Damascene Christensen
monumental and detailed work atpages, Some have criticized it for being a highly 'sanitized' version of his life, and I agree when reading, Damascene Christensen, his spiritual disciple pays due attention to some of Rose's early influences including Guenon and Watts, but becomes speculative when criticizing other writers.
Any potential reader should be warned that although an interesting read, Rose's life was not an outwardly adventurous one, although inwardly and intellectually it was.
This is an excellent biography of Fr, Seraphim Rose, a monk and glory to the American land, He was living during a turbulent time in America whose fruits we are now reaping, Not only does the reader encounter Fr, Seraphim and through him Christ, but also many other Orthodox hierarchs, monks, and laymen who have contributed greatly to Orthodoxy in America,
This is simply one of the greatest biographies ever written containing not only the life of a great Orthodox Christian, but also a part of the little known, but fascinating history of the exiled Russian church in America and some of its many miracles.
An epic biography indeed, and one well worth reading, mulling over, rereading, and contemplating often,
The thing that keeps me from giving it five is that sometimes the story veers into the more minute details of a theological point, and I found myself skimming those.
My dear friend, who loaned me the book, and her family were Godchildren of Father Seraphim, and are mentioned in the book, so that was delightful to have that personal connection.
This book changed my life and is the most important book I have ever read, The first edition changed my life, By the time the second edition was being prepared, the author had become my Godfather and friend, and I proofread parts of it, arguing for certain bits to be left in.
It looks daunting, but there are many photos and it is an easy read,
I consider this an essential sourcebook,
Long, but well written and occasionally captivating biography of an important figure in recent Orthodox Christian history, I've always been ambivalent about some of Fr Seraphim's teachings and his theological "style" and legacy, and this has made me only more ambivalent.
But it has also filled me with respect for the man and for his zeal and commitment despite what seem to me flaws, he has clearly done much good, and my eyes were wet in the chapter that described his repose.
What a magnificent book. A huge undertaking but well worth it, I believe Fr. Seraphim is a Saint and his writings were hugely influential on me, particularly his Orthodox Survival Course and Nihilism, I had never encountered anyone who so keenly skewered the philosophical and spiritual undercurrents that wove together to form the modern west as we know it, with all its worldly comforts and lukewarm Christianity.
There has been no other writer who has so profoundly changed my life as Fr, Seraphim.
In the world he was known as Eugene Rose and grew up in California, He was, to put it bluntly, a genius, He spoke German, French, ancient and modern Chinese and later learned Russian so well that few believed he could really be American, he was talented musically and could turn his hand to pretty much anything.
The main theme of his life however, was always the search for truth that took him on a painful journey exploring different religions and traditions amidst thes counterculture of the time.
He earned degrees in philosophy and in the study of oriental language, and even studied Zen Buddhism under Alan Watts, and was on the edge of a promising academic career When he attended the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in San Francisco and met St.
John Maximovitch, the wonderworker. Ultimately this path would lead him to a hard, ascetic life in the Californian wilderness, walking with the desertdwellers and Saints of old while he dedicated himself to prayer and to spreading Orthodoxy worldwide.
Today, many of his works are extremely popular in Russia, Greece and other orthodox nations and there are very few western converts who are unfamiliar with him.
So many of his works were hardhitting, calls to arms for the complacent Christians of our times, but the primary takeaway from reading his life was his love for others and his long suffering.
He truly had the mindset of the Holy Fathers and he has been instrumental in passing it on to the increasing numbers of rootless westerners who are discovering the truth in Orthodoxy.
For many, he is their first encounter with real Christianity, a Christianity which demands something of you, which embraces suffering and offers something more than emasculated feelgood, rainbowflag Christianity.
This book was inspiring to
me, I've read it twice and will do so again very shortly, Father Seraphim is considered a Saint in many other countries and his book has done much to draw seekers to the Orthodox Faith.
This is truly a fascinating story, Excellent This epic biography of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose tells the unique story of a man who, having grown up in a typical American home in southern California, became one of the greatest teachers of Orthodox Christianity in our times, loved and revered throughout Russia and Eastern Europe.
Blessed Father Seraphim of Platina pray to God for us! An exceptional story worth reading, particularly if one is philosophically oriented and quite sure that Christianity has no room for such people.
His thoughts based on his personal experience with nihilism are of particular value, and would not be unhelpful for some people to read.
This biography read like a "pageturner novel, " Most novels aren't this exciting, It is a combination of St Augustine's Confessions along with a touch of Louis L'Amour, But most importantly, it is the story of a man's passionate and desperate search for Christ, It is the excitement of a philosopher who spends his life for "truth" only to find Truth as a Person, Fr Seraphim's life can be summarized along several major segments: The Search for Truth, The Religion of AntiChrist, Acquiring the Mind of the Fathers, and the Resurrection of Holy Russia.
