Author: Hieromartyr Seraphim Zvezdinsky

Pages: 124

These homilies, so full of light, hope, and witness to the Lord Jesus, were proclaimed during the dark times of fierce Soviet persecution in the early 20th century. In the year 1926, during his exile in Diveyevo, St. Seraphim delivered over twenty homilies on the deep grace and life present in the Divine Liturgy. These homilies were recorded in writing by the servant of God, Tatyana Artsybusheva and subsequently preserved for the faithful in samizdat form. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the homilies were formally published for the general edification of the Orthodox faithful.

Overflowing with the hope of immortality in the face of passing mortality, these homilies will edify, strengthen, and illumine the reader. Full of love and respect for the living tradition and history of the Divine Liturgy, St. Seraphim instructs and calls his listeners to enter deeper into Christ Jesus, who is the eternal Sun burning deep at the center of the Divine Liturgy and filling it with His grace and life. ​​​​​​​Overflowing with the hope of immortality in the face of passing mortality, these homilies will edify, strengthen, and illumine the reader. Full of love and respect for the living tradition and history of the Divine Liturgy, St. Seraphim instructs and calls his listeners to enter deeper into Christ Jesus, who is the eternal Sun burning deep at the center of the Divine Liturgy and filling it with His grace and life. – Fr. Zechariah Lynch

NOTES

• Translated from the Russian by Fr. Zechariah Lynch
• Contains prayers and a biography of Hieromartyr Seraphim

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Saint Seraphim (Nikolai Zvezdinsky) was born on April 7, 1883. He came from a devout family which held a special love and connection to St. Seraphim of Sarov. Seraphim became an archimandrite and then was ordained a Bishop by his Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. Bishop Seraphim arrived in his assigned city of Dimitrov on January 25, 1920 . The three years he would spend here left an unforgettable and lasting impression upon its inhabitants. Bishop Seraphim supported the Church when surrounded by hostile forces and the godless Soviet government. Bishop Seraphim was arrested six times by the Soviet Secret police and remained under constant surveillance. He possessed the gifts of clairvoyance and healing of the sick; but the greatest gift God gave to Seraphim was prayer. He was always dedicated and fervent in prayer. He was very sincere and prayerful when serving the Divine Liturgy. He even composed prayers. In 1927, while in exile in Diveevo, the Panagia appeared to Bishop Seraphim. “I cannot describe her amazing beauty!” he exclaimed. On August 26, 1937, the Soviet secret police executed Bishop Seraphim by firing squad in the city of Omsk. The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Bishop Seraphim (Zvezdinsky) as a hieromartyr in the year 2000.