THE SPIRITUAL LIFE PATH AND MISSION OF SAINT SERAPION ZARZMELI
Abstract
An important place in the history of Georgian spiritual culture belongs to the monument “The Life of Saint Serapion Zarzmeli” by Basil Zarzmeli, which reflected the historical memory of the country, demonstrated the spiritual and material prosperity of Samtskhe-Javakheti and the Christian centers established in the region. It presented the historical, social, geographical, and cultural values of Samtskhe-Javakheti, which determined the advancement of the region on the path of development and advancement of the entire country, not only within the context of the national, but also within the context of the world Christian space.
The spiritual life of Saint Serapion is a manifestation of that type of asceticism that is constantly at the service of the country and expresses the alternation of God in the work of regulating the life of the world. The ascetic life and work of Saint Serapion of Zarzmeli and his spiritual brothers is a divine place, covered with spiritual protection, which is further enriched by the presence and work of the holy monks in this space, which is intended to be a helper and assistant to those living in the world; through the spiritual life of the holy monks, the desert dwellers, the connection between the world and the heavenly world was revealed; their labor, missionary path fulfills the function of the temple of God in this world. They are the continuers of the path that was laid in previous centuries, namely, since the sixth century, when thirteen holy Assyrian fathers entered Georgia. They scattered to various parts of Georgia to establish centers of Christian culture. They built and established churches and monasteries, the foundation of which determined the establishment of the Christian spirit throughout the country, the formation of a single, indivisible divine consciousness... Saint Serapion and his fellow spiritual brothers are destined to be the continuers of the above-mentioned mission. They expand the space for spiritual activity, establish and affirm the Christian faith.
On the impassable path of the world, Saint Serapion and his spiritual brothers struggle and establish a divine path, so that the life of the world may be regulated, and an indivisible unity may be established between man and God, which is part of the spiritual activity that the monks’ elevated consciousness has embodied.
Saint Serapion of Zarzmeli, through his daily spiritual life, overcomes transience - death, which is the physical dissolution of a living being, but, at the same time, is the beginning of the transition to another existence; this faith and hope is instilled in earthly man by true faith - Christianity, which makes man aware of the fleetingness of time and the value of temporality, and against its background, the eternal existence granted by divine power.
Key words: Serapion of Zarzmeli, the path of spiritual life, spiritual mission, the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, asceticism, the world, eternal existence.