Truth as a Person
Fr Seraphim, not unlike St Augustine, was philosophicallyminded and spent much of his youth vainly looking for "truth.
" He rejected the vapid form of Protestantism held by his nice, neat American suburb community, but soon drifted in and out of nihilism.
After many bouts of anger and depression and bingealcoholic drinking, he was to discover that Truth is "traditioned" and communities that had continuity with ancient traditions were more valid than more modern expressions of truth.
After his conversion to Russian Orthodoxy, Rose began to analyze the modern world, He followed Nietszche's trajectory of nihilism as the negation of truthff, Nihilism in the modern age was to prepare man for the reign of Antichrist and the arrival of the New World Order, Rose outlined four stages of nihilism: liberalism, realism, vitalism, and Nihilism
The religion of Antichrist
For Rose, Antichrist was an "ape of Christ.
" He represented the forces of Satan opposing Christ, He will appear "good" to the world and solve the problems of the world, His religion will be a "demonic pentecost, " The more fringe elements of society will become more mainstream cf CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength,, There will be a frightening unity behind the disparate world religions, He noticed a common theme behind various religious phenomena: Charismatic Christianity centered on pagan forms of initiation the ecumenical movement seeks to outdo each other in abandoning all forms of Christianity for the sake of "unity.
" And then UFOs: There is actually something behind the UFO encounters, They are clearly something of the paraphysical and occult realm, The aliens seem to be a strange mingling of physic and psychic matterjust like demons, The matter in them is of such subtlety it cannot be perceived except by saints, The message of the UFOs is to prepare for the reign of Antichrist, St Ignatius Brianchanninov said that the miracles of Antichrist will be in the aerial realm, where Satan has chief dominion,
Acquiring the Mind of the Fathers
The Mind of the Fathers is the Living understanding of Holy Traditionff.
They are the links between ancient texts and today's reality, The fathers are the most capable preservers of the Truth because of the sanctity of their lives, Rose learned that he had to "acquire their mind" he had to learn, think, and feel the way they did, He had to conform his consciousness to that of the Fathers, Acquiring the mind of the fathers is to acquire the mind of the church, which is the mind of Christ, who is the head of the Church.
How do we acquire their minds, Constancy: Rose worked out a spiritual regimen based on wisdom from the Holy Fathers, Regular reading of the fathersl, Pain of Heart.
The Resurrection of Holy Russia
Fr Seraphim noted that Holy Russia would be resurrected from the ashes of Communism before the end of the world.
The return of a Tsarist and pious leader is the halfhour silence in heaven spoken of in the Apocalypse, immediately before the reign of Antichrist.
Rose saw Russia as a "bloodcovered martyric land, " The Tsarmartyr Nicholas II was the restrainer of AntichristThess,. The patricidal murder of the Tsar is a sign we are living in preAntichrist times, This idea can be connected with the horror of theth century, the rise of globalist institutions, global credit, and secular ideologies,
Of particular interest here are the prophecies of St Seraphim of Sarov, who gave four prophecies pertaining to the resurrection of Holy Russia he spoke in theth century, three of which have already happened.
Fr Seraphim's message to us:
It is later than you think, We live in an age where secular leaders openly call for world governance based on the bloody ideologies of theth century, While many ages think they are in the last generation, and Fr Seraphim would not want us wasting time predicting "times," the New Testament does call for us to be awake and alert.
When the leaders of countries call for a oneworld government and oneworld market, and when we take note of the "demonic pentecost" spoken above, we can't pretend we are "just living in normal times.
" Rose had a particularly painful chapter called, "Today in Russia tomorrow in America, " He meant that the Communist GULAG would soon come to America, With Obama's cabinet and FEMA, can anyone seriously doubt this
In any case, Hieromonk Damascene did a wonderful job in writing this book.
The book that completely shook me out of my OCAinspired rut, By the time I finished reading, I realized just how unserious and careless I was and am about my Orthodox faith, I managed to read this monster of a book in four days often staying up until three or four in the morning, I literally couldn't put it down,
Once you read it, you will find yourself finally forced to choose decisively between this world and its kingdoms, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Every Orthodox Christian should own a copy, .
Any potential reader should be warned that although an interesting read, Rose's life was not an outwardly adventurous one, although inwardly and intellectually it was.
