were people who knew where the shrine was kept.
The fact that the relics of St. Seraphim were kept somewhere in secret was quite common outside Moscow. Even Patriarch Alexy (Simansky) knew about this, which explains that, submitting petitions to Stalin for the transfer of the relics of certain saints, compiling entire lists about the relics of one of the most revered Russian saints - St. Seraphim of Sarov - there was no question. The fact of hiding the relics of St. Seraphim from the atheists in those years was so obvious that no one even had the thought of challenging it or thinking differently. And this despite the fact that Patr. Alexy (Simansky) and other hierarchs were well acquainted with the above-mentioned lists of V. Bonch-Bruevich and I. Ivanov, where, as already mentioned, a particle of the relics of St. Seraphim was mistakenly called relics. If Patriarch Alexy (Simansky) and other hierarchs did not know about the true fate of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, they would certainly try to use the above-mentioned lists. However, then it was obvious to everyone that the compilers made a mistake in these lists, that in fact they were not talking about relics, but only about a particle of relics.
Archbishop Pavel (Golyshev, 1914-1979), who occupied successively the Astrakhan, Novosibirsk, Vologda sees, and in recent years lived in retirement in Belgium, back in the 1970s. openly testified that the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov were securely hidden and were in the possession of a certain layman, and that Patr. Alexy (Simansky) knew this well (From correspondence of Françoise Loest (Brussels) dated June 17, 1997). To the new Patriarch Pimen (Izvekov), manager of the Russian Orthodox Church MP, Metropolitan. Alexy (Ridiger) and other hierarchs, according to Archbishop. Pavel (Golyshev), nothing was known about the relics of St. Seraphim.
From the above, it becomes obvious that the true relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. “The holy relics did not want this”, - as St. Seraphim himself put it in conversations with Motovilov (see: Notes of N.A. Motovilov, “The Great Diveyevo Mystery”, S.A. Nilus, On the Bank of God’s River. Notes of an Orthodox Christian). They remain hidden under a bushel to this day.
The only living witness who knew the secret of the exact place where the true relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, was Schema-Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko, +2005), who was a spiritual child and tonsure of the Holy Elder Schema-Hieromonk Theodosius (Kashin) of the Caucasus. The old women of Diveyevo shrewdly told him this secret in 1966, so that when the time came, he would reveal it.
P.S.:
We are going through a very difficult and contradictory time, when the formidable prophecies of Revelation about the end times are coming true. A time when the apostolic preaching of the Gospel of Love and Truth is especially necessary not only to the whole world, but also among the chosen remnant - the “little flock,” as the great elder St. Seraphim predicted about this.
Knowing the truth about the relics of St. Seraphim can lay the foundation for understanding the Great Diveyevo Mystery. We believe that this would be the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecies about the miraculous resurrection of the great elder and intercessor of our St. Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov and all Rus':
“I, poor Seraphim, have been destined by the Lord God to live for much more than a hundred years. But since by that time the Russian bishops will have become so wicked that their wickedness will surpass the Greek bishops during the time of Theodosius the Younger, so even the most important dogma of the Christian faith - the Resurrection of Christ and universal resurrection and will no longer believe, then therefore it is pleasing to the Lord God to take me, poor Seraphim, before the time of this pre-existing life and therefore, in confirmation of the dogma of resurrection, to resurrect me, and my resurrection will be like the resurrection of the seven youths in the Ohlonskaya cave during the time of Theodosius The youngest."
Having revealed this great and terrible secret, the great elder said that after his resurrection he would move from Sarov to Diveevo and there he would preach a sermon of worldwide repentance. For that sermon, and especially for the miracle of the resurrection, a great crowd will gather from all over the earth... And then soon the end of everything will come.
