Biography St. Seraphim of Platina

     OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
http://internetsobor.org/index.php/novosti/rptsz/prepodobnyj-serafim-zhizneopisanie-i-sluzhba

Venerable Seraphim: Life and Service
Author: Metropolitan Agathangel. Date of publication: November 20, 2024. Category: ROCOR

Life of Venerable Seraphim, Hieromonk of Platina

          I. The beginning of the journey. Spiritual search
The Venerable Seraphim (born Eugene Dennis Rose) was born on August 13, 1934 in San Diego, southern California, USA, and grew up in a typically American Protestant family.  The ancestors of the future ascetic on the father's side came from the French and Danes, and on the mother's side – from the Norwegians and Swedes.  The Rose Couple had three children, Eugene was the youngest.  His brother and sister were much older than he, and the boy grew up to be everyone's favorite, cheerful and affectionate......

Eugene was a versatile gifted child.  He succeeded in everything he did.  He took his studies seriously and responsibly, read a lot.  However, this did not prevent him from taking part in children's games.  He played baseball, he was a Scout.  Having a good hearing, he learned to play the piano, and later mastered the guitar.  Having a talent for natural sciences, Eugene was also interested in zoology, loved animals, knew astronomy well.

   In high school, Eugene showed extraordinary abilities in languages, taking up Spanish, German and French at once.  After graduating from school, he was already writing poems in German.  Having an analytical mindset, the young man succeeded in mathematics.  His math teacher predicted great success for him and gave him a recommendation for an incentive scholarship to college.

   Since childhood, Eugene had a strong religious feeling, and his mother, a Protestant, tried to strengthen it.  She took the children to various Protestant churches, where she sang in choirs.  Eugene attended Bible lessons in the Presbyterian Church.  There he studied the Holy Scriptures so well that he could quote it by heart, which made his father and mother very happy.  In the eighth grade, he was baptized at his own request and confirmed in the Methodist Church.  However, after graduating from school, his religious thirst weakened.

   In 1952, Evgene graduated from high school in San Diego as the top student.  As the best student, he was offered several incentive scholarships, of which he accepted only one.  In the fall of the same year, Evgenne entered college in the city of Pomona in southern California, considered the best college in the state and one of the main centers of liberal arts education in the United States.  In their free time, most college students entertained themselves by organizing dance evenings, picnics on the ocean shore, and they were also very taken in with football. In the student environment, it was prestigious to have a car, but Evgene was not interested in any of this at all.  His main concern was the question of his life's purpose.

   The Protestantism of his childhood did not satisfy him.  Eugene was burdened with this prosaic, commoner framework.  He strove for something more sublime and spiritual, so he began to study Western philosophers (Spinoza, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.   Nietzsche's works especially attracted Eugene, because at that time the young man completely moved away from God.  However, the limitations of Western philosophy did not satisfy him.  Eugene became interested in the English professor's lectures on Zen Buddhism.  At that time, he was attracted by Eastern philosophy, and the young man began to learn Chinese in order to be able to read original Chinese sources.

   In 1956 Eugene graduated from college with honors and entered the Academy of Oriental Studies in San Francisco.  There he soon became close to the intellectual elite and adopted its customs: he went to restaurants with friends, sometimes smoked expensive cigars, became a wine connoisseur, often visited the opera, exhibitions and the theater.  San Francisco was the largest center of the avant-garde at that time.  The morality of Western society was discarded.  He indulged himself in all kinds of obscenities taken from the East.  This "culture of protest" had no moral principles.  However, his life, which consisted of continuous eating of the "forbidden fruit," was still not agreeable with Eugene's noble nature.  Consciously neglecting the commandments of God, the young man began to experience mental torment.  "I was in hell.  I know what it is," he said many years later, summing up his "quests" that were in opposition to the will of God.  Sinful life, leaves existence meaninglessness; so it was despair that prompted Eugene to seek salvation in faith.

   There were many books on philosophy in the Academy library, and Eugene began to study them carefully.  He was decisively influenced by the works of the French metaphysicist René Genon.  French Catholic Genon criticized modern civilization and called for a return to the original forms of religion, traditional spiritual principles.

