The Orthodox Church, as we confess in the Symbol of
Faith (Creed), is Catholic because it holds all of uncovered truth, but also
because it encompasses the whole world. It is not restricted to a narrow
geographic context, nor does it discriminate between sexes, races and nations.
It prays for the whole world and its Divine Liturgy is offered for the
universe. The Agiologion includes saints from the entire world. The venerable
Seraphim was Russian in origin and yet when we study his life we feel him near
us, and consider him one of our own, because we have the same faith and the
same tradition.
Fatherless at three years old, he grew up with his
mother, who taught him to love prayer and the Divine Liturgy. At seventeen he
left for Sarov Monastery and at thirty-five he withdrew into the wilderness,
where "winged with divine eros" he lived the blessed life of the
desert. He loved prayer and asceticism, obedience, silence and humility, and he
gained the Grace of the Holy Spirit. He would say that the purpose of our life
was the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, and that the foolish virgins of the
parable were left out of the bridal chamber because they did not have the Holy
Spirit.
In the wilderness we encounter him associating with a
bear, which sat near him like a lamb and he would feed it to the mouth. This is
testified by a nun who visited him in order to be advised about a certain
problem that occupied her and, as she says, when she saw it she almost had a
heart attack. But then she was persuaded to feed the bear and felt great joy.
When someone becomes a true person, that is, when they
acquire humility and are filled with the Holy Spirit, then they become as
innocent and harmless as a little child and the wild beasts are subdued before
them and they obey. Creation before the fall of the first Adam was subject to
man. After the fall, however, it rebelled against the apostate. The air did not
want to breathe in his nostrils, the wells did not want to gush out their
water, and the earth did not want to give its fruit. The beasts changed and
their tameness became wildness. However, when a person is sanctified and
reaches the state of Adam before the fall, creation is subordinate to him and
the wild beasts serve him.
The Apostle Paul says that joy and peace are fruits of
the Holy Spirit, and whoever has within them the Grace of the Holy Spirit has
peace and joy. We see this verified in the person of the venerable Seraphim in
a most unequivocal manner. He was a man with a joyful disposition. He tried and
exceeded all of his problems, because he believed that others were not
obligated to see him sullen and sulky. He truly rejoiced for the gifts of God,
for the conquering of life over death, for the presence of visitors at his
"little desert" whom he received with the beloved greeting:
"Christ is Risen, my joy!" Certainly he felt sorrow and pain for the
sins and sorrows of the people, because he had love, but true joy is something
deeper. It doesn't abandon a person even during their greatest trials.
He said about inner peace: "Acquire peace in your
soul and thousands of people around you will find peace."
Inside the Church we are struggling as individuals to
become persons or, to use another expression, we are trying to become persons
so we don't become "sulky". The peace of the soul, a smile and a
joyful disposition are directly related to internal regeneration and the Holy
Spirit.
By
Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas
Translated
by John Sanidopoulos
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