This is an excellent biography of Fr, Seraphim Rose, a monk and glory to the American land, He was living during a turbulent time in America whose fruits we are now reaping, Not only does the reader encounter Fr, Seraphim and through him Christ, but also many other Orthodox hierarchs, monks, and laymen who have contributed greatly to Orthodoxy in America,
This is simply one of the greatest biographies ever written containing not only the life of a great Orthodox Christian, but also a part of the little known, but fascinating history of the exiled Russian church in America and some of its many miracles.
An epic biography indeed, and one well worth reading, mulling over, rereading, and contemplating often,
The thing that keeps me from giving it five is that sometimes the story veers into the more minute details of a theological point, and I found myself skimming those.
My dear friend, who loaned me the book, and her family were Godchildren of Father Seraphim, and are mentioned in the book, so that was delightful to have that personal connection.
This book changed my life and is the most important book I have ever read, The first edition changed my life, By the time the second edition was being prepared, the author had become my Godfather and friend, and I proofread parts of it, arguing for certain bits to be left in.
It looks daunting, but there are many photos and it is an easy read,
I consider this an essential sourcebook,
Long, but well written and occasionally captivating biography of an important figure in recent Orthodox Christian history, I've always been ambivalent about some of Fr Seraphim's teachings and his theological "style" and legacy, and this has made me only more ambivalent.
But it has also filled me with respect for the man and for his zeal and commitment despite what seem to me flaws, he has clearly done much good, and my eyes were wet in the chapter that described his repose.
What a magnificent book. A huge undertaking but well worth it, I believe Fr. Seraphim is a Saint and his writings were hugely influential on me, particularly his Orthodox Survival Course and Nihilism, I had never encountered anyone who so keenly skewered the philosophical and spiritual undercurrents that wove together to form the modern west as we know it, with all its worldly comforts and lukewarm Christianity.
There has been no other writer who has so profoundly changed my life as Fr, Seraphim.
In the world he was known as Eugene Rose and grew up in California, He was, to put it bluntly, a genius, He spoke German, French, ancient and modern Chinese and later learned Russian so well that few believed he could really be American, he was talented musically and could turn his hand to pretty much anything.
The main theme of his life however, was always the search for truth that took him on a painful journey exploring different religions and traditions amidst thes counterculture of the time.
He earned degrees in philosophy and in the study of oriental language, and even studied Zen Buddhism under Alan Watts, and was on the edge of a promising academic career When he attended the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in San Francisco and met St.
John Maximovitch, the wonderworker. Ultimately this path would lead him to a hard, ascetic life in the Californian wilderness, walking with the desertdwellers and Saints of old while he dedicated himself to prayer and to spreading Orthodoxy worldwide.
Today, many of his works are extremely popular in Russia, Greece and other orthodox nations and there are very few western converts who are unfamiliar with him.
So many of his works were hardhitting, calls to arms for the complacent Christians of our times, but the primary takeaway from reading his life was his love for others and his long suffering.
He truly had the mindset of the Holy Fathers and he has been instrumental in passing it on to the increasing numbers of rootless westerners who are discovering the truth in Orthodoxy.
For many, he is their first encounter with real Christianity, a Christianity which demands something of you, which embraces suffering and offers something more than emasculated feelgood, rainbowflag Christianity.
This book was inspiring to
me, I've read it twice and will do so again very shortly, Father Seraphim is considered a Saint in many other countries and his book has done much to draw seekers to the Orthodox Faith.
This is truly a fascinating story, Excellent This epic biography of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose tells the unique story of a man who, having grown up in a typical American home in southern California, became one of the greatest teachers of Orthodox Christianity in our times, loved and revered throughout Russia and Eastern Europe.
Quoting at length from his letters, journals, manuscripts, recorded lectures and published writings, this book traces Fr, Seraphim's intense search for truth and his philosophical development, setting forth his message and offering a glimpse into the soul of a man who lived, even while on this earth, in the otherworldly Kingdom of God.
A greatly revised version of Not of This World, this new Life of Fr, Seraphim incorporates years of new research and includes much additional material, Because it deals closely with events in the recent history of Orthodoxy in America, the book has been reviewed prior to publication by clergy, monastics and laypeople from most of the Orthodox jurisdictions represented in this country.
New edition includes:. New, previously unpublished material by Fr, Seraphim New reminiscences by those who knew Fr, Seraphimnew photographs Expanded and updated bibliography and source notes,
pages,illustrations, paperback, Smythsewn binding for greater durability,
Aweinspiring. A true man of God, I don't know why the Church hasn't officially canonized him yet, it's clear he is a saint,Blessed Father Seraphim of Platina pray to God for us! An exceptional story worth reading, particularly if one is philosophically oriented and quite sure that Christianity has no room for such people.
His thoughts based on his personal experience with nihilism are of particular value, and would not be unhelpful for some people to read.
