Schema-Archimandrite Serapheim (Travassaros) of the Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified, also Serapheim Savvaitis the "Elder of the Desert", or Serapheim Agiotafitis, born Stamatios Travassaros (, 1900 – January 8, 2003), was the Igumen and spiritual father of the Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank, from 1957 to 2003. He was also the founder of the Sanctuary of the Shepherds' Field in Beit Sahour, begun in 1971 as a metochion of the Lavra of St. Sabbas and consecrated in 1989.
Life
Early years
Stamatios Travassaros was born in 1900, in the Travassarianika settlement in Kythira, in the Ionian Islands region of Greece. He was the sixth child in his family, having four sisters and one brother. His family were shepherds and were well-to-do.
His childhood years were devoted austerely to traditional Orthodoxy. His mother Maria was Stamatios' first instructor and guide to the faith. She observed the fasts of the Church strictly and handed down this practice to her children.
By his own account he completed only the third grade of the public school in Kythira, saying that he was particularly interested in the subjects of mathematics and religion. In class, the daily readings were taken from the Psalter and the Octoechos. However, despite his interest in learning, he was unable to finish public school due to his family's needs, thus becoming a shepherd to tend to the flocks. In this way he spent his childhood years, in work, in prayer and with obedience.
In 1922 at the difficult time of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, Stamatios started his mandatory military service, being released from the army in 1925.
In Australia
In 1926 he travelled to Australia, going first to Sydney and then to Melbourne. He worked as a waiter at various establishments to support his family, and lived in lofts in order to save money. He did not spend his free time in frivolous pursuits, but rather preferred to read about the lives of the Saints and the ways which he could become closer to God. This focus, together with attending church services regularly as well as everyday prayer sustained Stamatios in his youth. He particularly enjoyed reading the Evergetinos, the Philokalia, and the life of Venerable John Kalibytes, the "hut-dweller" of Constantinople (January 15), a saint who influenced him greatly. From this time onwards Stamatios increasingly devoted the direction of his life towards monasticism. While living abroad in this distant land, he prayed to the Theotokos "Myrtidiotissa" of Kythira (September 24) for support as his intercessor.
In 1927 he made the decision to pursue the monastic life, validating his long-held desire for monasticism. Originally he thought of becoming a monk at the Monastery of Panagia ""Myrtidiotissa" in Kythira, however since this was an inactive monastery, he decided to go to Mount Athos instead. He left Australia in complete secrecy, not even telling his family about his plans to go to Mount Athos.
In the Holy Land and Monastic Tonsure
He reached Port Said in Egypt on March 14, 1932, and departed on Saturday March 20 on the Italian passenger ship SS Tevere, reaching Joppa on Sunday March 21, 1932. From there he took a train to Jerusalem, beginning a pilgrimage to visit all of the Holy Sites, beginning with the Monastery of Martha and Mary in Bethany, and ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Next he went to visit the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. At the gates of the Patriarchate, he met a monk from Saint Savvas Monastery who told him that the Igumen of Saint Savvas Lavra also originated from the island of Kythira. The monk also suggested to Stamatios that he should remain there and become a monk of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre as well. Stamatios later recorded in his journal that his trip from Jerusalem to Saint Savvas Lavra was momentous for him, and that he was overcome by the sanctity of his surroundings and of this monastery. This is when he decided that the purpose of his life was to remain there permanently.
On April 21, 1932, he was received as a novice-monk. After his first all-night vigil, he returned to his cell to rest; however his Elder Panteleimon (Tsampiras) followed him and suggested that he ought to be praying not sleeping. In the following years, Stamatios was formed by obedience to God and by spiritual vigilance with unceasing prayer. His exposure to the asceticism of the Sabbaite fathers, together with the austerity of the monastic life and the harshness of life in the Judaean Desert, seasoned his character and confirmed his will to remain a monk.