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Seraphim Rose (born Eugene Dennis Rose; August 13, 1934 – September 2, 1982), also known as Seraphim of Platina, was an American
hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church an ...
of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
who co-founded the
Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery The Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery located in Platina, California. It is part of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Western America. The monastery was founded by Seraphim Rose and Herman Podmoshensky back in 19 ...
in Platina, California. He translated
Eastern Orthodox Christian Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
texts and authored several works (some of them considered polemical). His writings have been credited with helping to spread
Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
throughout the West; his popularity equally extended to
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
itself, where his works were secretly reproduced and distributed by ''
samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
'' during the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
era, remaining popular today. Rose's opposition to Eastern Orthodox participation in the
ecumenical movement Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
and his advocacy of the contentious " toll house teaching", led him into conflict with some notable figures in 20th-century Orthodoxy and he remains controversial in some quarters even after his sudden death from an undiagnosed intestinal disorder in 1982. Though he has not yet been formally
canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by any Orthodox
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...
, many Orthodox Christians hold him in high esteem, venerating him in
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...
ography,
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
and
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...
. Rose's monastery is currently affiliated with the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
and continues to carry on his work of publishing and Orthodox missionary activity.


Early life

Eugene Rose was born on August 13, 1934, in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. His father, Frank Rose, was a
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
veteran who operated the city's first "Karmel Korn Shop" together with his wife Esther Rose, Eugene's mother. His ancestors had come to the United States from France, Norway and the Netherlands. In addition to being a businesswoman, Esther was a California artist who specialized in
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...
renderings of Pacific coast scenes. Raised in San Diego, Eugene would remain a Californian the rest of his life. His older sister was
Eileen Rose Busby Eileen Rose Busby (August 15, 1922 – April 6, 2005) was an American author and antiques expert who was featured on HGTV's ''Appraise It!'' show. Early life Busby was born Eileen May Rose in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Her parents, Frank and E ...
, an author, Mensa member, and
antiques An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...
expert; his older brother was Frank Rose, a local businessman. Though Rose was described by one biographer as a "natural athlete" in his youth, he did not engage seriously in sport. Baptized in a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
church when he was 14 years old, Rose later rejected Christianity for
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
. After graduating from
San Diego High School San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public sc ...
, he attended
Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...
, where he studied
Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the " Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural develop ...
and graduated magna cum laude in 1956. While at Pomona, he was a reader for
Ved Mehta Ved Parkash Mehta (21 March 19349 January 2021) was an Indian-born writer who lived and worked mainly in the United States. Blind from an early age, Mehta is best known for an autobiography published in instalments from 1972 to 2004. He wrote fo ...
, a blind student who would go on to become a well known author. Mehta referred to Rose in two books, one of which was a book of memoirs called ''Stolen Light'': “I felt very lucky to have found Gene as a reader. ... He read with such clarity that I almost had the illusion that he was explaining things.” Afterward, Rose studied under
Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...
at the American Academy of Asian Studies before entering the master's degree program in Oriental languages at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
, where he graduated in 1961 with a thesis entitled "'Emptiness' and 'Fullness' in the Lao Tzu". In addition to a gift for languages, Rose was known for possessing an acute sense of humor and wit. He enjoyed opera, concerts, art, literature, and the other cultural opportunities richly available in San Francisco, where he settled after his graduation and explored
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and other Asian philosophies.


Spiritual search

While studying at Watts' Asian institute, Rose read the writings of French metaphysicist
René Guénon René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as ''Abdalwâhid Yahiâ'' (; ''ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā'') was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having writte ...
and also met a Chinese
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
scholar, Gi-ming Shien. Shien emphasized the ancient Chinese approach to learning, valuing traditional viewpoints and texts over more modern interpretations. Inspired by Shien, Rose took up the study of ancient Chinese so that he could read early Tao texts in their original tongue. Through his experiences with Shien and the writings of Guénon, Rose sought out an authentic and grounded spiritual tradition of his own. At age 22 in 1956 and while he was still at Pomona College, Rose
came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
as
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
. During a romantic relationship with Jon Gregerson, Rose was exposed to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. While the relationship lasted a significant period, Gregerson lost interest in Orthodoxy despite Rose's growing interest. Rose ultimately terminated the relationship and later commented on the period prior to his conversion, saying "I was in hell. I know what hell is." Rose is reported to have not externally expressed his sexuality following his conversion. Rose's sexuality was a topic of controversy among some Eastern Orthodox faithful after it was publicized in
Cathy Scott Cathleen "Cathy" Scott (born c. 1950) is a '' Los Angeles Times'' bestselling American true crime writer and investigative journalist who penned the biographies and true crime books ''The Killing of Tupac Shakur'' and ''The Murder of Biggie Smal ...
's 2000 biography ''Seraphim Rose''.