This biography read like a "pageturner novel, " Most novels aren't this exciting, It is a combination of St Augustine's Confessions along with a touch of Louis L'Amour, But most importantly, it is the story of a man's passionate and desperate search for Christ, It is the excitement of a philosopher who spends his life for "truth" only to find Truth as a Person, Fr Seraphim's life can be summarized along several major segments: The Search for Truth, The Religion of AntiChrist, Acquiring the Mind of the Fathers, and the Resurrection of Holy Russia.
Truth as a Person
Fr Seraphim, not unlike St Augustine, was philosophicallyminded and spent much of his youth vainly looking for "truth.
" He rejected the vapid form of Protestantism held by his nice, neat American suburb community, but soon drifted in and out of nihilism.
After many bouts of anger and depression and bingealcoholic drinking, he was to discover that Truth is "traditioned" and communities that had continuity with ancient traditions were more valid than more modern expressions of truth.
After his conversion to Russian Orthodoxy, Rose began to analyze the modern world, He followed Nietszche's trajectory of nihilism as the negation of truthff, Nihilism in the modern age was to prepare man for the reign of Antichrist and the arrival of the New World Order, Rose outlined four stages of nihilism: liberalism, realism, vitalism, and Nihilism
The religion of Antichrist
For Rose, Antichrist was an "ape of Christ.
" He represented the forces of Satan opposing Christ, He will appear "good" to the world and solve the problems of the world, His religion will be a "demonic pentecost, " The more fringe elements of society will become more mainstream cf CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength,, There will be a frightening unity behind the disparate world religions, He noticed a common theme behind various religious phenomena: Charismatic Christianity centered on pagan forms of initiation the ecumenical movement seeks to outdo each other in abandoning all forms of Christianity for the sake of "unity.
" And then UFOs: There is actually something behind the UFO encounters, They are clearly something of the paraphysical and occult realm, The aliens seem to be a strange mingling of physic and psychic matterjust like demons, The matter in them is of such subtlety it cannot be perceived except by saints, The message of the UFOs is to prepare for the reign of Antichrist, St Ignatius Brianchanninov said that the miracles of Antichrist will be in the aerial realm, where Satan has chief dominion,
Acquiring the Mind of the Fathers
The Mind of the Fathers is the Living understanding of Holy Traditionff.
They are the links between ancient texts and today's reality, The fathers are the most capable preservers of the Truth because of the sanctity of their lives, Rose learned that he had to "acquire their mind" he had to learn, think, and feel the way they did, He had to conform his consciousness to that of the Fathers, Acquiring the mind of the fathers is to acquire the mind of the church, which is the mind of Christ, who is the head of the Church.
How do we acquire their minds, Constancy: Rose worked out a spiritual regimen based on wisdom from the Holy Fathers, Regular reading of the fathersl, Pain of Heart.
The Resurrection of Holy Russia
Fr Seraphim noted that Holy Russia would be resurrected from the ashes of Communism before the end of the world.
The return of a Tsarist and pious leader is the halfhour silence in heaven spoken of in the Apocalypse, immediately before the reign of Antichrist.
Rose saw Russia as a "bloodcovered martyric land, " The Tsarmartyr Nicholas II was the restrainer of AntichristThess,. The patricidal murder of the Tsar is a sign we are living in preAntichrist times, This idea can be connected with the horror of theth century, the rise of globalist institutions, global credit, and secular ideologies,
Of particular interest here are the prophecies of St Seraphim of Sarov, who gave four prophecies pertaining to the resurrection of Holy Russia he spoke in theth century, three of which have already happened.
Fr Seraphim's message to us:
It is later than you think, We live in an age where secular leaders openly call for world governance based on the bloody ideologies of theth century, While many ages think they are in the last generation, and Fr Seraphim would not want us wasting time predicting "times," the New Testament does call for us to be awake and alert.
When the leaders of countries call for a oneworld government and oneworld market, and when we take note of the "demonic pentecost" spoken above, we can't pretend we are "just living in normal times.
" Rose had a particularly painful chapter called, "Today in Russia tomorrow in America, " He meant that the Communist GULAG would soon come to America, With Obama's cabinet and FEMA, can anyone seriously doubt this
In any case, Hieromonk Damascene did a wonderful job in writing this book.
The book that completely shook me out of my OCAinspired rut, By the time I finished reading, I realized just how unserious and careless I was and am about my Orthodox faith, I managed to read this monster of a book in four days often staying up until three or four in the morning, I literally couldn't put it down,
Once you read it, you will find yourself finally forced to choose decisively between this world and its kingdoms, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Every Orthodox Christian should own a copy, .