Venerable Serapion of Cheremshan #

He was called the Sun of Cheremshan—such was the reverence for this holy man. When he reposed, thousands of people from towns and villages gathered at the Cheremshan Monastery for his burial. Who was he, and why was he so beloved by his fellow Old Believers, and even admired by his opponents for his righteousness?

In 1823, another child was born into the large family of Ivan Ivanovich Abachin. The boy was baptized in the Old Believer rite and named Simeon. Shortly afterward, the family moved from the village of Bolshoe Murashkino in the Nizhny Novgorod province to the city of Saratov, a major center of Old Belief in the Volga region, where the father took up trade as a merchant.

The boy grew up surrounded by devout people and absorbed love for God and neighbor with his mother’s milk. He was taught to read using the Psalter and Horologion, and young Simeon came to love the reading of sacred writings. He could read books day and night.

It was a time of persecution for Christians: the government forbade Old Believers from teaching their children to read. The boy had to hide in the basement of his father’s house and read by candlelight. This constant reading in dim conditions, with the book held close to his eyes, led to severe nearsightedness from childhood, which afflicted him until the end of his life.

His sister, M.I. Shamshina, later recalled that from childhood, Simeon had a bent toward asceticism: he would withdraw from children’s games and loved to pray in solitude. Because of this, the family jokingly called him “the priest”—a nickname that would prove prophetic.

Reading the holy books, the young man came to understand that the purpose and goal of human life is union with the Lord. To attain this, one must renounce worldly vanity, reject one’s sins and passions, and “take up his cross and follow Christ.” The best path for this is monasticism. Simeon began preparing for this great journey.

When the future saint turned twenty, the Old Believers of Saratov suffered a great misfortune: their only church in the city was shut down and handed over to the official state church to be used as an Edinoverie temple. The authorities also forbade any Old Believer priest from serving in the city. The faithful appealed to the local government for the return of the church, but their efforts were in vain. They were even forbidden to have their own priest.

Then the Christians of Saratov—including prominent merchants—composed a petition addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia. They protested the unjust seizure of the church and asked for its return to its rightful owners, as well as for permission to have a priest serve there, as had previously been the case. The document bore numerous signatures over several pages: merchants Yakov Petrovich and Efim Yakovlevich Gorin, Ivan Artemyevich and Alexei Ivanovich Zavalyaev, and many others certified the petition. Among the signatories were also two Abachin brothers: Mikhail Ivanovich and Simeon Ivanovich. The petition was delivered to St. Petersburg and registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs on May 11, 1844.

A harsh response came from the Minister in St. Petersburg: not only was the petition denied, but the Old Believers were also required to sign a statement pledging never again to make such appeals…

It was during this same period of Nicholas I’s repressions that the famous Irgiz monasteries were seized from the Old Believers with the use of military force and transferred to the Edinoverie as well.

Where could a young man go, who wished to be tonsured into the monastic life? Leaving his parents’ home (around 1843), Simeon set out on a pilgrimage across Russia, seeking out monastic communities not yet destroyed. He arrived in Starodub at the Lavrentiev Monastery, whose abbot was Fr. Arkady Shaposhnikov, the future Bishop of Slavyansk. From this monastery had come the renowned Saint Pavel of Belokrinitsa, and it was home to the notable Old Believer writer Ilarion Grigoryevich Kabanov (Ksenos). The monastery was renowned throughout the Old Believer world… But Simeon did not remain there long: the government closed the monastery in 1844. The monks were forced to seek refuge beyond the borders of Russia. Crossing the border was dangerous and difficult. They traveled secretly through the most remote areas without roads, moving only at night and hiding during the day, often knee-deep in reeds and water to avoid patrols. From that time, the venerable one developed a serious illness in his legs due to the cold and damp, a condition that eventually led to his repose in old age…

The brethren arrived at another renowned monastery, known as Slavyansk, named after the village of Slava Russkaya in Bukovina (today part of Romania, though at the time under Ottoman rule). This men’s monastery continues to exist to this day.

Here, under the dominion of the Turkish sultan, the Old Believers were not persecuted or oppressed, unlike in Russia at the time. Even the ringing of church bells was permitted. The Ottoman government granted the community of Nekrasovite Cossacks (also known as Lipovans or Ignaty-Cossacks) the right to self-governance and did not interfere in their internal affairs. Priests could serve openly without constantly fearing arrest and life imprisonment.

It was here that Simeon Abachin was finally tonsured into monasticism and received the ancient name Serapion. In this monastery, he became acquainted with prominent figures of the Old Believer movement—monks Pavel and Alimpius—who had been sent by the Russian Old Believers in search of a true Orthodox episcopacy. Here too, he met Osip Semyonovich Goncharov, a benefactor of the monastery and the last ataman of the Nekrasovite host. (Goncharov would later relocate to Russia, settle at the monastery founded by Fr. Serapion, request imperial permission from Alexander II for the monastery’s legalization and the construction of a stone church, receive monastic tonsure at the hands of St. Serapion under the name Ioasaph, and, after his death, be buried at the entrance of the Cheremshan men’s monastery.)

In this place, the young monk also encountered future Suzdal confessors—monks Arkady (Dorofeev) and another Alimpius—who would become Old Believer bishops and, for this, be arrested by imperial decree during the Russo-Turkish war and imprisoned for life in the Suzdal monastic prison. Bishop Alimpius died in confinement, while Archbishop Arkady was released after the death of Alexander II and went on to consecrate the Protection (Pokrov) Church in Serapion’s monastery in 1881.

