Predictions of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky about the last times. Pitfalls of prophecy from the elder seraphim d
“The time will come when not persecution, but money and the charms of this world will turn people away from God and many more souls will perish than in times of open rebellion. On the one hand, they will erect crosses and gild domes, and on the other hand, the kingdom of lies and evil will come ...
In the annals of the deeds of modern ascetics of piety, the feats of Saint Seraphim of Vyritsky.
The most pious Orthodox layman, who by obedience prepared himself for monastic life under the guidance of experienced spiritual mentors for forty years; a monk-confessor who took monastic vows during the years of open persecution and in just six years went from novice sexton to confessor of the largest monastery in Russia, under whose care a number of prominent hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church were; the great elder, who in fact fulfilled the patristic covenant: “Acquire the spirit of peace, and then thousands of souls will be saved around you ...”, - these are the main stages life path Saint Seraphim of Vyritsky.
Terrible year 1917… It is pleasing to the Lord to send Russia severe trials… Already at this time, many wealthy people from among the nobility, intelligentsia and merchants transferred their capital abroad and left Russia, hoping to survive troubled times abroad.
At this time, the famous St. Petersburg merchant Vasily Nikolaevich Muravyov (that was the name of the Reverend Seraphim Vyritsky in the world), engaged in the fur trade, commits an act inexplicable to the ordinary human mind - he closes his business, gives generous benefits to all his employees, and donates fixed capital to the needs of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Voskresensky Novodevichy convent in St. Petersburg, the Iversky Vyksa convent in the Nizhny Novgorod province, founded by his spiritual father, Hieromanakh Barnabas, the Elder of the Gethsemane Skete of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra, and other monasteries.
Vasily Nikolayevich had a highly profitable enterprise. Russian furs were in great demand in the Western market. His office traded in Austria, Germany, Denmark, England, France and even New York. The first one didn't bother him either. World War- Possessing exceptional abilities, Vasily Nikolaevich continued to successfully conduct his commercial affairs.
He was known in European capitals - Vienna, Berlin, Warsaw - which he visited by the nature of his work.Success and fame, wealth and beauty, bodily health and a strong family - these are the earthly values that many in the world only dream of, and which the Lord endowed from the bounty of His spouses Muravyovs. Yes, not only endowed, but also experienced ...
Vasily Nikolaevich Muravyov
It would seem that nothing prevented Vasily Nikolaevich from investing his capital in some profitable business abroad and, safely leaving Russia, settling with his family somewhere in the west, following the example of many people he knew. All this would promise a calm and serene life.
However, for Vasily Nikolaevich Muravyov, there was no such choice - he was always ready to share any trials with his beloved Fatherland and his people, especially since the Lord had prepared for him a special appointment ...
The Lord Himself points to the free will of the human soul: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and distribute to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). “If you want…” – these are the words of the Savior, to which the faithful servant of God Basil has repeatedly answered in his heart: “I want, Lord!” .
The highest courage and unshakable faith demanded at that time the act that he performs. Having rejected all the charms of this world, by mutual agreement with his wife, he makes an irrevocable decision to devote himself entirely to serving the One God - a prayerful feat. The fulfillment of his cherished aspiration to accept monasticism, which he carried in himself all his previous life, is nearing...
It's done! October 16/29, 1920 in the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra “Our brother shaves the hair of his head, as a sign of the denial of the world and everyone else in the world, and to cut off his will and all carnal lusts, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit ... ”with the name Barnabas (in the schema Seraphim).
And at the same time, his faithful wife and associate Olga Ivanovna Muravieva was tonsured a monk in the Voskresensky Novodevichy Convent in Petrograd, and she was given the name Christina (in the schema of Seraphim).
In 1920, having taken monastic vows at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, then Elder Hieroschemamonk Seraphim became her confessor. From 1930, with the onset of a serious illness, and until his death in 1949, he lived in Vyritsa.
The time of the senile service of the Vyritsk ascetic fell on the period of bloody theomachism, the Great Patriotic War, post-war devastation and revival.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the elder intensified the feat of prayer on the stone - he began to perform it daily. By that time, the disease had weakened him greatly and he could hardly move without outside help. He was led by the arms to the place of prayer, and sometimes they simply carried him, relatives recall. Prayed about. Seraphim for as long as he had the strength - sometimes an hour, sometimes two, and sometimes several hours in a row. He gave himself entirely, without a trace - it was truly a cry to God!
We believe that through the prayers of such ascetics Russia withstood and Petersburg was saved. Despite the cold and heat, wind and rain, the elder insistently demanded to help him get to the stone; despite many serious illnesses, he continued his incomprehensible 1000-day feat. So, day after day, during all the long exhausting war years, the elder Seraphim Vyritsky offered up his prayers for the salvation of the Fatherland.
And all these years, Father Seraphim testified about Christ with his very life, making an immeasurable contribution to the preservation of Orthodoxy as the foundation of the foundations of the existence of the Russian people, leading to the salvation of an innumerable number of souls.
For love for people, the Lord granted the Vyritsa ascetic great spiritual wisdom, the word of healing weak souls, the word of true providence and prophecy. Both during his lifetime and after his dormition, the priest helped and continues to help everyone who turns to him.
The Elder Hieroschemamonk Seraphim passed away to Eternity On April 3, 1949, the Heavenly City - Jerusalem on high - opened its gates to the new celestial being, accepting him forever into his Divine chambers.
Grave of Elder Seraphim in Vyritsa, 1990s
“Come to my grave as if you were alive, talk as if you were alive, and I will always help you”,- the Vyritsky elder once said to many.
Chapel over the grave of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky
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In 2000, Seraphim Vyritsky was canonized as a saint of the Orthodox Church. Many pilgrims travel to Vyritsu to worship the monk and receive help from him. In Vyritsa near the Temple in honor of the icon Mother of God Kazanskaya, there is a Chapel over the grave of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky.
Tombstone of St. Seraphim Vyritsky
Prophecies of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky
When asked by his spiritual son about the future of Russia, the elder suggested that he look out the window overlooking the Gulf of Finland. He saw many ships sailing under different flags. – How to understand it? he asked the father .
The old man replied:
“There will come a time when it will be in Russia spiritual heyday …
Many churches and monasteries will open, even non-Christians will come to us to be baptized on such ships. But this is not for a long time - for 15 years, then the Antichrist will come.”
He said that when the East gains strength, everything will become unstable. The number is on their side, but not only that: they have sober and hardworking people working, and we have such drunkenness ...
They also told how the old man said:
“The East will be baptized in Russia. The whole heavenly world is praying for the enlightenment of the East. The time will come when Russia will be torn apart. First they will divide it, and then they will begin to rob wealth. The West will contribute in every possible way to the destruction of Russia and will give up its eastern part to China before the time comes. The Far East will be taken over by the Japanese, and Siberia by the Chinese, who will move to Russia, marry Russians, and in the end, by cunning and deceit, will take the territory of Siberia to the Urals. When China wants to go further, the West will resist and will not allow it.
Many countries will take up arms against Russia, but she will stand, losing most of their land. This war, about which the Holy Scriptures narrate and the prophets speak, will become reason for the unification of mankind . People will understand that it is impossible to live like this, otherwise all living things will die - this will be the threshold of the accession of the Antichrist. Then the persecution of Christians will come, when trains leave the cities for Russia, we must hurry to be among the first, since many of those who remain will die. The kingdom of lies and evil is coming. It will be so hard, so bad, so scary that God forbid we live to see that time. We won't live with you."
Shortly after the end of the Great Patriotic War, Father Seraphim was told:
- Dear father! How good it is now - the war is over, the church bells are ringing...
The old man answered this:
- No, that's not all. There will be more fear than before. You will still meet her (war) ... Who will only survive? Who will remain alive? But who will remain alive - what will he have a good life…
If people all over the world, every single person, at the same time would kneel and pray to God for at least five minutes to prolong life, so that the Lord would give everyone time to repent. If the Russian people do not come to repentance, it may happen that brother will rise again against brother.
"The time will come when not persecution, but money and the charms of this world will turn people away from God and many more souls will perish than in times of open rebellion.
On the one side, will erect crosses and gild domes, and on the other– the kingdom of lies and evil will come. The true Church will always be persecuted, and it will be possible to be saved only by sorrows and illnesses. Persecution will take the most sophisticated, unpredictable character. It will be terrible to live up to these times.”
The old man loved the youth very much. At that time, young people hardly went to church, and he was so happy when they came to him. The elder spoke about the enormous role of the young in the future revival of the Church. He said that the times will come (and are already coming!) when the corruption and decadence of the morals of the young will reach their last limits. Almost no one will remain uncorrupted. They will consider that everything is permitted to them to satisfy whims and lusts, because they will see their impunity. They will gather in companies and gangs, steal, debauchery.
But the time will come when there will be a voice of God, when the youth will understand that it is impossible to live like this any longer, and they will go to faith in different ways, the craving for asceticism will increase. Those who were previously sinners, drunkards, will fill the temples, will feel a great thirst for spiritual life. Many of them will become monks, monasteries will open, churches will be full of believers. Then the young will go on a pilgrimage to holy places - it will be a glorious time! The fact that they sin now, they will repent so fervently. Just as a candle, before it goes out, flares up brightly, illuminating everything with its last light, so does the life of the Church. And that time is near.
“How much the Lord gave grace to Russia - what forests, lakes, rivers, rich bowels of the earth. But we live without God, and the earth is a mother, she gives us bread and life. Our enemies and the God-fighting authorities will not allow people to return to the earth for a long time. It is possible to feed everyone and arrange everything, but it is not profitable for the enemies - they are afraid of Russia revived. And yet Russia will live from her land.”
“Salvation of the world –from Russia, and St. Petersburg will become the spiritual center of the country . There will also be great events in Russia - the discovery and glorification of the relics in St. Petersburg - a great joy for the whole world. Vyritsa will be a place of pilgrimage, and a monastery will be opened here.”
After the war, the elder said to his spiritual daughter:
“The time will come when it will go again procession from the Kazan Cathedral to the Lavra. You will wait." It was hard to believe it, but now everything has come true. All Orthodox people remember the procession to the Lavra with the newly acquired relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
“Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, and in time it should become the capital of the world. For this is the true center of the Earth, where the Savior of the world was crucified and resurrected.”
Father Seraphim spoke to his relatives about his future glorification, but at the same time he added: “Do not rush to dig up my body. Leave everything to the Lord... I don't want my body to be traded"
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Reverend Seraphim Vyritsky. Akathist and life. Ed. Brotherhood of Saint Alexis. 2002. Compiled by Alexander Trofimov. Approved by the Publishing Council of the Moscow Patriarchate. Page 82-87.
