Archbishop Serafim Sobolev: biography, miracles, photo

In the windy November day of 1920, from the quay of Sevastopol, the commandant steamer Chersonese departed, taking those who yesterday with weapons in their hands tried to withstand the oncoming chaos. Among the officers crowded on the deck, and the shore that was disappearing in the distance, was a tall forty-year-old man in monastic vestments - Bishop Seraphim (Sobolev).

Childhood and the years of study of the future ascetic

The future bishop Seraphim (Sobolev) was born on December 13, 1881 in Ryazan. In holy baptism he was called Nicholas. Having received a preliminary home education, in 1894, a thirteen-year-old Kolya was enrolled in the Ryazan Theological School. Since on introductory tests he surpassed his peers in his knowledge, the inspector considered it possible to enroll Nicholas immediately in the second class.

A young man, gifted by nature with an inquisitive mind and perseverance, did not find it difficult to be among the best students during the six years spent at the school, and at the end of his studies in 1904 he entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Here, deeply realizing that the only way he intended to serve in his life is to serve God, the young student expressed a desire to forever break with the vanity world and become a monk. At the end of January 1908, already at the last year of the academy, he took a monastic vows with the name Seraphim, in honor of the saint of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, whom he strived to be like in everything, and a month later was ordained a priest.

The beginning of active religious activity

In September of the same year, Hieromonk Seraphim was to defend the thesis. With his theme, he chose the doctrine of humility in the exposition of the holy fathers of the V-XV centuries, on the basis of the works of which a compilation was compiled, which was called "Philokalia". Academic Council of the Academy, having familiarized with the work of the graduate, unanimously approved it, and the chairman of the commission professor F. F. Bronzov considered it necessary to include in the certification documents a record that the level of this work is beyond the scope of the candidate's thesis.

The prospect of an early and successful career opened before the young theologian. Immediately upon receipt of the diploma, Hieromonk Seraphim (Sobolev) is sent to the pedagogical work in Zhitomir, and then to Kaluga, where he is the curator of the spiritual school. Now every year becomes for him a step ladder. In 1911 he - the inspector of the seminary in Kostroma, and in 1912 - the rector of the Voronezh seminary. Accordingly, his spiritual rank also rises. In Voronezh he becomes an archimandrite. In parallel with the teaching activities, Father Serafim (Sobolev) acts as the editor of the local newspaper "Diocesan News".

Working in a rebel seminary

He occupies the post of rector until 1918, but at the very beginning of his activity he faces the first signs of a future catastrophe. It is well known that one of the driving forces on the road to overthrow the monarchical system that existed then in Russia was the student body.

This is not surprising. Young, easily lend themselves to new, sometimes externally effective and attractive social ideas, students often became a toy in the hands of political adventurers. Strangely enough, this was equally true not only for students of Soviet universities, but also for students of religious schools that took an active part in political strikes and demonstrations.

Students of the Voronezh Seminary, the rector of which was Archimandrite Seraphim (Sobolev), were no exception. Moreover, even before his appointment to this position, the institution "became famous" for the whole of Russia in that its students attempted an attempt on the previous rector and inspector. A letter was saved to Father Seraphim from one of his colleagues, in which, sympathizing with the newly appointed rector, he calls this seminary "the most hopeful" and "rebellious."

Forced emigration

After the October coup and the Civil War, Archimandrite Seraphim, having resigned his rector duties and interrupting cooperation with the editorial staff of the Diocesan Gazette, is sent to the south of Russia. There he enters the disposal of the structure of ecclesiastical authority, formed by the church council held in Stavropol in 1919. Its creation was caused by the fact that significant areas of the south of the country were cut off from the supreme ecclesiastical leadership of the fronts of the Civil War.

In October 1920 in Simferopol, under the roar of guns of the advancing Red Army, Archimandrite St. Seraphim (Sobolev) was elevated to the episcopal order. This was his last consecration on his native land. On September 14, he sailed to Constantinople. Behind were forty years of life spent in Russia, ahead of years of emigration.

On somebody else's shore

At that time, Constantinople became a refuge for many who, fleeing from the senseless and ruthless rage of the Bolsheviks, intoxicated by the victory, left Russia. Once in a foreign country, without connections, without knowledge of the language, and often without money, people needed the ardent and sincere word of the pastor, able to comfort and give strength to those whom they left. Such spiritual leader among them was St.. Seraphim (Sobolev), himself was in no less difficult situation.

The wave of Russian emigration that surged in 1920 to Constantinople began to spread gradually throughout the world by the next year. Together with his fellow countrymen, Bishop Seraphim also left the Bosphorus. He kept his way to Bulgaria, where, despite the long period of the Turkish yoke, historically there were long-standing Orthodox traditions.

Among the brothers by faith

Arriving in the spring of 1921 in Sofia, he receives at first the appointment of the bishop of Bogucharsky, and soon becomes the rector of the former embassy church and dean of the Russian Orthodox parishes. Here, in the Bulgarian capital, he continues his feat of service to God, as zealously fulfilling his entrusted obediences, as he once did in Russia.

