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The Saint Seraphim Foundation was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in the State of New York in the United States in 1950.

Ideologically, the Foundation considers it’s foundation to be in post-war Germany in 1945. At that time The Very Reverend Alexander Kiselev was given a completely bombed out house by the American military government to care for Russian displaced persons. The house had previously belongs to the German Youth Movement. During the reconstruction and clean up of the house a small icon of Saint Seraphim of Sarov was discovered (see personal account below). Fr Alexander and his coworkers took this as a sign and as a blessing from God.

In 1947 the Foundations founder moves to the United States and the Foundation begins focusing on assisting displaced Russian people in the United States. The Foundation was based in New York City and its main focus was around Church activity at the Parish of Saint Seraphim of Sarov. The Foundation also operated a cultural center, a summer camp. A publishing house and even at point a Russian language radio station. The Foundation always maintained a close relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church.

In the years leading up the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia the Foundation focused on publishing an quarterly almanac titled “Russkoe Vozrozhdenie” and organized annual syezdi to prepare to this memorable event in Russian history. The celebration of the millennium of Russia’s baptism closely coincided with the implosion of the Soviet Union. This allowed for open contact between the Russian émigré community and Russian living in the fatherland.

In 1990 His Holiness Patrich Alexey, who was an alter boy in Fr Alexander’s parish in Estonia before the war, invited Fr Alexander to live in Russia, which Fr Alexander always dreamed of, happily agreed to do. Fr Alexander moved to the Donskoi monastery (where he is buried today, having reposed in the Lord).

This moved changed the focus of the Foundation. The foundation closed its New York church and donated the iconostas to the Church of Saint Tatyana the Martyr of the Moscow State University. The Foundation focused on helping the Russian Orthodox Church which was afforded significant freedoms, as well as people who were most affected by the sudden changes in Russia.

The Foundation worked closely with many leading figures in the Russian Orthodox Church, including: Metropolitan Arseny, Metropolitan Kliment and Bishop Panteliimon, to name a few.

Today the Foundation is supported by a younger generation and has refocused its efforts once again hoping to implement high-tech solutions to meet the spiritual needs of Orthodox Christians globally