Fr. Seraphim Rose



Resources on Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) of Platina


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
September 2, 2022!

Visit my new website and blog dedicated exclusively to The Veneration of Blessed Father Seraphim Rose, launched on September 2, 2022 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his repose.

I will no longer update this page on Father Seraphim, but will instead maintain and grow the new website and blog.

I will continue to update and blog on Islam from an Orthodox Christian perspective here as long as God allows.

Thank you for your interest and support!



New for 2022!

3rd Edition (Revised)
with special articles on the veneration of Father Seraphim, and his significance for our age




I am very pleased to announce the immediate availability of the New, 3rd Edition (Revised) of the Akathist to Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, in anticipation of the 40th anniversary of his repose in 2022.

This is a major revision of the 2nd Edition, which I published in 2015, itself being a modest update over the original booklet published in 2011. 

Features:
  • Official text of the Holy Synod of the Traditional Church of Greece, G.O.C. (edited for consistent use of personal pronouns and minor grammatical considerations),
  • Plus two introductory articles, on the veneration of Blessed Father Seraphim, and on his significance for our age, 
  • New, heavyweight, matte, full-color cover, 
  • New, full-color interior, with new & additional full-color photographs of St. Herman Monastery in Platina California, 
  • New, full-color icons of Blessed Father Seraphim,
  • Text in black and red on premium coated paper. 

Saddle-bound, 48 pages, $10 USD, English language edition only.

International orders available.


Sample interior pages:

Title Page

First page of the Preface

First page of the Akathist




Launched in late 2020, this podcast already has well over a dozen episodes of talks by or about Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim. Learn more, download individual episodes, and subscribe here.




New for 2021

Special articles and links for the 39th anniversary of Blessed Father Seraphim's repose.





Stories of Matushka Maria Kotar

Matushka Maria Kotar is the wife of archpriest Serge Kotar, who served for many years in the Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, at the relics of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. Matushka knew St. John from childhood, and it was he who brought the man who was later to become her spiritual father into their home, Hieromonk Seraphim Rose.


Monk Vsevolod (Filippev)

"Those who knew Hieromonk Seraphim well say that he really was an example in everything: He always behaved simply and modestly, he did not throw himself into extremes, and when there were temptations, he sought an answer in the holy fathers and sought the will of God through the decisions and instructions of the hierarchy; he was tolerant of the weaknesses of others and intolerant to his own shortcomings. Fr. Seraphim did not suffer from “convertitis” and did not play the role of a spiritual elder or super-spiritual theologian. It was for this humble attitude towards himself that the Lord made him a source of living water for many suffering souls. The Lord put words of discernment and love in his mouth. The Holy Spirit enlightened his mind when he wrote his theological works and when he preached and instructed his spiritual children, whether by letter or orally."


Compiled by OrthoChristian.com

"I believe the example of Fr. Seraphim Rose, both in his life and in his work, contains a key that is of universal Orthodox significance in these last days, and is especially important for all those seeking to find and struggling to preserve true Orthodoxy in the West. For Fr. Seraphim is our contemporary, a man who lived and breathed the same deadly modern atmosphere of godless humanism, atheistic hedonism, and soulless ecumenism that is the common experience of all modern children of the West. Yet he, by the grace of God, not only found his way to the Pearl of Great Price, holy Orthodoxy, but also was able to penetrate to the very heart of the true and free tradition of living Orthodoxy: the genuine patristic spirituality founded on the Divine Scripture and the Holy Fathers. Fr. Seraphim was a native son of America who became a true spiritual son of the Holy Fathers who are the sources of holy Orthodoxy."
- Vincent Rossi


________


New for 2020


Recent years have seen a wealth of Blessed Father Seraphim's writings and talks uploaded to YouTube. 


There are several recordings of Father Seraphim himself delivering these talks, but these are rare, and most of these YouTube videos feature someone reading the text. Some years back the trend was for such videos to use text-to-speech software to avoid the many hours of dictation involved, but such computer-generated recordings, with their soulless, robotic, AI voice, do violence to the text, and present Father Seraphim's teachings in the most ironic manner imaginable. They quickly become very difficult to listen to as a result.

The most recent offerings, several highlights of which are posted below, are well done readings by the dedicated hosts of these various YouTube channels, for whom, we can only assume, these labors are a holy podvig, and we give thanks for the efforts of the channels Orthodox Wisdom, Orthodox Reactionary, and others. 

