Father Seraphim Rose (born Eugene Dennis Rose on August 13, 1934) was an American convert to Orthodoxy, a monk, theologian, and influential writer whose works have profoundly impacted the spread of Eastern Orthodoxy in the West. He was born in San Diego, California, to a Protestant family, and demonstrated exceptional intellectual gifts from a young age. After a profound spiritual journey through atheism, Nietzschean nihilism, Zen Buddhism, and Eastern philosophy, he was drawn to Orthodoxy through the writings of René Guenon and the personal witness of Russian Orthodox Christian Jon Gregerson. He was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1962 and later tonsured a monk in 1970, taking the name Seraphim after St. Seraphim of Sarov.
He co-founded the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood in 1966 and established a wilderness monastery in Platina, California, where he lived as a monk and dedicated himself to translating and publishing the works of the Church Fathers, writing extensively on Orthodox theology, and mentoring countless converts. His major works include God's Revelation to the Human Heart, The Soul After Death, and Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future. He is known for his emphasis on the "Orthodoxy of the heart," asceticism, and the importance of classical culture in spiritual formation.
Father Seraphim Rose died on September 2, 1982, at the age of 48, after a severe illness involving a blood clot that led to intestinal necrosis. He was buried in a simple coffin at his monastery, and his repose is commemorated annually on September 2. While not yet officially canonized as a saint by any Orthodox Church, he is venerated as a saint by many Orthodox Christians, especially in the United States, with icons, prayers, and liturgical commemorations dedicated to him in some parishes and monasteries. His legacy continues through his writings, the ongoing work of the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, and reports of posthumous miracles, including apparitions during times of spiritual crisis.
His life remains a subject of both deep reverence and some controversy—particularly regarding his teachings on the "aerial toll houses" in The Soul After Death, which some theologians have debated, though others, including Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, have defended. Despite this, his impact on modern Orthodoxy is widely acknowledged, and he is remembered as a "righteous man of our time" and a spiritual father to many.
American Orthodox writer and saint (1934–1982)
Videos
I'm getting ready to start my catechism classes and receive books that my preist will provide to read and im looking for some to get myself aswell. I have already gotten one and I was looking to see who was popular and fr seraphim rose came up, apon deeper digging it seems he is very controversial and mixed between the orthodox community, with many loving him and regarding him as a saint and many that dislike or don't care for him.
Please, forgive me in advance for the rant and for anything that may be perceived as disrespectful or immoderate.
I've come across Fr. Seraphim Rose many times and have often heard his work cited or recommended. After spending time reading his work and listening to his lectures, I find myself more frustrated than not. His worldview often seems quite presumptuous and negatively oriented. This is compounded by the fact that he openly criticized thinkers and movements of the past century (not that they shouldn't be criticized but that this is often the focus of Fr. Seraphim's writing). Much of his work, at least that I have read, has had an emphasis on what is wrong or false to such a point that he does not allow for the potential of nuance. He pigeonholes the topic and by so doing points towards Orthodoxy in such a way that the implication of questioning his perspective is that the questioner is deceived or does not have the spiritual illumination granted to him. I find this ironic since at certain points he wrote about prelest and then in the next paragraph made assertions about the state of a person's soul in relationship to God - assertions that are unverifiable. Coming from a protestant background, such assertions are red flags, particularly since similar assertions aren't uncommon amongst fundamentalist protestant groups.
Furthermore, the way Fr. Seraphim refers to the saints and Church Fathers sometimes seems like an appeal to authority in order to make assertions about topics such as the state of the soul after death, the future of the world, the state of existence in the beginning of creation, etc. His work would not bother me if it weren't for the fact that Fr. Seraphim has been depicted in such a way, not just as an Orthodox thinker, but as a representative of "Orthodoxy" itself. I have no doubt that he was dedicated to God and is honorable for that cause but the esteem that he has gained in modern culture, I cannot help but be hesitant towards. I've noticed he is referenced by many who are attracted to a certain conspiratorial fundamentalism which has proven to be quite popular in schismatic sectarianists (the GOC for example). I'm concerned at the prospect of his canonization, not because I think he was "bad" or "corrupt" (- not at all!) but rather, that his writing has been the fuel for ideologues. And that, while he certainly had insight into the state that the world was headed towards, he seems to have been wrong about quite a bit as well.
My question: what attracts you to Fr. Seraphim? How has he helped you? What am I missing?