   Eugene successfully learned the ancient Chinese language, and focused his study on Chinese spiritual literature.  He also studied Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and other religious trends.   Among his acquaintances were several Orthodox, who introduced him to the "Philokalia" and brought him to a service in the Russian Orthodox Cathedral "All Who Sorrow Joy" in San Francisco.

               II. Conversion to Orthodoxy
   So, in the evening, in the Great Friday, Eugene found himself in a Russian Orthodox church.  Later, he described his first encounter with Orthodoxy as follows: "When I was studying, I had only respect for ancient traditions, but I myself preferred to stay out of them.  I went to the Orthodox Church only to get acquainted with another teaching... But as soon as I crossed the threshold of the Russian church in San Francisco, something happened to me that I had not yet experienced in Buddhist or other oriental temples.  My heart whispered to me: "Here's your house."  Finally, I found what I was looking for.  I couldn't explain anything to myself, I didn't understand the service, just as I didn't understand the Russian language.  Since then, I became keenly interested in Orthodox worship and began to learn both customs and language little by little..."

   The impression made by the service did not change Eugene's worldview in an instant: only a seed was sown, which over time brought forth abundant fruit.

   Eugene continued to study Chinese philosophy.  In the fall of 1957, he entered the University of California at Berkeley to receive a master's degree in Oriental Studies.

   In 1961, Eugene defended his master's thesis, receiving a master's degree.  There was a brilliant acedemic career ahead in his future.   But later, when he himself started teaching, rather than being taught, he soon realized that the academic world is built on careerism, material gain and hypocrisy, — not in the business searching for the truth.

   Truth, for Eugene, was above all else in his spiritual search.  Rejecting Protestantism, he delved into the study of Eastern religions and philosophies claiming that God is impersonal.  However, when he started to get acquainted with Orthodoxy, he found the truth in the undistorted image of Christ.  Later, Father Seraphim said this: "When I opened up to Orthodoxy and the Orthodox, I began to realize that truth is not just an abstract idea sought and known by the mind, but something personal, even more, a certain Personality that the heart seeks and loves. That's how I met Christ." [Truth is a Person.]

   At that time, Eugene conceived of writing a philosophical work – a deep study, where from the Christian point of view he tried to critically evaluate modern Western civilization in scientific, cultural, historical and other aspects.  Eugene decided to call his book "The Kingdom of Man and the Kingdom of God."  He forsook his teaching career, deciding to give himself completely to work on the book.  To support himself, he worked as a janitor, dishwasher.  His mother did not understand his aspirations at all and cited his older brother as an example, who at that time already had his own gas station.

   Eugene's idea remained unfinished.  Of the 14 supposed chapters, only one was completed and printed.  In the original it was called "Nihilism: the source of the revolution of the modern era."  Some materials and fragments of unfinished work were later included in the book "Orthodoxy and Religion of the Future."

   In February 1962, Eugene made the final decision to join the Orthodox Church, and was admitted to Orthodoxy through the Holy Sacrament of Chrismation. [This was not arranged by St. John, but St. John did not object.]  At his first taste of the Body & Blood, he felt an unusual sweetness in his mouth, that remained for a whole week, so he didn't even want to eat.  [It was not until much later that he realized this does not happen for everybody.]

   In 1962, St. Archbishop John (Maximovich) arrived in San Francisco.  With his appearance, the construction of the cathedral resumed, new brotherhoods were founded, and church life revived.  Eugene spent a lot of time in the temple.  Attending all the morning and evening services, he stood at the western wall of the church and prayed diligently.  Soon Bishop John noticed Eugene and offered him to read in the kliros.  The young man quickly mastered the Church Slavonic language and began to read perfectly.

   Thanks to Bishop John, who was the living guardian of the Holy Father's tradition, Eugene wholeheartedly accepted the traditions of the Orthodox Church.

   Archbishop John founded theological courses in San Francisco, which Eugene attended for three years and graduated with honors.  In 1963, with the blessing of Bishop John, he began to write short articles in English for the local magazine "Orthodox Evangelist."  This is how the first author's publications of Eugene appeared.  These were small texts-sermons on various topics: about church holidays, about the lives of saints, about the foundations of spiritual life.  This work helped Eugene to strengthen in matters of faith and develop spiritually.

