“Dear guest” - a forgotten article about Ivan Shmelev by archbishop Serafim (Ivanov)

A historical and literary source, an article “Dear Guest” by Archimandrite (future Archbishop) Seraphim (Ivanov) is being introduced into scientific usage. This work is dedicated to the arrival of Ivan Shmelev to the monastery of St. Job of Pochaev in 1937. This publication contains the historiosophical speculations of Fr. Seraphim concerning fate of Russia in the twentieth century. Shmelev is presented here as a writer who was able to comprehend and glorify the “soul of Russia” more deeply than others. In the article arch. Seraphim included a fragment of Shmelev`s speech about Pushkin which he read in Prague in May 1937. It was not published to date yet. An unknown poem by Abbot Philip (Nikitin) dedicated to Shmelev is also included in the text. The publication thus complements the number of assessments of Ivan Shmelev, the outstanding writer of the twentieth century.