Prokhor Moshnin entered the monastery of Sarov near Moscow as a novice in 1779. In 1786, with monastic vows, he was given the name Seraphim. He was ordained deacon in 1786, priest in 1793. From 1794 he chose to live in seclusion as a hermit in the forest 7 kms from the monastery. He looked after a small garden, tended bees, read and meditated on the Bible and the fathers. He shared his food with the wild animals which came to him.

The discipline and severity of his lifestyle was astonishing, with long periods of fasting. He encountered the deepest spiritual conflicts: “He who has chosen the desert and silence must feel himself constantly crucified.” In 1804 he was attacked by robbers and carried the effect of the wounds for the rest of his life. Because of his failing health he returned to the monastery in 1810, and lived there in solitude in his small cell. In 1825 he agreed to share his insights with others and became a staretz (spiritual director, guide and soul-friend) thousands of people came to him.

Seraphim had outstanding gifts of healing, perception and spiritual discernment, believing intensely in the power of prayer to give healing. He was known for his visions, his prophecies, his radiant joyful faith, and a particular love of children. Despite his personally austere ways he was always gentle-spirited and full of compassion towards others, seeing his priestly ministry as one of bringing comfort to the afflicted. He stressed the importance of joy and cheerfulness in the spiritual life. “Christ, my joy, is risen” was the expression he preferred above all others with which to greet people.

The whole purpose of the Christian life, he taught, was nothing other than the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. It is the infusion of the Spirit which gives life, the penetration of the entire human being by the divine energies.

Seraphim practised the unceasing “prayer of the heart” or “Jesus prayer”, which becomes an inner equivalent of the eucharist, an unending communion with Jesus, who is present when his name is spoken. When Jesus has been drawn into the heart, the kingdom has come, and the soul is at peace. Seraphim emphasised that the offering of the heart to God and the gift of the kingdom to us are complementary to one another. His life has been described as “an icon of Orthodox spirituality”.

BORN: 30 July 1754, Kursk, Russia

DIED: 14 January 1833, Sarov, Russia