   Eugene's mother was dissatisfied with her son's new life: he seemed to her a "religious fanatic" who did not align with her hopes to see him prosper in secular life.  Eugene's father, did not share his son's religious views, nevertheless he supported his son on the chosen path, being glad that Eugene had found his vocation.  Eugene was already beginning to think about monasticism at that time.

   On August 28/September 10, 1963, Archbishop John blessed the establishment of the Brotherhood in honor of the Fr. Herman of Alaska (†1836), the Enlightener of America, and served a prayer service before the beginning of this good deed (Fr. Herman was not yet officially canonized at that time).  With Abp. John's blessing, an Orthodox bookstore was organized to engage in missionary activities through the printed word.

   In March 1964, with the active participation of Eugene, a bookstore "Orthodox Books and Icons" was opened near the San Francisco Cathedral on Geary Blvd., which became a real center of Orthodoxy.  The employees greeted the visitors kindly, always ready to answer questions and give advice on the choice of literature.  People interested in Orthodoxy were sent by the local clergy to the shop; visitors came in and directly "from the street."  By the efforts of the Brotherhood, many Americans converted to Orthodoxy.  Eugene mostly worked in the shop, staying there all day long, sometimes staying overnight.  He gave himself to his new job with all his heart, and the visitors of the shop loved him very much.  Soon Eugene began to keep a chronicle of the Brotherhood.

   In February 1965, the Brotherhood magazine appeared – "The Orthodox Word", in which Eugene began to publish English translations of Orthodox books and expose the apostasy of the modern world.  The name of the magazine was given by St. John.  The first numbers were printed on a small printing press with manual typing.  It took a whole day to type one page of text.  Eugene often stayed up late at night, and sometimes fell asleep near the machine.  Subsequently, we switched to an electric machine bought with the money saved, but the text was typed manually on it too.  But the magazine looked like publications of the past days, which left a special impression on the reader.  Archbishop John did not control the magazine, thus wanting to accustom employees to responsibility for what they print, as well as for the missionaries to be guided by their own conscience, and not by someone's "authoritative" opinion.  In addition, when purchasing a new issue of the magazine, Bishop John always paid for it.  "Vladyka, you are the head of the diocese!  Take it for free," he was offered. "No, it's your job, and I support it,"  Bishop John replied with a smile.

   Upon the repose of St. John in 1966, Eugene was assigned to collect evidence of numerous miracles that took place through the saint's prayerful intercession.  As a result, on the basis of these records, the "Chronical of the Veneration of Blessed John" was compiled.  Eugene deeply honored Bishop John, his holiness was undoubted for him, and long before his official glorification, the future ascetic made an akathist for his abba in English.

   At that time, Eugene was increasingly thinking about leaving the city and going to the desert. In the summer of 1967, a suitable plot of land was purchased on a wooded hill among untouched nature a few miles from the town of Platina in northern California.  In 1969, on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Eugene moved there for permanent residence.

               III. Monasticism
   The printing of "Orthodox Word" and other publications continued in the new desert.  Eugene and his associates led a harsh monastic life, devoid of any comfort.  At first it was especially difficult – they managed to erect only two wooden buildings, hastily knocked together from old boards . In one we slept, had dinner and prayed, in the other they placed a printing house.  It was very cold in winter.  At first, only the printing workshop was heated, then they bought a small stove on which they cooked, but there was little heat from it.  The printing press worked from a small engine, and candles and a kerosene lamp were used for lighting.  Everything had to be brought in by truck, even water, as there was no spring on the territory of the desert-skete.   When the car failed, they had to walk several miles.  Eugene, who had gotten a license before moving to the skete, drove the truck.  However, all these difficulties and hardships helped to keep a strict spiritual life, strengthening in hope for God, not in one's own strength.  The tone was set by the services of each day, which we gathered for three times.  The daily liturgical circle consisted of midnight, matins, hours, dinner, vespers and suppers, read out in a secular way.