This is the great Diveyevo mystery of piety, discovered by me (S.A. Nilus, - ed.) in the handwritten notes of the Simbirsk conscientious judge Nikolai Aleksandrovich Motovilov, the secret man of the great seer of the rank of prophet - the reverend and God-bearing father of our Seraphim of Sarov and the miracle worker of all Russia "" (Nilus S.A. On the banks of God's River. Notes of an Orthodox Christian. - San Francisco, USA, 1969. - Vol. 2. - P. 192-194; Russian Pilgrim, No. 2, 1990. - Chico, California, USA. - S. 93-96; Literary studies. - Book 1, 1991. - P. 132-133; Fomin S. Russia before the second coming. - M.: Publishing house of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1993. - P. 335-339; Pleasant of God Seraphim / Comp. A. N. Strizhev. - M., 1993. - T. 1. - P. 175-192).
“It’s not a miracle that it didn’t reach my hut 100 fathoms, but it’s a miracle that my death will be like the death of the youths of Ephesus, who slept in a cave for 300 years. Just as they rose up in assurance of the General Resurrection, so I will rise up before the final end and lie down in Diveyevo. Diveevo will be called not after the village of Diveevo, but after the worldwide Diva" (Nun Seraphima (Bulgakova), Diveyevo legends. - M., 1992. - P. 22-23).
“The light of the faith of Christ through this resurrection from the dead of the Great Elder Seraphim will be confirmed by the entire universe. Then with what greed everyone will turn to all Orthodox sources to learn about the beginning and course of this wondrous history, this 4th lot of the universal Mother of God, the new light of the Athos Women's Diveyevo Mountain; this place of salvation for the whole world during the time of the Antichrist.” It was written by Motovilov on November 8, 1867 (From family archive Florensky. Fomin S. Russia before the Second Coming. – M.: Publishing house of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1993. – P. 337-339).
The Monk Seraphim of Sarov, in the world Prokhor, was born on July 19, 1759 in the city of Kursk into a pious merchant family. His entire life was marked by signs of God's mercy. When, as a child, his mother took him with her to construction and he fell from the bell tower, the Lord kept him unharmed. During the illness of the boy, the Mother of God, in a dream vision, promised her mother to heal him. Soon, near their house, the Kursk Root Icon of the “Sign” of the Most Holy Theotokos was carried in a religious procession, the mother carried the sick man out, he venerated the icon and after that he quickly recovered.
At the age of seventeen, the young man had already firmly decided to leave the world, and his mother blessed him for monastic feat with her copper cross, which the monk did not part with until the end of his life. The elder of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Dositheus (Reverend Dosithea) blessed Prokhor to go to the Sarov Assumption hermitage, on the border of Nizhny Novgorod and Tambov provinces, known for the strict implementation of monastic rules and the ascetic life of its inhabitants. After two years of monastic labors and feats of obedience, Prokhor fell seriously ill and for a long time refused the help of doctors. Three years later, the Mother of God appeared to him with Peter and John and healed him.
On August 18, 1786, the novice took monastic vows with the name Seraphim (“Fiery”) and in December 1787 was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon. Already at that time, the young ascetic was honored during divine services to behold the saints and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, coming through the air surrounded by Heavenly Powers. In 1793, Saint Seraphim was ordained to the rank of hieromonk and began the feat of desert living and solitary prayer in a forest cell, on the banks of the Sarovka River. The devil intensified his war against the ascetic, and the monk took upon himself the feat of pillar-making. For a thousand days and nights, with raised hands, he prayed on the stone: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Powerless to spiritually overthrow the ascetic, the devil sent robbers against the monk, who inflicted mortal wounds on him, but the Mother of God appeared and healed him for the third time.
Upon recovery, the Monk Seraphim labored in the feat of silence for three years, and in 1810, after a 15-year stay in the desert, he opened himself in a monastery cell. For his love of God, humility and exploits, the Monk Seraphim was awarded the spiritual gifts of clairvoyance and miracle-working. On November 25, 1825, the Mother of God with Saints Clement of Rome and Peter of Alexandria appeared to the ascetic and allowed him to finish his retreat. The reverend elder began to receive those who came to him for blessings, advice and spiritual consolation, lovingly calling everyone: “My joy, my treasure.”
