The Church honors the memory of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov
The venerable saint began his path of asceticism after a pilgrimage to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and prayer before the Pechersk saints.
On August 1, the Orthodox Church celebrates the finding of the relics of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. On this day, the faithful commemorate the solemn glorification of the saint and the opening of his holy relics, which took place in 1903 in the presence of a great multitude of pilgrims.
A pivotal stage in the formation of the venerable saint's spiritual path (known in the world as Prokhor Moshnin) was his pilgrimage to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. In his youth, Prokhor Moshnin traveled on foot to Kyiv to venerate the shrines of the ancient monastery and receive guidance from experienced elders.
It was in the Kitaevo Hermitage that the elder Dosifei discerned the will of God in the young man and blessed him to take monastic vows at the Sarov Hermitage. Prayers before the relics of the Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves definitively strengthened Prokhor's resolve to dedicate his life to God forever.
The life of Father Seraphim in Sarov became an example of true ascetic endeavor. The ascetic passed through severe trials, including many years of solitary life in a remote forest, three years of silence, and fifteen years of reclusion.
A special place in Church tradition is held by his feat of stylitism — a thousand days of unceasing prayer on a granite boulder with hands raised to heaven. Even after a brutal attack by robbers who split his head open with the blunt end of an axe and left him stooped for the rest of his life, the venerable saint displayed the highest Christian humility and insisted on the pardon of his offenders.
Having acquired the gifts of clairvoyance and healing, the elder received thousands of those in need, greeting each one with the words: "My joy! Christ is Risen!" To his disciples, the venerable saint left the teaching that the chief goal of a Christian's life is "the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God." The saint reposed peacefully in 1833 during prayer, kneeling in his cell, and was buried in a coffin he had made with his own hands long before his death.
As the SPJ reported, Ostapenko told whether the fresco of Seraphim of Sarov in the Lavra would be painted over.