   In the early years, almost no one violated the hermit life, which consisted of prayer and work.  Occasionally, someone from acquaintances who knew about the skete appeared.  There were also Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev) and his vicar Bishop Nektary (Kontsevich).  Those who lived in the desert felt spiritual kinship with the Russian ascetics of the XVIII-XX centuries, continuing their traditions dating back to the Ven. Paisius Velichkovsky, who at one time revived the true spirit of Orthodox monasticism in Russia.  Even before leaving for the desert, the brotherhood chose the life and teaching of the Ven. Paisius is his spiritual role model.  The very idea of a skete with a small number of residents stemmed from the experience of the monk, who called such a life "royal way."  Brothers on the advice of the Ven. Paisius introduced the rule of mutual obedience in the skete: instead of obedience to the spirit-bearing elder, they obeyed each other, guided by the teachings of the Holy Fathers and cutting off their will and opinion before their brother.  This helped in the fight against vanity and in maintaining spiritual harmony.

   THE SkETE WAS SETTLED in a picturesque mountainous area in the middle of an untouched forest in a land populated by wild animals.  The villagers soon made friends with forest dwellers – deer and squirrels, who were not afraid of them at all.  They also happened to meet the owner of the local forests – a puma.  Fortunately, these meetings ended safely. Soon after arriving at the skete, Eugene began to cultivate the garden and did not leave this activity until his death.

   On July 27/August 9, 1970, the glorification of the heavenly patron of the Brotherhood took place – Ven. Herman of Alaska.  Eugene composed two services to the saint – in Church Slavonic and English, and brought several boxes with text to the solemn glorification, which took place in the cathedral in San Francisco to distribute to everyone.  A lot of people gathered. The order of glorification was led by the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Philaret.  During this service, Eugene finally decided to become a monk.  Bishop Filaret, on behalf of the Synod of Bishops, presented the Brotherhood with a certificate of appreciation: with its publications in the "Orthodox Word" it did a lot for the early glorification of St. Herman.  In the charter, the further path of the Brotherhood was defined as a combination of hermitage with missionary activity.

   Eugene appealed to the ruling bishop, Archbishop Anthony, with a request for tonsure (hair cut) to monasticism.  On October 14/27, 1970, he was tonsured (cut) into a mantle with the name Seraphim – in honor of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov.  The leaders of his monastic life were Bishop Nektariy (Kontsevich), a student of the last Optina elder Nektarius and Archimandrite Spyridon (Efimov), a close friend of Bishop John (Maximovich), who began to regularly come to the skete to serve the liturgy there.

   In 1973, new residents began to appear in the skete.  Father Seraphim became the spiritual leader of the community. Every evening after the service, he stayed to listen to what bothered each brother.  This custom was also taken from Ven. Paisius of Velichkovsky, who introduced a daily confession of thoughts in his monastery in order to fundamentally suppress evil inclinations.  [revelations of thoughts]  Father Seraphim knew well that there is a lot of benefit from the correct application of this rule, and a lot of harm from the wrong one, so he started this business with fear and trepidation.  He gave simple advice to everyone who confessed: "Be careful with yourself!  Know yourself!"

   Father Seraphim taught the new brotherhood that the acceptance of Christ, the connection with Christ, takes place gradually.  First you need to become a good person, this is the first step to God.  The next step is to become a good Christian, then you need to become a good Orthodox Christian, and the last step is to become a good monk.  Father Seraphim appreciated Dickens' work for the author's ability to vividly and vividly describe virtue and vice.  He often gave Dickens' books to the new brotherhood so that young people would pass the first step to God – to learn to clearly distinguish between good and evil.

   Those who wanted to test themselves in the monastic field first voluntarily served in the skete, so that only after the time set for the test, they could get a podryasnik and a novice's skullcap.  The greatest attention was paid to internal work.  At the meal, the Holy Father's spiritual teachings were always read; in addition, each brother was assigned special spiritual literature for reading.  It happened that fourteen people lived in the monastery at the same time, each with its own worries and needs.  Father Seraphim was faced with the task of interpreting to young people the meaning of life in the skete, which was so different from the worldly one.  It was necessary for them to become close to the Holy Father's doctrine of self-denial, so Father Seraphim began to select and translate into English excerpts from the main works of the Holy Fathers.  So he compiled a selection from the "Guide to Spiritual Life in Answers to Questions of the Disciples" of the Monks Barsanuphius)and John.  He saw that the Holy Fathers of the past dealt with the same issues as modern zealots of Orthodoxy and indicated practical ways to eradicate passions and accumbration of virtue. Father Seraphim read his translations to the brothers at a meal.