The Monk Seraphim looked after and led the sisters of the Diveevo monastery and, at the direction of the Mother of God, founded a separate Seraphim-Diveevo mill community for the girls.
Everyone knew and revered St. Seraphim as a great ascetic and wonderworker. A year and ten months before his death, on the Feast of the Annunciation, the Monk Seraphim was once again honored with the appearance of the Queen of Heaven, accompanied by the Baptist of the Lord John, the Apostle John the Theologian and twelve virgins, holy martyrs and saints. The Most Holy Virgin talked for a long time with the monk, entrusting the Diveyevo sisters to him. Having finished the conversation, She told him: “Soon, My beloved, you will be with us.” At this appearance, during the wondrous visit of the Mother of God, one Diveyevo old woman was present, through the prayer of the monk for her.
In the last year of his life, the Monk Seraphim began to noticeably weaken and spoke to many about his imminent death. At this time, he was often seen at the coffin, which stood in the entryway of his cell and which he had prepared for himself. The monk himself indicated the place where he should be buried - near the Assumption Cathedral. January 1, 1833 St. Seraphim in last time came to the hospital Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Church for the liturgy and received communion of the Holy Mysteries, after which he blessed the brethren and said goodbye, saying: “Save yourself, do not lose heart, stay awake, today crowns are being prepared for us.”
On January 2, the monk’s cell attendant, Father Pavel, left his cell at six o’clock in the morning, heading to the church, and smelled a burning smell coming from the monk’s cell; Candles were always burning in the saint’s cell, and he said: “As long as I am alive, there will be no fire, but when I die, my death will be revealed by fire.” When the doors were opened, it turned out that books and other things were smoldering, and the monk himself was kneeling before the icon of the Mother of God in a position of prayer, but already lifeless. During prayer, his pure soul was taken by the Angels and flew up to the Throne of God Almighty, whose faithful servant and servant the Monk Seraphim was all his life.
According to the life of Saint Matrona, the parents, Natalya and Dmitry Nikonov, at first wanted to leave their blind daughter in an orphanage, but the mother changed her mind after she had an extraordinary dream: a white bird of extraordinary beauty, but blind, sat on her chest. Taking the dream as a sign, the God-fearing woman gave up the idea of sending the child to an orphanage. The daughter was born blind, but the mother loved her “unfortunate child.”
They also talk about the external, physical sign of the baby’s chosenness by God - on the girl’s chest there was a bulge in the shape of a cross, a miraculous pectoral cross. Later, when she was already six years old, her mother once began to scold her: “Why are you taking off your cross?” “Mommy, I have my own cross on my chest,” the girl answered.
Life reports that already from the age of seven or eight, Matronushka discovered the gift of prediction and healing of the sick. Through her prayer, people received healing from illnesses and consolation in sorrows. Visitors began to come and visit her. Wanting to thank Matrona, they left food and gifts for her parents. So the girl, instead of becoming a burden to the family, became its main breadwinner.
Many people came to Matrona for help. Four kilometers from Sebino lived a man whose legs could not walk. Matrona said: “Let him come to me in the morning, crawl. He’ll crawl by three o’clock.” He crawled these four kilometers, and walked away from her on his own feet, healed.
A legend has reached us about Matronushka’s meeting with the saint. righteous John Kronstadt, who, at the end of the service in St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt, asked the people to make way for the 14-year-old Matrona approaching the salt and said publicly: “Matronushka, come, come to me. Here comes my shift - the eighth pillar of Russia.”
Mother did not explain the meaning of these words to anyone, but her relatives guessed that Father John foresaw a special service for Matronushka to Russia and the Russian people during the times of persecution of the Church.
At the age of seventeen, Matrona lost the ability to walk: her legs suddenly became paralyzed. As Matronushka herself said, “such was the will of God.” Until the end of her days she was “sedentary.” She never grumbled because of her illness, but humbly bore this heavy cross.
