Fr. Seraphim Rose - A Tribute

72 HOUR DROP LIVE :: AMERICAN ROSE https://shop.deathtotheworld.com/collections/seventy-two-hour-drops ‘All of this somehow reminds me forcibly that—just as our Saviour could say of Nathaniel that “here is a true Israelite, there is no guile in him”—so too there is such a thing as a “true American”: an honest, forthright, normal person for whom Holy Orthodoxy is quite “natural”; and the harvest of these “true Americans” is only beginning. Doubtless the “Orthodox Americans” will be few in number, but it is precisely the best part of America which is waiting (without knowing it) to hear the glad tidings of Orthodoxy.’ —Blessed Seraphim Rose

“The Antichrist must be understood as a spiritual phenomenon. Why will everyone in the world want to bow down to him? Obviously, it is because there is something in him which responds to something in us — that something being a lack of Christ in us. If we will bow down to him (God forbid that we do so!), it will be because we will feel an attraction to some kind of external thing, which might even look like Christianity, since ‘Antichrist’ means the one who is ‘in place of Christ’ or looks like Christ.” -Fr. Seraphim Rose, “Raising the Mind, Warming the Heart” https://deathtotheworld.com/articles/other-articles/raising-the-mind-warming-the-heart/

Pray for Fr. Ambrose (Alexey) Young! https://www.givesendgo.com/GADND

God’s Creatures on Monk’s Lagoon -Little Russian Philokalia: St. Herman of Alaska, p. 76-76

If we truly live the Orthodox world-view, our Faith will survive the shocks ahead of us and be a source of inspiration and salvation for those who will still be seeking Christ even amidst the shipwreck of humanity which has already begun today. -Fr. Seraphim Rose, “Living the Orthodox Worldview”

“The monastic life, indeed, even in our times of feeble faith, is still above all the love of Christ, the Christian life par excellence, experienced with many patient sufferings and much pain. Even today there are those who penetrate the secret of this paradise on earth — more often through humble sufferings than through outward ‘correctness’ — a paradise which worldly people can scarcely imagine.” -Fr. Seraphim Rose, “Orthodox Monasticism Today in the Light of Orthodox Monastic Gaul”, The Orthodox Word #74

“Why is the truth, it would seem, revealed to some and not to others? Is there a special organ for receiving revelation from God? Yes, though usually we close it and do not let it open up: God’s revelation is given to something called a loving heart.” -Fr. Seraphim Rose

Shortly after Fr. Seraphim moved to Platina to establish the Skete, his mother Esther wrote a congratulatory letter to her son, saying, “So you have taken the big step to become a monk…. I’m sure you’re old enough to know what you want out of life and what your greatest contribution will be…. I wish you well and may the Lord bless you both in this big step…. Well, my boy, you’ll always be ‘Oogie’ to me and I hope your contribution to the world won’t go by unnoticed… Love, Mother” (Cathy Scott, Seraphim Rose: The True Story and Private Letters, p. 202).

Very important interview with Bishop Irenei on the ROCOR Synod’s recent decision regarding Fr. Seraphim Rose https://orthodox-europe.org/content/seraphim-rose-interview/

SAINT

Responding to the numerous appeals of the faithful, the Council of Bishops, having recognised the righteous course of life of the ever-memorable Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose), has blessed the process of preparing his ecclesiastical glorification among the ranks of our venerable Fathers. -ROCOR Synod Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!

Context for Fr. Seraphim’s famous quote: “It’s later than you think! Hasten, therefore, to do the work of God.” “He was like one obsessed with death. ‘It’s later than you think’ was on his lips like a broken record.” -Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, p. 643

The times are dark, and we sense more than ever the need of close cooperation among those of the same Orthodox spirit. -Fr. Seraphim Rose, letter dated Oct 30/Nov 12, 1977

During the Holy Week before Pascha, the fathers followed the Optina practice of the “Bridal Chamber” service at Matins. The royal doors would slowly swing open, revealing the glow of multi-colored icon lamps burning before the altar table, as the brethren would sing the plaintive melody of the ancient hymn: “I see Thy bridal chamber adorned, O my Saviour, and I have no wedding garment that I may enter there. Make the robe of my soul to shine, O Christ, Giver of Life, and save me.” Having experienced this moving yet rare tradition while visiting Optina as a child, Bishop Nektary taught it to the fathers as another tie binding them to that holy monastery. -Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Ch. 69 “An Orthodox Corner of America”

In his every action, Emperor Nicholas II took his conscience into account; he always "walked before the Lord God." He was "Most Pious" during the days of his earthly well-being, not only in name, but in actual fact. In his time of trial, he displayed patience like that of righteous Job. Against such a Tsar did criminals raise their hands, and at a time when he had already been purified, like gold in the furnace, by the trials he had endured, so that he was an innocent sufferer in the full sense of the word…. The Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II and his much-suffering family have now entered into the choir of these Passion-bearers. -St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, “The Sin of Regicide”

We can’t see the future—but know this, that if you love God and His Orthodox Church and your fellow men—God can and will use you. Only stay in contact with fellow Orthodox strugglers (they do exist). -Fr. Seraphim Rose, letter dated June 24/July 7, 1974