Hieromartyr Seraphim (Chichagov), Metropolitan of Leningrad and Gdov. Preacher, spiritual writer, author of the Chronicle of Saint Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery.
Leonid Mikhailovich Chichagov came from a well-known aristocratic family, famed in Russian history for its outstanding figures, including military men, among whom there were two Admirals. Leonid was born on January 9, 1856, in the city of St. Petersburg.
His father, Michael Nikephorovich, was an artillery Colonel, and for obvious reasons, he wished his son to have a similar career. Meanwhile, when Leonid was only ten years old, his father died, and all the responsibilities for the maintenance and upbringing of his son (and his three brothers) were taken over by his mother, Maria Nikolaevna.
After some time, driven by a desire to establish a military career for her sons, she assigned Leonid and his two brothers to the Corps of Pages, a well-known military educational institution in Russia at that time. A year before graduating from the Corps of Pages, Leonid received the rank of Chamber Page, and after graduating at the age of 18, he entered the Artillery Academy, after which he went into military service.
Leonid Chichagov, a graduate of the Page Corps, 1874. Photo: alexander-nevskiysobor.ru In 1877, he found himself in the Balkans, where he participated in the bloody Russian-Turkish battles at the Shipka Pass, as well as in the capture of Telesh and Plevna. The courage and heroism shown by Leonid in the war were marked with military awards. God's providence saved him from potential death.
Upon his return from the front to peaceful St. Petersburg, he was so impressed by what he had experienced in the war that he wrote several books on this subject: about the heroism of Russian soldiers, about the meaning of life, about death. In addition, deeply moved by seeing the suffering of wounded soldiers, he began to study medicine. the result was a two-volume work "Medical Conversations."
In 1878, L. M. Chichagov met with Saint John of Kronstadt, a great luminary of the Russian land. He solved a number of life issues which worried him, and from then on became his spiritual mentor.
Leonid Mikhailovich Chichagov with his wife Natalia Nikolaevna (nee Dokhturova). Photo: alexander-nevskiysobor.ru On April 8, 1879, at the age of 23, Leonid married Natalia Nikolaevna Dokhturova, the daughter of a chamberlain. As befits an Orthodox Christian, Leonid tried to build relationships in the family on the basis of Christian morality and ethics, the same morality he sought to instill in his four daughters.
At the age of thirty-four, unexpectedly for those around him, he decided to leave military service and voiced a firm desire to devote his future life to the service of God, becoming an Orthodox priest. This news stunned the relatives and did not meet with sympathy in the family. Even Leonid Mikhailovich's beloved wife resisted her husband's will. She, a society lady who had long been accustomed to the aristocratic way of life, found it very difficult to imagine herself in the role of a Matushka. Moreover, the attitude of the aristocracy toward the clergy was often expressed with disdain.
However, Leonid found the right solution: he turned for help to Archpriest John of Kronstadt, who, in fact, blessed him for the podvig of priestly service. Then the righteous pastor met personally with Natalia Nikolaevna, and after finding words suitable for her heart, he persuaded her not to resist God's Providence, and to accept her husband's choice. Finally, she gave her consent.
On April 15, 1890, Leonid Chichagov resigned from the military, after which he moved to Moscow with his family. They lived in a house at 37 Ostrozhenka, where Ivan Turgenev once lived. At that time, Leonid was engaged in serious study of theological sciences. On February 26, 1893, he was ordained as a deacon, and two days later, on February 28, he was ordained as a priest.
In 1895, the first year of Father Leonid's pastoral ministry, his wife became seriously ill, and Matushka Natalia reposed. Father Leonid took her body to Diveyevo, and it was interred in the monastery cemetery.
Three years after the priest was widowed, he became a monk. At the same time, he received the new name Seraphim, in honor of his heavenly patron, Saint Seraphim of Sarov. By that time, his daughters had grown up, and the eldest was already 18 years old.
In 1898, Father Seraphim was assigned to serve at Holy Trinity Lavra at Sergiev Posad. It must be said that his relations with the brethren of the Monastery were not the best. As an aristocrat, he represented the highest level of society. Moreover, he had no serious monastic experience. This aroused distrust among the monks, many of whom were from the peasant class, and they regarded him as a foolish Baron.
A year later, thanks to the efforts of some close friends, he managed to get a new appointment. As a result, Father Seraphim was transferred to Suzdal's Savior-Saint Euthymios Monastery. On August 14, 1899, by decree of the Holy Synod, he was appointed as rector, followed by his elevation to the rank of Archimandrite.