In 1925, Matrona moved to Moscow, where she lived until the end of her days. She lived wherever she had to - with friends and acquaintances. Matrona received up to forty people a day. People came with their troubles, mental and physical pain. She never refused to help anyone.
Matrona predicted her death in three days, continuing to accept people into her last days. She died on May 2, 1952. She was buried at the Danilovskoye Cemetery in Moscow. The grave of Saint Matrona later became a place of unofficial pilgrimage.
On March 8, 1998, the remains were exhumed; The relics were delivered to the Moscow Danilov Monastery, then transferred to the temple on the territory of the Intercession Convent and placed in a special tomb (raku).
On May 2, 1999, Matrona was canonized as a locally revered Moscow saint; The definition of the Holy Synod of August 17, 2004 read: “Include in the agenda of the upcoming Council of Bishops the issue of the church-wide glorification of the Holy Blessed Matrona of Moscow (Nikonova; 1881-1952).” In October of the same year, church-wide canonization took place.
The miraculous intercession of St. Sava guarded the monastery from the day of its foundation, but this was especially evident in Troubled times, which struck Rus' at the beginning of the 17th century. The stable and secure position of the monastery was destroyed by fires and robberies. Not all of the monasteries and churches in Zvenigorod that were destroyed during the Troubles were able to recover. But the Savvino-Storozhevskaya monastery was able to withstand; through the prayers of the holy founder, the Lord preserved the monastery during all the trials.
There is an assumption that False Dmitry II, wanting to attract people's love, intended to open St. the power of St. Savva Storozhevsky. In a letter dated September 8, 1608, written in a camp near Moscow, he expresses a desire for his wife Marina Mnishek to be closer to the capital “for the position of one saint in the Zvenigorod monastery, which would increase respect and surprise for us in Moscow” Uspensky A Savvin Storozhevsky Monastery. // Artistic treasures of Russia. A monthly collection published by the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. M., 1904, No. 2-4, p. 62. It should be noted that the authoritative historian of the 19th century S.K. Smirnov interpreted the text of the charter differently (Smirnov S.K. Uk. soch., p. 23). .
The Zvenigorod miracle worker was especially revered by the second sovereign of the new dynasty, Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. Under him, the monastery acquired the status of a monastery, was equipped with new buildings, became a country royal residence and one of the richest monasteries of the era. During the reign of Emperor Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the discovery of the shrine took place.
The discovery of saints and incorruptible relics was caused by numerous miraculous healings and miracles that took place at the tomb of the saint. Thus, in 1651, Andrei Shakhov, the royal overseer of the construction of the stone monastery walls, fell into a fever so dangerous that he despaired of his life. But the Monk Savva appeared to him in a dream and healed him. In the same year, the Savvinsky sacristan Filaret told Shakhov that the brethren often see the monks Sergius and Savva in the monastery, who walk around the cells at night and wake up the brethren for matins. Around the same time, a certain young man appeared at night to one monastery mason, despondent over the death of his mother, and said that he had been sent by St. Sergius of Radonezh to the monastery of St. Savva to help that worker and console him in his grief.
The royal archives contain descriptions of two miracles dated December 1651. One of them is about the healing of Semyon Danilovich Zmeev, the other is about the healing of Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Solntsev. Semyon Zmeev, the legend tells, was near death for more than ten days: “his larynx was busy,” and he was unable to drink or eat. Preparing for death, he received Holy Communion, but his relatives, “as if he died,” cried for him. The day of remembrance of the Monk Savva approached (December 3), and Semyon Zmeev, remembering “the reverend and God-bearing father of our Abbot Savva, the Storozhevsky Wonderworker,” began to “beg for mercy” from him. Immediately the illness subsided, and he became “healthy as before.” A few days later he went to pray at the Saint’s tomb and told about his miraculous healing to Archimandrite Hermogenes of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery and his brethren.