   Excessive feat in the monastery was not allowed so that the novices would not become arrogant and fell into charm, but the usual monastic discipline in the absence of any "conveniences" was a good test of the strength of the novice's spirit.  There were cases when novices left the monastery several times and then returned.  Father Seraphim was worried about them.  In dealing with young novices, Father Seraphim avoided the role of a "godly elder" in every possible way, trying to accustom them to trust and openness in relations with their spiritual father.  He tried to instill in them love for the Holy Fathers and their teachings, and to teach them not to trust their own judgments.

   Chickens, cats, dogs lived in the skete, and the deer from the neighborhood became almost tamed. Father Seraphim especially loved dogs.  He said that all these animals are needed to "remind us of Paradise".

   The monastery gradually grew.  Monastic buildings were given the names of great Russian monasteries.  For example, the cell of Seraphim's father was called "Optina."  In 1974, they erected a chapel in memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs – Tsar Nicholas II and his family.  In the vicinity, they cleared the space for future "sketes," each of which was named after one of the saints: St. Prophet Eliah, St. John the Baptist, St. John The Theologian, Ven. Seraphim of Sarovsky and others.  Initially, it was just cleared glades where you could perform services.  In some places, the foundations of future chapels or cells were laid.  Each skete was marked with an icon fortified on a tree, a wooden cross or an analoi, and litia was performed there on the saint's day of memory.  The names were given to the surrounding mountains and hills: Paisieva Gora, Pokrovskaya Gora, Athos...

   The Lord's and Virgin's feasts were celebrated in poverty, simplicity and with great joy.  Some local customs have also been formed.  For example, the all-night vigil for the Transfiguration was served on the top of the mountain in the open air, and then, in the light of the stars, Father Seraphim shared with the brotherhood his reflections on the transformed Kingdom of Heaven, for which you need to prepare yourself.

   Father Seraphim was already the first to come to church at 5 a.m.  Despite all the circumstances, he firmly stood on the fact that every day it was necessary to perform a full cycle of worship and did not miss a single service.  He tried to ensure that no one from the brotherhood was deprived of service because of everyday work and worries.  If we talk about church singing, Father Seraphim liked Russian church chants the most, especially the ancient banner chants.  The Platinum Fathers strove to ensure that everyone living in the monastery reads and sang on the clergy, and not stood alone in the corner, so that the church prayer was really joint.  And outside of church services, Father Seraphim kept the memory of God, constantly praying Jesus.  It didn't matter whether he worked, went where or rested.  Following the legend of the Optina desert, he adhered to the rule of "five hundred" (prayers), usually performing it at night in his cell.

   Father Seraphim was an ascetic with all his being.  He ate a little, two or three times a day with the brotherhood, resolutely refusing any "convenience"; at the same time, he brought himself up in moderation, so that his feat would be feasible and did not interfere with his daily work.  Father Seraphim's bed was typically monastic: narrow and hard – two knocked down boards, without a mattress.  His cell is a room made of boards, without any insulation.  He heated a small stove with firewood for no more than an hour before going on vacation, and in winter the temperature in the cel dropped below zero by the morning.  In the asceticism of Father Seraphim, one feature was especially surprising: he was not idle for a minute, but he was always busy with some God-pleasing business; he was always afraid that he would not have time to do enough.  He repeated more than once: "You are already late. So run to do the works of God!"

   Father Seraphim probably foresaw his imminent death.  Having turned to doctors in 1980 about kidney stone disease, he learned that he had only one kidney since childhood, and understood that he "lives on borrowed time" by the grace of the Mother of God, who saved him from death in 1961.  Then he was diagnosed with a severe [rare] gastrointestinal disease, but a prayer to the Mother of God brought him back to life.  He never complained of fatigue, did not talk about his death, but mainly took care to publish as much spiritual literature as possible.  Working hard in his modest cell, knocking on the keys of the typewriter by candlelight, Father Seraphim prepared and published an unprecedented number of Orthodox works for our time.  As soon as he had a free minute, he went to the cell, sat down at the table and started working, sometimes interrupting to think about something.  Out of monastic humility, Father Seraphim never signed his works.  It happened that at the meal he translated some patristic work directly from the sheet of the brothers.  The translation would be recorded on a tape recorder and then carefully checked.  Whole books were translated this way: "Instructions to Monks" by St. Theodore the Studite, "The Life of the Elder Anatoly of Optina", "Spiritual Instructions" by Abba Dorotheus, chapters from "Commentary on the New Testament" by Archbishop Averky (Taushev) and others.

