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Fr. Seraphim (Rose), part 2

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Pomona College

(Continued from part 1.)

When contemplating what Fr. Seraphim became, it is useful to keep in mind that Eugene Rose spent much of his youth studying philosophy and classical culture. He graduated from Pomona College in 1956 (two years ahead of Kris Kristofferson) and majored in Oriental Languages, which in the 1950s would have entailed considerable study and academic rigor. In 2017, Pomona had an acceptance rate of around 10%. Continue reading →

Fr. Damascene (Christensen), “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works” (2010)

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fsr

“A monk is one who, being clothed in a material and perishable body, seeks to resemble incorporeal life and being. A monk is one who follows only the words and commandments of God in any time, and place, and action. A monk is the constant coercion of nature, the unflagging control of all feeling. A monk is one whose body is purified, whose mouth is pure, whose mind is enlightened. A monk is one who, grieving and pained in his soul, always remembers and contemplates death, whether in sleep or in wakefulness. The renunciation of the world is the willful hatred of all substance that is glorified by the world, and the rejection of nature, in order to receive those blessings that are higher than nature.”

St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Mt. Sinai, 7th century

Fr. Seraphim (Rose) was a hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church (Outside Russia) during the 1970s. He had no Russian background (born Eugene Dennis Rose, into a Protestant family in San Diego) and no connection to Russian culture. However, by the end of his life, and in the years following his death in 1982, he became one of the most striking writers, ascetics and preachers in 20th-century Church history. The trajectory of his life was so unusual that (so an Orthodox Christian would say) it could only have happened by a direct act of God. Continue reading →