Bishop Seraphim was consecrated by Saint Tikhon of Moscow in 1919 and assigned to the ancient city of Dmitrov, forty miles north of the capital. His archpastoral ministry began at one of the darkest times in Russia’s history. Bishop Seraphim was frequently arrested, exiled, and imprisoned. While enduring these hardships, Bishop Seraphim composed many sermons, prayers, canons, and akathists for his own spiritual benefit and the consolation of the faithful. A collection of these appear in this book, carefully translated and edited by Priest John Mikitish. The life of the holy bishop Seraphim is also included. On a June night in 1937, Bishop Seraphim was arrested once again. He was shot on August 26. The holy hieromartyr Seraphim was canonized in the year 2000 by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
An excerpt:
O victorious Leader and Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, desiring to enlighten and enliven me, who was slain by sin and overcast by the darkness of passions, thou didst bow the heavens and come down to me, descending even unto death, even unto death on the Cross. I am bowed down before the inexpressible magnitude of thy divine love, and I prostrate myself low before thy precious Cross, richly watered by the streams of thy life-spilling Blood. And with abundant thanksgiving, with warm tenderness, with tearful supplication, with a burning heart, I cry out to thee with this song and offer thee this prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, by thy right hand strengthen me to bear the saving cross which thou hast sent down for me, for I am utterly spent.
This akathist was written by Bishop Seraphim during his
imprisonment in Butyrka prison in 1923.
Soft Cover, 140 pages