Orthodoxy

In 1962, Rose was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
. He quickly distinguished himself to the bishop of San Francisco,
St. John Maximovitch Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco (russian: Иоанн Шанхайский и Сан Францисский, Ioann Shankhayskiyi i San Frantsiskyi; secular name Mikhail Borisovich Maximovitch, russian: Михаил Борисович Ма ...
, as a serious and studious convert. In 1963, Archbishop John blessed Rose and his new friend, Gleb Podmoshensky, a Russian Orthodox seminarian, to form a community of Orthodox booksellers and publishers, the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. In March 1964, Rose opened an Orthodox bookstore next to the Holy Virgin Cathedral on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco, which was under construction at the time. In 1965 the brotherhood founded the St. Herman Press publishing house, which still exists. Increasingly drawn to a more reclusive lifestyle, Rose's community ultimately decided to leave the city for the northern California wilderness, where Rose and Podmoshensky became monks in 1968 and transformed the Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood into a full-fledged monastic community. Rose's parents provided the down payment for a mountaintop near the isolated hamlet of
Platina Platina is a municipality ''( município)'' in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 3,578 (2020 est.) in an area of 326.73 km². The elevation is 466 m. References Municipalities in São Paulo (state) {{SaoPauloState-geo ...
, where Rose and some friends built a monastery named for
St. Herman of Alaska Herman of Alaska ( rus, Преподобный Ге́рман Аляскинский, r=Prepodobny German Alaskinsky; 1756 – November 15, 1837) was a Russian Orthodox monk and missionary to Alaska, which was then part of Russian America. His ...
. At his
tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...
, in October 1970, Rose took the name "Seraphim" after St. Seraphim of Sarov. He wrote, translated and studied for the priesthood in his cell, a one-roomed cabin with neither running water nor
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...
, where he would spend the rest of his days. He was ordained in 1977 by Bishop Nektary of
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
, spiritual son of St. Nectarius of Optina, the last of the great Optina '' startsy''. In his ministry, Rose spoke frequently of an "Orthodoxy of the Heart", which he saw as increasingly absent in American ecclesiastical life. He also spoke of the need for warmth and kindness of the spirit, especially when dealing with those with whom one disagreed, an increasing problem in
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonic ...
in America, and its conflict between so-called "traditionalists" and "modernists". One can be firm, Rose insisted, without having to compromise basic
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
teachings on lovingkindness, longsuffering, and
mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...
toward others.Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
Chapter 99, "Hope".


Works

Using a hand-cranked printing press at his Geary Boulevard bookstore, Rose founded the bimonthly magazine ''The Orthodox Word'' in January 1965; this periodical is still published (on modern presses) today. He also composed and published dozens of other titles, including ''God's Revelation to the Human Heart'', ''Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future'', and ''The Soul After Death''; all remain in print. He translated and printed Fr. Michael Pomazansky's ''Orthodox Dogmatic Theology'', which remains a text for clerical students and laymen alike. Rose translated his books into Russian, and they were circulated widely as
samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
within the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, although they were not formally published until after the fall of the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
regime. He was also one of the first American Eastern Orthodox Christians to translate major works of several
church fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
into English.Lives of a Saint


Controversies over theological opinions or "theologoumena"


"Toll houses"

