Moscow, February 1, 2016
The question of the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) will be examined at the Council of Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Archbishop Seraphim in Bulgaria ordained his spiritual child, the future Archpriest Vsevolod Shpiller, a priest. Later Fr. Vsevolod became Rector of the Moscow Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Kuznetsy and spiritual father of Archpriest Vladimir Vorobiev, who is now the rector of this church and has been rector of the Orthodox St. Tikhon’s University of Humanities since its establishment. We asked Fr. Vladimir to say a few words on Archbishop Seraphim.
“Right after his repose on February 26, 1950, Archbishop Seraphim was buried in the crypt of the Russian embassy Church of St. Nicholas where he served. In his lifetime the hierarch used to say, “Write me your requests and I will pray for you”. A big urn stands in the crypt near this grave, and in front of the entrance to the apse where the tomb is located there is a room in which people make their intercession lists on specially installed tables and then drop them in the urn. For the past 66 years, a great many miracles have occurred through the prayers and petitions of the faithful. Many of these miracles have been testified to. The testimony is very diverse, from common folk and clergy alike, and there is much documentary evidence from hospitals confirming the cases of healing miracles.
The Bulgarian Church and Bulgarian people are looking forward to the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim. Unfortunately, today in Bulgaria many churches stand unattended and deserted, most of the monasteries have no monks, and only 5 or 6 brothers reside in the celebrated Rila Monastery. If you enter this most beautiful monastery, you will find an empty church; there is no queue to the relics of St. John of Rila, though he is the greatest saint of Bulgaria and Rila Monastery is as important for Bulgaria as is the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra is for Russia. But there is virtually nobody there… Former monastic cells are used as tourist hostels. In the warm season tourist come there to walk in the mountains.
But there is one site in Bulgaria to which there is a permanent influx of people: this is the above-mentioned Church of St. Nicholas, standing on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard (named after Tsar Alexander II of Russia whom Bulgarians call the “Tsar Liberator”) right in the heart of Sofia – not far from the Cathedral of Holy Week and the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky. Among those who flock here are Bulgarians, Russians, and pilgrims from other countries.
Archbishop Seraphim referred to Bulgaria as to his second motherland. He lived there all the years of his archpastoral ministry.
The late Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria (1914-2012) said that, “Archbishop Seraphim was a rare example of saint, an archpastor full of grace of God and with a good pastoral conscience. This humble man and hierarch of an unquestionable moral authority felt his calling, strictly following the Orthodox truth. He uncompromisingly raised his voice against any erroneous or heretical ideas which infiltrated into the written works that claimed to be Orthodox.”
The current Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria also supports the veneration of Archbishop Seraphim.
On December 3-5, 2015, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church visited Bulgaria to participate in meetings of the joint commission of the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches on the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. After the Sofia meeting, all the participants of the joint Russian-Bulgarian commission stated that there were no obstacles for canonization of Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev). The question of canonization of Archbishop Seraphim of Boguchar will be put before the Council of Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church which began on February 2.
Reference
Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev; 1881-1950) of Boguchar was a hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. On February 14, 1920, together with commandant of Sevastopol General Nikolai Stogov, Archbishop Seraphim emigrated from the Crimea to Constantinople. In the spring of 1921 he moved to Bulgaria, where he remained to the end of his days.
The joint commission of the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches for the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) of Boguchar was set up in accordance with the decisions by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of October 22, 2015, and by the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church of September 25, 2015.