On the same days, Archimandrite Hermogenes received news from Prince Andrei Solntsev. The prince lay in a fever for many days, “and began to honor the wonderworker Savva’s life, and having reached the word where the saint of God, the Rev. Savva, heals from various diseases... he began to ask with tears for mercy, promising to be at his multi-healing tomb... in the monastery of the Most Pure The Mother of God and the great wonderworker Savva prayed, and at the same hour the saint of God and the great wonderworker Savva gave him healing from that illness.”
Undoubtedly, the miracles further strengthened among the brethren and pious laity faith in the Saint and the desire to see his incorruptible relics. There were many other miracles and phenomena of St. Savva, sometimes alone, sometimes together with St. Sergius of Radonezh, which occurred just before the discovery of St. relics.
The following amazing story is connected with the discovery of the shrine: “The immediate reason for the discovery of the relics of St. Savva, according to the ancient legend existing in the Storozhevsky Monastery, was the appearance of the saint of God to the king himself. In December 1651, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich went hunting in the Zvenigorod forests surrounding the monastery. When his retinue scattered through the forest to find the bear’s lair and he was left alone, a bear suddenly ran out of the forest thicket and rushed at him. The sovereign did not have a weapon, and he, seeing the impossibility of defending himself, doomed himself to certain death. Suddenly an old man appeared near him, and with his appearance, the beast fled from the king. Asked about his name, the elder replied that his name was Savva and that he was a monk of the Storozhevsky monastery. At this time, some of his retinue gathered to the king, and the elder went to the monastery. Soon Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself came to the monastery and asked the archimandrite about the monk Savva, thinking that he was some ascetic still unknown to him who had settled in the monastery. The archimandrite replied that there was not a single monk named Savva in the monastery. Then the king, looking at the image of the Reverend, realized that it was he himself.” Brandt I.V. The first and second discovery of the holy relics of St. Savva of Storozhevsky. Zvenigorod 2002, p. 7-9. .
The holy relics were found incorrupt on January 19, 1652. The Tsar himself, the royal family, Patriarch Joseph and Novgorod Metropolitan Nikon (future patriarch) were present at the discovery. The shrine was preserved in the main volume of the ancient monastic Nativity Cathedral near the iconostasis on the right side, on a small elevation under the canopy.
In the palace ranks, this great church event is conveyed as follows: “Tsar Alexy Mikhailovich on January 16, 1652 went to Zvenigorod to find the relics of St. Sava the Wonderworker, and with him, the Sovereign, His Holiness Joseph, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', and Novgorod Metropolitan Nikon. With the tsar there were 13 boyars, 10 okolnichi, 100 stewards and 50 attorneys, and under Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna there were 65 nobles; On the 19th, the relics were found incorrupt after 245 years in the ground, placed in a new oak tomb and placed on the right side of the cathedral at the southern gate leading to the altar. The next day, on the 20th, Patriarch Joseph celebrated the solemn celebration of the discovery of the relics of the newly glorified Saint of God, and according to the liturgy there was a table at the Sovereign’s; at the meal, at the Emperor’s table was His Holiness Patriarch Joseph of Moscow and All Rus'. On this day, the Emperor donated 3,000 rubles to the monastery, as it appears in the monastery deposit book, and Metropolitan Nikon gave the contribution 50 rubles.” Smirnov S.K. Uk. cit., p. 27. .
A traveler from the Orthodox East, Archdeacon Pavel of Aleppo, who visited the monastery four years after his discovery, managed to see St. relics open. He recalls: “Entering the church, our Bishop of Antioch, Patriarch Macarius, who was traveling around Russia at that time. He venerated, according to their custom, all the icons of the church and the relics of Saint Sava the New, which were placed in a silver-gilded shrine. Apparently, the original oak shrine was richly decorated. , located in the corner of the church, to the right, in a room similar to the place where the Robe of the Lord is kept, with a dome and a copper fence, with a through carving all around and a mica ceiling... The king, taking our teacher by the right hand, led him to the saint’s shrine , opened it and showed him the body, and he kissed it; at the same time, the king said in surprise: “Look at the beautiful color of this skull: truly, it is yellow and hard” and continued: “When I took the relics of the saint out of the ground to put them in this shrine, I noticed that one molar was lost , and I didn't stop looking for it until I found it. At that time my teeth hurt, I rubbed them with it, and they were immediately healed.”