In addition, there are numerous videos which present excerpts of Father Seraphim's teachings in scrolling text against a photographic backdrop accompanied by low volume Greek or Russian Orthodox chant, as seen on the Gregory Decapolite and Nicodemos Hagiorite channels. These presentations have enormous impact on the soul, and somehow impart what Father Seraphim called "the savor of Orthodoxy" even in spite of this post-modern technology, format and platform.

We offer these links for your prayerful edification . . .





5 videos comprising three major talks and articles, including: 
The Royal Path - True Orthodox in an Age of Apostasy 
Orthodoxy in the USA 
The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality


Fr. Seraphim Rose: Signs of the End of the World (actual recording of Fr Seraphim)

Fr. Seraphim Rose: The Fall of Adam and Eve (actual recording of Fr Seraphim)




_________________


New for 2019


New for 2017


  • This video combines images of Fr Seraphim (many of them quite rare) with reflections by Fr Peter Heers of the veneration of Fr Seraphim in Greece, from his podcast 'Postcards from Greece' on Ancient Faith Radio:





New for 2016


New for 2015



Akathist to Blessed Father Seraphim Rose - This is a small publication I created a few years years ago, available for online ordering. The actual text for the Akathist is from an online source which is no longer available. It is a very edifying composition in the traditional akathist form, complete with troparion and kontakion to Blessed Father Seraphim, and I am very glad that I thought to preserve it. Now I feel it my duty to make it more widely available in booklet form.


The Veneration of Fr Seraphim Rose - An original article I wrote, charting the popular and ecclesial veneration of Fr Seraphim throughout the Orthodox Church. Included as a foreword in the booklet, Akathist to Blessed Fr Seraphim Rose.

Fr Seraphim Rose on Islam - Fr Seraphim didn't write much about Islam, or did he? A look at Fr Seraphim's teaching on the Monotheistic Religions, and how he might have approached the challenge of Islam.


Books by Fr Seraphim Rose - Direct link to St Herman of Alaska Press, the monastery press co-founded by Fr Seraphim, and publisher of his writings. Includes the epic biography by Hieromonk Damascene, Fr Seraphim Rose, His Life and Works.


Fr Seraphim Rose Speaks: Excerpts from His Writings - An assortment of links to numerous articles and homilies by and about Fr Seraphim. Very edifying materials collected for easy reference.



'Seeker of the Truth' — In Memory of Fr Seraphim Rose - "Father Seraphim departed to the Lord on September 2, 1982... In honor of this day, Pravoslavie.ru has asked several pastors of the Russian Orthodox Church to talk about what Father Seraphim means to them."


'Do Not Be Hearers Only' — Podcasts and Recordings of Fr Seraphim Rose - Links to recorded talks by Fr Seraphim, plus reflections on his life and significance by his spiritual children and others.


VIDEO: 20th Anniversary of the Repose of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose - Recorded during the 2002 pilgrimage at St Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California. Features a sermon by Fr Thomas Hopko, and talks by Hieromonk Damascene (now abbot of St Herman's) and Schema-Hieromonk Ambrose (Young), and others.



The Blessings of Meeting Fr Seraphim Rose - A heartfelt and revealing reminiscence by Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes, who Fr Seraphim visited on his cross-country trip to give a talk at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville in December 1979.


The faithful venerate Fr Seraphim at his grave at St Herman Monastery, Platina CA.

Solzhenitsyn's Prophetic Voice — Biographer Joseph Pearce Discusses Critic of Communism - A fine companion piece to Solzhenitsyn's 1978 Harvard Commencement Address (see below). Fr Seraphim saw Aleksander Solzhenitsyn as a pivotal observer of our time, and spoke and wrote extensively about him and his message.


Solzhenitsyn's 1978 Harvard Commencement Address (Video and Text) - An essential and prophetic analysis of our age, which Fr Seraphim referred to often.


The Time to 'Walk the Walk' is Upon Us, by Archpriest John Moses - A stirring essay in the spirit of Fr Seraphim's famous 'word': "Now one cannot be a half-hearted Christian, but only entirely or not at all."


Additional Posts referring to Fr Seraphim Rose - As regular readers of this blog have likely noticed, I occasionally reference Fr Seraphim Rose in my comments on current events, theological articles, and other posts. This link will bring up all posts labeled with 'Fr Seraphim Rose'.