Seraphim Rose

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Seraphim Rose
San Diego, California
DiedSeptember 2, 1982(1982-09-02) (aged 48)
Platina, California
Major shrineSaint Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, California
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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

Communist
era, remaining popular today.

Rose's opposition to Eastern Orthodox participation in the

ecumenical movement 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 been formally canonized by any synod, many Eastern Orthodox Christians hold him in high esteem, venerating him in iconography, liturgy and prayer.[1]

Rose's monastery is currently affiliated with the Serbian Orthodox Church and continues to carry on his work of publishing and Eastern Orthodox missionary activity.

Early life

Eugene Rose was born on August 13, 1934, in

San Diego, California. His father, Frank Rose, was a World War I 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.[2]

In addition to being a businesswoman, Esther was a California artist who specialized in

antiques
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

American Academy of Asian Studies before entering the master's degree program in Oriental languages at the University of California, Berkeley
, 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.[5] 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 and other Asian philosophies.[6]

Spiritual search

While studying at Watts' Asian institute, Rose read the writings of French metaphysicist

Taoist 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.

Book cover of Seraphim Rose biography by his niece

At age 22 in 1956 and while he was still at Pomona College, Rose came out as gay.[7][8][9] 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."[6][7][10] Rose is reported to have not externally expressed his sexuality following his conversion.[9] Rose's sexuality was a topic of controversy among some Eastern Orthodox faithful after it was publicized in Cathy Scott's 2000 biography Seraphim Rose.[6]

Orthodoxy

In 1962, Rose was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in San Francisco. He quickly distinguished himself to the bishop of San Francisco, John Maximovitch, 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.[11]

Cell of Seraphim Rose at the Saint Herman of Alaska monastery

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

priesthood in his cell, a one-roomed cabin with neither running water nor electricity, where he would spend the rest of his days. He was ordained in 1977 by Bishop Nektary of Seattle, spiritual son of Nectarius of Optina, the last of the great Optina startsy.[12]

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

lovingkindness, longsuffering, and mercy toward others.[13][14]

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 Michael Pomazansky's Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, which remains a text for clerical students and laymen alike. Rose translated his books into

Communist
regime.

He was also one of the first American Eastern Orthodox Christians to translate major works of several

Barsanuphius of Gaza and John the Prophet which were to be read out aloud at meals to his young monastic disciples and where later published by the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.[16]

Controversies

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 "

judgment by God
, where they will be accused of specific sins and possibly condemned to hell.

Some modern Eastern Orthodox theologians, including Archbishop Lazar Puhalo, Stanley Harakas and Alexandros Kalomiros among others, held that certain ideas in Rose's book are heretical, and that many of the Church Fathers were misinterpreted or misquoted to support those idea.[17] Puhalo claimed that the "toll-house theory" is specifically Gnostic in origin.[18] 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.[19] A similar position was adopted by 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.[20]

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.[21] In one of his vlogs, Archbishop Lazar said of 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."[22]

Evolution vs. creationism

Rose also waded into the ongoing debate between Biblical

Justin Popovich, Paisios, and 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."[24]

Death

Grave of Seraphim Rose at the Saint Herman of Alaska monastery

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

intestines, which had become a mass of dead tissue. He slipped into a coma after a second surgery, never regaining consciousness. Hundreds of people visited the hospital and celebrated the Divine Liturgy 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, Greece, the spiritual heart of Orthodox monasticism. Rose died on September 2, 1982.[citation needed
]

Rose's body lay in repose for several days in a simple wooden coffin at his wilderness monastery. Visitors claimed that Rose's body did not succumb to decay and rigor mortis, remaining supple and even allegedly smelling of roses.[citation needed]

Legacy

Some Orthodox Christians anticipate Rose's canonization.

Orthodox Church of Cyprus gave a sermon calling Seraphim Rose a saint.[27]

Several reputed miraculous events, healings and apparitions of Rose have been reported around the world, commencing soon after his death.[28] In one such instance, a nun named Zvezdana at Prohor Pčinjski Monastery in Serbia informed her abbess that she had repeatedly felt the presence of Rose, and that he appeared to her on one occasion.[29] She continued to pray, telling Rose that it was beautiful in his monastery. He replied, saying "It’s beautiful here Prohor Pčinjski Monastery also—beautified by the relics of Fr. Prohor."[29]

St. Herman's Monastery today

Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery, 2015

The St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina is now a part of the Western America diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church. 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

Portrait painting of Rose by Andrei Mironov

References

  1. ^ "Remembering Fr. Seraphim (Rose) at a Monastery in Bulgaria. Jesse Dominick". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  2. ^ Hiermonk Damascene. Fr. Seraphim
  3. ^ "Eileen Rose Busby". Eileenrosebusby.blogspot.com. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  4. ISBN 978-1-59194-095-1
    .
  5. ^ Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Chapter 87: "Simplicity"
  6. ^ a b c Wood, Mark (April 13, 2001). "Lives of a Saint". Pomona College Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Hieromonk Seraphim Rose". Youngtown, AZ: All Saints of North America Orthodox Church. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Farley, Lawerence (September 25, 2014). "Appreciating Seraphim Rose". No Other Foundation. Ancient Faith Ministries. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8232-9952-2
    .
  10. ^ "Lives of a Saint". Pomona College. April 13, 2001. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Fr. Seraphim Speaks, from the Orthodox Christian Information Center.
  12. ^ The Royal Path "In Memory of Fr. Seraphim Rose", p. 2.
  13. ^ Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Chapter 99, "Hope".
  14. ^ Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Chapter 86, "Orthodoxy of the Heart".
  15. ^ Lives of a Saint Archived April 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ISBN 978-0-520-30841-1
    . Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  17. ^ See references for and against this claim in OrthodoxWiki's Aerial Toll-Houses article; see also Letter From "Archbishop" Lazar Archived May 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine for Harakas' and Kalomiros' opinions on the subject.
  18. ^ "Two troubling teachings reported", by "Archbishop" Lazar Puhalo.
  19. ^ Answer to a Critic: Appendix III from The Soul After Death, by Fr. Seraphim Rose.
  20. ^ Questions and Answers Archived July 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine by "Archbishop" Lazar Puhalo. See Question added August 2007 on the "Toll Houses".
  21. ^ Puhalo, Lazar, House Myth, Nr. 5. May 23, 2012. Accessed on June 23, 2013
  22. ^ See Evolution and Orthodoxy Archived June 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, by Fr. John Matusiak at the Orthodox Church in America website.
  23. ^ Orthodoxinfo.com website.
  24. ^ Father Seraphim Rose - Spiritual Father / Ancient Radio
  25. ^ "Fr. Seraphim Rose's 40th anniversary, Georgian bishop calls for his canonization".
  26. ^ "Fr. Seraphim (Rose) is a saint, says Metropolitan of Morphou".
  27. ^ Some of these accounts may be read in Nun Brigid's The Last Chapter in the Short Life of Father Seraphim of Platina.
  28. ^ a b ""Only the One Who is a Child Can be Called a Father." St. Prohor Pechinskii and Fr. Seraphim Rose. Abbot Ilarion (Lupulovic)". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.

Biographical resources

External links
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