Print

Former Serbian journalist becomes a monk and hermit on Mt. Athos

Holy Mount Athos, October 22, 2014

One of the “Terrifying” Karoulia hermitage caves on Holy Mount Athos is the site where the Serbian Monk named Seraphim lives in summer. Winter is very severe here, and so during the cold season he moves from the small, narrow cave, where there is barely enough space for one person, into a wooden hut outside.

Four boards and a mat—this is all he needs for rest and sleep.

Karoulia has caves with cells hung on precipitous rocks in the southernmost part of the Athos peninsula, not far from Katounakia skete. Distant caves that can be reached only by means of chains attached to the rocks, are called Inner, or “Terrifying” Caves.

The future Monk Seraphim formerly studied at the university, the Department of Economics, and then worked as a journalist in Serbian television media. In the world he left a 16-year-old daughter, reports Afonskaya Tribuna news portal.

“My faith had nothing to do with my work as a journalist—these are two opposite worlds, different values and convictions,” Brother Seraphim relates. “Here I am praying for my daughter and wife, since I have never really left them. I am with them in my mind. It is just that one fine day I simply became inflamed with love for our triune Godhead. And this is for the good of all of us”.

He lives in one of the remotest and wildest places of Karoulia, but nevertheless he says: “I am not alone here, many friends are with me.” When asked who these friends are, the monk answered: “Thousands of angels, and you can behold them only when you are laboring for the good of your soul, but not for the good of your flesh. The body needs very little of all the good things that the Lord abundantly sends us.”

“Once it happened that I had absolutely nothing to eat, and then a true miracle occurred. I saw an eagle flying very fast towards me. I got frightened and thought to myself: now it will seize me and carry away, goodness knows where. But, as it was approaching, I saw that it was holding something in its beak. It was a fresh fish… That was my supper on that day,” Monk Seraphim joyfully said in conclusion.

10/24/2014

See also

St. Silouan of Mt. Athos: “I have many sorrows of my own, and they are my own fault…”

St. Silouan of Mt. Athos: “I have many sorrows of my own, and they are my own fault…”
Roman Savchuk

St. Silouan of Mt. Athos: “I have many sorrows of my own, and they are my own fault…”

St. Silouan of Mt. Athos: “I have many sorrows of my own, and they are my own fault…”
Roman Savchuk
There are moments when it seems that circumstances are indeed beyond our power, when life breaks down and it’s painful even to look at the world around us. Reality is cruel, and the soul can truly become sick. And no one knows when sorrows will knock at doors of the heart. But we must know in that moment how to answer these unawaited guests…

The World or the Monastery?

The World or the Monastery?
Olga Rozhneva

The World or the Monastery?

The World or the Monastery?
Olga Rozhneva
St. Anthony of Optina replied to a question about the choice of the monastic life, that one can be saved both in a monastery and in the world. And he reminded us that the enemy may give zeal for virtues that are beyond our strength, while, on the other hand, he may instill neglect and carelessness towards deeds that are within our power.

A Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh

A Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh
Nathan Duffy

A Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh

A Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh
Nathan Duffy
A hermit saw someone laughing and said to him, ‘We have to render an account of our whole life before heaven and earth, and you can laugh?’While this probably strikes most as curmudgeonly, for us Christians, a reference to the Last Judgment ought to inspire sober reflection. How appropriate is frivolity given the desperate spiritual state within which we find ourselves—and the world at large?

An Ineffable Fragrance

An Ineffable Fragrance
Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki

An Ineffable Fragrance

An Ineffable Fragrance
Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki
It is impossible to describe how exquisite and noble are the podvizhniki![1] These people—although they bear the traces of harsh struggles, although their bodies are so withered and emaciated—have a fragrance and grace imprinted on their wondrous souls.

“In Christ a man receives more than he lost in Adam”

“In Christ a man receives more than he lost in Adam”
A Conversation with Archbishop Damian of Sinai and Pharan

“In Christ a man receives more than he lost in Adam”

“In Christ a man receives more than he lost in Adam”
A Conversation with Archbishop Damian of Sinai and Pharan
Deacon Vladimir Vasilik
But then let us think about what kind of purity a man must acquire in order to enter into this Kingdom. Let us not put off our salvation till later, nor hope that we will be purified before death or even at the time of death, or that we will land in “purgatory,” as the Catholics mistakenly think. For those who say, “Later,” it will never come. Therefore let us be concerned about our salvation now, while it is still possible to say, “Now.”

"We have to return to our roots." A conversation with Fr. Gabriel Bunge
Nun Cornelia (Rees), Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel Bunge

"We have to return to our roots." A conversation with Fr. Gabriel Bunge
Nun Cornelia (Rees), Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel Bunge
There are so many traces of the undivided Church, the beginnings of Christianity, and by these very archeological facts, I was “pushed” to dig deeper into the foundations of the Church. I am a historian by formation, a numismatic.

Comments