On July 30, 1754, Prokhor Isidorovich Moshnin, whom we know as Seraphim of Sarov, was born. One of the most revered Russian saints, his life, ministry and veneration keep many mysteries: from the elder's attitude to the Old Believers to the difficulties of canonization.
Canonization
For the first time, the documentary confirmed idea of the official canonization of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov is contained in a letter from Gabriel Vinogradov to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev. This document, dated January 27, 1883, contains a call to "commemorate the beginning of the reign" of Alexander III with the "discovery of the relics of the pious" Seraphim of Sarov. And only 20 years later, in January 1903, the reverent elder was canonized. Some sources explain such "indecision" of the Synod by the saint's "sympathy" for the Old Believers, which they could not have been aware of.
However, everything seems to be much more complicated: ecclesiastical power depended to one degree or another on state power in the person of the emperor and his representative, the chief prosecutor. And although the latter was never a member of the Synod, he controlled and influenced its activities. The church authorities decided to take a wait-and-see attitude, “play for time”: out of 94 documented miracles of the Sarov elder, prepared for his canonization, a small proportion was recognized. It is really not easy to separate the real feat from the fruit of arrogance, the style of the narrator from the actual fact of the saint's life. The Synod "did not find the determination to glorify the saint of God," waiting for the "go-ahead" of the emperor or the providence of God, which ideally should have coincided.
Starover
The version about the sympathies of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov for the Old Believers has been exaggerated from the beginning of the last century to the present day. The falsification of the generally accepted image of the saint as a supporter of the official church was reported, for example, in the “Motovilov papers”, which were presented at the 1928 Wandering Council. Whether such a Council was actually held is unknown. A person with a dubious reputation, Ambrose (Sivers), announced that it would be held, although a number of researchers (B. Kutuzov, I. Yablokov) recognized the authenticity of the Wandering Cathedral. The "papers" reported that Prokhor Moshnin (Mashnin) - the name that the monk bore in the world - came from a family of crypto-Old Believers - those who "followed" Nikon only formally, but in everyday life continued to live and pray in Old Russian, almost a thousand years old. Allegedly,therefore, the external attributes in the appearance of Sarov became clear, which later would be "trumped" by the supporters of his "Old Believers": a cast copper "Old Believer" cross and a ladder (a special type of rosary). Associated with the pre-Nikon Orthodoxy and the strict ascetic appearance of the elder. However, the conversation of the Holy Father with the Old Believers is well known, where he asks them to “leave nonsense”.
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Personal motives of the emperor
It is well known that the key role in the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov was played by the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, who personally "pressed" Pobedonostsev. Perhaps not the last role in the decisive actions of Nicholas II belongs to his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, who, as you know, begged Sarovsky to "give Russia an heir after the four Grand Dukes." After the birth of the Tsarevich, Their Majesties strengthened their faith in the sanctity of the elder, and a large portrait with the image of St. Seraphim was even placed in the emperor's office. Whether personal motives were hidden in the actions of Nicholas II, how much he was carried away by the common love of the royal family for the veneration of miracle workers, whether he strove to overcome the "mediastinum" that separated him from the people - is unknown. How unclear ishow significant was the influence of Archimandrite Seraphim (Chichagov), the abbot of the Spaso-Evfimievsky monastery, who gave the emperor "a thought about this subject" and presented the "Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery". However, it is known that in the imperial family the Sarov elder was revered for a long time: according to legend, Alexander I visited him incognito, and the 7-year-old daughter of Alexander II was cured of a serious illness with the help of the mantle of Saint Seraphim.
Letter
During the Sarov celebrations on the occasion of the unveiling of the relics of the elder, Nicholas II received the so-called "letter from the past." The epistle was written by the Monk Seraphim and addressed to the "fourth sovereign" who will arrive in Sarov "to pray especially for me." It is not known what Nikolai read about in the letter - neither the original nor copies have survived. According to the stories of the daughter of Seraphim Chichagov, who received the message sealed with soft bread, the Emperor put it in his breast pocket with a promise to read it later. When Nikolai read the message, he "wept bitterly" and was inconsolable. Presumably, the letter contained a warning about the upcoming bloody events and instructions in strengthening the faith, "so that in difficult moments of difficult trials the Emperor does not lose heart and carry his heavy martyr's cross to the end."
