IV

“Several days before the beginning of the celebrations, the Bishop recounts—namely on July 3—the oak coffin containing the most honorable remains of Saint Seraphim was taken out of the grave and transferred, after the conclusion of the liturgy served by the Bishop, in a cross procession to the church of Saints Zosimas and Sabbatius; here in the altar of the church, under his personal supervision as Bishop Metropolitan, with the active participation of Bishops Nazarius of Nizhny Novgorod and Innocent of Tambov, Archimandrite Seraphim, and a few other persons invited by them, the transfer of the most honorable remains of the saint into a new cypress coffin was accomplished over the course of three days, July 3, 4, and 5.” The report of His Eminence does not say so, but other reliable witnesses relate that all those present in the altar clearly perceived a fragrance emanating from the holy relics that bore no resemblance to ordinary incenses. The cypress coffin with the holy relics of the saint was placed inside the specially prepared oak coffin mentioned above, and locked by the Bishop Metropolitan until the day of the solemn opening of the relics, was set in the middle of the said church on the tombstone that had rested above the saint’s grave.

“The day that properly inaugurated the celebrations was July 16. On that day, at noon, the rare tolling of the large monastery bell summoned pilgrims to a solemn memorial service in the Dormition Cathedral. The memorial service was celebrated with episcopal serving, at which during the litanies and exclamations there were commemorated by name the most pious Sovereigns Emperors and Empresses, beginning with Empress Elizabeth Petrovna through Emperor Alexander III inclusive, the names of the reposed bishops of Tambov, the builders and abbots of the Sarov Hermitage, the parents of Saint Seraphim, Isidor and Agafia, and the ever-memorable hieromonk Seraphim himself. On the same day in the evening, a memorial all-night vigil—a panikhida service—for the ever-memorable hieromonk Seraphim was also celebrated in the cathedral churches of the hermitage—the Dormition and the Mother of God ”Life-Giving Spring“—likewise with episcopal serving. On July 17, from early morning, pilgrims in great numbers filled the monastery squares inside and outside the walls of the monastery. On that day the arrival was expected at Sarov of cross processions from two hermitages bearing the name of Seraphim—those of Diveyevo and Ponetaevka. To meet the cross processions, at 7 o’clock in the morning, the Sarov monastery’s own cross procession came out from its gates, accompanied by Bishop Innocent, and, having crossed the river Satis by bridge, stopped not far from the forest at the so-called Execution Place. There, at about 8 o’clock in the morning, those cross processions also arrived, and all of them joined together, forming a single majestic procession as it moved toward the walls of the monastery. Much was added to the beauty of the procession by the representatives of banner-bearing societies who had come to the celebration from various cities of the Moscow, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tula, Nizhny Novgorod, and Ryazan provinces. They all carried as a gift from their societies one or two banners each, many of which are distinguished by their value and the artistry of their workmanship. Upon the arrival of the combined cross procession at the monastery, the tolling for the late liturgy began. In both cathedral churches, the liturgy and after it memorial services were celebrated with episcopal serving. On the same day in the evening, after the arrival of Their Imperial Majesties, memorial all-night vigils for the ever-memorable hieromonk Seraphim were performed in the cathedral and other monastery churches by specially appointed clergy. At about 11 o’clock at night, when the monastery square was clear of the people, specially appointed archimandrites silently transferred from the Transfiguration Church the old oak coffin of Saint Seraphim back to its former resting place—into the grave, to which a small stone stairway with a descent has been constructed. The grave is at present lined with thin marble slabs and is left open on one side, so that the coffin standing behind a glass partition is always clearly visible.”

On July 18, after the early liturgy at which Their Imperial Majesties and many of the pilgrims communed of the holy mysteries, the last memorial liturgy was celebrated in the Dormition Cathedral with episcopal serving, and after its conclusion a memorial service was sung for the ever-memorable hieromonk Seraphim, and before it a speech was delivered by the Bishop Metropolitan. The memorial service concluded with a litia at the grave of the saint, to which a cross procession came out from the Cathedral for this purpose, attended by the Sovereign with the Empresses and all the other members of the Imperial family. Upon the return of the cross procession to the Cathedral, the reliquary shrine for the relics of the saint—made by the zeal of Their Imperial Majesties—was consecrated by the Bishop Metropolitan.