Fr. Serapion also visited the monastery in the village of Belaya Krinitsa beyond the Danube, along with other Old Believer communities.

While living in the monastery, Fr. Serapion devoted himself to the deep study of Holy Scripture, the history of the Church of Christ, her doctrines, the writings of the Holy Fathers, and the canons of the Holy Church.

He became a witness to the reception into the Ancient Orthodox Church of Christ of Metropolitan Ambrose of Bosnia and Sarajevo, who restored the three-rank episcopal hierarchy in the earthly Church after a vacancy of 180 years (a period without a bishop). In 1846, the Metropolitan arrived in the village of Belaya Krinitsa (near Chernivtsi, then part of Austria, now in western Ukraine). He was received into the Old Orthodox Church through a renunciation of heresies and the sacrament of chrismation. The Metropolitan then consecrated two bishops: Cyril of Maino, a former ustavschik (church rule-keeper), and Monk Arkady (Dorofeev) of the Slavyansk Monastery, who would later become Archbishop of Slavyansk. The latter had been appointed for consecration by a council of Old Believers held in the monastery. There is no doubt that Monk Serapion participated in this council.

The acceptance of the restored hierarchy among the Nekrasovites and Lipovans was accompanied by much controversy and division. At the instigation of slanderers, Bishop Arkady, Hieromonk Euphrosyn, and Osip Goncharov were imprisoned by the Turks in a damp, overcrowded dungeon with an earthen floor, where they remained throughout the winter.

Among those mentioned in the disputes over the Belaya Krinitsa hierarchy is a certain “Elder Serapion,” but this appears to have been someone else with the same name, since the behavior described does not resemble that of the Venerable Serapion, and in any case, at age 25 he would not yet have been called an “elder.”

Monk Serapion was deeply grieved that in his homeland of Russia, the Old Believers lived in oppressed conditions, with few churches and priests, and their monasteries in ruins. He longed to return to Russia to continue his spiritual labors in his native land.

The year 1861 marked a long-awaited event in Russia: the Emancipation of the serfs by imperial decree. The Old Believers began to hope that religious freedom would soon follow. That same year, seven monks of the Slavyansk Monastery—refugees from Russia—relocated from Turkey to the Saratov region, to a place called Cheremshan. Initially, they settled at Lower Cheremshan, at the skete of Mother Pavolga, where the Old Believer Bishop Athanasius resided, but they soon moved to a new location: the orchard of Thekla Tolstikova, near the spring known as Mamontov’s Fountain.

Cheremshan, in the Turkic language, means “black forest.” This was the name of a small river flowing from the chalky hills of Khvalynsk to the Volga, opposite Sosnovy Island, now submerged under the Saratov Reservoir. On its banks, as early as the 17th century, there existed a secret Old Believer men’s skete headed by a hieromonk. There, followers of the ancient ecclesiastical piety hid from persecution and pursued their ascetic labor; there too, new monks received the tonsure. Among them was the Holy Martyr Ilarion of Telyau, who was burned for the faith in Saratov in 1689. To avoid destruction by the authorities, Old Believer sketes moved from place to place, and this one had already become desolate by the end of the 17th century. A century and a half later, monks from the destroyed Irgiz monasteries relocated to the Cheremshan area, but lived scattered, not forming an organized monastery. Some even lived in caves in the chalky hills along the Volga’s shore.

In the vicinity of Cheremshan, the merchant’s daughter Thekla Yevdokimovna Tolstikova (the future Abbess Felitsata) owned a plot of land with a pond, a fruit orchard, a watermill, and an apiary. Thekla Yevdokimovna gave this land for use as a secret men’s skete. She did so shortly after receiving it as an inheritance from her deceased aunt, Anna Kuzminichna, who had willed the property to be used solely for pious and prayerful purposes. The monks who had come from Turkey relocated from Lower Cheremshan to this site and were officially listed as mill and orchard workers. In a wooden outbuilding, a tent-chapel with a portable altar was secretly set up.

Bishop Athanasius of Saratov, who had been treasurer of the Upper Transfiguration Monastery in the ruined Irgiz region, lived not far off, in the skete of Mother Pavolga, and often visited the newly established men’s monastery. He was the one who ordained Father Serapion as a priest (hieromonk) and appointed him abbot of the men’s skete, supplying him with all that was necessary for divine services: a portable church, vestments, holy chrism, and more.

One of the Cheremshan monks, Father Vissarion, was later summoned back abroad, where he was consecrated as a bishop. The remaining five continued to serve God secretly at their skete at Mamontov’s Spring near Cheremshan.

In September of 1865, the authorities received a denunciation from one of the New Ritualists, stating that “schismatics” were living on Thekla Tolstikova’s property at Mamontov’s Spring under the guise of orchard workers and were worshipping in a secret church. On September 5, during the Sunday night vigil, an official named Vinogradov arrived with two soldiers to arrest the monks. He approached the outbuilding and attempted to enter. The monks had locked themselves inside and refused to open. The official then broke a window and climbed in with the soldiers. A striking scene met their eyes: in the eastern part of the room stood a canvas tent with royal doors and two side doors made of brocade, upon which small icons painted on wooden boards were hung. This was the tent-church, with a portable altar inside.

The outbuilding was filled with icons, before which candles and oil lamps burned. Open Church Slavonic books lay on the lecterns. Six people, including Fr. Serapion, were participating in the service. Because of the suddenness of the raid, he had not even managed to fully disrobe—he had only removed his outer phelonion. All were arrested and taken to the Khvalynsk prison fortress.