The Lord is Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom(2 Corinthians 3:17)
The tales of the deeds and equal angelic life of the saints who shone forth in former ages seem implausible myths to the unbelievers of our time. But the Lord revealed to us an ascetic who is practically our contemporary. The life of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky is a new word about Christ's love, addressed to all believers and non-believers. It once again reminds the world, absorbed in the acquisition of temporary earthly goods, of the true purpose of a short human life- the salvation of an immortal soul for blessed Eternity. Today, for the people of God, the Monk Seraphim is one of the most beloved heavenly helpers and mentors.
2016 is the year of the 150th anniversary of the birth of this great prayer book and mourner of the Russian Land. I want to offer readers of the Russian People's Line a series of articles, dedicated to life and the amazing exploits of the famous St. Petersburg merchant, who became the All-Russian old man-comforter and prophet.
By His indescribable mercy, the Lord vouchsafed me to prepare materials for the glorification of the Vyritsa elder. Blessings for work were received in 1995 from the elder Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov and Metropolitan John (Snychev) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.
By that time, only the main milestones in the life of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky were known: a pious merchant and philanthropist - a monk of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra - a deeply revered elder among the people, who possessed many spiritual gifts.
Accurate data relating to many life events, facts and dates were practically non-existent. The exact date and place of the monk's birth were not even known, because before accepting monasticism he destroyed all the documents relating to his previous life. Specific facts and dates regarding the merchant activities of the ascetic, his stay in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and in Vyritsa were also absent.
As a result of five years of work in a number of archives and libraries, numerous meetings and conversations with living witnesses of the life and exploits of the saint, my book “Elder Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky and the Russian Golgotha” was born, which served as the basis for the canonization of the elder Hieroschemamonk Seraphim (Muravyov) Vyritsky as a reverend for general church veneration at the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
In total, I devoted more than 20 years to research and study of the life and deeds of the monk and his prayer-books. After the glorification of the elder, the book received the title "St. Seraphim of Vyritsky and the Russian Golgotha", and each new edition of it was supplemented with new information from the archives, testimonies of the pious children of the Russian Orthodox Church and rare illustrations. The continuation of the first book was the book "To Vyritsa to the Monk Seraphim."
The narrative basis of the books was the stories of the relatives of the ascetic and his spiritual children, with whom the elder shared his memories of his life in the world, including the years of his childhood and youth. All of them very responsibly and carefully treated each of their words: “I will answer for this before the Lord!” - so they anticipated their stories. Many of them could not talk without tears about their meetings with the monk, who in those touching moments was with us in spirit. Much of this evidence was captured on videotape.
We developed very warm relations with the relatives of the Reverend. The granddaughter of the elder, Margarita Nikolaevna Muravyova-Naboko (†2004), spent more than 30 years inseparably with Father Seraphim and knew such details of his life that no one else knew, and could not know. She was a living witness to a number of important events, she saw a lot with her own eyes, she knew a lot from the stories of the elder himself, the stories of the schema-nun Seraphim (Muravieva), who in the world was his wife, as well as people who knew the ascetic closely back in the pre-revolutionary years.
The relatives of the monk reverently preserved the holy memory of his life and deeds. Shrines, documents, photographs and memoirs were kept in the family archive - everything that was saved during the years of militant atheism. However, much has been irretrievably lost...
For several years, bit by bit, we restored with Margarita Nikolaevna and her daughter, Olga Danilovna, many pages from the life of the reverend. At the same time, I conducted research in archival and library funds, collected living testimonies about the life, exploits and miracles of the Vyritsk ascetic, which I received literally from the first mouth.
Many unknown important facts were established in the course of conversations with relatives of the confessor of the Royal Family, St. Theophan of Poltava; Metropolitan Guriy (Yegorov) and his brother Hieromartyr Archimandrite Leo (Yegorov); Confessor Archpriest Alexy Kibardin, Confessor Archpriest Konstantin Titov and other church leaders. Testimonies were also provided by many close spiritual children of Patriarch Alexy (Simansky) and Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) - Elena Nikolaevna Sergievskaya, Claudia Georgievna Petrunenkova, Olga Yakovlevna Vinogradova and others.
Important information was provided by prominent St. Petersburg scientists - Mikhail Sergeyevich Favorsky, Tatyana Nikolaevna Alikhova, Alexander Sergeyevich Ivanov, Yuri Konstantinovich Gerasimov, daughter of Professor Mikhail Ivanovich Gramenitsky, Elena Mikhailovna Kuzmina and others.
Invaluable help in my work was rendered to me by communication with famous St. Petersburg pastors: Archpriest Alexy Korovin (†2005), Archpriest Vasily Ermakov (†2007), Archpriest John Mironov, Archpriest Viktor Golubev, Archpriest Boris Glebov, Archpriest Igor Mazur, Archpriest Nikolai Preobrazhensky, Archpriest Priest Vyacheslav Klyuzhev (†2006), as well as Abbess of the Gornensky Convent in Jerusalem Georgy (Shchukina) and Abbess of the Pyukhtitsky Assumption Convent Varvara (Trofimova) (†2011). Their testimonies are also placed on the pages of my book, and in total I managed to find and interview more than a hundred people who personally knew St. Seraphim of Vyritsky.
An extensive collection of spiritual, historical and documentary sources made it possible to lift the veil of time over the life of the saint and hear his prophetic voice.
I was prompted to begin a series of articles about the monk with his prophecies by the desire to show their special spiritual value for our contemporaries, for the main of these prophecies serve as a call for a sincere, repentant return of the people to God and the Orthodox faith.
Much has been said lately about the revival of Russia through new political and economic reforms. Authoritative scientific forums gather, socio-political clubs operate, putting forward various programs and projects.
Neither politics nor economics will help the revival of our earthly Fatherland if the most important thing is missing. For more than a thousand years, the Orthodox Russian people have lived by faith and the Church: only faith and the Church can save them. It was Orthodoxy that made Russia Russia!
“Russia must follow its own special path, not bowing to the world mammon and Western false values”, - so the great Vyritsky righteous taught.
He had an undoubted prophetic gift. Many living testimonies published on the pages of my books speak eloquently about this. It is extremely important to note that Father Seraphim did everything with prayer, striking his visitors with evangelical humility and love. His words are not predictions for the sake of predictions, but the testimonies of the Spirit, contributing to the familiarization of people with the truth of God, instructing them on the path of salvation. This permeated the whole life of the saint. Some of his prophecies have already been fulfilled, others are being fulfilled before our eyes...
Prediction by the Monk Seraphim of the patriarchal ministry to two future First Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church; foresight in the 1920s of the approaching cruel persecution of the Church; the ascetic's prophecies about the coming Great Patriotic War and the victory of Russian weapons in it; prophecies about the coming revival of churches and monasteries in Russia, spoken in the bloody year of 1939; on the renaming of Leningrad to St. Petersburg (the elder himself always called the northern capital St. Petersburg); the religious procession predicted at the same time from the Kazan Cathedral to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra; prediction in 1945 of the monetary reform of 1961; the words spoken in 1948 about the forthcoming second acquisition of the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, which took place 43 years later; the foreknowledge by the Vyritsa ascetic of the death of Archpriest Alexy Kibardin 15 years after his own, the exact insight into the fate of many people and other predictions have now become indisputable facts.
Already during the years of service in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, spiritual gifts received from the Lord began to clearly manifest themselves in Father Seraphim. People felt his spiritual power. A very significant episode is well known in church circles: “... At the end of 1927, Archbishop Alexy (Simansky), who then ruled the Novgorod diocese, came to the confessor of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra for advice and prayer. He was in disarray, as he was very afraid of another arrest and persecution for his noble origin. "Father Seraphim, wouldn't it be better for me to go abroad?" - asked the bishop. "Vladyka! And to whom will you leave the Russian Orthodox Church? After all, you will shepherd it! - followed by the answer of the old man . - Do not be afraid, the Mother of God Herself will protect you. There will be many severe temptations, but everything, with God's help, manage. Stay, please." Vladyka Alexy immediately calmed down and forever abandoned thoughts of going abroad. So Father Seraphim predicted to Archbishop Alexy his future ministry 18 years before his election to the patriarchate. The Lavra schemnik indicated to the future Patriarch and the term of his primatial service - 25 years.
The elder predicted the patriarchal ministry to another Primate. Archbishop Simeon (Yakovlevich) of Olomouc-Brno, who graduated from the Leningrad Theological Academy, where he studied on the same course with 17-year-old psalmist from Tallinn Alexei Ridiger, told about this in Prague in 2011 to the great-grandson of the Reverend Gennady Alexandrovich Muravyov.
Like other students of the academy, the future bishop came to Vyritsa to the elder for a blessing. This was in January 1948. At the end of a warm conversation, Father Seraphim literally struck the young man with the words that he would be an archbishop in the Czech Republic. Returning to Leningrad, Radivoj (that was the name of Vladyka Simeon in the world) told his fellow students about this. They cheered up: “I think you were surprised. We have a good old man. He told Lesha Ridiger that he would be a patriarch!..”
The words of the monk came true in 1990, when Metropolitan Alexy (Ridiger) of Leningrad and Novgorod was elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Radivoj, after graduating from the academy in 1953, returned to Prague, where in 1958 he married and was ordained a priest. For almost 40 years he served as rector of the Church of St. Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles in the spa town of Marianske Lazne in Western Bohemia.
In the fall of 1996, Father Radiva became a widower, after which he took monastic vows with the name Simeon. In 1998, he was consecrated as a bishop. The new Lord was then 72 years old! Soon he became the manager of the affairs of the Prague diocese, and in 2000 - the ruling bishop of the Olomouc-Brno diocese of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. So, 50 years later, another prediction of the great Vyritsa elder came true.
Returning to the period of service of St. Seraphim in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, it should be noted that he repeatedly gave his flock lessons of true humility and meekness. He was distinguished by constant reverence for the destinies of God. He brought his spiritual children to the same reverence and obedience to God: “The Almighty Lord governs the world, and everything that happens in it is done either by the grace of God, or by the permission of God. The fate of God is incomprehensible to man. The three holy youths in the cave of Babylon confessed God and truly believed that all the spiritual and civil calamities allowed on them and on the people of Israel were allowed according to the righteous judgment of God. Only such a view of the essence of everything that happens attracts the world into the soul, does not allow to be carried away by excitement, directs the mind's vision to Eternity and delivers patience in sorrows. Yes, and the sorrows themselves then seem short-term, insignificant and petty. Do not complain about the weight of the Cross, on the day of sorrow, tell your sorrow to the Lord, and He will comfort you.- the priest instructed in a quiet and soft voice, in which some special, warm notes always sounded.
After all, it was then, in 1926-27, that he predicted an unusual increase in open persecution of the Church of Christ, when all of Russia would turn into a large concentration camp, which happened after the priest moved to Vyritsa.
