The life of St Seraphim of Vyritsa
He longed early for monastic life, but an elder at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra told him to marry first and raise children, and take the habit only once they were grown. He married Olga Naidenova in 1890 and built a prosperous merchant business over the following decades, giving generously to churches and to the poor; after their daughter's death, husband and wife chose to live as brother and sister.
In 1917 he closed his business and gave away what remained of his wealth. Admitted to monastic life in 1920 under the name Barnabas, he took the Great Schema in 1926 as Seraphim, honoring Seraphim of Sarov. Arrested repeatedly after 1929, he continued quietly encouraging fellow prisoners even in the camps. From 1930 he lived in Vyritsa, revered across Russia as an elder of prophecy and healing, praying for his suffering homeland until his repose in 1949.