The court documents provide a detailed description of St. Serapion’s clothing: a sticharion “of dark-colored patterned fabric, trimmed with gilded galloon; a crimson velvet epitrachelion, trimmed similarly, with gilded buttons, and along its full length, a silk belt with hooks and four broad ribbons, two of which ended in gilded tassels. Beneath the undercassock [the sticharion] was a brown lustrine half-kaftan. On his head was a black kamilavka shaped like a skufia, and a black lustrine kaftyr, with leather prayer beads (lestovka). Monk Kupriyan wore a black mantle with red edging, the same headgear as Serapion, and leather prayer beads. Joseph wore the same garments as Kupriyan. Dionisy had only a kamilavka and prayer beads. Monks Varsonofy and Makary were dressed entirely in peasant clothes, their hair cropped in a circle like peasants.”

During interrogation, Fr. Serapion stated that he belonged to the Old Believer faith, under the Belokrinitsa hierarchy, that he was a Turkish subject, and that he held a residence permit (“ticket”) issued by the governor of Kazan in the spring of 1865. He had been living for four years at Tolstikova’s mill, working in tanning sheepskins. He was a hieromonk, ordained to the priesthood by the Old Believer Bishop Athanasius, who had died earlier that year. He had served liturgies in various places on a portable altar. Since June 1865, he had been serving regularly in Thekla Tolstikova’s orchard but had never performed private services for individuals. No outsiders had entered the outbuilding during services. According to his documents issued in Turkey, his surname was not Abachin, but Ignatiev.

Along with Fr. Serapion, the arrested monks were: Kupriyan Matveyev; Joseph (secular name: Ivan Yakovlevich Sachkov, a townsman from Syzran); Dionisy (Dmitry Ivanovich Makarov, a peasant from Buguruslan district of Samara province); Varsonofy (Vasiliy Ivanov); and Makary (Mikhail Mikhailov). Later, the landowner Thekla Yevdokimovna Tolstikova was also arrested and imprisoned, accused of organizing a “schismatic skete.”

Though the prison had a church belonging to the official confession, the arrested monks would not set foot in it. The prison warden, a kind-hearted elderly man, held great respect for Fr. Serapion. He allowed sympathizers to deliver to the elder not only books but also the sacred vestments needed for prayer. Thus, the prison was transformed into a monastery and a church, where Fr. Serapion once again served God. Every Sunday and feast day was marked by divine services held by the inmates. On Pascha in 1866 (which fell on March 27), the prison doors were opened to all townspeople who wished to pray together with Fr. Serapion. One journalist later wittily wrote about these astonishing events: “The prison became a monastery, the only difference being that now the police not only refrained from hindering the Old Believers’ worship, but even guarded them.”

After Pascha, the maiden Thekla Tolstikova was released on bail by prominent merchants of Khvalynsk, while the monks remained in prison for another two years. They were sentenced to imprisonment, fines, and corporal punishment. They served their prison term, but by God’s providence, were spared the corporal punishment (a public flogging with birch rods). When Father Serapion and the other confessors, shackled in chains, had already been led out to the city square for this humiliating execution, and everything was prepared for the cruel torment, a mounted courier arrived bringing an Imperial Manifesto abolishing corporal punishment, by the force of which they were immediately released.

The legal proceedings concerning the Cheremshan skete lasted several years. Only on April 26, 1873, did the Senate fully acquit both the skete’s monks and the landowner of the orchard.

In May 1871, Venerable Serapion returned to Cheremshan with the other monks. The Astrakhan merchant Arkhip Dmitrievich Vekhov purchased a fruit orchard on the Cheremshan, located behind a hill near Mamontov’s Spring, which had belonged to the widow of merchant Kuranov (who had earlier testified against the monks in court and later died). Vekhov donated this land to Father Serapion and the brethren, but appointed prominent Old Believer merchants from Khvalynsk as trustees. Later, the orchard located further up the hill, owned by Khvalynsk merchant I.D. Ponomaryov, was also given to the monks, whose number had grown to twelve. Father Serapion energetically set about establishing the new monastery. Already in that same year, 1871, two two-story wooden buildings were erected, sheathed with planks. One of them had a prayer room on the first floor, while the remaining space housed the monks. These buildings, adorned with traditional carved window frames, stood for another 145 years and were demolished in the spring of 2016. In constructing these buildings, and later the stone church, Father Serapion received much help from Bishop Paphnutius of Kazan and Archdeacon Israel, who also lived and reposed at Cheremshan. Funds for the construction came from various Old Believer benefactors, though most of the expenses were covered by the famous Moscow philanthropist Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov.

In 1872, a council of the monastic brethren was held, which unanimously elected Father Serapion as their abbot. For the next 25 years, until the end of his earthly life, he remained the monastery’s head.

Soon after his election as abbot, in 1873, Father Serapion was nominated to be consecrated as bishop for the North Caucasus. He long refused this honor, though others urged him to accept. The venerable one prayed to God to Himself create an obstacle to this appointment—and so it happened. On the journey to the Caucasus, Monk Paisius lost all of Father Serapion’s documents, and they returned halfway. Though the police later recovered the lost papers and returned them to their owner, he firmly refused to be elevated to the episcopate. Similar offers were made to Father Serapion later on, but he consistently declined to accept the bishop’s rank.

It is now time to recount why the monastery was first called Pokrovsky (of the Protection) and later became known as Uspensky (of the Dormition).

