Seraphim of Vyritsa

Born Vasily Muravyov to a peasant family, he became a highly successful fur merchant in St Petersburg, known for generous almsgiving. After the Revolution, he and his wife each entered monastic life; he was tonsured at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, taking the name Seraphim, and became its spiritual father and confessor. Failing health led him to settle in the village of Vyritsa outside the city, where crowds sought his counsel, healing, and famed spiritual insight. During the Second World War, in imitation of St Seraphim of Sarov, he prayed for Russia at night kneeling on a stone in his garden, continuing this ascetic feat over many years despite severe illness. He reposed in 1949, revered throughout Russia, and was glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.