And now - at a time when crosses were thrown from the domes, monasteries and churches were destroyed by the thousands, when tens of thousands of clergy were languishing in camps and prisons, the Lord erected in Vyritsa a temple not made by hands, alive - the pure heart of Father Seraphim. In the terrible 1930s, when fierce persecutions fell upon the Russian Orthodox Church, far exceeding in strength the persecution of the times of Diocletian, when it seemed that the Church was on the verge of destruction, the light of the righteous God shone from Vyritsa all over Russia.
And what great courage and hope in God's mercy one had to have in order to write lines in that bloody time that foretell the Russian Church's rebirth and glory:
A thunderstorm will pass over the Russian Land,
The Lord will forgive the Russian people their sins.
And the Holy Cross of divine beauty
On the temples of God it will again shine brightly.
And the ringing of bells throughout our Holy Rus'
From sinful sleep to salvation will awaken.
The holy cloisters will be opened again,
And faith in God will unite everyone.
Hieroschemamonk Seraphim (Ants), circa 1939
These deeply prophetic verses were passed from mouth to mouth, distributed in lists, reached places of imprisonment and exile. In the midst of the Gethsemane night, which then swallowed up all of Russia, the lamp of living faith shone in Vyritsa, hope did not fade in people's hearts ...
During the years of bloody persecution, when it seemed that the Church was doomed to an early and complete annihilation, Father Seraphim spoke of her coming revival—of the renewal of what was then forbidden. bell ringing, about the opening of the ruined temples of God and holy monasteries. The monk tirelessly reminded his numerous visitors of the promise of God about the invincibility of the Holy Orthodox Church through the gates of hell.
Elena Nikolaevna Sergievskaya, the wife of Sergei Petrovich Sergievsky, teacher and head of the journal fund of the library of the Leningrad Theological Academy, said: “Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky was my mentor for more than twenty years, until his righteous death. Even as a child, my mother and I used to come to him for confession at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, then went to Vyritsa ... The Lord endowed the Vyritsa ascetic with many spiritual gifts, and I was honored to repeatedly experience their power. Father Seraphim had a special gift of seeing what was happening in the distance. Once, when I was just approaching the father’s house, he said: “Open! They are coming to me,” and this applied specifically to me, which the elder himself later confirmed. Once he told me about the last times: “It will be terrible to live to see them! We, thank God, will not live, but the procession to the Lavra will go from the Kazan Cathedral ...”
In the 1930s, Hieroschemamonk Seraphim spoke more than once about the fact that the Lord could allow the Great and terrible war, which would turn the people to God. Maria Konstantinovna Titova, the daughter of the ever-memorable Archpriest Konstantin Sergeevich Titov, who served in the 1920s and early 1930s in the Resurrection Cathedral in the city of Luga, testified: “From the age of seven, I sang on the kliros of the Luga Olginskaya church. Then - in St. Petersburg. At first she sang in the Church of the Sign, and with its closure - in St. Nicholas Cathedral. Here I happened to meet and get acquainted with Pyotr Vasilyevich Molchanov. He was a pious Orthodox man.
Pyotr Vasilyevich worked in the field of supply and was the spiritual son of Father Seraphim. He told me a lot about the priest and once offered to go with him to Vyritsa. This was in 1939. The elder received us very warmly and blessed us. Indescribable light and divine love came from Father Seraphim. One look at him was enough for heavenly joy to enter the heart...
Unexpectedly, Pyotr Vasilyevich knelt before the elder and said: “Father! I came to you to ask for blessings,” after which he quietly added. “I want to offer my hand and heart to Mary.” This turn of events literally stunned me, because I didn’t expect anything like that. He not only did not give his blessing for marriage, but forbade even thinking about marriage. Later life showed that the far-sighted old man had every reason for this - at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Pyotr Vasilyevich Molchanov died at the front ... "
From the first days of the war, Father Seraphim spoke openly about the impending victory of Russian weapons. Many residents of Vyritsa and its environs were aware of the patriotic activities of Father Seraphim. How many people at that troubled time came to repentance through the prayers of the ascetic, fervently turning to the Lord! After all, the elder inspired them so, firmly saying that the Lord would certainly grant victory to the Russian people if they were strengthened in the faith of their fathers.
The Romanian unit stationed in Vyritsa was commanded by German officers. They were informed about the prophecies of Father Seraphim, and soon they came to the house on Pilny Prospekt uninvited guests. Batiushka tamed the aliens through the grace-filled help from Above. The elder immediately struck them with the fact that he spoke to them in good German - after all, when he was a merchant, he often visited Vienna and Berlin, cooperating with Austrian and German firms.
The captain, who was the head of the Vyritskaya team, asked Father Seraphim if the German units would soon march victoriously along Palace Square in St. Petersburg? The elder humbly replied that this would never happen. The Germans will have to leave in a hurry, and the questioner himself is not destined to return home, during the retreat he will lay down his head near Warsaw.
According to the stories of local residents captured by the Germans, whom the invaders tried to drive to Germany, this German officer really died in the area of the Polish capital, and the slaves were returned to their homeland. The prophetic words of Father Seraphim were also confirmed by a Romanian officer who also served in the Vyritsa team during the war. In 1980, he came to bow to the grave of the elder and, having searched for the local residents who remembered him, he told about the details of that retreat ...
In the post-war period, the elder helped with his prayers and practical advice to a great multitude of people. Someone found out about the missing, others, through the prayers of the elder, got a job, and still others received a residence permit and shelter. And - their immortal souls themselves received the right direction to salvation. The son of Professor S.S. Favorsky, Mikhail Sergeevich, recalling his meetings with the reverend, said amazing words: “Father Seraphim knew how to give Heavenly joy, which is why everything, even the most difficult sorrows, faded into the background, and a person wanted to experience this joy in the future. Indeed, " our residence is in Heaven"(Philippians 3:20) » .
The spiritual daughter of the elder, Vera Konstantinovna Berkhman, writes in her diary: “Someone with tearful, some with joyful faces come out of his cell. But these people are no longer the same as those who entered here - peace and tenderness shine in their eyes. "He advised," they report, "to pray as if for a living person. That means he's alive!" Share with each other his words, advice. From here they will come out as different people, with hope for the best, with hope for help from Above, with the decision to pray and endure ... "
Olga Georgievna Preobrazhenskaya, the native niece of the confessor of the Royal Family, St. Theophan of Poltava (Bystrov), said: “The war scattered all my relatives in different places, and the main thing for me was to find out something about their fate. The elder immediately said: “There will be sisters and brothers, but you won’t see your mother anymore ...” and promised to pray for me and all my relatives.
In 1946, my sisters Maria and Alexandra, who were in captivity, returned, and then my brother Vasily. Brother John arrived from Riga. Mom died in the Pskov region in 1943. Everything came true, as Father Seraphim foretold.”
For more than 60 years she labored at the church in honor of the Assumption Holy Mother of God in the village of Vnuto, Novgorod region, nun Anthony (Gavrilova). The monastic procession was predicted to her by the Monk Seraphim of Vyritsky. With reverence and joy, mother Antonia recalled her meetings with the great ascetic: “Father Seraphim seated us next to him and called Mother Seraphim, who was looking after him... Batiushka said to her: “Mother, look, a nun has come to us.” I look where the motherfucker is - nowhere. I look around, look around, and mother Seraphim smiles: "Why, the father said about you - a nun." - "Oh," - I was surprised, - so I'm not worthy. - "So you will go to the monastery? "- asks the father. And his voice is so wonderful - spiritual! "Yes, I'm a sinner ... I'm not worthy to go to the monastery," I say again. "Yes, we are all sinners," Father Seraphim answered, "but who repents, he will be a saint!".
Father Seraphim then spoke about the revival of specific monasteries - the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra, the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery, the Valaam Monastery and others. It is noteworthy that, predicting the restoration of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the elder said that at first the state would return the Holy Trinity Cathedral to the Church as a parish church, and only then, after many years, the entire Lavra would be transferred to monastics. The priest also predicted that in time a monastery would also be founded in Vyritsa, and Leningrad would be renamed St. Petersburg again.
The monk said that the time would come when Orthodox radio stations would operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and a number of other cities of Russia, in the transmissions of which one could hear soulful edifications, prayers, and church hymns...
Elena Alexandrovna Komarova, the daughter of the spiritual son of Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Alexander Alexandrovich Smirnov, said: “A lot of absolutely incredible things at that time were heard by my parents from Father Seraphim back in the 30s. The elder predicted that the city on the Neva would return its first name. He also said that the time would come when prayers would be sung on the radio. Batiushka also spoke about the fact that by the end of the century the climate could change dramatically, and it would be hotter in St. Petersburg than in the south ... "
From the memoirs of Natalia Stepanovna Tikhonova - parishioners of the church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God of the Metochion of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery in St. Petersburg, who visited the priest in 1945-1948: “I felt so good with him that I forgot about everything in the world! Father Seraphim consoled me greatly. He said that soon the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra would be opened, and then the entire Lavra would be handed over to the Church. Then I was surprised and said: “What are you, father! How is it? After all, now everything is broken, but blown up ...” The elder replied: “You don’t believe, but the time will come when they will begin to restore and open churches, monasteries, chapels ... When you go to the consecration of the Trinity Church in the Lavra, remember the wretched Seraphim - I will no longer be..."
The Favorsky family took care of Father Seraphim in the pre-war years. Mikhail Sergeevich shared his memories with undisguised excitement: “In early 1945, the whole family went to Vyritsa. It was universal rejoicing - again we saw the dear father, heard his marvelous velvety voice, received his holy blessing!
In the same year, due to negligence, I "failed" the entrance exams to the medical school and almost fell into despondency. Mom was very worried about me, and we immediately went to the elder. I still remember his words: “Don’t be upset, everything will be fine. next year You will do and still be a professor". The words of the monk turned out to be prophetic...
About the foresight, the extraordinary power of blessing, holy love and the gift of spiritual consolation that Father Seraphim possessed, Galina Ivanovna Raevskaya told: “In 1947, in St. Nicholas Cathedral, after reading an akathist, I was destined to meet a young man. Serezha was the son of a priest. We became friends. Once it was a bright frosty February day. We were free from studies and decided to go to Vyritsa, where we had never been ...
Batiushka lies on the bed, smiles and says to meet us: "Well, I bless you! You will live well, just give in to each other." He sat us down and began talking to us. He told how he was a Gostinodvor merchant, and then he left everything, and he and his mother left for the monastery. Then he says to Seryozha: "They will invite you to America - don't refuse." And he predicted a materially prosperous life for us. "What America?" - I wondered. Sergey had just come from the front and, apart from boots and an overcoat, he had nothing. But the priest repeated his words again and again ...
And my husband, a teacher, after 20 years began to sail on ships. And there was one day the wreck of their ship off the coast of America. And, indeed, I had a chance to visit and work there”.