From June 9 to 11, 1881, a council of the Old Orthodox Diocese of Saratov and Astrakhan was held at the home of the Khvalynsk merchant N.D. Buyanov. Attending were Bishops Ambrose (the local hierarch), Paphnutius of Kazan, priests, merchant benefactors, and representatives of Old Believer communities. One of the items on the agenda was the construction of a stone church at the Cheremshan men’s skete. Permission for construction had already been requested from Emperor Alexander II back in 1879, when Osip Semyonovich Goncharov—former ataman of the Turkish Nekrasovite Cossacks, who had moved from the Ottoman Empire to Cheremshan in Russia—visited the emperor in person. Before his death, the ataman-monk Goncharov received the tonsure with the name Ioasaph and was buried in the monastery cemetery. After his burial, a site was cleared to the north of the skete buildings, at the base of the chalky hill. By June 1881, the stone foundation for the church had already been laid, but funds for construction were still lacking.

On the third day of the council, the will of a recently deceased merchant from Balakovo was read aloud, in which he bequeathed 5,000 rubles for the development of the Cheremshan Monastery and the bishopric. These funds were used to purchase materials and carry out preliminary work. The council issued a call for all willing donors to contribute to the construction of the church and the further growth of the skete. It was announced that the men’s skete would be expanded and turned into a full monastery, with a monastic rule and all traditional monastic order. A commission for church construction was appointed, consisting of the Khvalynsk merchants Lev Grigorievich Shikin, S.F. Kazarin, and Sidor Filaretovich Lukichyov—secretary to Bishop Ambrose.

The initial plan was to build a two-story structure with a church on the upper floor and an office, bishop’s cell, and monks’ quarters below. But as construction progressed, the plans changed: within six months, a cathedral was erected with an upper (unheated) and lower (heated) church. On the gabled roof, closer to the eastern side, a four-sided tower with a tented roof and a spire was installed, topped with a small cast-copper cross that was nearly invisible from the ground. Under the roof, above the altar, an eight-pointed cross was placed, hidden from external view (as the authorities at the time forbade Old Believers from displaying crosses atop their churches).

The consecration of the lower church (dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy God-bearer) was scheduled for the Feast of the Protection, October 1 (14), 1881. It was decided to invite three confessing bishops who had just been released after years of imprisonment in the Suzdal monastic prison: Archbishop Arkady of Slavyansk, Bishops Konon of Novozybkov, and Gennady of Perm. On September 28, Bishop Ambrose traveled to Moscow, where the hierarchs were staying, and returned to Khvalynsk with them on September 30. They stayed in the home of S.F. Kazarin, where there was a chapel and a hospice for elderly men and women.

On the night of September 30 to October 1, an all-night vigil was held in the newly built church at Cheremshan, and in the morning, five bishops (Ambrose, Paphnutius, and the three Suzdal confessors), together with a multitude of clergy, consecrated the Protection Church, in which the monks of the monastery then began to pray. The monastery itself took on the name Pokrovsky (of the Protection).

Later, several years after the consecration of the lower church, the upper church of the Cheremshan cathedral was also consecrated, in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy God-bearer. From that time on, the monastery began to be known as the Dormition Monastery (Uspensky Monastery).

For a long time, the Cheremshan monastery had no formal monastic rule (ustav), but in 1884 such a rule was composed (presumably by Bishop Paphnutius, who was living at Mamontov’s Spring). Bishop Ambrose, hierarch of Saratov, enacted this rule for use at Cheremshan. Below is the text of this historical document, which has never before been published:

Rule for the Guidance of the Communal Life of the Brethren Residing in the Cheremshan Monastery #

“Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:40)

Introduction #

We were compelled to compose this rule for the aforementioned monastery. For in these bitter and sorrowful times—alas!—to which we have come, negligence and self-will have sprouted among the monastics through the envy of the enemy and the sower of tares, leading to general disdain for the monastic life. But as Sacred Scripture testifies, the wearing of monastic garb alone is of little consequence, nor is it sufficient merely to be counted among those bearing the name “monk.” Let us hear more clearly what this name means from the Nomocanon, which says:

“Those who have donned the holy and angelic habit and dwell in monasteries must first be under the hand of God, and then under the rule of the abbot; they are not to say the words ‘mine’ or ‘yours,’ or ‘his’ or ‘another’s.’ For even the five thousand laymen, as it is written in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, said of none of their possessions that they were their own, but had all things in common. How much more, then, must those living in a communal monastery have nothing as their own, nor engage in private and unprofitable concerns. There should be no ‘mine and thine’ among them, nor ‘his’ or ‘another’s,’ for where such things exist, they are sown by the devil, the sower of tares; and in such communities, which grow out of this spirit, it is no longer proper to call them monastic communities but bands of robbers, workers of sacrilege, of all iniquity and deceit.”

Therefore, fearing such dreadful condemnation and wishing not to be numbered among such assemblies—which will be judged at the terrible second coming of Christ—we were moved to arrange what is beneficial, and to restrict or cut off that ruinous self-will which leads souls uncorrected into the depths of hell. The restrictions are laid out in the following articles.

Article I: Duties of the Abbot #

A). “It should be known that just as every good thing must begin with the abbot, so too the communal life must be initiated by him. He must first renounce his own possessions and his own will, and guide the brethren to do likewise. For if the light itself becomes darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Nomocanon, fol. 74; according to the Iosipov Paterikon, fol. 732).

B). The duty of the abbot is to care for the spiritual welfare of the brethren, to raise up and strengthen the fallen. He must therefore visit the brethren and correct their faults. He must also be under the authority of the bishop, as the canons command: specifically, the 4th and 8th canons of the Fourth Ecumenical Council.