Praying on stone
Quite often Sarovsky is depicted praying on a stone. It is known that the monk offered up prayer for a thousand nights on a stone in the forest and a thousand days on a stone in his cell. The prayer feat of Seraphim of Sarov on the stone was not documented by the abbot of the Sarov monastery, Nifont. This may be due to the fact that in the Orthodox tradition, kneeling is rather an exception than a rule (they kneel down during the transfer of shrines, during a kneeling prayer on Holy Trinity Day, during the calls of the priests "Kneel down, let us pray"). Praying on your knees is traditionally considered a custom of the Catholic Church and is completely excluded, by the way, among the Old Believers.
There is a version that the Renovationists wanted to use the feat of Sarov, trying to find allies in the person of "Catholic brothers" in reforming "outdated Orthodoxy." Sarovsky himself said that he did not know whether Catholics would be saved, only he himself could not be saved without Orthodoxy. According to legend, the monk informed about his deed for edification only to a few at the end of his life, and when one of the listeners doubted the possibility of such a lengthy prayer, and even on a stone, the elder remembered Saint Simeon the Stylite, who spent on the "pillar." in prayer for 30 years. But: Simeon the Stylite was standing, not kneeling. The Prayer on a Stone plot also refers to the prayer for the cup that Jesus performed on the night of his arrest, standing on a stone.
Bear, "groove" and crackers
There are several evidences of the “communion” between the Holy Elder and the bear. The Sarov monk Peter said that the father was feeding the bear with crackers, and the head of the Lyskovo community, Alexandra, about requests to the bear "not to frighten the orphans" and to bring honey for the guests. But the most striking story is the story of Matrona Pleshcheyeva, who, despite the fact that she “fell unconscious,” retells what is happening with documentary accuracy. Isn't it common here Russian slyness, the desire to join the "glory" of Seraphim? There is a grain of common sense in this, because before the death of Matrona it is admitted that this episode was invented by a certain Joasaph. From his teaching, Matrona promised to voice the story at the time of the stay in the monastery of the members of the royal family. Controversy is also generated by the "groove of the Queen of Heaven" created during the life of Seraphim of Sarov,along which believers pass today with a prayer to the Theotokos, and at the end of the path they receive crackers, consecrated in the little iron pot of the priest, exactly the same as the miracle worker treated his guests to. Did the Elder have the right to "invent" such sacraments? It is known that initially the arrangement of the "groove" was of practical importance - the impressive size of the moat protected the nuns from "unkind people", the Antichrist. Over time, the "groove", and "Seraphim's croutons", and the small pieces of land taken with them, and even tapping on sore spots with the same hatchet acquired great importance for pilgrims. Sometimes even more than traditional church services and ordinances.that initially the arrangement of the "groove" was of practical importance - the impressive size of the moat protected the nuns from "unkind people", the Antichrist. Over time, the "groove", and "Seraphim's crackers", and the small land taken with them, and even tapping on sore spots with the same hatchet acquired great importance for pilgrims. Sometimes even more than traditional church services and ordinances.that initially the arrangement of the "groove" was of practical importance - the impressive size of the moat protected the nuns from "unkind people", the Antichrist. Over time, the "groove", and "Seraphim's crackers", and the small land taken with them, and even tapping on sore spots with the same hatchet acquired great importance for pilgrims. Sometimes even more than traditional church services and ordinances.
The acquisition
It is known that on December 17, 1920, the relics of the saint, kept in the Diveyevo monastery, were uncovered. In 1926, in connection with the decision to liquidate the monastery, the question arose of what to do with the relics: to transfer the atheists to the Penza Union or, in case of religious unrest, to a group of renovationists in Penza. When in 1927 the final decision was made to liquidate the monastery, the Bolsheviks decided not to risk it and announced a decree on the transportation of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov and other relics to Moscow "for placement in a museum." On April 5, 1927, an autopsy and removal of the relics was carried out. Dressed in robes and clothes, the relics were packed in a blue box and, according to eyewitnesses, "having divided into two parties, sat on several sledges and drove in different directions, wanting to hide where the relics were being taken." It is assumed that the relics made their way from Sarov to Arzamas,from there - to the Donskoy Monastery. True, they said that the relics were not taken to Moscow (if they were taken there at all). There is evidence that the holy relics were displayed for all to see in the Passionate Monastery, until it was blown up in 1934.
At the end of 1990, the relics of the saint were discovered in the storerooms of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism of Leningrad. Simultaneously with the news, doubts arose: are the relics genuine? In the memory of the people, the memory of the Sarov monks, who replaced the relics in 1920, was still alive. To debunk the myths, a special commission was convened, which confirmed the fact of the authenticity of the relics. On August 1, 1991, the holy relics of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov were returned to the Diveyevo monastery.