The Holy Hesychasterion of Saint Seraphim of Sarov is located at the end of the Solea Valley in the lush green area of Skouriotissa known as “Exinta”.

The Hesychasterion was founded and created in 2001 by the Russian hieromonk, Archimandrite Ambrose Gorelov, in the abandoned police station housing of the Skouriotissa mine.

The church of the Holy Hescyhasterion devoted to Saint Seraphim houses a small reliquary containing the treasured relics of the Saint.

At the Feast Day Liturgy held at the Hesychasterion in 2010, His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Morphou, Neophytos placed the cornerstone in the ground upon which the future church dedicated to Saint Seraphim was to be built.

During the Service for the Placing of the Cornerstone, the Metropolitan reflected that the presence of the Russian archimandrite and iconographer Ambrose in Cyprus unites Russian Orthodoxy with the Church of Cyprus by highlighting the ecumenical nature of the Orthodox faith. He also declared, “All of us who partake of the Resurrected Christ are brothers, regardless of our origins. All our native Orthodox countries have suffered enough from nationalism. Now it is time to unite around our Saints, and when we have indeed united around them, regardless of our nationality, then God sees our Orthodox mindset and helps both the peoples and our home countries. This way we transgress the national borders of the churches and through the prayers of Saint Seraphim we enter the One Church, which is truly Holy and Catholic, as we profess in the Symbol of our Faith.”

Today, the construction of the church has reached its final stages. On Tuesday, 18 July 2017, His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Morphou, Neophytos celebrated the Service of Thyranoixia (The Opening of Doors) of the newly-constructed holy church of Saint Seraphim of Sarov.

In the book, Saint Seraphim of Sarov and his Holy Hesychasterion in Skouriotissa, His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Morphou, Neophytos writes, “The small Hesychasterion of Saint Seraphim functions as a spiritual base, as Saint Paisios the Athonite had prophesied. And when the monasteries, the hesychasterions, the parishes, the families, and our own hearts celebrate ‘these bases as means of ascent’, as spiritual bases are wont, then the words Saint Seraphim had once uttered to Alexander Motovilov: ‘The true aim of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit’ are easily grasped, and the life in Christ begins. And we believe that the words of the Saint refer to the activation of the graces of the Holy Spirit, which all Orthodox receive during Holy Baptism, and especially through the Mystery [Sacrament] of Holy Chrism. With all my heart, I pray that Father Ambrose and his Brotherhood, as well as all the pilgrims visiting the Hesychasterion, will attain the consciousness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.”

An iconographer, Father Ambrose paints in the traditional Byzantine style. He has returned the Comnenian Technique of iconography to our island; it is a technique we come across in many ancient shrines in Cyprus (such as: Panagia tou Araka, Panagia tou Asinou, Monastery of St. John Lambadistis, and others). The most significant point is that the technique Father Ambrose uses is inspired by works from the 12th century, without being at all imitative, and is therefore, a technique that is ecclesial in its composition using, however, contemporary methods and expressions. Many iconographers in Cyprus have been inspired by the earthy colors he uses, by the austerity and devotion his work expresses, as well as by the holiness of purpose, which is revealed. Qualities such as abstemiousness, simplicity, holiness of purpose, and reductionism are, above all, qualities of which people today are in great need.

The Feast Day of the Hesychasterion is celebrated on 2 January, the day on which our God-bearing Father, Saint Seraphim is commemorated; and on 19 July, the Uncovering of the Holy Relics of Saint Seraphim is celebrated. Many pilgrims take refuge in the grace of Saint Seraphim during these Holy Services.