The Emperor contributed greatly to the veneration of the Zvenigorod miracle worker throughout Russia. Icons of St. Petersburg became widespread. Savva Storozhevsky, no less striking characteristic of his veneration is the fact that the Moscow Printing House in 1649 twice published the service and life of St. Savva in editions of 200 and 1200 copies. Every year, the Emperor asked the Savvinsky monks to send him from the monastery “blessed oil, holy and washing water” to irrigate the fields in his beloved Izmailovo when sowing grain. Moscow Church Gazette. M., 1912, No. 39. p. 886. .
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich had an urgent desire to transfer the holy and incorruptible relics of the Monk Sava from the oak tomb in which they rested into a gilded silver shrine. Before he could do this, he bequeathed his wish to his son.
In September 1680, his son and successor Tsar Feodor Alekseevich brought a new silver tomb to the monastery, and the Emperor made the journey to Zvenigorod from Moscow on foot, despite a serious leg disease that he had suffered from since childhood. In the book of royal exits it is said that the king went to the Slavvinsky monastery, according to a vow, on foot. “On the 6th the tsar came to Pavlovskoye “for the evening meal” and spent the night in that village, on the 7th “after the table meal” he left Pavlovskoye. “And the new silver shrine of the miracle worker from the previous state’s coming to the monastery was placed in the guest yard. And how the Great Sovereign deigned to go to the monastery, and from the Savvinsky monastery they met the Great Sovereign with life-giving cross Kolomna Archbishop (Paul of Moravia) and Savvinsky Archimandrite (Sylvester) with the abbot, and the priest, and the deacon in robes; and the silver shrine was carried in front of him, the Great Sovereign, by the riding (court) singing deacs, and in front of it walked black priests and deacons (hieromonks and hierodeacons) with censers and candles. And the Great Sovereign deigned to place this shrine in the cathedral church on right hand: and while singing a prayer service, the Great Sovereign, with the Archbishop of Kolomna and with the Archimandrite of Savvinsk, deigned to place the relics of the miracle worker in a new silver shrine.” Smirnov S.K. Uk. cit., p. 34. .
A hundred years later, in 1781, court councilor Nikolai Vladimirovich Sheremetev erected a finely crafted wooden carved tent over the shrine, overshadowing St. power.
In any temple you can find pieces of the relics of various saints. They symbolize the special prayerful presence of the deceased righteous person, to whom a person who comes to church turns with a request or gratitude.
Who and when was involved in the division of the relics? Is it possible to confirm their authenticity and find out about their origin?
Timothy Katnis, historian and director of the Pilgrimage Center of the Apostle Thomas in Europe, answers these questions and more.
Why are relics needed?
Relics are the remains of saints, that is, those whom God glorified after their death and whose presence in the world is constantly felt by believers. The holiness of the Earthly Church is manifested in human veneration of these people, in their appearances to the living, in miraculous events associated with their participation, in healings and help that come after praying to them. The remains of a saint become a source of divine power or, in other words, church language, - grace. We find the exact formula for the veneration of relics, which the Church still adheres to, in the decisions of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787): “Our Savior Christ gave us saving springs, the remains of saints, pouring out benefits in various ways on the worthy. And this through Christ, who dwells in them.” Evidence of the veneration of relics can be found already in the Old Testament (2 Kings 13:21). Written documents The 2nd century confirms the presence of this tradition in the Church since ancient times.
The Church adamantly asserts that Christ was resurrected not only spiritually, but also physically, therefore Christian theology has always said that a person must be holy in the fullness of his being. Not only the soul is sanctified, but also the body. From this follows the justification for the veneration of relics - the human flesh of the righteous is as sanctified by grace as his soul.
