Background
Serafim (Leonid Kuzmich Silichev) was born on May 16, 1890 in Biryuch, Belgorod Oblast, Russian Federation.
Serafim (Leonid Kuzmich Silichev) was born on May 16, 1890 in Biryuch, Belgorod Oblast, Russian Federation.
Serafim graduated from the Don Theological Divinity School in 1912, the Petrograd Theological Academy (now Saint Petersburg) in 1916.
Serafim was an instructor at the Theological School in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine). From 1921, he was the Bishop of Alexander, Vicar of the Diocese of Ekaterinoslav. From 1921 to 1922 Serafim was the Bishop of Stavropol and at the same time he was the head the Diocese of Rostov-on-Don.
Serafim led the renovation of the Diocese of Pavlograd from 1922 to 1924. In June 1924, he did repentance. He was the Bishop of Syzran, Vicar of the Diocese of Simbirsk from 1924 to 1925, Bishop of Rybinsk, Vicar of the Diocese of Yaroslavl from 1925 to 1926. He was in exile in 1926.
Serafim was the Bishop of Podolsk, Vicar of the Diocese of Moscow Diocese from 1926 to 1927. From 1927, he was the Bishop of Rostov. He became the Archbishop of Rostov 1929. In the period from 1931 to 1934, he was imprisoned in the Solovki prison camp.
Serafim was the Archbishop of Sverdlovsk from 1934 to 1935 and the Archbishop of Saratov and Petrovsky from 1935 to 1936. In August 1936, he was unreasonably repressed and sentenced to a correctional labor camp for 7 years. Subsequently he was shot.