And here is what Olga Yakovlevna Vinogradova, the spiritual daughter of Hieroschemamonk Seraphim, said: “I was with the elder on the day when he blessed two sisters, Valyusha and Nina, for monasticism. Subsequently, Valentina became abbess of the Gornensky monastery in Jerusalem, and Nina became a nun of the Pyukhtitsky monastery, mother Arsenia.
Then they came out of the father's house extremely joyful: "Olenka! Now we will go to Pyukhtitsa." I answered: "Girls! Wait, I will also go and bless. We will go together." I went into the cell, knelt down: "Father! Bless me to be saved in Pyukhtitsa. I know girls. We will go to your house together to be blessed" (At that time, Abbess of the Pyukhtitsky Monastery, Mother Rafaila, and the sisters of the monastery really wanted Father Seraphim to move to him in Pyukhtitsa and even built a special house for him).
However, to my great regret, the priest answered: “I don’t bless! You don’t fit into their regime because of your inner dispensation ... I bless you in Diveevo! It doesn’t matter that everything is closed there now. will be restored and the relics of St. Seraphim will rest there!"
What can I add to these words? It was then the post-war year of 1948. Before the second acquisition of the relics of our holy reverend father Seraphim of Sarov, there were 43 long years left ... And who in those days could believe that such a thing would ever happen! Such was the strength of the faith of the Vyritsky elder, and his gaze stretched forward for many, many years.
Tatyana Nikolaevna Alikhova is a geologist with a worldwide reputation: “For fifteen years, the elder predicted the monetary reform of 1961 to us, saying: “Then the French bun, which now costs 70 kopecks, will cost 7 kopecks, and so all products ...” The fate of St. located in a low swampy place and its flooding is always possible ... "
The story of Alexander Sergeevich Ivanov is another evidence of the extraordinary insight and miraculous power of the blessing of the Vyritsky elder. Alexander Sergeevich himself does not remember Father Seraphim, but he talks about the priest as about the closest and dearest person: “When I was less than two years old, my mother brought me to the great old man. This was at the beginning of 1949. Father looked at me and said: "This boy will be a medical scientist." And he blessed ... After 30 years, I defended my thesis for degree doctor of medical sciences".
From the memorandum of the rector of the Marienburg Church in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, Archpriest Peter Belavsky, to Archpriest Sergiy Rumyantsev, manager of the affairs of the Leningrad diocese: “... First of all, I express my deep gratitude to you for giving me the opportunity to perform the Liturgy and the funeral service for my dearly deceased father Alexy Kibardin, with whom I was connected by spiritual ties for almost forty years ... I would like to inform you about the prophetic words of the elder hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky, which came true over Father Alexy. Father Seraphim predicted to him that he would die after the death of the elder himself in 15 years. And on April 3, 1964, 15 years have passed since the death of Father Seraphim, and exactly 15 years later Father Alexy died.(from the archive of the St. Petersburg Metropolis).
There are many other facts that testify to the depth of the elder's insight into the events of the future. He said that only Russia could save mankind, and Vyritsa would become a place of worldwide pilgrimage, and eventually a monastery would be opened here.
Relatives and close spiritual children of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky noted that not everything was seen by the elder in rainbow colors. The following prophecy, the most important for the Orthodox, is clearly coming true before our eyes:
« The time will come when not persecution, but money and the charms of this world will turn people away from God, and many more souls will perish than in the days of open rebellion, - the reverend said - on the one hand - they will erect crosses and gild domes, and on the other - the kingdom of lies and evil will come. The true Church will always be persecuted, and it will be possible to be saved only by sorrows and illnesses. Persecution will take the most sophisticated, unpredictable character. It will be terrible to live up to these times. We, thank God, will not live, but then the procession to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra will go from the Kazan Cathedral».
It is appropriate to note here that, after an 85-year break, the First Procession from the Kazan Cathedral to the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra took place on September 12, 2002, on the day of memory of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, even before the city authorities officially allowed revive this tradition. Pious Christians then made this procession along the sidewalks of Nevsky Prospekt.
It is also easy to see that the realm of lies and evil that has engulfed the whole world has long since become a reality - it surrounds us, although the outward revival of the Church is still ongoing.
Indeed, persecution has assumed the most sophisticated and unpredictable character, especially against those Christians who do not want to participate in "in fruitless works of darkness"(Eph.5,10-11) - in the construction of a worldwide electronic concentration camp.
In a number of predictions of the Vyritsky elder, there are very disturbing notes. “If the Russian people do not come to repentance, - father said - it may happen that again brother will rise against brother.
Don't we see this today from the events that are taking place in the Donbass and the Luhansk region?
Several important predictions of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky were recorded by Maria Georgievna Preobrazhenskaya, niece of St. Theophan of Poltava:
“... It was right after the war. I sang in the kliros of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Vyritsa. Often we with the singers from our church came to Father Seraphim for a blessing. Once one of the singers said: "Dear father! How good it is now - the war is over, the bells in the churches are ringing again..." And the elder replied: "No, that's not all. There will be more fear than before. you will meet Her again. It will be very difficult for young people to change their uniforms. Who will survive?(The monk repeated these words three times) But whoever remains alive - what a good life he will have ... "After a short pause, the priest again said thoughtfully:" If the people of the whole world, every single person(again, as if in a singsong voice, the elder repeated these words several times) , at the same time would kneel and pray to God for at least five minutes to prolong life, so that the Lord would give everyone time to repent ... ""
According to the way the situation in the world is being aggravated today, when the West took off the mask of a good uncle and exposed its bestial appearance, any turn of events to a new World War is possible.
Speaking about the prophecies, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov says: “God changed His decrees, announced and through the holy prophets, such as the prophecy of Jonah about the Ninevites(Jonah 3:10) ; Elijah about Ahab(1 Kings 21:29) ; Isaiah about Hezekiah(2 Kings 20:1-11) ... Whoever has given himself and everything to the will of God, he does not need to know anything in advance ”.
In all the cases mentioned by St. Ignatius, God changed anger into mercy after individuals or entire nations humbled themselves before Him, left their sinful lives and embarked on the path of repentance. It all depends on what choice people make themselves.
Back in the 20s of the 20th century, Father Seraphim edified all those striving to know the will of God: “Now the time has come for repentance and confession. The Lord Himself determined the punishment for the Russian people for sins, and until the Lord Himself has mercy on Russia, it is senseless to go against His holy will. A gloomy night will cover the Russian Land for a long time, much suffering and sorrow awaits us ahead. Therefore, the Lord teaches us: “By your patience save your souls.”(Luke 21:19) . We can only trust in God and beg His forgiveness. Let us remember that "God is love"(1 John 4:16) and hope for His unspeakable mercy…”
"Then,- taught the great old man, - only by resigning themselves to the will of God, which is sometimes revealed to people precisely in severe sorrows, illnesses and persecutions, can they come to know their own weakness and gain a desire for grace-filled help from Above. Only in this way are born true faith, hope and prayer, done from the heart in the consciousness of one’s own insignificance, the one that never remains unanswered and moves mountains ... "
Everything shows that the punishment of God for the apostasy of the Russian people is still in effect. The moral state of modern society, in which the Antichrist spirit of this world reigns, causes great sadness and anxiety. There is no doubt that the world is rapidly approaching its formidable and inevitable end, and Russia is being strongly drawn into building a single global kingdom on the terms of its geopolitical opponents. Russia's internal enemies are succeeding in destroying the traditional Orthodox worldview and attitude, persistently imposing the cult of earthly goods, pleasures and permissiveness, promising a new "bright future" - "electronic heaven on earth", which will turn out to be a living hell.
It is quite obvious that no political, economic and "technological" reforms, or any other earthly means, will save Russia. The revival of Russia is possible only through a return to the life-giving source of the Orthodox faith.
What other shocks are needed for the Russian people to wake up from a deep spiritual sleep and come to repentance!?
The Lord endowed the Monk Seraphim of Vyritsky with many blessed revelations. Describing one of his spiritual contemplations, the ascetic told the nun Seraphim (Morozova):
“I have been to all countries. Better than our country, I have not found and better than our faith, I have not seen. Our faith is above all. This is the Orthodox faith, the true faith. Of all the known creeds, it alone was brought to earth by the incarnated Son of God. I ask you, mother Seraphim, to tell everyone that no one deviates from our faith ... "
The great Vyritsky elder has repeatedly said that Russia has a priceless treasure - it is the guardian of the Holy Orthodox Faith. True enlightenment is the enlightenment of the soul with the light of Orthodoxy. Not the prosperous West, where the ultimate goal of all things is the earthly well-being of man, but Rus', blessed Rus', which in its infancy accepted the foolishness of the Cross, preserved in the depths of its immense soul the image of Christ Crucified and carries it in its heart, is the true light of the world. That Holy Rus', which has always lived with a premonition of what is above, first of all sought the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and was in living communion with Heaven.
The eternal strength and beauty of Orthodoxy lies in the wonderful unity of heaven and earth. In Russia, the sky was inseparable from the earth: “The Holy Man of Rus' always knew what the eternal meaning of life was, and the main goal for him was the acquisition of Heavenly blessings”- Rev. Seraphim reminded his pets more than once.
The life of the Vyritsky ascetic is a whole epoch in the life of Russia. For several decades, the most significant events in the life of Russian society took place before the eyes of the elder, which found a lively response in his pure heart. Father Seraphim passed his earth path firmly knowing that outside of Orthodoxy there is no salvation, no Resurrection and immortality. “Only God never forget! Keep the holy truths of the Orthodox faith, love our Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart!- neighbors often heard these words from the lips of the blessed elder.
I hope that the materials offered to respected readers will help them in the most important thing - in the knowledge of Christ in His saints. I hope that the Lord will touch your hearts with His Love. And together with Father Seraphim, I wish everyone salvation in an imperishable and endless life. Earthly is temporary, Heavenly is eternal!
Details of how the materials and evidence for my books about St. Seraphim Vyritsky were collected, as well as little-known information about him, can be found at.
V.P. Filimonov , Russian writer-hagiographer, author of the Life of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky and other books about the saints of the Russian Land
Reviews
you don’t read the nonsense of predictions, but just type in Yandex - the composition of the forces of the Eastern Military District of Russia ... and you will see that there will be no war ... that from Irkutsk to Vladivostok we only have .....