Since the times of early Christianity, the sacrament of the Eucharist and the Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ has been performed in the catacombs, on the tombs of martyrs, that is, on their relics. In the modern Church, this Sacrament is also performed on holy remains. The so-called Antimins, a quadrangular plate into which a particle of relics is sewn, is always present on the throne in the altar of any Orthodox church. Without him the main thing cannot be accomplished christian worship– liturgy. Thus, the Church indicates that each liturgy takes place both with the visible participation of the living, that is, believers present at that time in the temple (Earthly Church), and with the participation of the deceased, that is, saints (Heavenly Church), who are present not only invisible, but also visible and tangible - in the relics in the altar on the holy throne
The incorruptibility of the relics is not a necessary condition. The holiness of a person is primarily evidenced by his life and the miracles that occur through his prayers. On Athos, for example, the relics are the bones of the deceased. Moreover, if the body of a monk does not decay after his death, this is considered a bad sign - they begin to pray intensely for such a person.
Why are relics divided into particles?
The phenomenon of the division of relics is that it is not the saint’s body itself that is the source of healing and miracles, but rather the power of God that lives in it, as the Seventh Ecumenical Council points out“...And this through Christ, who dwells in them..” . This power is indivisible.
Even the smallest particle allows you to touch the most holy thing and the fullness of that divine grace that resides in the righteous man himself. Therefore, in order to more people got the opportunity to touch this Power, Christians share the relics. Many of those who are surprised by this tradition do not think about what happens at the Liturgy. When the priest crushes the Body of Christ into pieces before Communion and lowers them into the Chalice, then the believers do not eat a part of Christ, but accept Him into their lives entirely, and they themselves, in their entirety, become part of the one, indivisible Body of Christ.
When did the tradition of sharing relics begin?
This has happened since ancient times. Documentarily, we can trace such a tradition already in the 4th century, reading the written sources that have reached us. Here, for example, is what St. John Chrysostom (c. 347 - 407) says in his sermon: “Holy relics are inexhaustible treasures and are incomparably higher than earthly treasures precisely because these (they - T.S.) are divided into many parts and through separation decreases; and those from division into parts not only do not decrease, but even more reveal their wealth: such is the property of spiritual things that through distribution they increase and through division they multiply.”
Shrines were hidden, moved, lost, found. There are relics that still remain incorrupt (St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky, St. Alexander of Svirsky), and there are those that have decayed over time. The greater the glory of the deceased saint, the more churches and monasteries there will be that will want a piece of his relics for themselves. However, not all saints retained their relics. Sometimes it happened that after the death of the martyrs, the pagans destroyed their bodies by burning them or throwing them into water.
Is there a procedure for transferring relics?
Exists. This order has changed over time. And in Byzantium, and in Rus', and in our time, as a rule, this was done at the request of the bishop. He sent an official letter to a temple or monastery of another diocese (church administrative-territorial unit) with a request to separate part of the relics. This request was considered and, if possible, the particle was separated, after which, through a trusted priest, or in a solemn religious procession, it was brought to the place where the request came from. Then the relics were inserted into the icon, or a so-called reliquary or reliquary was made for them (a container for storing valuable relics that have religious sacred significance) and kept with reverence in the temple.
Have there been cases when relics were stolen?
Yes, there are such examples. The most textbook of them is the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bari. In fact, it was a real kidnapping. At the same time, the kidnappers were guided by completely pious goals. At that time, Byzantium was under constant threat of occupation by the Turks, and Italian Christians feared that the relics of the saint might eventually be desecrated. In addition, all sailors of the Mediterranean basin revered Nicholas the Wonderworker as their special patron. Hence the desire to receive the relics of the saint in his hometown arose. In 1087, a merchant ship with Barians landed at the port of Myra Lycia. The sailors made their way into the temple in which the relics of the saint rested, and, seizing the monks there, began to interrogate them where the tomb of the saint was located. One of the sailors, Matteo, seeing a mosaic on the floor of the temple, began to break it with a crowbar and soon discovered an empty space under it, where the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker lay. Having quickly loaded their treasure onto the ship, the sailors headed back home. Already in Bari, pieces of the saint’s relics were sent to different places. One is now in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Rome, the other in France - in Saint-Nicolas de Port, the third in Venice. A similar story happened with the “transfer” of the relics of the Apostle Mark from Alexandria to Venice (829) and with the body of Spyridon of Trimythous, which was stolen from Constantinople and brought to the island of Corfu (1456).