C). No one is to be received into the monastery without the counsel of the elected elders. All admissions must be made by common agreement and counsel. If someone is received and desires to take monastic vows, and if he brings any personal money with him, that money must be recorded in a special book designated for that purpose.

D). Voluntary donations for the monastery must be immediately handed over to the abbot and treasurer and recorded in the income ledger.

E). Income earned by the labors of the brethren or from monastery operations—such as orchards or other establishments—must likewise be handed over and recorded in the same ledger.

F). For purchasing various items needed for the common welfare of the monastery, a capable person should be appointed by the council of elders. He will be dispatched by the abbot or the treasurer.

G). Records of all income and expenditures must be diligently kept by the treasurer, and these records must be securely stored with him.

H). No one is to be received into the monastery or into the monastic order without proper documents, such as a passport or an official attestation from their place of residence concerning their conduct in life. Likewise, no one is to be tonsured without a proper period of testing in accordance with the rule of the holy fathers.

I). No one is permitted to keep intoxicating or strong drinks in their cells under any circumstance. If any are found to be living in an unworthy manner, causing disorder in the monastery, disobedient to spiritual authorities, or leading a life of drunkenness, idleness, or insubordination to the elder brethren, such individuals are to be immediately expelled from the monastery.

J). No one living in the monastery is permitted to go outside its bounds without necessity. If there is a legitimate reason, permission may be granted, but only if the need is deemed worthy of respect. Those who violate this rule are to be corrected with a fitting ecclesiastical penance.

K). The abbot must oversee the order of services in the church, ensuring that they are conducted in proper decorum, both in reading and in singing, according to the ecclesiastical Ustav. If someone makes an unintentional error during reading or chanting contrary to the Ustav, they should be corrected gently after the service, without disturbing propriety. Those entering the church must stand with reverence and fear of God; and on the kliros especially, they must remain humble. Young people, and indeed everyone, must make the sign of the cross properly, according to Holy Scripture; those who scorn this are to be corrected with an ecclesiastical penance.

L). The income and expense ledgers must be submitted monthly for inspection or accounting to the episcopal council.

M). The abbot is obliged to provide garments and shoes to the monks and laybrothers residing in the monastery, without favoritism, ensuring that all receive what is decent and proper. He must love all spiritually and equally. If he shows love to one and hatred to another, and distributes unequally, such an “abbot should renounce his office, and the least among them should take the honor” (Nomocanon, fol. 164).

Article II: Duties of the Steward (Economos)

A). The treasurer, or steward (economos), must be in complete obedience to the abbot and even more so to the bishop, and must not undertake anything without their will. Whatever task is entrusted to him, he must fulfill precisely.

B). All receipts and disbursements of money entrusted to him by the abbot must be immediately recorded in a book, including all payments or distributions made for any needs.

C). The financial records must be kept with full accuracy and integrity, noting both income and expenditures, with the date (month, day, and year) of each transaction. He must submit a monthly report to the abbot.

Article III: Duties of the Council Elders

A). The council elders must be in full obedience to the abbot and must appear immediately at every summons from the bishop or abbot.

B). The council elders are granted the right to vote on proposed matters concerning the well-being of the monastery. If, in their judgment, a proposal by the abbot is found to be unprofitable, inconsistent with monastic labors, or a cause of scandal, then by common agreement the matter shall be postponed and referred for final decision to the diocesan spiritual council. However, if the proposal is judged beneficial by common agreement, it must still be submitted to the bishop for review and approval.

C). The council elders are also obligated to oversee the conduct of all residents of the monastery in general, and if they observe anyone behaving improperly or speaking or acting in ways unbefitting their age or rank, they must report such persons to the abbot. If the offender is disobedient or defiant toward the abbot, then the abbot shall report the matter to the bishop.

D). The council elders are granted full authority to care for all economic enterprises and establishments belonging to the monastery, including the labor force required for their maintenance. If any such establishment is found to be unprofitable or detrimental to the monastic life, they are obliged to bring the matter to the attention of the full monastery council and the diocesan board for discussion.

Article IV: Duties of Monastics in General

A). Monks are bound by their chief vows: chastity, non-possession, and obedience. They must observe silence, and remain in fasting and prayer. It is forbidden to have women serving in the monastery (Seventh Ecumenical Council, Canon 18), and likewise, women may not stay overnight in a men’s monastery (Sixth Ecumenical Council, Canon 47). Monks and nuns are forbidden to dwell in the same monastery or to converse with one another in private (Seventh Ecumenical Council, Canon 20). Furthermore, all monastics are forbidden to leave the monastery or to sleep outside it (Sixth Ecumenical Council, Canon 46).

B). A monk renounces all personal ownership (!) and, having made a will regarding his property prior to entering the monastic life, must leave everything he has brought into the monastery—or acquired therein—to the abbot of the monastery (Seventh Ecumenical Council, Canon 19; Council in Trullo, Canon 6). A monk is forbidden to involve himself in worldly or ecclesiastical affairs, except in cases of necessity, and only with permission from the bishop (Fourth Ecumenical Council, Canon 4), or if the bishop entrusts him with care over church matters or certain persons in need of ecclesiastical assistance (Fourth Ecumenical Council, Canon 3).

C). The very essence of monastic life is obedience and discipleship (Council of Sofia, Canon 2). The ultimate superior of a monk is the bishop, and his immediate superior is the abbot or the appointed head of the monastery (Fourth Ecumenical Council, Canon 4). Monks must not leave the monastery without the blessing of their superior (Sixth Ecumenical Council, Canon 46). All else must be carried out as prescribed in the Nomocanon, chapter 8, in the article concerning monks, abbots, and those living in communal monastic life.