In 1935 the future hierarch Saint Seraphim is elevated to the rank of archbishop. It was in the thirties that his broad activity as a theologian and publicist began. In 1935, his works published from the press, in which the saint enters into a theological dispute with such recognized authorities of religious philosophy as V. Solovyov, P. Florensky and S. Bulgakov.

Political and philosophical views of Bishop Seraphim

In August 1937, at the All-Diaspora Church Council, Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) of Bogucharsky made an irreconcilable criticism of the ecumenism that was then fashionable-the ideology of Christian unity. Referring to the writings of the church fathers, he unequivocally proved the unacceptability of this teaching for Russian Orthodoxy.

Two years later a book appeared on the press, over which Vladyka Seraphim (Sobolev) had been working over the past few years. "Russian ideology" - this is how he described his work, which put him in the forefront of the ideologists of Orthodox monarchism. In the book he viewed the autocracy as the only possible form of government in Russia, condemned the Western policy of Peter I and his followers, and also called for the revival of the Russian monarchy.

Statements that shocked the public

In his statements, Bishop Seraphim was sometimes extremely radical. For example, many readers were bewildered by his idea of using the death penalty to persons propagandizing atheism and convicted of blasphemy. It is difficult to say how the author linked such views with the principles of Christian charity and forgiveness.

The circle of topics touched upon by Archbishop Seraphim was very wide. In his newspaper publications, he did not bypass the question, as there was, in his opinion, the contradiction of the Gregorian calendar to the Church Charter. The controversy that raged around this article did not stop for a long time.

Bold initiative

An important event in the life of Bishop Seraphim was his written appeal, sent in April 1945 to the USSR, to Patriarch Alexy I. In it he stated a request for his acceptance into the Moscow Patriarchate. Considering the abyss that separated religious emigrants and their brothers in Christ who fulfilled their pastoral duty in the Soviet Union in those years, one can imagine what mental strength this decision cost him.

The question of such a level could only be solved by Stalin. In a memorandum addressed to him, the archbishop of Pskov, Grigory (Chukov), who visited the Bulgarian Church not long before, described Vladyka Seraphim as a man of a close, politically illiterate, though loving parishioners. Hardly this characteristic can be fully considered objective, considering that it was written for the head of a totalitarian state, and it was mentioned in it about the emigrant, that is, by the standards of that time, the traitor of the homeland.

Homecoming

However, Stalin, who changed the policy towards the church during the war, satisfied his request. At the end of October 1945, seven Bulgarian parishes were admitted to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, and then Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) returned to the bosom of his native church. But the main event was still ahead - in 1946 a special government decree granted him Soviet citizenship.

In the summer of 1948, after a twenty-eight-year break, Bishop Seraphim re-entered the Russian land. He was invited to Moscow to participate in the conference, at which the heads of autocephalous Orthodox churches were to work out a common position on the ecumenical sentiments that some archpastors then appeared.

The death of the righteous and attempts to glorify him

Archbishop Seraphim departed to the Lord on February 26, 1950 in Sofia, where until his death continued the pastoral ministry. During his lifetime, there was a rumor about an old man, endowed with the gift of vision, and after the repose of prayers, miracles began to happen to him. Despite the fact that believers repeatedly appealed to the higher ecclesiastical authorities with requests for his canonization, consideration of the matter was postponed for a long time. The glorification of Seraphim (Sobolev) by the Bulgarian Church took place in 2002. This act was recognized by all subjects of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. However, at home, Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) was canonized only fourteen years later.

The official canonization of the holy saint of God is a long and complex process. It is not enough only for universal worship and unquestioned authority. Documentary and truthful evidence is needed that he acted not according to his personal desires and abilities, but was the direct executor of the Will of God. Such evidence, in particular, can serve as evidence of eyewitnesses of miracles performed by the deceased during life, or revealed by prayers to him after death.

Preparation of canonization and its final stage

The collection of such certificates was undertaken by Archimandrite Philip (Bogucharov). He posted an appropriate announcement on the Internet, and information was received about him about the beneficial assistance that Vladyka Seraphim (Sobolev) had given to people. The miracles performed by him were described in detail, documented, and all information was sent to Moscow. These were stories of people who, through prayers to St. Seraphim, gained health, found their companions in life and learned the happiness of motherhood. There were so many witnesses of his miracles that even the most ardent skeptics were silent before them.

I want only one story from a Bulgarian peasant woman. This woman for a long time considered herself an atheist and, despite the congenital heart disease, she never resorted to the help of prayer. However, over time, her condition deteriorated so much that, on the advice of her mother, she went to the grave, where St. Seraphim (Sobolev) rested, and asked him for help. After a while, she felt better, and soon she was able to return to normal household chores.

In 2015, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrated sixty-five years from the day of the repose of St. Seraphim. At the celebrations in Sofia, a film of Bulgarian filmmakers about his life and activities was demonstrated, and in December of the same year a decision was taken to transfer the question of the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim to the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, the convocation of which was scheduled two months later.

On February 3, 2016, a final decision was made, on the basis of which, in the person of the saints, Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev), an outstanding religious figure of the Russian emigration, was glorified. The icon, written for this solemn day, shows us the face of a saint, who has seen and felt much in his earthly life, and who, until his death, has been a true son of the Orthodox Church.