At 4 o’clock in the afternoon a small vespers was served in the Dormition Cathedral, and at 6 o’clock in the evening the tolling of the large bell began, summoning pilgrims to the all-night vigil. This was the first church service of “Our Venerable Father Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov,” at which his holy relics were opened for the veneration of the people. After the usual beginning, the reading of the Old Testament lessons, and the utterance of the fervent and supplicatory litanies, at the singing of the litia verses, a cross procession came out from the Cathedral to the church of Saints Zosimas and Sabbatius, where the coffin with the most honorable remains of Saint Seraphim was kept. All who participated in the cross procession and the pilgrims surrounding it held lit candles in their hands; the serving clergy were vested in gold vestments embroidered in silver with cherubim (a gift of the Emperor). The bishops and clergy appointed to carry the coffin entered the church, as did Their Imperial Majesties and a few other persons who had accompanied the cross procession. All who had entered the church bowed the knee before the coffin containing the holy relics. Then the coffin was carried out by the bishops and the Emperor, with the participation of the Grand Princes and the appointed archimandrites, from the church, and covered with a precious pall was placed on a litter, which was raised onto shoulders and carried around the cathedral churches of the monastery by those same persons. The coffin, raised high, was visible to the people from all sides—people who stood in a living wall with lit candles along the entire path of the cross procession. From the surrounding crowd, in which there were many sick and infirm, prayerful sighs addressed to the saint were heard, along with weeping and even sobbing; strips of cloth, towels, skeins of yarn, and the like were thrown from all sides under the feet of those carrying the coffin. The religious fervor of those who participated in and attended this could not be described! The sight was moving to the very depths of the soul! At the western gates of the Dormition Cathedral the first litia litany was uttered, followed by four more stops at other sides of the Cathedral with the utterance of further litanies. After the reading by the Bishop Metropolitan of the litia prayer at the last stop, the procession entered the Cathedral and the coffin with the holy relics was set in the middle of it on a special raised platform. Between the reading of the kathismata, Bishop Innocent delivered a homily befitting the celebration then taking place, and then, at the singing of “Praise the name of the Lord,” all the serving clergy came out to the middle of the church and stood around the coffin of the saint. The Bishop Metropolitan unlocked the lock with which the coffin had been secured, and the archimandrites removed its lid. The holy relics of Saint Seraphim were opened. All bowed the knee and the serving clergy began to sing the magnification to the saint. After the reading of the Gospel, the veneration of the holy relics began—first by the bishops, then by the members of the Imperial family, and then by the rest of the pilgrims. The service continued and at about 11 o’clock concluded in the usual order, while the veneration of the holy relics continued without interruption throughout the entire night, in the presence of specially appointed clergy.

On the following day, July 19, the late liturgy in the Dormition Cathedral was celebrated by all the bishops present at the celebration, in the presence of the Sovereign, the Empresses, all the other members of the Imperial family, and a multitude of worshippers. At the Little Entrance, at the singing of “Come, let us worship,” the archimandrites lifted the coffin with the holy relics standing in the middle of the Cathedral and carried it around the holy altar, and then placed it in the prepared shrine. After the homily from the pulpit delivered by Bishop Dimitry, Archbishop of Kazan, a solemn prayer service to Saint Seraphim began. After the singing of the troparion to the saint, the coffin with the holy relics was taken out by the serving clergy from the shrine, and now opened, was carried in a cross procession from the Cathedral around the same monastery churches as the day before; His Majesty and Their Highnesses likewise, as the day before, took part in carrying the coffin on the litter. The people gazed upon the holy object being carried with the same deep reverence, and again, as on the previous evening, from among them were heard weeping, sobbing, and prayerful sighs. Upon the return of the cross procession to the Cathedral, the prayer service to the saint concluded with the reading by the Bishop Metropolitan of a prayer to the saint and the customary many-years. Their Imperial Majesties and Highnesses, having venerated the holy relics placed again in the shrine, departed from the Cathedral…

The concluding act of the liturgical celebration in honor and glory of Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker, on those memorable days, was the consecration of the churches built in the name of the saint—in Sarov itself over his cell, and in Diveyevo. The consecration of the first church was performed by His Eminence Anthony, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, on July 21, at which time he carried on his head into the newly consecrated church particles of the holy relics of Saint Seraphim from the Dormition Cathedral. The consecration of the church in the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery was performed on July 22 by Bishop Nazarius of Nizhny Novgorod.