Hieromonk Seraphim: A Tribute

By Bishop Chrysostomos of Etna (+2019)

Source: Orthodox Tradition, Vol. VII (1990), No. 4, p. 13.

Father Seraphim (Rose) of Platina was a man of exceptional intellect—a brilliant honors student as an undergraduate, a gifted graduate student at Berkeley, fluent in classical Chinese and Russian, endowed with a sound knowledge of Latin and German, and yet the author of simple, fundamental texts on Orthodox spirituality that anyone can comprehend with ease.

As the ten-year anniversary of Father Seraphim's untimely repose approaches—it is only several years off—, I often reflect on this unusual figure in American Orthodoxy.

I first began corresponding with Father Seraphim when I was a graduate student. We began a three-way correspondence, as it were, with the late Father Georges Florovsky, to whom Father Seraphim would often pose questions through me. I was much edified by Father Seraphim's wisdom and guidance during my sometimes lonely years of study.

In 1981, shortly before his death, Father Seraphim visited me at our monastery, then located in Ohio. He shared with me some of the problems which eventually led to the present unfortunate status of the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, demonstrating the kindness for which he has often been praised, but showing, too, a resolute spirit with regard to correcting certain problems in Platina—corrections which he did not live long enough to realize.

I happened to be in California when Father Seraphim reposed. Father Herman, Father Auxentios, and I (then an Archimandrite) celebrated the first Liturgy over his body. The next day, Archbishop Anthony of San Francisco arrived to celebrate the funeral service, in which I also took part. These experiences, before an unembalmed body that showed no signs of decay, have never left me. I was privileged to see with my own eyes what many can only read about in Church history.

Father Seraphim's life has been misrepresented. He has been used in a way which he would never have wanted. Many of us prematurely proclaimed his sanctity. Others have exploited those premature proclamations and have dishonored a man of dedication, sincerity, and commitment. Whether Father Seraphim was a saint, I cannot say. That he was a man of great holiness and of a magnanimous spirit, this I can say. Let the passing years and the Will of God tell us anything beyond this. In the meantime, let us reflect on this man who cleansed himself of sin, suffered greatly from injustice, covered and protected those around him, and who yearned for the unity of all sincere Orthodox. He is, as such, a great inspiration to our age of believers.