Enciclopedia Cattolica Vol. XI, 1953 Saints & hagiography Saints

Serafino di Sarov

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Also known as: Seraphim of Sarov, Prokhor Moshnin, Serafim Sarovsky, St. Seraphim of Sarov

SERAFINO DI SAROV. - In the world Prokhor Moshnin, together with St. Theodosius of the Caves and St. Sergius of Radonezh, one of the three most important figures of Russian spirituality. Born at Kursk on 19 July 1759 and died at Sarov on 2 January 1833.

Having entered the monastery of Sarov at the age of 18 and after passing through all the stages of monastic life, he was ordained a priest in 1793 and obtained permission to become a hermit. For 25 years he was successively a stylite, a silent recluse and an enclosed recluse. In 1815 he reopened the door by order of the Mother of God and devoted himself to consoling and uplifting his brethren.

A wonder-worker, prophet and discerner of hearts, S. became the confessor and spiritual director of thousands of the faithful. His devotion to the Mother of God, whom he called "the joy of our joy," was remarkable. S. taught that the purpose of life consists in obtaining the Holy Spirit, and that everything must help to make "the divine presence in us" more conscious and alive. S. was found dead on his knees and with his eyes fixed on an image of the Mother of God. In 1903 his name was inscribed by the Russian Church in the Catalogue of its saints.

Bibliography4 works
BIBL.: S. Cidaghov, Chronicle of the monastery of Diveevo (in Russian), St. Petersburg 1903, chaps. 3-21; V. Iljin, S. of S. (in Russian), Paris 1930; Dom Beplaire, S. de S., in Fröhlich, 10 (1933), pp. 140-59; N. Volnianski, S. of S. (in Russian), in Bulletin of the Moscow Patriarchate, 8 (1947), pp. 18-28.

Giovanni Kologriovf

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By Giovanni Kologrivof

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Translated from the Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. XI (1953), coll. 375–376.

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Page 240
vol. 11, coll. 375–376

More by Giovanni Kologrivof: Sergius of Radonezh, Saint · Starets (plural: Startsy) · Theodosius of Pečersk, Saint · Theophanes the Recluse · Tikhon of Zadonsk

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Chicago

Kologrivof, Giovanni. “Serafino di Sarov.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. XI, coll. 375–376. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1953. https://azioneromana.com/article/serafino-di-sarov.

MLA

Kologrivof, Giovanni. “Serafino di Sarov.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. XI, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1953, coll. 375–376. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/serafino-di-sarov.

BibTeX

@incollection{ec11_serafino_di_sarov,
  author    = {Kologrivof, Giovanni},
  title     = {Serafino di Sarov},
  booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
  volume    = {XI},
  pages     = {375--376},
  note      = {Cited by column},
  publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
  address   = {Città del Vaticano},
  year      = {1953},
  url       = {https://azioneromana.com/article/serafino-di-sarov}
}

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