Duties of Laypersons Residing in the Monastery #

A). Lay residents, also referred to as beltsy, are likewise obliged to be in complete obedience to the abbot and to do nothing without his instruction.

B). On ordinary days, they must engage in labor as assigned by the abbot, the steward (economos), or the appointed overseer, to whom they must show full obedience.

C). On Sundays and feast days, they must unfailingly attend the services. They are strictly forbidden to leave the monastery without the knowledge of the abbot.

D). Among the beltsy, those found capable of serving in the church are to be exempted from heavy labor and, at the discretion of the abbot, are to serve in the church according to a rotating schedule.

E). Boys living in the monastery must be diligently engaged in study, and as needed, in temporary labor. A capable and reverent teacher must be appointed over them to carefully supervise their moral conduct as well as their studies and labor.

Duties of the Ustavschik (Master of the Rule) #

In the monastery, for the proper conduct of divine services in the prayerful church, there must necessarily be a ustavschik (master of the liturgical rule) and a golovshchik (chief chanter) on stipend <!>. They are obliged to perform the services with utmost diligence, as commanded by the church Ustav (rule), and to arrive unfailingly at the beginning of each service, rotating according to assigned days.

Conclusion of the Present Statute #

Those who fail to observe the order laid out in the articles of this statute shall be held duly accountable, without exception for age or rank, in accordance with the holy canons, and shall be subject to the judgment of the abbot with the council elders—or, in more serious cases, to the Diocesan Spiritual Council.

And thus, concluding this brief Ustav, we beseech the Most High King of Glory, our Lord Jesus Christ, that He may grant us to fulfill this service in a manner pleasing unto God, in all purity and holiness—so that we may present the rational flock before His impartial and dreadful righteous judgment pure and blameless, and hear that most sweet voice: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” On the other hand, if we scorn the divine rules set forth in these articles, we shall not escape the righteous judgment of God, which will fall upon each one according to his deeds and intentions, unless we hasten to be corrected by pure repentance. — “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).

May this Ustav be observed in our humble monastery, to the glory of the Most Holy Consubstantial Trinity, and in honor and praise of our Most Pure Lady the God-bearer, of Her honorable and glorious Protection, and of all the Saints. Amen.

Let us note that the Serapion Monastery was originally called the Pokrovsky (of the Protection) Monastery and only later came to be known as the Dormition Monastery.

Upon reviewing the Ustav, Abbot Serapion submitted the following petition:

“To God, Jesus Christ, and the Most Holy Trinity — Glory forever!

To Your Grace, Bishop Ambrosy, I bow with all humility and beg from you peace, a blessing, and your holy prayers.

I have the honor to inform Your Grace that I have received the document you sent, in which are written the rules and outline of the abbatial and monastic order <!>, as well as the overall monastery administration. But since I, being aware of my weakness and continual illnesses, and also my poor eyesight, have been greatly frightened by the strictness of your rules, finding them beyond my strength, I most humbly ask you, Holy Master, to release me from the office of abbot.

Your humble servant in God,
Hieromonk Serapion

March 1, 1884.”

Despite this petition, Father Serapion remained the head of his monastery, and in 1893 the new bishop of Saratov, Paisius, elevated him to the rank of archimandrite.

The authorities took offense at the four-sided dome-like structure erected atop the Cheremshan church, and by their order the “cupola” had to be removed. However, after 1905, it was replaced with an octagonal drum topped by a true onion dome crowned with a cross.

Time passed. The fame of holy Cheremshan spread even to the most remote and hidden corners of Old Believer Russia. Cheremshan came to be called the Russian Palestine and Jerusalem. Pilgrims flocked there from all over the country.

The monastery gradually grew, as more and more seekers of the monastic life made their way to Cheremshan. Father Serapion never performed hasty tonsures; he invited each candidate for the monastic path to test his strength in obedience without taking vows. He would say that it is not the robe that saves, but the way of life: “First, live as a monk without tonsure; if you cannot endure and leave, you have not sinned, for you have not broken a vow you never made.” And many, having tasted the hardships of the monastic life through experience, later thanked the wise elder for not tonsuring them too soon.

The monks and beltsy of the monastery spent their days in prayer and labor. Many worked in the vast orchards, growing delicious apples and bergamot pears. Others painted icons. Still others copied church books, adorning them with colorful ornamentation. Some taught church reading and singing to numerous boys—ages seven to twelve—sent by their parents to be educated at the monastery.

Services were held daily: in the evening, Vespers and Compline, and beginning at four in the morning, Midnight Office, Matins, the Hours, and Liturgy. On Sundays and feast days, the Vigil began at two o’clock in the morning. Father Serapion himself celebrated the Liturgy and partook of the Holy Mysteries daily, after which he received the many who came seeking help, never refusing aid to anyone. The elder gave money to all in need, regardless of who they were. When the treasurer, Father Feodosy, objected, the saintly elder would reply: “God be with him—he needs it. And when we have need, the Lord will send.” And the more alms the abbot distributed, the more donations flowed into the monastery.

At noon, Father Serapion would gather the senior monks and discuss monastery matters with them, and afterward would often read and expound to the brethren the Holy Scriptures and other sacred books. If any of the brethren fell ill, Father Serapion would frequently visit the sick, striving to comfort and uplift each one.