   In addition to the "Orthodox Word," published every two months, a full church calendar in English has been published regularly since 1972.  Most of the circulation of the "Orthodox Word" was distributed free of charge – in libraries, distributed to monks and other low-income people.  Since 1965, the lives of Russian new martyrs began to be published in almost every issue.  Father Seraphim said: "The testimonies of martyrs are the most precious gift of Russia to the West."  In 1968, the whole issue of the "Orthodox Word" was dedicated to the martyr Tsar Nicholas II, and there was also an article by Father Seraphim about him.  When making the lives of the new martyrs, they were guided by information from direct eyewitnesses – friends, relatives and spiritual children of those who were tortured by the Soviet power.  Only about 80 people left them their testimonies.  [Today evil presides.  Platina holds the copyrights and will not allow people to have Fr. Seraphim's magazines for any price.]

   IN 1976, the Brotherhood published the book "Blessed Paisius of Velichkovsky" in English, which included his life, teachings, a review of his influence on the subsequent development of monasticism and a full church service to the saint with a canon written by Father Seraphim.  In 1978, a series of books about the cases of Russian ascetics of the XIX century began to be published.  In addition to a large number of individual lives of saints and various articles, Father Seraphim translated and compiled the following works: "Northern Thebaid," "Vita Patrum," the first part of the book of St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov "The Way to Salvation," "The Sin of Adam" by the Monk Simeon the New Theologian, the work of Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky "Dogmatic Theology," "The Apocalypse" by Archbishop Averkiy (Taushev), most of the work "Catacomb Saints of Russia."  [Some out-of-print books are available through private lending libraries. joannahigginbotham@runbox.com]

   In 1976, Father Seraphim's book, which caused a wide response, "Orthodoxy and Religion of the Future," was published.  Being personally familiar with Eastern paganism and seeing its growing popularity even among the Orthodox, Father Seraphim wrote this book, in which he, based on the teachings of the holy fathers, revealed the spiritual seduction of these religions and, based on their own sources, showed that their false spirituality is an attempt to undermine the unity and fullness of Christ's truth.  [Fr. Seraphim also revealed the specific names of the true canonical Churches, which Platina censored from later editions.  joannahigginbotham@runbox.com]

   At the time when Father Seraphim was working on the book, most of the ideas and teachings he considered had not yet manifested themselves in full force, but he forestood that soon these ideas and teachings would pass from the side road to the "main track."  The leading role here is played by the ecumenical movement, which gradually included all Orthodox Churches.  Father Seraphim from the point of view of Orthodoxy and patristic heritage considered all non-Christian cults, as well as the appearance of UFOs and modern "miracles" (invoking spirits, healing, clairvoyance and other misconceptions), showing that all these phenomena are associated with demonic forces and lead a person to destruction.

    Father Seraphim wrote his other book, "The Soul After Death" (1980), in response to attacks against the Orthodox doctrine of the state of the soul after physical death.  At that time, all over the world, people were fond of parapsychological studies of the human soul and its experiences after the death of the body.  There were many books describing the "posthumous experiences" of people who clinically died and then came to life. Father Seraphim denounced modern parapsychology, stating and commenting on the patristic doctrine of the state of the soul after bodily death.  The books "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" and "Soul After Death" are the most popular in the Orthodox world, as they present for the first time in modern Orthodox literature a large-scale critical analysis from Christian positions of various religious and pseudo-religious, spiritual and pseudo-spiritual currents of our time. 

   Father Seraphim also wrote several articles about the ancient saints of the West, primarily Orthodox Gaul, who have been almost forgotten by modern Christians.  He translated the Lives of the Fathers of St. Gregory of Tours from Latin into English, providing the book with the necessary commentary.  Until the last days of his life, Father Seraphim fulfilled the precepts of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, making his contribution to the great cause of glorifying the Orthodox saints of the West.