Are there scientific methods for verifying the historical authenticity of relics?
Exist. One of them is the radiocarbon method, which can be used to date the age of the relics. Any organic matter contains carbons, which, from the moment of death of a biological being, begin to decay at a known speed - the so-called half-life. Scientists measure the amount of carbon that is left in the object being studied and then compare it to how much there should have been in the first place. In this way, it is possible to determine the approximate date of death based on the amount of decayed carbon. This method was successfully used during the study of the head of John the Baptist in the city of Amiens. He showed that the age of the skull is about 2000 years. There is also an anthropologicalAnthropology is a set of disciplines that studies man, his origin, existence and development in natural and cultural environments. – Approx. ed.) analysis that was also used during these studies. He determined that this was the head of a person between 35-45 years old, and the type of skull was Semitic, which further indicated the authenticity of the Head of John the Baptist.
In addition, individual historical and canonical analysis can be used. It is carried out on the basis of a complex of various historical documents and archaeological artifacts. In particular, such an analysis is required in order to confirm that this particular city, place or diocese has special rights for the storage of the relics of one or another saint. For example, through such a historical and canonical analysis, it was confirmed that the relics of the apostles Peter and Paul were indeed found in Rome, which means that this city is the “homeland” of these holy relics. But such an analysis is not always possible. Over the 2000-year history of the Church, with all the upheavals, falls of empires, crusades and other events, it is sometimes extremely difficult to determine the path of one or another shrine. Sometimes researchers only have scraps of indirect information, with the help of which it is possible to somehow restore the history of the relics.
However, it is important to note that the church consciousness has always relied on the evidence of its Tradition, and such trust was justified. All data scientific research were always considered as auxiliary arguments that in no way determine the issue of the authenticity of the relics. Many characters and passages in Scripture have long been questioned in scientific circles. Archaeological discoveries of the 20th century dispelled most of these doubts. And what will be revealed tomorrow is unknown, but the Church knows its saints better than anyone else, even if he holds a magnifying glass or measuring device in his hands. For the Church, only one piece of evidence remains fundamental - recognition of the authenticity of the relics by the Church itself through decisions of church councils and popular veneration.
Do Christians themselves conduct research on relics?
Yes. Catholics, after the Second Vatican Council (1962 - 1965), created an entire commission that was supposed to determine the authenticity of all relics and relics stored in monasteries and churches. Over the course of 10 years, all documents were rechecked and, if possible, the history of each shrine was restored. As a result, the work carried out separated those relics and shrines, whose origin and authenticity are documented, from those that we can only venerate by faith.
The Orthodox Church also knows such studies. For example, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the second discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, which were stolen by the authorities during the Soviet period. Then there was almost no hope of finding his holy remains. When in 1990 information was received that it was possible that these relics had been found in the Museum of Atheism and Religion, a commission was created that conducted anthropological and historical-canonical analyses. As a result, it was reliably established that the remains found were the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Conflicting evidence constantly appears about research into the remains of the Royal Family.
It is important to note that neither in the case of the well-known Catholic commission, nor in the case of scientific studies of the relics at the request of the Russian Orthodox Church, their results were and cannot be the basis for resolving the issue of the authenticity of the relics. The final, defining word always remains with the Church itself; only She herself keeps holiness within herself and can recognize it.
On the screensaver is a fragment of a photo of Vladimir Eshtokin.
Loading...