Here, in addition to performing the general monastic obediences, on behalf of his superiors, he was engaged in preparing documents necessary for the canonization of Father Seraphim of Sarov. In 1903 he was granted the right to develop the ceremony of the forthcoming canonization with the participation of the Imperial family. It must be said that he performed this task very well: the solemn ceremony was held without incident.
Photo: pravoslavnaya-biblioteka.ru On February 14, 1904, Father Seraphim was appointed rector of the New Jerusalem Convent of the Resurrection. In April of 1904 he was consecrated Bishop of Sukhumi.
As the years passed, a time of terrible social upheavals, moral trials and catastrophes approached: the February Revolution, followed by the October Revolution, was approaching. During this period, by God's will, Saint Seraphim served successively in four dioceses, namely: Sukhumi, Orel, Kishinev, and Tver.
Carrying out his archpastoral ministry and striving to fulfill it with due responsibly, Saint Seraphim opened orphanages, hospitals, and parish councils. One of the most important areas of his activity was the struggle with fallacies, heresy, and sectarianism.
At the same time, as historians note, he did not manage to avoid some major mistakes. Thus, while in Kishinev, Father Seraphim was carried away by the heat of political unrest, and was imbued with the ideas of the supporters of the Union of the Russian People and joined the ranks of its inspirers. Meanwhile, this movement, instead of contributing to strengthening the Russian monarchy, discredited it.
Metropolitan Seraphim in his office in Leningrad against the background of the icon of the Savior in a White Robe that he painted. Photo: alexander-nevskiysobor.ru The Hierarch had no sympathy for either the February or the October Revolutions. Soon, through the efforts of representatives of the clergy who were hostile to him, and with the mediation of the Bolshevik authorities, he was expelled from Tver province.
In an effort to shield the Hierarch from possible reprisals, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, decided to appoint him to the cathedral of Warsaw and the Vistula region. However, the outbreak of the Civil War, and then the Soviet-Polish War, cut off access to Poland and made the Hierarch's departure to his diocese impossible. He stayed in Moscow, where he was visited and encouraged by his relatives and friends.
In 1921 Bishop Seraphim was arrested and imprisoned in the Taganka prison, which he left only in 1922. Then he was once more charged with crimes against the Soviet government and he was sentenced to exile in the Arkhangelsk region, where he spent almost a year.
Upon his return from exile, the Archpastor stopped in Moscow. A short time later, in April 1924, he was arrested again, accused of organizing celebrations in honor of the glorification of Saint Seraphim of Sarov in 1903.
Through the efforts of Patriarch Tikhon, Saint Seraphim was released from custody, but he was unable to remain in Moscow. After he was denied the opportunity to settle in the Saint Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery, he went to the village of Shui, where he was cordially received into the Resurrection-Saint Theodore Monastery.
In 1927, Saint Seraphim, having bid farewell to the ascetics, departed for a new service: to Metropolitan Sergius, who made a controversal declaration at the time, supporting the Soviet government. He needed help from his friends. In the spring of 1928, the sufferer, now Metropolitan of Leningrad and Gdov, returned to his home city.
It should be stated that while he supported Metropolitan Sergius, he did not support him blindly and completely, just as he did not support government policies directed against God and His Church.
Saint Seraphim irritated the secular authorities not only by his zealous attitude towards Orthodox services, but also by his extensive preaching, which was then regarded as anti-Soviet propaganda. The year 1932 was marked by mass arrests of clergymen, including monastics. Against the background of the negative attitude of the authorities toward the priesthood in general, it also increased in relation to Vladyka Seraphim. By this time, his health had deteriorated. All of these factors together served as the reason for the Saint's retirement in October 1933.
Metropolitan Seraphim on the eve of his execution. Photo from the KGB archives The bloody year of 1937 came. In September, Vladyka was arrested for the last time. He was not even spared due to his advanced age – he was 82 years old. Since he could not walk on his own, he was carried out on a stretcher, and then transported by ambulance to Taganskaya prison. On November 28, he was sentenced by the NKVD troika, and shot at the notorious Butovo firing range.
It is said that the day of Saint Seraphim's death was foretold to him by Saint John of Kronstadt, iwho said: "Remember the day of the Three Hierarchs." On this day, Saint Seraphim always prepared for death. It is said that Vladyka greeted it not only as a true soldier of Christ, and a Martyr for the Faith, but also as a true officer who would not bow his head before his executioners, and without staining the honor of a Christian, or the Archpastoral dignity.
The Hieromartyr Seraphim was canonized on February 23, 1997 by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. In the Tver diocese there is a church in honor of the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov). It is a small church in the village of Dubrovka, Bologovsky District, Tver Region, built in 1999. In Moscow, there is also a church dedicated to the Hieromartyr Seraphim.