               IV. Pastoral age
   In October 1976, Bishop Nektari arrived at the monastery.  He conveyed the will of Metropolitan Filaret, who believed that Father Seraphim needed to be ordained a priest so that he could serve the liturgy and fully meet the spiritual needs of pilgrims visiting the skete.  December 20/January 2, on the day of the memory of St. John of Kronstadt, a monk Seraphim in San Francisco, was ordained a hierodeacon.  On April 11/24, 1977, Bishop Nektarius ordained him a hieromonk.

   When the new burden of the priesthood fell on Fr. Seraphim’s shoulders, the Lord relieved him of the burden of some worldly cares: water was discovered in the monastery and a well was dug, which made life noticeably easier.  The monastery’s missionary work became even more extensive. P arishes with house churches were established in various places, which were under his care.  Father Seraphim began to make missionary journeys to meet the needs of his extensive flock, although this was not easy for him: by nature, he was not sociable.  A solitary thinker, philosopher and writer, he did not want to leave the monastery, since this would force him to abandon writing.  However, he accepted this new life with humility, trying to give his whole soul to people.  He soon found joy in his new calling. He sympathized with the people he served and did not spare himself for the sake of others.

   Father Seraphim tried to give people a spiritual direction, kept extensive correspondence with his spiritual children, with students and those who wanted to decide on their life path and join Orthodoxy.  He advised people not to rush to make decisions of spiritual importance, to hope more in God, not to stop fighting their passions and not to fall into despair when faced with difficulties or temptations.  His teachings reached the essence by small means.  Father Seraphim listened extraordinarily patiently to people, their aspirations, and expressed his views and judgments very restrainedly, spoke humbly and only what was necessary.  He taught people humility and daily struggle with sin and self-love.  Enriched with his own experience of suffering, search and spiritual struggle, Father Seraphim knew when a person needed to be denounced, when to comforted, in whom it was necessary to plant the seed of Christian humility and hope.  The friendly and gentle circumventance, so different from the harshness of his printed word, attracted people to him.  They knew that he felt their pain, because he experienced it himself.

   In 1979, several women who visited the monastery for spiritual needs made the final decision to devote themselves to monastic life.  They managed to buy a plot of land 12 miles from the monastery.  A convent dedicated to Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg, glorified a year earlier, was founded there.  And Father Seraphim became the spiritual director of the sisters.  He taught them humility, love, forgiveness, openness.  In their monastery, the sisters also performed a full circle of worship.

   In 1982, on the feast of the Transfiguration, Father Seraphim preached in the open air, under the starry sky.  In this, as it turned out, his last sermon, he told the listeners about the purpose of our earthly path and the future life.  One of the sisters of the skete of St. Ksenia later wrote: "During the All-Night monks, nuns from the skete and guests moved in a procession through the forest with candles and singing festive poems.  The monks went to the Transfiguration skete on the top of Mount St. Herman, and the nuns to the skete of St. Ilia.  The singing was met at the foot of the large cross, which was placed over the gorge.  The sky was starry and clear.  Father Seraphim, dressed in white clothes, gave us a sign to put out the candles.  For a few moments he stood silently, looking into the dark gorge and the starry sky, and then said something like this: "Looking at the greatness of God's creation, we see only the vague outlines of His Heavenly Kingdom, for which we are all created.  We must always remember that our home is in Heaven; we must free ourselves from all the vain and petty passions and worries that bind us to the earth, to the fallen earthly world, which prevent us from remembering our destiny.  How lightly we forget about the meaning of our existence... We live in the end of time.  More and more noticeable are the signs of the antichrist – this whole world is preparing for his reign.  Christians will undergo unheard-of trials of faith and love for Christ.  We will have to hide in a desert like the one we see in front of us.  Of course, in the end they will find us there too.  You need to hide not to save your earthly life, but to buy time and strengthen souls before the last battle.  We need to start right now.  And even when we struggle with petty passions, let's not forget that our true home is not here on earth, but in Heaven.  Therefore, we will work for the sake of our Heavenly House, as the Monk Herman said: "To the stars! To the stars!. '  He finished the sermon and, forgetting about us, continued to look into the starry expanses.  We saw how the mystery of a man was revealed, who had long prepared his soul for eternity and was about to join it."

