Today, on the day of the righteous death of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker of All Russia and the day of second finding of his holy relics, a host of archpastors celebrated a late-morning Divine Liturgy in the Trinity Cathedral of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery. Metropolitan Georgiy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas presided at the service with eleven bishops concelebrating His Eminence.

“This light and holiness, simplicity, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit exudes from the depths of Lord’s silence and profound mercy of God. Holy elder Seraphim shines with radiance of God’s silence, and the tearful outpouring of joy, “The Joy of All Joys” and “Tenderness” of the Mother of God. His entire life is the unceasing akathist to our Most Holy and Most Blessed Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary,” wrote Alexander Glinka, publicist and literary critic, about Venerable Seraphim. On this day, our hearts overflow with joy knowing that Venerable Seraphim is in the Heavenly Kingdom interceding for us before the Throne of God.

In his post-communion sermon, Very Rev. Fr. Vasily Spirin, rector of the Church to Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Great Princess Olga in Nizhny Novgorod congratulated all the faithful with a Saturday before Theophany. He said that we are to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord in a few days and the Holy Church prepares us today, through the Gospel reading about John the Baptist, for this great event.

It was in God’s will that the holy prophet became “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” As he went to Jordan, he called out the people of Israel to repent: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17) and baptized those who heeded his preaching in the waters of Jordan. He fearlessly denounced the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees and the unlawful cohabitation of King Herod Antipas with the wife of his half-brother that later brought him a martyr’s crown.

St. John the Forerunner’s service prefigured monasticism and strict asceticism. This great God-pleasing saint is also a patron saint of those who lead the life of chastity and fasting. It is not by chance that Venerable Seraphim, whose righteous death is commemorated today, had a special devotion to this saint: they had so many things in common – rigorous fasting, asceticism, life in chastity, and denounciation of the worldly evil for the sake of the truth of God.

Reminding us about the preaching of St. John the Baptist and the spiritual deed of Batiushka Seraphim today, the preacher drew our attention to their joint call for repentance. “As for us, we haven’t even started on our way of seeking repentance,” Father Vasily has sorrowfully pointed out. At the same time, we see an example of fervent Seraphim before our eyes and, perceiving how, through his gentle instructions, he restores our souls, we thank the Lord for giving such a prayerful intercessor to us and exclaim: “Wondrous is God in his saints!”

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Hegumenia Sergia, the abbess of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, cordially greeted all the archpastors who arrived to honor the memory of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, the luminary of the Russian land, and thanked them for serving at the hierarchical service that adorned the celebration.

Hegumenia Sergia wished that the Lord, through the prayers of the Queen of Heaven, the Supreme Hegumenia of the Diveyevo monastery, Venerable Seraphim and all the saints of Diveyevo, strengthened the archpastors in their work and presented prosphoras to them.

The head of the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia expressed gratitude to Hegumenia Sergia for her kind words and the prosphora congratulating all those who came to pray with the commemoration day of the great saint of the Russian land.

Metropolitan Georgiy remarked that the Lord bestows His saints on us so that, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, we could sober up our minds and enlightened our hearts.

We hear the same Gospel reading at every prayer service to Batiushka Seraphim: “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me: for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). The wonderworker of Sarov has acquired these virtues of meekness and humility in full measure.

In our times, Bishop Georgiy has noted, for someone who knows no God, meekness is nothing but weakness and humility is foolishness. The modern world calls everyone to be brash and cruel to achieve fame and fortune. But we should understand that such attitudes are instigated by the devil, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). Throughout his life and labors, Father Seraphim has taught the same thing – to walk the path of humility and inherit peace in our souls.

“What can be more precious than having a peace of mind and have a peaceful heart?” the ruling archpastor asked the faithful. He then answered: “Once we dedicate our life to God, any burden will be good and easy to carry as the Lord carries it Himself.”

On today’s commemoration day and at all times, stressed Vladyka Georgiy, Venerable Seraphim reminds us to slow down, stop and tune in to the depths of our hearts trying to glean answers based on our conscience.

At the end of his hierarchical address, Metropolitan Georgiy said that all of us, despite our deeply held concerns for earthly cares, are lucky as we have Batiushka Seraphim as our wondrous mentor; that’s why we unceasingly beseech him to never leave us without his prayers and care.