By Fr. George Dorbarakis
1. Venerable Seraphim of Domvu in Livadeia was born in 1527 to pious and virtuous parents in a village of the region of Locris, called Zeli, where he was also taught the sacred letters.
Because he was of good character and studied diligently the sacred books of the Church, as well as the lives of the saints, he felt within his heart a divine love for the monastic life. For this reason he left his parents and relatives and set out in search of the salvation of his soul, which he longed for. After traveling through many places, both deserted and inhabited, and struggling in many ascetic contests — through which he was made worthy to receive from God even the grace of working miracles — he fell asleep in peace on May 6, 1602, in the monastery that bears his name. This monastery he himself built on the western slope of Mount Helicon, in a place called Domvu or Dontu, and there he also erected a most beautiful stavropegial church in the name of Christ the Savior.
He also received there many virtuous monks who longed for the wilderness and sought the salvation of their souls. In this monastery (in which, even while the Saint was still alive, he was glorified by God with His wonderworking grace, and where even now monks live who excel in virtue and holiness of life), his holy relics are preserved as a sacred treasure — confirmed by patriarchal sigils and attested by miracles. From these relics many people from various places daily receive healing grace as they invoke him, to the glory of God, who thus glorifies His saints.
2. “An offspring of Greece,” the Venerable Seraphim gathers us today to his memory and sets before us a spiritual banquet. What are the dishes of this table? His virtues, the grace of the Holy Spirit, and Christ Himself, whom he reveals in the clearest and most transparent way. This means that when we draw near to him, we feel Christ embracing us, the Spirit of God flooding us, and the fragrance of his virtues striking us intensely.
The Venerable one was and is a “true friend of the Master Christ,” as preeminently is the Panagia, the Mother of the Lord, and likewise all the saints and righteous ones. And his Hymnographer, among the many other lights he casts to reveal the greatness of his holiness, tells us:
“Your soul was wounded by divine longing, and your mind was illumined by the light of the Holy Spirit, O our venerable father. Therefore, like a thirsty deer, you roamed in the deserts and found the ever-living spring. And having been completely filled with the stream of self-control, you now pour forth unceasingly from your relics fountains of miracles to those who approach them with faith. Therefore we too gather spiritually at your holy memory and say: do not cease to pray to the Lord on our behalf, that our souls may be saved” (Glory of the Vespers Stichera).
What a marvelous image the Hymnographer uses to express the nature of Seraphim’s holiness! The Saint runs like a thirsty deer — an image drawn from the Holy Scriptures and the patristic writings of the Church. He seeks and pursues the spiritual water of Christ’s grace, because he has experienced that grace, has been wounded by the love of his Lord and God, and cannot rest until he finds the very source itself.
It is a known truth that only the one who has received the arrow of God’s love can seek Him “unto death.” And he does not rest until he truly encounters Him more fully — something that only increases his longing even further. To find Christ means to seek Him continually (as taught by Gregory of Nyssa) — for what end could there be to the infinity of God?
Thus, the Venerable Seraphim, having been wounded by this love and illumined by the Spirit of God, knew the unceasing orientation of his life. Walking on this path “toward the springs of the waters,” he himself became another spring, pouring out love upon the whole world, both in this life and after his holy repose.
For this reason we also entreat him not to forget us in his prayers to the Lord — which of course means that we should not forget to call upon him, since his love for us is already assured.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.