Archimandrite
Saint Seraphim, in the world Romanovich-Shakhmut, was born in 1901 in the village of Podlesye in the Lakhovich district into a large peasant family. From childhood, he was drawn to the Church and often 'served the liturgy.' Despite the poverty, he graduated from the Lakhovich two-class folk school. In 1922, he entered the Zhirovitsy Holy Assumption Monastery, where in 1923 he took monastic vows with the name Seraphim. Due to his good singing abilities, he was entrusted with the choir duties and became a good regent and rule keeper. In 1926, he was ordained as a hierodeacon, and soon after as a hieromonk.
In August 1941, by the blessing of Metropolitan Panteleimon, Father Seraphim left Zhirovitsy and headed towards Minsk to establish church and parish life. He visited many villages, collecting petitions from believers for the opening of parishes and baptized many. He also gathered materials about the persecution of the Orthodox Church in Belarus.
After this missionary trip, the priest served in Minsk at the Holy Spirit Church and provided pastoral care to hospitals and children's shelters in the city. In 1944, for his activities in opening churches, he was arrested in Grodno and spent 10 months in custody. Accused of belonging to 'German counter-revolutionary organizations,' he was sentenced to 5 years in a concentration camp, where, presumably in 1946, he died of a heart rupture after the terrible sufferings he endured in the dungeons of the NKVD.
