Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Spiritual Guide
2 January -- Commemoration
If celebrated as a Lesser Festival,
Common of Religious, page 494
Born in 1759 at Kursk in Russia, Seraphim entered the
Monastery of our Lady at Sarov near Moscow when he was
twenty years old. He lived as a Solitary for over thirty
years but his gifts as a staretz, or spiritual guide, became
more widely-known until he found himself sharing his gift of
healing spirit, soul and body with the thousands who made
the pilgrimage to his monastery. The 'Jesus Prayer' formed
the heart of his own devotional life and he stressed the
need for all Christians to have an unceasing communion with
the person of Jesus. He died on this day in 1833 and is
revered in the Russian Orthodox Church as 'an ikon of
Orthodox Spirituality.'