               V. Rest
  After the Transfiguration, Father Seraphim fell ill and could no longer attend services.  He had been ill before, but he never complained, and it was difficult to determine how ill he was.  The pain did not stop for several days.  It became clear that he needed to be hospitalized.  A very rare and dangerous stomach disease was suspected.  Two operations were performed, but to no avail: Father Seraphim’s condition was hopeless.  He lay in excruciating pain.  One of the brethren or friends kept vigil by his bedside all the time.  The sick man was given the anointing of oil, he was often given communion, but his condition was getting worse.  Father Seraphim could not speak.  After several days, various organs began to fail, and on August 20/September 2, 1982, he died.  He was 48 years old.

   The body of Father Seraphim, dressed in monastic and priestly robes, was placed in a simple wooden coffin before burial in the monastery church.  The Psalter was read day and night.  In the three days that passed from the moment of death to burial, the body did not harden, there were no signs of decay, despite the hot weather.  The skin remained warm, soft and light.  The ascetic's face was smoothed out, shone with calmness and joy and was so beautiful that, contrary to the custom of covering the face of the deceased hieromonk, this was not done. F ather Seraphim lay alive and looked younger than before his death.

   On the day of the funeral, the monastery church was overcrowded.  The funeral was performed by Archbishop Anthony and Bishop Nektariy.  So many people gathered that many had to listen to the service in the church yard.  Bishop Nektariy, seeing Mother Brigid, the abbess of the monastery of Blessed Ksenia, completely crushed by grief, comforted her with the words: "Pray not for Father Seraphim, but to Father Seraphim!"  When the coffin of the ascetic was lowered into the grave and covered with earth, the general sadness was replaced by joy, – without conspiring, everyone sang "Christ has risen from the dead."  A memorial service was held daily for forty days.  On the fortieth day, Bishop Nektary arrived with several priests.  After serving the liturgy and memorial service on the grave, he delivered a sermon to the audience, which he ended with the words: "Father Seraphim was righteous, maybe even a saint." The priest who was translating the sermon into English stumbled, not daring to repeat the last word, and asked for clarification.  Then Vladyka repeated loudly: "Yes! Saint!"  From the grave, everyone gathered after Vladyka went to the temple.  On the threshold of the temple, Bishop Nektary stopped with an incense in his hand and sang the greatness at the top of his voice: "We please you, Venerable Father Seraphim, and honor your holy memory, mentor of the monks and interlocutor of the Angels!."  Monks, priests and pilgrims picked up, and the sadness of separation from Father Seraphim was replaced by bright joy.


GLORIFICATION of St, Seraphim DOWNLOAD FOLDER:
https://app.box.com/s/wzs43z4541zdpwbl5m07g0m2av5qzye7

folder contains:
   Official Biography St. Seraphim Platina original Russian.pdf
   Icon#1 folder of a phone-photo in various formats
   Icon#2 included w/ Bio original.jpg
   Icon#2 included w/ Bio photoshopped.jpg
http://internetsobor.org/index.php/novosti/rptsz/prepodobnyj-serafim-zhizneopisanie-i-sluzhba
   Service St. Seraphim Platina.pdf
https://sinod.ruschurchabroad.org/bib_sl%20serafimRouz.pdf
   Synod Meeting 204 Oct 25-26 os.pdf
http://internetsobor.org/index.php/novosti/rptsz/2024-16
   Synod Meeting 2024 Nov 6 os.pdf
http://internetsobor.org/index.php/novosti/rptsz/2024-21
   Video of Homily St. Michael's Day.pdf
http://internetsobor.org/index.php/stati/avtorskaya-kolonka/mitropolit-agafangel-ieromonakh-serafim-i-angelskie-sily
   РПЦЗ Иеромонах Серафим и Ангельские силы.mp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvd2r9AnWhE

Please, if you are reading this and can help with translating the Service +/or the Homily, then take this as a sign from heaven that you are being asked to help.  Even if you just give us a summary of the Homily in your own words... If you can put the Church Savonic into Russian alphabet, so I can put it through a machine translator...  Whatever you can do is more than we have now, which is nothing.  Please? or do you know somebody you can ask?
joannahigginbotham@runbox.com

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