In his dealings with all, even with ill-wishers, Father Serapion was always simple, gentle, and meek. He disliked ruling over others and instead sought to draw each person toward a better life through kind words and personal example. He never imposed excessively strict demands on the brethren, though he himself led an ascetic life. Mindful of human frailty, the venerable one always strove to extinguish conflicts at their inception—or to prevent them altogether. For instance, among Christians at that time, there were disputes about whether drinking tea was sinful. Turkish Old Believers drank no tea at all, believing that the Chinese “sprinkle it with serpent’s blood.” Without disputing with anyone, the saintly elder allowed those who wished to drink tea to do so—but he himself drank only hot water with raisins.

No one ever saw Father Serapion at rest. He was a living example of a true Christian and a good shepherd. Even the Nikonian missionaries revered the height of his spiritual life, calling him “a chosen vessel of God.”

One of the young pupils of the monastery left a literary description of the abbot’s quarters and the appearance of the venerable elder:

“Father Serapion, the abbot of the Cheremshan men’s monastery, occupied the entire upper floor of one of the buildings. A steep staircase led to a small landing in front of the entrance door on the right-hand side. A large door opened into a long, narrow corridor. To the left, in the first small room, stood a large antique washstand, shaped like a tall hexagonal pillar. In that little room lived Vanyushka—a very tiny novice, only about seven years old. At midnight, when he slept on a small makeshift bed, and when Father Serapion came to wash before Matins, he would always stroke the boy’s head. Vanyushka would wake up, smile at him, and reach for his hand to kiss it, while Father Serapion, also smiling, would tuck him in more warmly and bless him with the sign of the cross.

To the right lived the monastery’s steward, Father Feodosy. His room was cluttered with various items, especially “red goods”—that is, bolts of cloth for sewing clothing for all the monastery’s residents. Another door to the left led into the room of the secretary, Hierodeacon Father Panteleimon, later the abbot of the same monastery. A bed on trestles with a thin felt mattress, a stiff, greasy pillow, and a worn, scratchy flannel blanket, a chair, a table, prayer ropes (lestovki), podrushniki, and on the walls, images depicting the “severe labors of monastics,” along with icons and a small oil lamp—all these showed the typical furnishings of an Old Believer monk’s cell. Only this cell differed from others in having a cabinet with medicine, as Father Panteleimon had formerly been a military medic.

The corridor ended with these rooms, and beyond was a large hall spanning the full width of the building. Its northern part was partitioned by a curtain. Here stood a samovar, and refreshments were prepared for visiting guests and ‘authorities.’ Beyond the hall was the abbot’s own cell, which differed from other monastic cells only in being slightly larger and furnished with additional ascetic furniture for “visitors,” and in containing costly icons in rich settings, as well as a large chest. From the windows of this cell in winter, one could see all the monastery buildings; in summer, only a portion was visible, as the rest were hidden behind the green canopy of garden trees.

Father Serapion, an elderly man of about sixty, was severely nearsighted, tall, and very thin. Kind, gentle, and full of spiritual enthusiasm. His silver hair and beard framed a face that bore the innocence of youth; his somewhat long forehead jutted sharply above sunken cheeks; beneath thick eyebrows, deeply penetrating greyish eyes looked out with sorrow and majesty. His semi-Greek nose, small mustache, and kindly mouth attracted and won the sympathy of all who looked upon him. His ever-gentle and natural smile and cheerful disposition charmingly disposed everyone to open their hearts—even the most malevolent person or sworn enemy… In the presence of this one man, all melted, softened, opened up, and repented—even before a word was spoken about the spiritual wealth possessed by this one and only abbot in all of [Russian] Old Believerdom.”

Many monks and nuns of the Cheremshan monasteries wore iron or copper verigi (chains) on their bare bodies for the “mortification of the flesh.” These verigi were fashioned as a square plate with a cross, from the corners of which extended heavy, massive chains that encircled the shoulders and torso of the ascetic, converging again at the front and fastening with an iron lock. The women’s verigi weighed 2–3 kilograms, while the men’s were significantly heavier. They were forged by blacksmiths in the nearby village of Podlesnoye. The venerable Serapion himself wore such verigi. This was part of his hidden monastic labor…

Years passed. Father Serapion buried many of his spiritual children. One hundred and twenty monks were laid to rest on the hillside cemetery. The holy elder outlived nearly all his fellow prisoners. Illness began to visit him more frequently, but the venerable one never turned to doctors for help, believing that a monk should save his soul through patient endurance of sorrows and sickness. Only on rare occasions did he resort to folk remedies. His health, worn down by labor and hardship, steadily declined. He was especially troubled by headaches and leg ailments—remnants of chills suffered during his flight abroad and in prison. Church services became increasingly difficult for him; for entire weeks he was ill, praying in his cell rather than the church—something that had never happened before.

At the end of December 1897, his illness worsened. Erysipelas of the legs set in, followed by a high fever. On January 1st, leeches were applied to his legs, but it brought no relief. The venerable one realized that the hour of death was near and asked to receive the sacrament of Holy Unction, which was administered to him. He then received the Holy Mysteries. The saint entrusted the governance of the monastery to the monk Feodosy, but lamented that “Feodosy will not be able to manage,”—and indeed, that is exactly what happened in the years to come…

In those final days, many monks and beltsy gathered in the abbot’s cell to say farewell to the saint and receive his final blessing. Father Serapion was extremely weak, unable to rise or even turn on his bed, and could barely speak, but he continued to bless visitors with his hand until his very last breath.

In the face of death, Father Serapion received the highest monastic tonsure—the Great Schema.

On the morning of January 7th (20th), 1898, during the Divine Liturgy on the feast of the Synaxis of Saint John the Baptist, the chalice with a portion of the Holy Gifts—still warm—was brought into the abbot’s cell. He communed and drank warm water afterward, then made the sign of the cross over himself and immediately surrendered his spirit to the Lord. It was ten o’clock in the morning, on a Wednesday. His funeral was set for the fifth day—Sunday.

