Nikolay Motovilov - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Nikolay Alexandrovich Motovilov was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n landowner, Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

, businessman and Fool for Christ

Yurodivy

Foolishness for Christ refers to behavior such as giving up all one's worldly possessions upon joining a monastic order. It can also refer to deliberate flouting of society's conventions to serve a religious purpose — particularly of Christianity. The term fools for Christ derives from the writings...

. He is primarily known as the first biographer of Saint Seraphim of Sarov. In Russian Orthodox

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

tradition he is often referred as the Servant to Seraphim and the Theotokos.

Motovilov was born in Simbirsk to a noble family, and graduated from Kazan University. According to his notes, he once tried to commit suicide by drowning in Chyornoye Lake near Kazan

Kazan

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...

, but was stopped by an apparition of the Theotokos

Theotokos

Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...

, whom he claimed to have led him throughout the remainder of his life. Motovilov became acquainted with Saint Seraphim of Sarov and became one of his disciples.

Motovilov wrote down many of his conversations with St. Seraphim, including his favorite, Seraphim's Talk On the Purpose of the Christian Life, that occurred in November 1831 in the forest near Sarov

Sarov

Sarov is a closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Until 1995 it was known as Kremlyov ., while from 1946 to 1991 it was called Arzamas-16 . The town is off limits to foreigners as it is the Russian center for nuclear research. Population: -History:The history of the town can be divided...

. This event has been depicted in several different icons of St. Seraphim, and is considered one of modern Orthodoxy's most important spiritual treasures.

In 1827 Motovilov started government work in Simbirsk. He had a conflict with Freemasons

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

there, and was arrested and imprisoned in 1832 on trumped-up charges. Motovilov later claimed that these charges were fabricated by his Freemason enemies, including Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov

Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov

Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov , or Ermolov , was a Russian Imperial general of the 19th century who commanded Russian troops in the Caucasus War.-Early life:...

. In 1833, Motovilov was released from prison by order of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...

, but lost all chances for employment with the government thereafter.

In 1840 Motovilov married Yelena Ivanovna Meliukova, the niece of a pupil of St. Serafim, schemo-nun Marfa, and settled down on his estate near Simbirsk. Here he worked ceaselessly to glorify the name of Seraphim, who had died in 1833. Motovilov wrote numerous letters to important personages, including the Emperor himself, endeavoring to demonstrate the depths of Seraphim's prophetic gift and philosophy. He also organized large business ventures such as the Svyato-Preobrazhensky Bank, assisting in the migration of "millions of peasants" from Central Russia to Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

. Motovilov spent the proceeds of his ventures on the Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery

Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery

Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery, or Saint Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery, or Holy Trinity-Saint Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery near Sarov , and near the city of Nizhny Novgorod , in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is situated in a region considered to have immense spiritual significance...

. Acquiring the nickname The breadwinner of Diveyevo Monastery (Питатель Дивеевского Монастыря), Motovilov increasingly behaved as a Fool for Christ, with neighbors considering him mentally ill. He died in 1879, and was buried at Serafimo-Diveyevsky Monastery.

Seraphim of Sarov, whose name Motovilov had worked so hard to bring to Russian public awareness, was canonized in 1903. He remains one of the modern Orthodox Church's most beloved saints.

Motovilov's manuscripts were mostly left unpublished, and were stored in disarray in baskets kept in the attic of his house. In 1903 Motovilov's widow passed the baskets with the manuscripts--by now filled with feathers and chicken droppings--to the religious writer Sergei Nilus

Sergei Nilus

Sergei Aleksandrovich Nilus was a Russian religious writer and self-described mystic....

. Nilus eventually found a way to decipher the materials and published them. Motovilov's materials became the main source for the biography and teaching of St. Serafim, the teachings of St. Anthonius of Voronezh, founder of Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery

Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery

, and nun Alexandra of Diveyevo . Motovilov's writings also strongly influenced works of Nilus

Sergei Nilus

Sergei Aleksandrovich Nilus was a Russian religious writer and self-described mystic....

External links

Letter of Motovilov to Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
Talk of St. Serafim and Nikolay Motovilov in the forest near Sarov
Sarov
Sarov is a closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Until 1995 it was known as Kremlyov ., while from 1946 to 1991 it was called Arzamas-16 . The town is off limits to foreigners as it is the Russian center for nuclear research. Population: -History:The history of the town can be divided...

, 1831
Talk of St. Seraphim and Nikolay Motovilov, in English

External links

Further reading