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At the moment, significant ground forces Russian Federation not in the Far East and Primorye. There is the 18th artillery division in the Kuriles and the 55th marine division in the Pacific Fleet. Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands are the area of responsibility of the 68th Corps. The main force of the corps is the 18th artillery division - 1 regiment and headquarters on Iturup. The rest of its units in Kunashir. Armament of the 18th division: 18 T-72B3 tanks; 36 units 152-mm self-propelled guns 2S5 "Hyacinth" and towed 152-mm "Hyacinth-B"; about 16 MLRS 300-mm 9K58 "Smerch" and 122-mm BM-21 "Grad". It's even worse on Sakhalin. There is one 39th motorized rifle brigade. In service: 41 T-72B tanks, 36 self-propelled guns 2S5 "Hyacinth", 18 120-mm mortars 2S12 "Sani", 18 122-mm MLRS BM-21, 12 self-propelled anti-tank systems "Competition". The brigade has at its disposal radio engineering and engineer-sapper regiments, but they cannot conduct combined arms combat. Since 2016, coastal defenses have been strengthened there. 2 divisions of the 720th missile brigade of the Pacific Fleet were sent to the Kuriles. On Iturup - DBK "Bastion", and on Kunashir - DBK "Bal". But not more.
In Primorye there are 3 motorized rifle brigades and 1 motorized rifle brigade in the Khabarovsk Territory, all of which are part of the 5th Army of the Eastern Military District. They can receive support from the 29th Army in the Trans-Baikal Territory - 1 motorized rifle brigade, the 36th Army from Buryatia - 1 tank and 1 motorized rifle brigades, the 35th Army in the Amur Region - 2 motorized rifle brigades, and in addition another 1 special forces brigade and 2 air assault brigades of district subordination. There are 3 artillery, 3 missile and 1 rocket-artillery brigades, 3 anti-aircraft missile brigades in the VO.
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Hieromonk Seraphim Vyritsky (Muravyov, 1865-1949).
[an article from a series on the history of prophecy].
Letter:
“Not long ago at one Orthodox forum I read:
"Author: Eugene.
From the prophecies of Seraphim Vyritsky:
“The time will come when not persecution, but money and the charms of this world will turn people away from God and many more souls will die than in times of open rebellion,” the priest said, “on the one hand, they will erect crosses and gild domes, and on the other hand, the kingdom of lies and evil will come. The true Church will always be persecuted, and it will be possible to be saved only by sorrows and illnesses. Persecution will take the most sophisticated, unpredictable character. It will be terrible to live up to these times. We, thank God, will not live to see it, but then a religious procession will go from the Kazan Cathedral to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.”
The citywide festive procession along Nevsky Prospekt, established back in 1743 by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter of Peter I, took place in St. Petersburg on September 12, 2013. It marked the beginning of the celebrations dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
In the morning, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' served a liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, after which the citywide religious procession took place along Nevsky Prospekt from Kazan Cathedral to Alexander Nevsky Square. In the evening, a festive concert with fireworks was held in the Metropolitan Garden of the Lavra.
It turns out that new persecutions of Orthodoxy will soon begin?”
If it is not in your book, this does not mean that the reverend did not say such things. Who needed to fake it and why? This is not the first time I have come across these words.
In the book of Valery Filimonov: "But deliver us from the evil one" of the 2000s, this passage is given with words about the procession. As far as I know, Valery Pavlovich was collecting data on the life of St. Seraphim. In any case, everything else from this passage is already coming true.
Tamara Nikolaevna, what can you say about this?
Answer:
Sometimes you can find references that during the years of the Patriotic War during the occupation of Vyritsa (1941-1944), Hieroschemamonk Seraphim (Muravyov) repeated the feat of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov - he stood on a stone for a thousand days and nights, begging for victory.
[Historical reference:
Seraphim Vyritsky (monastic vows Barnabas, in the world Vasily Nikolaevich Muravyov, 1866-1949) – hieroschemamonk of Russia Orthodox Church, an old man and a seer.
Before the revolution of 1917, he was a very large fur trader, a merchant of the 2nd guild.
In 1920, he submitted a petition to the Spiritual Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra to be accepted into the ranks of the brethren, to which he received consent, was accepted as a novice and received the obedience of a sacristan.
On October 29, 1920, he was tonsured a monk with the name Barnabas.
On September 11, 1921, he was ordained a hieromonk by Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazan).
At the end of 1926, Father Barnabas took the schema under the name of Seraphim (in honor of Seraphim of Sarov) and became the confessor of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
In 1933 he moved to the village of Vyritsa, where he lived until his death. Moved to the old man and his ex-wife, who accepted the monastic feat (she died in 1945).
Soon, a stream of pilgrims from Vyritsa, the northern capital and other cities rushed to the elder for consolation, blessing, and advice. Since 1935, the nun Joanna (Vera Shikhobalova, 1869-1944) helped the Muravyov family as a housekeeper.
At the end of his life, the cell-attendant Seraphim helped the elder].
* * *
Anna Sergeevna Igovskaya (1907-1994), who personally knew Elder Seraphim, sent me her short “Memories” about him in a letter in 1992:
“Father Seraphim Vyritsky was a merchant. When the rout of the monastics of the city of Petrov came, on the night of February 18, 1932, he was already an elder of about seventy. He entered monasticism with his wife, already having one son. Husband and wife went to monasteries under the influence and blessing of Father Barnabas of Gethsemane [see ch. history help].
Father Seraphim's name in Holy Baptism was Basil, and in tonsure he took the name Barnabas, in honor of his spiritual father. His wife was tonsured with the name of Christina. Father Varnava entered the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, and his wife entered the Novodevichy Convent in the same city. Their son married, and gave his daughter to a monastery under the guidance of a grandmother. This girl was of extraordinary beauty and wore the uniform of a novice in the monastery with a headdress adopted in this monastery.
Father Barnabas worked behind a candle box. When, after the murder of Metropolitan Veniamin, churches began to be taken away in the Lavra in order to preserve the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, they began to serve in it in the winter as well. The cathedral was not heated. The cold there was terrible. The candle box was located near entrance doors, and Father Barnabas caught a cold for the rest of his life: intercostal neuralgia. He could neither stand nor lie down, but only sit reclining in an armchair. So he “sat” for 17 years.
When they came to him in his cell to arrest him, they could not "take" him. He was the only one not taken away from the monastics that night. The next morning, admirers hastily took him to Vyritsa in a passenger car. And the authorities "forgot" about him. The father was placed in a private dacha. On the top floor lived two old ladies. In the lower - Father and Mother Christina. She did not fall under arrest, since since Father Barnabas fell ill, she lived in his cell and looked after him. They didn't take her. And in Vyritsa she lived calmly until her death.
When the Germans occupied Vyritsa in the first days of August 1941, they also did not cause the Elder the slightest violence. In Vyritsa, a family of summer residents, admirers of the Elder, also fell “under the Germans”. At that time, Father Barnabas had long ago, since the onset of the illness that chained him to the chair, accepted the schema with the name Seraphim. There was no question of any "standing" on the knees for 1000 days. This is a pious fiction, but a fiction nonetheless.
Batiushka was distinguished by his perspicacity and told his visitors their future for many years to come. He also knew the date of the end of the war, and whose victory would be, and spoke about this to many. Then not everyone liked it, as some expected the Germans to be released from the "Babylonian captivity." But Father knew the will of God. When the Novodevichy Convent was closed, Father's granddaughter, Margarita, returned home. Her further fate is unknown, but before the war she visited Vyritsa.
The area around the cottage about. Seraphim was a corner of an untouched pine forest, and on one pine, at the direction of the Father, an icon of the Monk Seraphim was arranged. Batiushka called this corner "Sarov" and sent visitors to pray to this pine tree with the image of the Reverend. Batiushka also managed to preserve a wonderful image of the Holy Good. Prince Alexander Nevsky with a particle of his relics, which used to be in the cathedral. When the temple was opened at the Theological Academy, this icon was transferred from Vyritsa to it, and after, when the Lavra Trinity Cathedral was opened, it was transferred there. Now she is on that dais where the relics of the Holy Blessed Prince are.
I do not know about the prophecies about the fate of Russia, but Father Seraphim personally predicted my future to me 23 years before his prophetic words came true. I went to the Elder as to the sun, in the midst of the darkness of the languor of those years. Around - untouched pine forest; aroma, silence, no crowds; as if time had stopped. Batiushka was affectionate, almost tender, and somehow surprisingly resembled the Reverend Seraphim. He died in 1949. I was at that time in the Yakutsk camps, they wrote to me about his death. He died on April 3, and was buried on the Annunciation.
Mother Khristina (Olga Ivanovna Muravyova, nee Naydenova) reposed in the Lord as schema nun Seraphim in 1945. She is buried in the village. Vyritsa near the Kazan Church, where he served about Alexy Kabardin, famous for baptizing the royal children and being their confessor, for which he received a term, but still survived, got out.
[Historical reference:
“Barnabas of Gethsemane (Merkulov Vasily Ilyich, 1831-1906), hieromonk, elder of the Gethsemane skete of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra. From the serfs of the landowner Yushkov, he was tonsured a monk in the Vyksa monastery. In 1851, Vasily became the cell-attendant of the elder Gerontius (in the schema of Gregory). With the blessing of the latter, in 1857 he was accepted as a novice at the Gethsemane Skete.
In 1866. tonsured a monk with a name in honor of St. Barnabas, on next year ordained hieromonk.
According to legend, he predicted the persecution and revival of the Russian Church in the 20th century:
“The persecutors against the faith will constantly increase. Unheard-of grief and darkness will cover everything and everyone, and the temples will be closed. But when it becomes unbearable to endure, then liberation will come ... Temples will be erected again. Before the end there will be a flowering.
* * *
Probably, earlier these same “Memoirs” by A.S. Igovskaya served as material for the journalist Alexander Nikolaevich Novikov in writing an article dedicated to Vasily Nikolaevich Muravyov:
“Father Seraphim was from the merchant rank. When the rout of the monastics of the city of Petrov came, on the night of February 18, 1932, he was already an elder of sixty-six years. He entered monasticism with his wife. Husband and wife went to monasteries under the influence and blessing of Father Barnabas of Gethsemane. Name about. Seraphim in Holy Baptism was Basil, and in tonsure he took the name of Barnabas. His wife was tonsured with the name of Christina. Father Varnava entered the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, and his wife entered the Novodevichy Convent in the same city.
Father Barnabas worked behind a candle box. When, after the murder of Metropolitan Veniamin, churches began to be taken away in the Lavra in order to preserve the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, they began to serve in it in the winter as well. The cathedral was not heated. The cold there was terrible. The candle box was located near the entrance doors, and Fr. Barnabas caught a cold for the rest of his life: intercostal neuralgia. He could neither stand nor lie down, but only sit reclining in an armchair. So he “sat” for 17 years.
When they came to him in his cell to arrest him, they could not "take" him. He was the only one not taken away from the monastics that night. The next morning, admirers hastily took him to Vyritsa in a passenger car. The father was placed in a private dacha. On the top floor lived two old ladies. In the lower - Father and m. Khristina. She was not arrested, since since Fr. Barnabas fell ill, lived in his cells and looked after him.