Although most of Rose's works were widely received within the Orthodox community, a few raised controversy. The most notable of these was ''The Soul After Death'', which describes certain " aerial toll houses" described by various
Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
and saints. According to this teaching, every human
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...
must pass through a series of these stations after death as part of their initial
judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...
by
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, where they will be accused of specific sins and possibly condemned to hell. Some modern Orthodox theologians, including Archbishop Lazar Puhalo, Stanley Harakas and Alexandros Kalomiros among others, have claimed that certain ideas in Rose's book are
heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
, and that many of the Church Fathers have been misinterpreted or misquoted to support it. Puhalo claimed that the "toll-house theory" is specifically
Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized p ...
in origin. These accusations were later declared to be wrong by the Holy Synod of the Russian Church Abroad, which emphasized that little has been revealed to the Church on this subject, and hence all controversy concerning it should cease. A similar position was adopted by Fr. Michael Azkoul in his 1998 book, Aerial Toll-House Myth: The Neo-Gnosticism of Fr Seraphim Rose. A recent publication called, The Departure of the Soul, published by St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona, presents a collection of writings by Church Fathers in favor of the Toll Houses. He endeavored to answer his detractors in his "Answer to a Critic", published as an appendix to ''The Soul After Death''. Though continuing to vehemently oppose Rose's teaching on this subject, Puhalo indicated that he considered Rose to be a "true ascetic", and that he respected the sincerity of Seraphim's monastic life and intentions. In one of his
vlog A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...
s, Archbishop Lazar said of Fr. Rose: “Father Seraphim Rose was an astonishing ascetic. He had a great ascetic life. He had enormous struggles, enormous inner struggles, and he struggled with them in really great asceticism. So I don’t want anybody to denigrate or think anyone is denigrating Father Seraphim Rose’s ascetic struggle. It really was a great ascetic struggle, and there should be a reverence and a respect for that. … Again, I want people to have a reverence for Father Seraphim Rose’s ascetic struggle, and to acknowledge that, and see that there was a special spark there, in that he had enormous internal struggles, and that he saw those through to the end of his life. And that is a great virtue and a great reason to have a certain reverence for Father Seraphim.”


Evolution vs. creationism

Rose also waded into the ongoing debate between Biblical
creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...
and
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, asserting in ''Genesis, Creation and Early Man'' that Orthodox
patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...
s exclusively supported the creationist viewpoint. This idea was vehemently attacked by other Orthodox theologians, who asserted that while man's existence is not accidental by any means, there is no official church doctrine as to the precise process God used in creation, nor the length of time that it might have required. In the 2011 edition of Rose's "Genesis, Creation and Early Man", his spiritual child and editor, Hieromonk Damascene, alleges to have demonstrated that Rose's teaching is in accord with the great saints and elders of the 19th and 20th centuries who have spoken on the issue, such as St.
Theophan the Recluse Theophan the Recluse, also known as Theophan Zatvornik or Theophanes the Recluse (Russian: Святитель Феофан Затворник Вышенский, епископ Тамбовский; January 10, 1815 – January 6, 1894), is a well ...
, St.
John of Kronstadt John of Kronstadt or John Iliytch Sergieff ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform russian: Иоа́нн Кроншта́дтский; 1829 – ) was a Russian Orthodox archpriest and a member of the Most Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. ...
, St. Justin Popovich, St. Paisios, and Elder Sophrony. However, in his response to Kalomiros's article "The Eternal Will" (''The Christian Activist'', Volume 11, Fall/Winter 1997), Rose stated that: "I should state an elementary truth: modern science, when it deals with scientific facts, does indeed usually know more than the holy Fathers, and the holy Fathers can easily make mistakes of scientific facts; it is not scientific facts which we look for in the holy Fathers, but true theology and the true philosophy which is based on theology."


Death

After feeling acute pains for several days while working in his cell in August 1982, a reluctant Rose was taken by fellow monks to Mercy Medical Center in Redding for treatment. When he arrived at the
hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...
, he was declared to be in critical condition and fell into semi-consciousness. After exploratory surgery was completed, it was discovered that a
blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cr ...
had blocked a vein supplying blood to his
intestine The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans an ...
s, which had become a mass of dead tissue. He slipped into a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
after a second surgery, never regaining consciousness. Hundreds of people visited the hospital and celebrated the
Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ...
regularly in its chapel, praying for a miracle to save Rose's life. Prayers were offered for the ailing hieromonk from places as far away as
Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
, the spiritual heart of Orthodox monasticism. Rose died on September 2, 1982. Rose's body lay in repose for several days in a simple wooden
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for j ...
at his wilderness monastery. Visitors claimed that Rose's body did not succumb to decay and
rigor mortis Rigor mortis (Latin: ''rigor'' "stiffness", and ''mortis'' "of death"), or postmortem rigidity, is the third stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemic ...
, remaining supple and even allegedly smelling of
rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s.


