Seraphim Rose

Seraphim Rose

Seraphim Rose (actually Eugene Dennis Rose , born August 13, 1934 in San Diego , † September 2, 1982 ) was an Orthodox priest monk in the United States who belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church abroad . His writings contributed greatly to the spread of the Orthodox faith in the United States and the Western world. After the upheaval in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, his publications were also widely used there. Although he was not formally canonized, shortly after his death he was worshiped with icons , prayer and in the liturgy .

Early life

Born the youngest of three children to Frank and Esther Rose, he grew up in California , where he wanted to spend the rest of his life. His mother was a well-known American painter. As a Methodist he was baptized at the age of fourteen, later he became an atheist and lost his faith. After a test at San Diego High School , he was judged to be well above average intelligent. He then studied Chinese Philosophy at Pomona College, San Francisco, graduating in 1954 with a magna cum laude degree . In 1961 he graduated with a Masters in Oriental Languages ​​from the University of California at Berkeley . After this time in California he had a wild phase in his life, he devoted himself to Buddhism and tried to get to know many other religions.

family

Seraphim Rose was the brother of Eileen Rose Busby, an antiques writer and expert, and Frank Rose, a businessman. He was the uncle of writer and scientist J. Michael Scott and crime writer Cathy Scott.

Orthodox belief

Seraphim Rose discovered the works of René Guénon while studying at the American Academy of Asian Studies with Alan Watts , after graduating from Pomona College . Rose was inspired by Guénon's work to seek authentic, down-to-earth spiritual beliefs. In the summer of 1955, when he was still with Watts, he met Jon Gregerson, of Finnish descent, who was a practicing Russian Orthodox Christian at the time. It was through him that Rose had her first contact with the Orthodox faith. Rose revealed himself to be homosexual after his mother discovered letters containing them. As an Orthodox Christian, however, he refused to practice homosexuality and ended such relationships. In 1962 Rose was accepted into the Orthodox Church. A year later in 1963, with the blessing of the Bishops of Shanghai and San Francisco, Rose and the Russian Orthodox seminarist Gleb Podmoshensky founded a religious publishing house with book delivery, which they called the Brotherhood of Saint Herman of Alaska . From this the monastery of St. Herman of Alaska developed over time.

His book " Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future " gained importance , in which he dealt with newer spiritual and spiritual currents, from the influence of Eastern religions, yoga , New Age thinking , to topics such as UFO sightings. Rose explains that the “experiences” reported by the followers of these currents may well be real, but that such experiences are not suitable as a yardstick for the truth claims of these currents, because the unclean spirits , which can be understood as real, are always the cause of such experiences come into question. In a similar way, he took a very critical stance on the so-called charismatic movement in this book . Recently this book has found widespread use in Russia .

Publications

• The soul after death. Today's "after-death" experiences in the light of the orthodox doctrine of the afterlife. Monastery of St. Job von Pochayev , Munich 1999, ISBN 3-926165-92-8 .
• The royal road in postmodernism. Contributions from the "Orthodox World". Edition Hagia Sophia, Straelen 2009, ISBN 978-3-937129-61-7 .
• Nihilism: the ideology of the Antichrist - Belief in nothingness as the source of doom. Edition Hagia Sophia, Straelen 2010, ISBN 978-3-937129-62-4 .
• The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality - For Correct Understanding of Their Scriptures. Edition Hagia Sophia, Straelen 2010, ISBN 978-3-937129-29-7 .
• Orthodoxy and the religion of the future. Edition Hagia Sophia, Straelen 2010, ISBN 978-3-937129-60-0 .
• Heavenly Realms - Homilies of a Layman. Edition Hagia Sophia, Wachtendonk 2019, ISBN 978-3-96321-006-8 .
• The position of Blessed Ausgustinus in the Orthodox Church. Edition Hagia Sophia, Wachtendonk 2019, ISBN 978-3-96321-087-7 .

literature

• Cathy Scott: Seraphim Rose: The True Story and Private Letters. Regina Orthodox Press, Salisbury, MA 2001, ISBN 1928653014 .
• Hieromonk Damascene: Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works. Saint Herman Press, Platina, CA 2005, ISBN 1-887904-07-7

Web links

• Literature by and about Seraphim Rose in the catalog of the German National Library
• Article at Orthodoxwiki
• Father Seraphim Rose Foundation