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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 priest and hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia who co-founded the Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California. He translated Eastern Orthodox Christian texts and authored several works. His writings have been credited with helping to spread Eastern Orthodox Christianity throughout the West; his popularity equally extended to Russia itself, where his works were secretly reproduced and distributed by samizdat during the 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 , liturgy and prayer.
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.
In addition to being a businesswoman, Esther was a California artist who specialized in impressionist renderings of Pacific coast scenes. Raised in San Diego, Eugene would remain a Californian the rest of his life. His older sister was Eileen Rose Busby, an author, Mensa member, and 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 Methodist church when he was 14 years old, Rose later rejected Christianity for atheism. After graduating from San Diego High School in 1952, he attended Pomona College, where he studied Chinese philosophy and graduated magna cum laude in 1956. While at Pomona, he was a reader for Ved Mehta, a blind student who would go on to become a well-known author. Mehta referred to Rose in two books, one of which was a book of memoirs called Stolen Light: "I felt very lucky to have found Gene as a reader. ... He read with such clarity that I almost had the illusion that he was explaining things." Afterward, Rose studied under Alan Watts at the 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. Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Chapter 87: "Simplicity" 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.
At age 22 in 1956 and while he was still at Pomona College, Rose Coming out as Homosexuality. 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." Rose is reported to have not externally expressed his sexuality following his conversion. 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.
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 fully-fledged monastic community. Rose's parents provided the down payment for a mountaintop near the isolated hamlet of Platina, where Rose and some friends built a monastery named for Herman of Alaska. At his tonsure, in October 1970, Rose was given the name "Seraphim" after Seraphim of Sarov. He wrote, translated and studied for the 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 a priest in ROCOR in 1977 by Bishop Nektary of Seattle, spiritual son of Nectarius of Optina Monastery, the last of the great Optina Starets. The Royal Path "In Memory of Fr. Seraphim Rose", p. 2.
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 Eastern Orthodoxy in America, and its conflict between so-called "traditionalists" and "modernists". One can be firm, Rose insisted, without having to compromise basic Christianity teachings on Chesed, Patience, and mercy toward others. Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Chapter 99, "Hope". Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Chapter 86, "Orthodoxy of the Heart".
He was also one of the first American Eastern Orthodox Christians to translate major works of several Church Fathers into English. Lives of a Saint As such, he produced the first English translation of selected letters of Barsanuphius of Gaza and John the Prophet which were to be read out aloud at meals to his young monastic disciples and were later published by the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.
Though vehemently opposing Rose's teaching on this subject, Archbishop Lazar Puhalo indicated that he considered Rose to be a "true Asceticism", and that he respected the sincerity of Seraphim's monastic life and intentions. Questions and Answers by "Archbishop" Lazar Puhalo. See Question added August 2007 on the "Toll Houses". In one of his , 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."Puhalo, Lazar, House Myth, Nr. 5. May 23, 2012. Accessed on June 23, 2013.
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. 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".
Eastern Orthodoxy
In 1962, Rose was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) 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 Eastern Orthodox booksellers and publishers, the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. In March 1964, Rose opened an Eastern 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. Fr. Seraphim Speaks, from the Orthodox Christian Information Center.
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. Rose also wrote many works, among those published are God's Revelation to the Human Heart, Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future, Nihilism: The Roots of the Revolution of the Modern Age, and The Soul After Death. He was the first to translate and print Michael Pomazansky's Orthodox Dogmatic Theology into English. Rose translated his own books into Russian language, and they were circulated widely as samizdat within the Soviet Union, although they were not formally published until after the fall of the Communist regime.
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 "aerial toll houses" described by various Church Fathers and saints. According to this teaching, every human soul must pass a series of these stations after death as part of their initial judgment by God, where they will be accused of specific sins and possibly condemned to hell.
Evolution vs. creationism
Rose also waded into the ongoing debate between Biblical creationism and evolution, asserting in Genesis, Creation and Early Man that Orthodox exclusively supported the creationist viewpoint. This idea was criticized by other Eastern Orthodox theologians, who asserted that while mankind's existence is not accidental by any means, there is no official church doctrine as to the precise process God used in creation, nor the length of time that it might have required.See Evolution and Orthodoxy , by Fr. John Matusiak at the Orthodox Church in America website. In the 2011 edition of Rose's Genesis, Creation and Early Man, his spiritual child and editor, Hieromonk Damascene, alleges to have demonstrated that Rose's teaching is in accord with the great saints and elders of the 19th and 20th centuries who have spoken on the issue, such as Theophan the Recluse, John of Kronstadt, Justin Popovich, Paisios, and Sophrony.
Death
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 Redding for treatment. When he arrived at the hospital, he was declared to be in critical condition and fell into semi-consciousness. After exploratory surgery was completed, it was discovered that a blood clot had blocked an artery supplying blood to his , 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.
Legacy
Veneration
Some Orthodox Christians anticipate Rose's canonization by a synod. Father Seraphim Rose - Spiritual Father / Ancient Radio At the 40th anniversary of Rose's death, Metropolitan Nikoloz Pachuashvili of Akhalkalaki, from the Orthodox Church of Georgia, called for the canonization of Rose. Before returning to Georgia, Metropolitan Nikoloz brought the question of canonization to Bishop Maxim Vasiljević of the Serbian Orthodox Church's Diocese of Western America. Metropolitan Nikoloz canonized Rose locally in his diocese, the Eparchy of Akhalkalaki, Kumurdo and Kars, in February 2023. On September 6, 2022, Metropolitan Neophytos Masouras of Morphou, of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus gave a sermon calling Rose a saint. In 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia formed a commission headed by Bishop James Corazza to investigate the life and veneration of Rose.
St. Herman's Monastery today
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 language. 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
Posthumous publications
Biographical resources
External links
Categories: 1934 Births, 1982 Deaths, Clergy From San Diego, 20th-century Christian Mystics, 20th-century Eastern Orthodox Clergy, 20th-century American Writers, 20th-century Eastern Orthodox Priests, 20th-century American Male Writers, American Eastern Orthodox Priests, Eastern Orthodox Christians From The United States, Eastern Orthodox Priests In The United States, Eastern Orthodox Monks, Eastern Orthodox Writers, Eastern Orthodox Mystics, Eastern Orthodox Theologians, Lgbtq Eastern Orthodox Christians, Priests Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Of Russia, Converts To Eastern Orthodoxy From Atheism Or Agnosticism, Former Methodists, Folk Saints, Traditionalist School, San Diego High School Alumni, Pomona College Alumni, Uc Berkeley College Of Letters And Science Alumni, American People Of Norwegian Descent, American People Of French Descent, American People Of Dutch Descent, Palamism, American Critics Of Atheism, Critics Of Buddhism, Critics Of Hinduism, Lgbtq People From California, 20th-century American Lgbtq People, American Lgbtq Writers, Gay Christians
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