View source for Seraphim (Chichagov) of Leningrad

The holy, glorious, right-victorious [[hieromartyr]] '''Seraphim (Chichagov) of Leningrad and Gdov''' was the [[Metropolitan]] of the [[Eparchy of St. Petersburg|Diocese of Leningrad and Gdov]] in the [[Church of Russia]] between 1928 and 1933. Influenced by Fr. [[John of Kronstadt]], he became a [[monk]] after serving in the Russian army. He was executed by the Bolsheviks during the purges of the mid 1930s. He is commemorated on [[December 11]].

==Life==
Seraphim was from a prominent aristocratic family and had served in the Russian army during the 1877-1878 war with Turkey. He rose to the rank of colonel of artillery and was charged with organizing medical care and other charities for veterans, orphans of war, and families connected to the military forces. In 1891, influenced by the teachings John of Kronstadt, Seraphim moved to Moscow with his family to begin a life in the church as a member of the [[clergy]]. After the death of his wife in 1895, Seraphim was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] and joined the [[Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra|Holy Trinity Monastery]]. In 1903, he supervised the ceremonies marking the canonization of [[Seraphim of Sarov]]. 

In 1905, he was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] bishop. In 1908, he was appointed Bishop of Kishinev and then, in 1912, appointed [[Archbishop]] of Tver. In 1918, he was appointed Metropolitan of Warsaw, but was not able to reach his [[see]] because Poland would not grant him permission to enter the country.

In 1922, Seraphim was arrested by the Bolshevik government and was imprisoned. He was released in 1927 after he expressed support for the acting [[locum tenens]] Metropolitan [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergius (Stragorodsky)]]. In, 1928, he was elected Metropolitan of Leningrad and Gdov. In 1929, Seraphim presided at the funeral of the martyred Archbishop Hilarion after he was executed by the Bolshevik government. 

In 1933, Seraphim was arrested and imprisoned again, and then executed by a firing squad during the purges in 1937 at Shcherbinka, Yuzhnoye Butovo District, a place of mass executions.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=?|
title=Bishop of Kishinev|
years= 1908-1912|
after=?}}
{{succession|
before=?|
title=Archbishop of Tver|
years= 1912-1918|
after=?}}
{{succession|
before=?|
title=Metropolitan of Warsaw|
years= 1918-?|
after=&mdash;}}
{{succession|
before=[[Joseph (Petrovykh) of Petrograd|Joseph (Petrovyh)]]|
title=Metropolitan of Leningrad and Gdov|
years=1928-1933|
after=[[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei (Simansky)]]}}
{{end box}} 

==Sources==
*[http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631232032_chunk_g978063123203223_ss1-8  Seraphim Chichagov]]

==External link==
*[http://www.stjohndc.org/Russian/fathers/e_Prayer_Kronst.htm Sermon of John of Kronstadt]

[[Category: Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-century bishops]]
[[Category: Martyrs]]
[[Category: Saints]]
[[Category: Russian Saints]]
[[Category:Modern Saints]]
[[Category:20th-century saints]]