In 1941, in Vyritsa, he fell "under the Germans." At that time Fr. Barnabas took the schema with the name Seraphim. Batiushka was sagacious and told his visitors their future for many years to come. He also knew the date of the end of the war, and whose victory would be, and spoke about this to many.
Once a spiritual son asked the Elder a question about the future of Russia.
“There will come a time,” he replied, “when there will be an extraordinary flowering in Russia. Many churches and monasteries will open, even foreigners will come to us to be baptized. But this is not for long, for 15 years, then the Antichrist will come "[...]" (A.N. Novikov "The Righteous and Ascetic Life of Seraphim Vyritsky (1865-1949)", "St. Petersburg Diocesan Gazette", 1990, No. 1, p. .35).
* * *
“Many countries will take up arms against Russia, but she will stand, having lost most of her lands. This war, about which the Holy Scriptures and the prophets narrate, will be the cause of the unification of mankind. People will understand that it is impossible to live like this, otherwise all living things will perish, and they will choose a single government - this will be the threshold of the accession of the Antichrist. Then persecution of Christians will come, when trains leave for Russia from the Far Eastern cities, we must hurry, since many of those who remain will die. Numerous heresies will tear Russia apart, and only a few who will try not only to be Christians in name, but at least to understand holy gospel. For true believers, this will be a Sign, do not rush to rejoice. The alleged new flourishing of the Church will soon be followed by new ordeals for Russia. For the numerous sins of her peoples will testify against her in the eyes of the Lord, and none of the saints will be able to intercede for her, for her sins are great [...] ”(A.N. Novikov“ The Righteous and Ascetic Life of Seraphim Vyritsky (1865-1949) ” , "St. Petersburg Diocesan Gazette", No. 2, p. 56, 1990).
* * *
Later A.N. Novikov, without pointing to the sources of his information, developed the "prophetic heritage" of the elder Seraphim Vyritsky:
“The time will come when not the persecution of the atheists, but the money and charms of this world will turn people away from God and from the Church, and many more souls will perish than in times of open theomachism. On the one hand, crosses will be erected, and the domes of churches will be gilded, and satanic stars will be removed from the facades of many institutions, and on the other, a great kingdom of lies, deceit and evil will come. The true Church of the Lord will always be persecuted, for it truthfully denounced human sores, and it will be possible to be saved only by sorrows and illnesses. Persecution will take the most sophisticated, unpredictable character. It will be terrible to live up to these times, because any concept of morality will disappear. What will be evil, people will begin to call good and sincerely believe in it, and what will be good, they will call evil and will curse anyone who does good.
The first hierarchs of the Church will act not as saviors and healers of souls, but as the first persecutors of the true believers. For the sake of their earthly well-being, they will enter into an agreement with the godless authorities. Lists of true believers will be compiled and these lists will be handed over to the authorities. We, thank God, will not live to see this atrocity, we will not drink the cup of bitter shame for the Church, but at the same time, religious processions will go from the Kazan Cathedral to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra […]
Do not believe more than one word of the authorities, everywhere one hypocrisy. Pursue hypocrisy in yourself, drive it out of yourself, evade the masses infected by it, acting both intentionally and unconsciously in its direction, covering the search for temporal blessings with the search for eternal blessings, covering the vicious life and the soul wholly devoted to passions with the guise of holiness.
Are you asking what to do?
Rely on the providence of God. Today we only bear the name of Christians, and in deeds and deeds we are far from the first disciples of the Apostles, from the outside it is even creepy to look at our moral debauchery. There is nothing sacred in Russia [...]
In July 1918, the fighters killed the Anointed of God and his family, the time will come when they will again want to repeat their atrocities. Who can resist them, only God. God changed his definitions, announced through the holy prophets, such as the prophecy of Jonah about the Ninevites, Elijah about Ahab, Isaiah about Hezekiah. Whoever has given himself and everything to the will of God does not need to know anything in advance. The Lord changed anger to mercy after individuals or a whole people humbled themselves before Him, left a sinful life and embarked on the path of repentance. If Russians, all over the world, every single person at the same time would kneel and pray to God for at least five minutes to prolong life for Russia, so that the Lord would give everyone time to repent. Russia would have been saved. The Lord would have heard them and prevented the impending atrocity [...]
No one can defeat us in an open battle, we ourselves forge fetters against each other and exterminate ourselves for the amusement of others. Many countries will take up arms against Russia when she accepts the last Russian Tsar, but she will stand, having lost most of her lands. This war, about which the Holy Scriptures and the prophets narrate, will be the cause of the unification of mankind. People will understand that it is impossible to live like this any longer, otherwise all living things will perish. And then they will choose a single government, it will be the reign of the Antichrist […]
When the East gains strength, everything will become unsustainable. The number is on their side, but not only that, sober and hardworking people work for them. And we have such drunkenness [...]
The time will come when Russia will be torn apart. First they will divide it, and then they will begin to rob wealth. The West will contribute in every possible way to the destruction of Russia and will give up its eastern part to China until the time comes. The Japanese will seize the Far East, and the Chinese will seize Siberia, some will move to Russia, marry Russians, and in the end, by cunning and deceit, they will take the territory of Siberia to the Urals. Then the persecution of Christians in the Far East will come, when trains will leave for Russia from the cities of Primorye, we must hurry to be among the first, since many of those who remain will die. When China wishes to go further, the West will oppose and will not allow […]” (A.N. Novikov “Elder Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky”, “Derzhavnaya Rus”, No. 2, pp. 45-52, 1993).
Note under the article:
“The elder said that before the end, many people would come to St. Petersburg and Vyritsa - this is a special place chosen by God. Three monasteries will be opened here”
[Historical reference:
"Rus Derzhavnaya" is a Russian monthly Orthodox-patriotic newspaper (published with the subtitle "Orthodox People's Newspaper").
As an epigraph on the front page of the publication are the words of Seraphim of Sarov: "... the Lord will have mercy on Russia and lead her through suffering to great glory."
Founded in 1993 by Andrei Pechersky, a journalist for the Pravda newspaper].
* * *
All further publications of the prophecies of the elder hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky, including the collection-reference book on the Patriotic history of prophecies "Russia before the Second Coming" (compiled by S.V. Fomin, Publishing House of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1993) and the book by Valery Pavlovich Filimonov "But deliver us from the evil one ”(2000), there is a reprint of excerpts from the articles of A.N. Novikov “The Righteous and Ascetic Life of Seraphim Vyritsky (1865-1949)” (“St. Petersburg Diocesan Gazette”, No. 1-2, 1990) and “Elder Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky” (“Derzhavnaya Rus”, No. 2, 1993).
What does the first article for 1990 have to do with the passage: “Thank God, we will not live to see this atrocity, we will not drink the cup of bitter shame for the Church, but at the same time, religious processions will go from the Kazan Cathedral to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra […] “Really, no.
This passage appeared only in 1993, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the name was changed, and the historical name of St. Petersburg was returned to the city on the Neva, and "patriotic" believers began to demand the resumption of religious processions.
However, can Alexander Nikolayevich be trusted unconditionally?
Unfortunately, you can't.
Subject real existence The prophecies then captured Alexander Nikolayevich so much that he published at least two more articles in 1991-1992, including the “prophecies” of the Great White Brotherhood. The topic of the near future was probably in great demand, the Russian public, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, had a demand for prophecies, and the journalist did not have time to understand their reliability.
[Historical reference:
The Great White Brotherhood "USMALOS" (more common name in the media: White Brotherhood) is a new religious movement of the eschatological direction.
Founded in 1990-1991 in Kyiv by a specialist in the field of mental influence on personality Yuri Krivonogov and a native of Donetsk Maria Mamonova (Tsvigun). The leader of the organization is Yu.A. Krivonogov, took the ritual name of Yuoann Swami (Saint John, that is, the Baptist), M.V. Tsvigun - took the ritual name Maria Devi Khristos, declaring herself the Virgin Mary. Mamonova also stated that she had seen God and was entrusted with a special mission.
The name of the organization "White Brotherhood" is borrowed from the teachings of Helena Pavlovna Blavatsky. The name "YUSMALOS" is an abbreviation: YUS - "Yuoani Swami", MA - "Mary Devi Christ", LOS - logos. Supporters of the "White Brotherhood" preached about the appearance on Earth of the "Mother of the World" Tsvigun and the imminent the Last Judgment, the date of which, at the insistence of Yuri Krivonogov, was announced on November 24, 1993.
At the end of 1991, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate came out with sharp criticism of the “Great White Brotherhood of Yusmalos”. Maria Devi Khristos is anathematized, she is declared an impostor.
On November 10, 1993, on the last day of the decade of repentance declared by the “Great White Brotherhood of Yusmalos”, M. Tsvigun and several dozen members of the White Brotherhood tried to seize St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and hold their prayer service there. The capture attempt was stopped by the police officers, Tsvigun and Krivonogov were detained.
In 1996, Tsvigun was sentenced to 4 years in a penal colony, the formal head of the sect, John Peter II, to 5 years, and Krivonogov, to 6 years. Even during the investigation, Tsvigun deprived Yuri Krivonogov of his spiritual dignity, declaring him a traitor who performed his dark role next to her, similar to the one played by Judas, who betrayed Jesus Christ. Krivonogov himself, after his release in 2000, publicly admitted the fallacy of his "prophecies" and stated that he no longer believed in Tsvigun as the "Mother of the World" and "Maria Devi Christ".
In 1997, Tsvigun was released. She restores the "Great White Brotherhood of Yusmalos".
From 1998 to 2001, attempts were made to officially register religious community"Great White Brotherhood Yusmalos" in Ukraine, but the Committee on Religious Affairs refused.
Since 2006, Tsvigun has moved the center of his activities to Moscow. She changed her first and last name to "Victoria Preobrazhenskaya". Under this name, she founded the multi-level “Space polyart of the Third Millennium” (combining spiritual painting, graphics, poetry, music, dance), created the “Victoria Preobrazhenskaya Mystery Theater” and the “Victoria Preobrazhenskaya Creative Workshop”, holds exhibitions of her paintings, writes poetry and music , publishes poetry and literary collections].
Thus, the Ukrainian "prophets" from the Great White Brotherhood themselves publicly admitted the fallacy of their "prophecies", but Alexander Nikolayevich managed to write about them.
Therefore, let us hope that, having historically accurately published the autobiography of Elder Seraphim Vyritsky (in the vows of Barnabas, in the world Vasily Nikolayevich Muravyov, 1866-1949), Alexander Nikolayevich did not allow too many “pious inventions” in terms of prophecies, although with a feat in the style of St. Seraphim Sarovsky - to stand on a stone for a thousand days and nights, begging for victory, while being chained to a wheelchair - obviously went too far.