Legacy

Some Orthodox Christians anticipate Rose's canonization. At the 40th anniversary of Rose's death
Metropolitan Nikoloz of Akhalkalaki
from the Orthodox Church of Georgia, called for the canonization of Seraphim Rose. Before returning to Georgia, Metropolitan Nikoloz brought the question of canonization to Bishop Maxim of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
's Eparchy of Western America. A few days later, on September 6th, 2022, Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, of the
Orthodox Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion ...
gave a sermon calling Fr. Seraphim Rose a saint. Several reputed miraculous events, healings and apparitions of Rose have been reported around the world, commencing soon after his death.Some of these accounts may be read in Nun Brigid'
''The Last Chapter in the Short Life of Father Seraphim of Platina''
In one such instance, a nun named Zvezdana at
Prohor Pčinjski Monastery The Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja ( sr, Манастир Преподобног Прохора Пчињског, Manastir Prepodobnog Prohora Pčinjskog), commonly known as Prohor Pčinjski ( sr, Прохор Пчињски, Prohor Pči ...
in
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
informed her abbess that she had repeatedly felt the presence of Fr. Seraphim, and that he appeared to her on one occasion. She continued to pray, telling Seraphim that it was beautiful in his monastery. He replied, saying “It’s beautiful here
Prohor Pčinjski Monastery The Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja ( sr, Манастир Преподобног Прохора Пчињског, Manastir Prepodobnog Prohora Pčinjskog), commonly known as Prohor Pčinjski ( sr, Прохор Пчињски, Prohor Pči ...
also—beautified by the relics of Fr. Prohor.


St. Herman's Monastery today

The St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina is now a part of the Western America diocese of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
. While all of the brothers are currently American, many speak Russian. Their primary emphasis continues to be the printing of books, which has been the major activity of the brotherhood since its inception. In addition, the monastery has assisted with the guardianship and education of local youths with behavioral or learning problems, which has earned Rose's brotherhood significant respect among the locals. Visitors come to the monastery year-round but especially on September 2, the anniversary of Rose's death.


Bibliography

* ''Blessed John the Wonderworker: A Preliminary Account of the Life and Miracles of Archbishop John Maximovitch''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1987. () * ''Genesis, Creation and Early Man''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2000. () * ''God's Revelation to the Human Heart''. Platina: Saint Herman Press, 1988. () * ''Letters from Father Seraphim''. Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society. () * ''Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. () (as Eugene Rose). * ''Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1975. () * ''The Apocalypse: In the Teachings of Ancient Christianity''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1985. () * ''The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1983. () * ''The Soul After Death: Contemporary "After-Death" Experiences in the Light of the Orthodox Teaching on the Afterlife''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1988. () * ''Orthodox Survival Course''. Samizdat Press, 2019. ()


References


Biographical resources

*''Father Seraphim: His Life and Work'' (). Revised and expanded version of ''Not of This World'' *''Letters from Father Seraphim'' (). Correspondence with Fr. Alexey Young (now Hieromonk Ambrose), Rose's spiritual son *''Not of This World: the Life and Teaching of Fr Seraphim Rose'' (). A biography by monk Damascene Christensen (out of print) *''Seraphim Rose: The True Story and Private Letters'' (). A biography of Rose's life, letters and works by Cathy Scott, Rose's niece


External links


Death to the World Magazine
Online Orthodox publication containing some of Rose's writings
Death to the World Website
Online collection of writings by and inspired by Rose
"Genesis and Early Man: The Orthodox Patristic Understanding"
Reply to pro-evolution speech given by Orthodox theologian Dr. Alexander Kalomiros

Book written by Rose
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
Unofficial icon of Rose {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Seraphim 1934 births 1982 deaths People from San Diego 20th-century Christian mystics 20th-century Eastern Orthodox clergy 20th-century American writers 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century American male writers American Eastern Orthodox priests Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States Eastern Orthodox priests in the United States Eastern Orthodox monks Eastern Orthodox writers Eastern Orthodox mystics Eastern Orthodox theologians LGBT and Eastern Orthodoxy Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from atheism or agnosticism Former Methodists Folk saints Traditionalist School Pomona College alumni Books by Cathy Scott UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni American people of Norwegian descent American people of French descent American people of Dutch descent Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches Palamism