A great multitude gathered for the burial of the saint. They counted a hundred horse-drawn wagons, and another thousand came on foot. The funeral service was performed by the bishop (Bishop Paisius), eight priests, and two deacons. There were many tears and sighs. Most bitterly wept the poor, who had lost in Father Serapion their constant advocate and provider…

To the east of the Dormition Cathedral, a few meters from the altar wall, an underground brick crypt was built, above which stood a modest four-walled chapel with a tented roof. From the chapel, a well-built staircase led down into the crypt. There, the coffin of Saint Serapion was placed, and the crypt door was locked.

The memory of the venerable archimandrite was deeply revered among the faithful. All considered him a saint and awaited the uncovering of his relics. On April 17, 1907, Bishop Paisius of Saratov died. It was decided to bury him in Serapion’s crypt. It seems that during those days, when the crypt was opened, the monks discovered that the body of Venerable Serapion, after nine years, had not undergone decay. Abbot Feodosy ordered that this miracle not be made public, fearing persecution from the authorities. Yet, according to the word of the Lord, “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel,” and rumors of the saint’s incorrupt relics began to spread among the local population. Within a year, the news reached Bishop Meletius of Saratov. He sent a special commission to Cheremshan to investigate the holy relics.

In the evening, under strict secrecy, Abbot Feodosy led the commission into the crypt. One of the commission members, S. I. Bystrov, described it as follows:

“The crypt is located near the altar of the church and appears as a stone chapel. It is entered through a wooden door covered with wire mesh.

‘Follow me,’ said the abbot, descending the stone steps.

A chill and dampness met us as we descended into the crypt. It had vaulted ceilings and was divided into two sections: an upper and a lower. The upper was empty, while in the lower, on stone foundations near the wall, stood two dark coffins—on the right, that of Bishop Paisius, and on the left, that of Archimandrite Serapion.

We approached the latter.”

The abbot lit two wax stubs. A reddish glow illuminated the interior of the crypt. Fr. Feodosy put on his epitrachelion, and, together with one of the monks, removed the lid of the coffin… We saw the outline of a man lying there, covered with a dark cloth. The covering had decayed and came off in scraps with the lightest touch.

“Ten years have passed,” said the abbot as he removed the rotted covering. “Here is the riza,” he added, “and here is the Gospel upon his chest.” We leaned in and examined more closely. Indeed, there lay the Gospel and his hands crossed in the form of a cross. But all of it was coated in a white layer of mold. The abbot brushed the mold off the hands and said, “Look.”

Each of us examined the hands of the departed in turn. They were of a dark yellowish hue. The flesh of the hands was perfectly preserved. We touched them with our hands. The same was true of the feet. The face was not uncovered—only the cloth above the chin was lifted: “Too many wrappings would have to be untied,” said Fr. Feodosy. We did not trouble him further. Yet what we saw was enough to show clearly that the remains of the ever-memorable Fr. Serapion were resting in incorruption, despite the dampness of the crypt. The deacon and I.P. Kovanov, who were with me, examined the sides and chest of the departed at the abbot’s suggestion. These, too, were in the same state as the hands.

“Try lifting the coffin,” suggested one of the monks. “You will immediately feel the weight of the body.”

Indeed, the coffin was heavy, though it had been made from very thin wood.

The cold and dampness in the crypt were palpable, and we hastened to leave. Throughout the rest of the day we remained under the impression of what we had seen. A joyful and reverent feeling filled the soul. The miracle of incorruption was evident. No doubt remained that here was a manifestation of the power of God. No natural explanation could account for it…”

S. I. Bystrov published an article on the uncovering of the incorrupt relics in the journal Church, and a stream of Christian pilgrims began flowing to Cheremshan. This pilgrimage continued even after the Revolution and the Civil War. People were healed of bodily and spiritual ailments after praying at the saint’s tomb…

The early 1920s in Soviet Russia marked the beginning of a new wave of persecution against Christians. The hatred of the new godless authorities extended not only to the living followers of Christ but also to the departed. In various places, holy relics were seized from churches and monasteries and subjected to blasphemous desecration.

One day, Saint Serapion appeared in a dream to Abbot Anthony and several other monks, commanding them to relocate his relics. This vision was confirmed by another sign: on one occasion, the door of the crypt was found open, and the saint’s coffin stood on the steps of the staircase. The monks obeyed the will of the venerable one and transferred his coffin to the women’s monastery of Mother Felicata, where it remained for some time. On April 17 (30), 1924—Wednesday of Bright Week (apparently the saint’s name day)—the coffin was buried in a secret location, unmarked by any identifying sign. A symbolic grave (cenotaph) was also created atop a hill in the forest, and this was shown to visitors as the saint’s resting place. A memorial cross has been erected there in recent years in honor of the venerable one.

The true location of the saint’s relics remains a mystery to this day. It is possible that he was buried in one of the crypts of a secret underground passage that once connected the two Cheremshan monasteries, to provide a place of refuge for priests and bishops during police raids…

The Cheremshan monasteries were destroyed by the godless authorities at the end of the 1920s, and the monks dispersed to various towns and villages. Yet to this day, Old Orthodox Christians faithfully preserve the memory of these holy dwellings and of the “Sun of Cheremshan” — the venerable confessor Serapion.

The memory of this venerable one is celebrated on April 18 (May 1 by the civil calendar). The commemoration of his repose is held on January 7 (20).

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