* * *
Subsequently, other writers professing the apostasy role of Russia joined the "prophetic legacy" of Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky:
“How much the Lord gave grace to Russia - what forests, lakes, rivers, rich bowels of the earth. But we lived and live without God, and the earth is a mother, it gives bread and life. Our enemies and the God-fighting authorities will not allow people to return to the earth for a long time. To give people land in Russia means to give them freedom. It is possible to feed everyone and arrange everything, but it is not profitable for the enemies - they are afraid of a free, reborn Russia. And yet Russia will live from her land […]
Now there will be peace, but only in form, not in reality. Disasters will then be the same as during the war. And the Lord will pour out a spirit of deceit upon them, and they will want what they do not need, and they will not want what they really need. Again, the bell ringing will go through Russia and the double-headed eagle will return to the Kremlin towers, and a monastery will be founded in Vyritsa. The theomachists will lose power, but Russia will be divided for our sins. They will no longer love this world that is around us, this incomparable creation of the Lord. But this is not the end yet, the Lord will once again send trials for us. Will we understand it? Shall we follow his path? The Lord is able to restore laborers if we ask. Let us pray and ask, and then the Lord will restore His chosen ones from stones […]
Salvation of the world - from Russia, and St. Petersburg will become the spiritual center of the country. There will also be great events in Russia - the discovery and glorification of the relics in St. Petersburg - a great joy for the whole world. Vyritsa will be a place of pilgrimage, and a monastery will be opened here […]
The time will come ... when the corruption and decadence of the morals of the young will reach the last limits. Almost no uncorrupted will remain. They will believe that everything is permitted to them to satisfy whims and lusts, because they will see their impunity. They will gather in companies, gangs, they will steal, debauchery. But the time will come when the voice of God will come, when the youth will understand that it is impossible to live like this any longer, and they will go to faith in different ways, the craving for asceticism will increase. Those who were previously sinners, drunkards, will fill the churches, feel a great attraction to spiritual life, many of them will become monks, open monasteries, churches will be full of believers - and most of them will be young people ...
The fact that they sin now, they will repent so fervently. Just as a candle, before it goes out, flares brightly, illuminating everything with its last light, so the life of the Church, before its very end, will flare up with the bright light of Divine grace. And this time is near […]” (Archpriest Vasily Shvets “Memories of Vyritsa and Elder Seraphim”, “Orthodox Rus'”, No. 8, pp. 7-8, 1993).
[Historical reference:
Pravoslavnaya Rus is the newspaper of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. From 1928 to 1934, it was published as a weekly church-public newspaper "Orthodox Carpathian Rus", the executive editor was Vsevolod Vladimirovich Kolomatsky. Distributed in 48 states.
Since 1935, the newspaper began to be published under the name "Orthodox Rus'" under the editorship of the monk Alexei (Dekhterev). The editors set the following goals: strengthening the Orthodox church self-awareness of Russian emigrants, telling about spiritual treasures Orthodox faith, informing readers about the church life of the Russian Diaspora, the fight against militant atheism, upholding the church-wide unification of the entire Russian Diaspora.
last number" Orthodox Rus'"of the Slovak period was released in Bratislava on October 22, 1944.
After the majority of the brethren of the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. Job of Pochaev moved to Jordanville, the publication of the journal resumed there. The first issue was published in the USA on January 31, 1947. In 1949, priest Kirill Zaitsev arrived in Jordanville, later Archimandrite Konstantin, who headed the editorial office of Orthodox Rus'. He led the publication for 30 years.
From 1988 to 2001, he headed the editorial office of the publishing house "Orthodox Rus'" teacher of the Holy Trinity Theological Seminary A.V. Psarev].
* * *
“There are forces on earth that hate Rus'. Blessed Rus', which adopted in its infancy the foolishness of the cross, preserved in the depths of its immense soul the image of Christ Crucified and carrying it in the heart the true light of the world. These forces hate Holy Rus', which has always lived in a premonition of what is above, first of all, it has sought the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and has been in living communion with heaven. In Russia the sky was inseparable from the earth. The Saint of Rus' always knew that the main goal for him was the acquisition of heavenly blessings. And the evil forces will destroy this person in Russia, taking him away from God. And then they will calm down, deciding that Russia is finished. But Russia, relying on the holy truths of the Orthodox faith, will be reborn. There will be ascetics who will rise up to fight against principalities, against authorities, against spirits of wickedness in high places […]
I remember how Father told me: "Look out the window."
I went to the window - there are trees, houses can be seen behind them. And suddenly everything seemed to blur - and a view of the Gulf of Finland opened up, the waters of which were filled with many ships with multi-colored flags.
"What do you see?"
"Ships, father, there are many ships on the Gulf of Finland."
"And how many are there?"
"Is it possible to count?"
"One thousand six hundred. The time will come when there will be a spiritual flowering in Russia. Many churches and monasteries will open. Pagans and unbelievers will arrive in Russia on such ships to be baptized. For through Russia the light of the world will shine. Many will come to pray, admire the Russian land, touch its shrines - and all this will come true. And such grace will be given that people will turn to God, and their hearts will be opened, and their minds will be enlightened - and all this is the gift of the Lord. But this is not for long - for fifteen years, then the Antichrist will come [...] ”(Archpriest Vasily Shvets, “Memoirs of Vyritsa and Elder Seraphim”, “Derzhavnaya Rus”, No. 6, 1994).
Unfortunately, Archpriest Vasily Shvets did not share the sources from which he drew his information about the “prophetic words” of Elder Seraphim Vyritsky.
Let us not forget that the preservation of prophecy has never been the responsibility of Orthodox priests. The first efforts in this regard began to be made only after 1884 by the Supreme Church Authority in the form of periodically appearing instructions “On the collection and proper storage on the ground in the diocesan archives of the prophecies of blessed husbands and wives” (1884, 1888, 1896, 1902). But in practice they were little guided in Everyday life, since the very "circumstances of the time" and the conditions of church life of those days invariably nullified all these "good undertakings" of the Church leadership.
Since 1917, the situation has changed dramatically.
It is known that many (if not all) bishops, after 1920, taught by the bitter experience of administrative activity, deliberately, “for the sake of fear” of the Cheka and the GPU, systematically destroyed all the papers that came into their hands, as soon as they had passed the practical need , and also each, according to "their discretion", "cleaned" the archives "just in case".
Therefore, the preservation of the prophecies was carried out only thanks to the ingenious practice of the Russian people (and this should be especially noted and emphasized). Since it was impossible to print openly, the prophecies were distributed among the population in copies or in lists through Samizdat. This event, which arose spontaneously as a replacement for the complete absence of any kind of printing at all, helped a lot to penetrate the main prophecies into wide circles of believers.
True, this should also be noted, sometimes with a certain number of “additions”, or as Anna Sergeevna Igovskaya (1907-1994) wrote:
“At that time, Father Barnabas long ago, from the onset of the illness that chained him to the chair, accepted the schema with the name Seraphim. There was no question of any "standing" on the knees for 1000 days. It's a pious fiction, but a fiction nonetheless."
Therefore, the phrase of Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky: “Thank God, we will not live to see this atrocity, we will not drink the cup of bitter shame for the Church, but at the same time, religious processions will go from the Kazan Cathedral to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra” - this is also, most likely, pious fiction, because in the first article of the journalist A.N. Novikov "The Righteous and Ascetic Life of Seraphim Vyritsky (1865-1949)" ("St. Petersburg Diocesan Gazette", 1990, No. 1, p. 35) - it is not. This phrase appeared in the text only in 1993 due to the "pious intention" to strengthen the "prophetic" part of the text.
* * *
Prophecies and instructions of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky
Father Seraphim possessed an undoubted prophetic gift. This is eloquent
say many living testimonies published on the pages of this
books. Some of the prophecies of the great elder have already been fulfilled.
The Elder's Prediction in 1927 of the Patriarchal Service to the Archbishop of Khutyn
Alexy (Simansky) and the approaching cruel persecution; prophecies
ascetic about the coming Great Patriotic War and the victory of our
weapons; Father Seraphim foresaw the death of Archpriest Alexy Kibardin
fifteen years after his own, as well as an accurate insight into the fates
many people have now become indisputable facts.
Deeply prophetic are the lines written by the elder in 1939
poems "A thunderstorm will pass over the Russian land ..." In the bloody years
persecution, when it seemed that the Church was doomed to a quick and complete
destruction, Father Seraphim speaks of her coming rebirth - oh
the resumption of the then forbidden bell ringing, about the opening
devastated temples of God and holy monasteries. Father tirelessly reminded
to his numerous visitors about the promise of God about the invincibility
The churches are the gates of hell. Father Seraphim told about the revival
specific monasteries - the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, Diveev and others.
It is noteworthy that, predicting the restoration of the Alexander Nevsky
Lavra, the elder said that at first the state would return the Church as
parish church of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, and only then, after many years, the entire
The Lavra will be handed over to the monastics. Father also foretold that
in time, a monastery will be founded in Vyritsa, and Leningrad will again
renamed to St. Petersburg.
Father Seraphim said that the time would come when in Moscow, St.
other cities of Russia will operate Orthodox radio stations,
broadcasts of which it will be possible to hear soulful edifications, prayers and
church songs...
To the question of his spiritual son about the future of Russia, the elder offered him
look out the window overlooking the Gulf of Finland. He saw many
ships sailing under different flags. - How to understand it? he asked
fathers. The elder answered: "There will come a time when there will be a
spiritual flourish. Many churches and monasteries will open, even those of other faiths
will come to us to be baptized on such ships. But it's not for long -
15 years, then the Antichrist will come."
He said that when the East gains strength, everything will become stable. Number - on them
side, but not only that: they employ sober and hardworking people, and
we're so drunk...
They also told how the elder said: “The East will be baptized in Russia. The whole heavenly world is praying for the enlightenment of the East.
The time will come when Russia will be torn apart. First, it will be divided, and
Then they start looting wealth. The West will help in every possible way
destruction of Russia and will give its eastern part to China before the time comes. Further
The East will be taken over by the Japanese, and Siberia by the Chinese, who will
move to Russia, marry Russians, and in the end by cunning and
by cunning they will take the territory of Siberia to the Urals. When will China
go further, the West will oppose and will not allow it."
Many countries will take up arms against Russia, but it will stand, having lost most of its
lands. This is the war that the Holy Scriptures tell about and they say
prophets, will cause the unification of mankind. People will understand that
it is impossible to live like this, otherwise all living things will die - it will be
prelude to the reign of the Antichrist.
Then the persecution of Christians will come, when trains will leave for Russia from
cities, we must hurry to be among the first, since many of those who
stay, die.
Relatives and close spiritual children of Father Seraphim note that not everything was seen by the elder in rainbow colors...
"The time will come when not persecution, but money and the charms of this world will turn people away
from God and many more souls will perish than in the days of the open
theomachism, - said the priest, - on the one hand, they will erect
crosses and gilding domes, and on the other hand, the kingdom of lies and evil will come.
The true Church will always be persecuted, and it will be possible to be saved only
sorrow and sickness. Persecution will take the most sophisticated,
unpredictable character. It will be terrible to live up to these times. We are glory
God, we won’t live, but at the same time, a religious procession will go from the Kazan Cathedral to
Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
In a number of predictions of the Vyritsky elder, there are very disturbing notes. "If
the Russian people will not come to repentance, - the priest said, - it may happen
so that brother will rise again against brother."
Several important predictions of Father Seraphim Vyritsky were recorded by Maria
Georgievna Preobrazhenskaya, niece of St. Theophan of Poltava.
It was right after the war. I sang in the choir of the Peter and Paul Church
the village of Vyritsa. Often we with the singers from our church came to the father
Seraphim for blessing. One day one of the singers said: "Dear
father! How good it has become now - the war is over, they rang again
bells in churches..." And the elder replied: "No, that's not all.
There will be more fear than before. You will meet it again. Will be very
it is difficult for young people to change their uniforms. Who will only survive? Who only
stay alive? (Father Seraphim repeated these words three times). But who is alive
will remain - what a good life he will have ... "After a short pause
the priest again said thoughtfully: "If the people of the whole world, all up to
one person (again, as if in a singsong voice, the elder repeated these words
several times), at the same time would kneel down and pray
God, at least only five minutes about the extension of life, so that he would give everyone
Lord, it's time for repentance..."
Discussing the prophecies, St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) says: "God changed
Their definitions, announced also through the holy prophets, like that prophecy
Jonah about the Ninevites (Jonah 3:10); Elijah about Ahab (1 Kings 21:29); Isaiah about
Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-11). Whoever surrenders himself and everything to the will of God, nothing to him
no need to know in advance." In all the cases mentioned by St. Ignatius
God changed anger to mercy after individuals or
a whole people humbled themselves before Him, forsook the life of sin and entered upon
path of repentance.
The Lord endowed Father Seraphim Vyritsky with many blessed revelations.
Describing one of his spiritual contemplations, the ascetic told
nun Seraphim (Morozova):
"I have visited all countries. I have not found better than our country and better than our
I didn't see faith. Our faith is above all. This is the Orthodox faith, the true one.
Of all the known creeds, she alone is brought to earth.
incarnate Son of God. I ask you, mother Seraphim, to speak
to all, so that no one deviates from our faith!
Vyritsky elder said more than once that Russia has a priceless treasure - it
is the guardian of the holy Orthodox faith. True enlightenment
is the enlightenment of the soul with the light of Orthodoxy. Not a prosperous West, where
the ultimate goal of all things is the earthly well-being of man, and
Rus', blessed Rus', who accepted in her infancy the foolishness of the cross,
who preserved in the depths of her immense soul the image of Christ Crucified and
whoever carries it in her heart is the true light of the world. That Holy Rus'
who always lived in a foreboding of what was above, first of all, she sought the Kingdom
God and His righteousness and was in living communion with heaven. eternal power and
the beauty of Orthodoxy lies in the wonderful unity of the heavenly and the earthly. IN
In Russia, the sky was inseparable from the earth. "The Saint of Rus' always knew
what is the eternal meaning of life and the main goal for him was the acquisition
heavenly blessings," Father Seraphim reminded his pets.
The life of the Vyritsky ascetic is a whole epoch in the life of Russia. During
several decades, before the eyes of the elder, significant
events in the life of Russian society, which found a lively response in its pure
heart. Father Seraphim walked his earthly path, knowing for sure that outside
Orthodoxy has no salvation, no resurrection and immortality. "Only God
never forget! Keep the holy truths of the Orthodox faith, everyone
love our Lord Jesus Christ with your heart!" - neighbors often heard
These words come from the lips of the blessed elder.
Uniting his breath with the sweetest name of Jesus, Father Seraphim saw in his mind
Prayer is an invaluable means for acquiring peace of mind and salvation:
“In the most difficult times, it will be convenient to be saved by the one who, to the best of his ability,
will begin to struggle in the Jesus Prayer, ascending from the frequent invocation
name of the Son of God for unceasing prayer."
Sweat to the word of the holy fathers, this doing not only protects a person from all
temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, but can also make the ascetic
a living temple of God, where God is silently sung. Such an ascetic
during earthly life, through the incomprehensible power of God, it acquires
qualities necessary for the future life.
The Vyritsa elder advised many spiritual children to read a prayer as often as possible.
St. Ephraim the Syrian "Lord and Master of my life..." "In this
prayer is the whole essence of Orthodoxy, the whole Gospel. With it we ask the Lord
help to acquire the properties of a new person," said the priest.
"Yes, Lord, King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother
mine..." Father Seraphim called the sin of condemnation one of the greatest
spiritual ailments of our time! "We have the right to judge only ourselves
myself. Even talking about a person, we already involuntarily condemn
him," said the Vyritsky elder. He especially reminded him of the inadmissibility
condemnation of the priesthood: "Personal human infirmities cannot take away
the grace of ordination. During the performance of the Sacraments, the priest is
only an instrument in the hands of God. All the Sacraments are performed invisibly by Himself
Christ. Whatever the sinful priest, even if he is destined for the fire
Gehenna burn, only through him can we get permission from
our own sins."
Father Seraphim was deeply convinced that a person should prepare himself for
Eternity. After the soul is separated from the body, it immediately understands that
the knowledge and experience of her entire previous life turned into nothing. Those
objects, images and concepts that were presented to man on earth
the most valuable and important, will turn out to be meaningless, just like those
events that occupied his mind and heart and seemed to be the most important.
Moreover, the properties and qualities that the world sang and brought up,
turn out to be harmful and directly opposite to those that
inhabitant of blessed eternity. The only earthly experience that
will be needed by a person in the future life - this is the experience of knowing Christ as
holy and divine truth. "Earth is a country of weeping, Heaven is a country
fun. Heavenly joy grows from seeds sown on earth. These
seeds: prayer and tears ... There is no higher happiness on earth, how to know God and
Cling to Him with all your soul. This union is from now to the century. In that
union is a condition of true eternal bliss, the foretaste of which is already
begins here on earth..." - in full agreement with these words
Saint Ignatius was visited by Father Seraphim. At the same time, the old man strongly
advised all ascetics not to take any
visions, phenomena and voices from underworld. Only the saints
With the help of the grace of God, they are able to distinguish bright angels from demons.
The latter, appearing to people, assume the form of angels of light,
surround themselves with every plausibility and speak the visible truth for
to deceive and ruin the inexperienced, the frivolous, and
curious. "Carnal, sinful men are unworthy to see angels and
saints. They tend to communicate only with fallen dark spirits, which,
usually leads to death. Let's pray that
The Lord delivered us from the temptations of the evil one," the priest edified the neighbors
Seraphim.
Vyritsky ascetic with his life answered many questions that concern those who seek salvation
in today's turbulent world. "Works done in the spirit of this world, in
harm and condemnation of his soul and the souls of his neighbors flow like clockwork. All you need
to see it closer: you see how quickly the books that destroy
and faith and morality, what expenses are made for printing them, with
with what zeal some try to distribute them, while others buy. How
what do you think it is like in the sight of God? And what should you expect for it?
at the judgment of God? Unbelievers cry that there is no God, there is no judgment of God. Because of
such a cry, with which depravity intensifies to drown out the performances
conscience, God has not ceased to exist. He exists and will surely repay
to every man according to his works. The most apostasy is predicted from all
clarity Holy Scripture and serves as evidence of how much is true and
everything that is said in Scripture is true ... However, God has provided everyone
to a person during earthly life, according to his arbitrariness, to do good, or not
do it." These lines, as if for the people of our time, were written
Saint Ignatius in 1864. With the death of an individual soul begins
the death of an entire people. The salvation of the people depends on the contribution that
each individual person will contribute to this matter.
By the life of the Vyritsky elder, the Lord gives a wondrous image of salvation in such a difficult
time for the Russian people. Consecrating every serious step
blessing and prayer of the Mother Church, Father Seraphim walked for many years
through an imperceptible, everyday feat. It's hidden from prying eyes
a feat performed in inner solitude, where there is no place for anger and
irritability, despondency and despair. This is the daily feat of the active
repentance, fasting and prayer; feat of real and feasible deeds performed
For Christ's sake and in the name of love for others. This quiet but firm standing in
faith, which requires much more courage than a momentary fever
and the loudest cries of patriotism. Where passions rage, never
there will be no grace-filled peace of Christ, who is a witness
truth.
The ascetic always remembered that "our war is not against flesh and blood, but ... against spirits
wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12). In it are the material means of struggle of success
do not bring. Patience, humility and meekness; repentance, contrition of heart and
prayer; mercy, love and gentleness - this is the main weapon in the invisible
scolding. Centuries-old patristic experience clearly speaks of this. "All evil
it is necessary to cover with goodness and love, humbly accepting temptations,
sent to us by the Providence of God, - said Father Seraphim Vyritsky, -
responding with evil to evil, we only come to its multiplication in the universe.
The main properties that the enemy of the salvation of the human race has learned,
are pride and hatred. You can only defeat them with
opposite virtues - humility and love, which attract to
the almighty grace of God. Spirits of malice flee from her in terror.
Summarizing the words of the ancient fathers addressed to the ascetics of our time, St.
Ignatius writes: "Those who in truth will work for God, prudently
hide themselves from the people and do no signs in the midst of them and
miracles... They will go the way of doing, dissolved by humility, and in the Kingdom
heavenly will turn out to be great fathers, glorified by signs." Precisely
this path - the path of doing, dissolved by humility, went several
For decades, Father Seraphim Vyritsky, all his life without thinking about himself
many things, but being in obedience to the Mother Church.
"They go, they go worse than the waves global flood who destroyed the whole race
human, there are waves of lies and darkness, surround, ready from all sides
devour the universe, destroy faith in Christ, destroy His
Kingdom, suppress His teachings, corrupt morals, blunt, destroy
conscience, establish the dominion of the all-malignant peacekeeper. In the remedy
our salvation, let us use the flight commanded by the Lord (Matt. 24:16), -
calls St. Ignatius. Where is that blessed ark like
the ark of the righteous Noah, where one could escape from the waves, from everywhere
embracing, where could one find reliable salvation? Ark - Holy
The Church, rushing above the waves of the moral flood, and into the dark,
stormy, formidable night, guided with complacency, firmness on the way
his heavenly luminaries: the writings of the holy saints of God. Radiance
these luminaries are not strong enough to hide no haze, no clouds. The ark will reach
in the haven of blissful Eternity, will bring there all those who have entrusted him
your salvation."