104

With the Saints

With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants, where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.

—Kontakion of the Pannikhida (Service for the Dead) by St. John Damascene

WITHIN a month after Fr. Seraphim's repose, Orthodox America dedicated a special memorial issue to him. In it was published this weighty appraisal of him by a great Patristic "link" of the previous generation, Helen Kontzevitch:

"Having the greatest admiration for the newly reposed Fr. Seraphim, and valuing highly his achievements before God, 1 would like to write a few words about an attribute of his which is most dear and close to my heart. This is his faithfulness to genuine Orthodoxy. He did not have the slightest divergence from the teaching of the Church; he did not hold to any personal opinions. My late husband, Ivan M, Kontzevitch, was the same, having several university degrees and, toward the end of his life, completing theological academy. It never entered his mind to sin against the teachings of the Church.

"The teaching of the Orthodox Church is not a product of the minds or the deliberations of the great Fathers of the Church. The Holy Spirit Himself inspired them with this teaching. It is for this reason that Orthodoxy is unshakable. Every offense against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin (Matt. 12:31-32). Faithfulness to Orthodoxy in our difficult and troubled times is of great value. Fr. Seraphim was a burning and illuminating lamp. He left us his light in his writings. Glory to God for all things,"1 In the same issue was a heartfelt eulogy by Fr. Alexey Young: "In one of the last sermons I heard him give, Hieromonk Seraphim said quietly and simply, as he had said so many times before: 'Be kind to one another. Smile, and be cheerful. Carry one another's burdens for the sake of Christ.'

"The death of Fr. Seraphim on August 20/September 2 has removed from the midst of this small, struggling mission of St. Herman of Alaska a faithful servant of God who, while able to grasp deep theological principles, never once strayed from the path of Gospel simplicity, fulfilling the Scriptural description of a righteous man, who bringeth forth wisdom (Prov. 10:31).…

"I write these words, now, with tears, for Fr. Seraphim was my co-worker and collaborator as well as my conscience. I never sat down at the typewriter without Fr. Seraphim figuratively looking over my shoulder; I knew that I would never have to trust myself. Now, my heart breaks, and only Christ can console….

"Of course, while he lived we did not fully appreciate him. We took him for granted, just as we always do with those we love. We thought that in spite of his fragile health he would nonetheless always 'be there.' He had only just turned forty-eight — still a young man—with so much work unfinished; his course as an Orthodox Christian only lasted just over twenty years. And then, after a brief but terrifyingly intense illness, he was gone, so that, having been a little chastised he shall be greatly rewarded, for God proved him and found him worthy of Himself (Wisdom 3:4).

"In the Praktikos there is found this passage: The death of his father was announced to a certain monk. He turned to the messenger who had brought him the news and replied: 'Stop your blasphemies. My father is immortal!' This was how I felt when I received news of Fr. Seraphim's repose: he is not dead; he is now truly alive, in Christ! He has gone to the next world to be with his beloved Archbishop John, St. Paisius [Velichkovsky], and the saints of Gaul and the Northern Thebaid, whose Lives he had translated and printed. "What a man was this! Brothers and sisters — our dear readers — we shall nor soon see his like again! I am filled with gratitude to God for having given him to us, even for such a brief time. And I believe with all my heart and soul that he has now heard the blessed voice of the Master speak these precious words: Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord (Matt. 25:21)."

IN January of 1983, four months after Fr. Seraphim's repose and only three weeks before his own repose, Bishop Nektary sent Fr. Herman an encouraging letter in which he told him to trust "in the prayers of your heavenly patron, our holy Fr. Herman of Alaska, and of course in the prayers of your sotainnik, the late Hieromonk Seraphim." "And Archbishop John," the Bishop continued, " — does he not raise his holy prayers to the throne of God, begging help for you to strengthen your will and to give powers for further building up and making firm your holy monastery? After all, it is a child of Archbishop John!

"God is the God of the living, and not a God of the dead. Both Archbishop John and Fr. Seraphim are alive with the Lord, and doubtlessly have boldness before the throne of God. Address yourself to them. Feel and believe in their prayerful protection and help.

"BE VALIANT, BE MANLY, AND MAY YOUR HEART BE FIRM."

In the years following Fr. Seraphim's repose, the St. Herman Brotherhood received many confirmations that Fr. Seraphim had indeed become, together with St. Herman and St. John Maximovitch, a heavenly intercessor. Thus, just as the Brotherhood had once begun to compile a record book of the intercessions of its founding hierarch, St. John, so now it began to compile such a book about its founding member, Fr. Seraphim. Here we present, in chronological order, a sampling of the accounts from this record book of Fr. Seraphim's intercessions.

1. In late September, 1982, just weeks after Fr. Seraphim's repose, Fr. Alexey Young's matushka, Susan, was diagnosed with melanoma. The insidious cancer had already metastasized, leaving Matushka Susan, according to the doctors, a twenty percent chance of living another five years. Her youngest daughter Faith was only five months old then, and for her sake Matushka Susan begged God to grant her this reprieve. Meanwhile, every night Fr. Alexey anointed the spot on her neck, from which the primary tumor had been removed, with oil from the lamp over Fr. Seraphim's grave. On December 6, 1982, one of Fr. Alexey's parishioners, Martha Nichols, wrote to the monastery:

"I don't feel that Fr. Seraphim is very far away. I recently dreamt that I walked into a crowd of people, and there was Fr. Seraphim, dressed in his monastic garments with a black cap (skufia) on his head. He blessed me and said, 'Peace be with you,' and I said, 'And with thy spirit,' like in the Liturgy. He turned to a woman and put his forehead on her neck and shoulder. When he raised his head, blood was streaming on the woman's neck and shoulder, but there was no blood on Fr. Seraphim. Fr. Deacon Laurence [Williams], vested in white and gold, went over and, with the Communion cloth, wiped the blood off very calmly. I remember thinking—'It is really the blood of Christ!' Then Fr. Seraphim walked away with his arms around someone, as if to console that person. I didn't recognize who it was. When I woke up, I realized that the woman in the dream looked, from the back, just like Matushka Susan." Some time after this dream occurred, Matushka Susan went to the doctor for medical tests. All the tests showed that the cancer had disappeared; her neck was perfectly healthy. The doctors at the clinic specializing in melanoma acknowledged it to be a miracle. Matushka Susan lived for another fourteen years and reposed on November 29, 1996.

2. On November 11, 1983, Fr. Alexey Young wrote the following: "About two months after the repose of Fr. Seraphim it came to my attention that a cousin (non-Orthodox) of one of my spiritual children (Barbara Murray) was in the hospital with a serious ailment. She asked to see me and asked that I pray for her. She was suffering from a constriction of vessels in the leg, causing shortage of circulation. The immediate crisis was a gangrenous big toe. 1 saw this toe myself: it was green and rotting — a terrible sight. The doctors were preparing to amputate the toe within a week or so, and said that it was likely she would lose the whole foot and possibly the limb from the knee down. I anointed her toe and leg with oil from Fr. Seraphim's grave and asked his intercession on her behalf. Within a short period of time the gangrene completely disappeared. The doctors decided it was not necessary to amputate the toe or anything else and announced that they were 'amazed' at what happened. Today, more than a year later, she has had no recurrence of her affliction, to the continuing surprise of the doctors, who have no explanation for it. I'm convinced that this healing was worked through Fr. Seraphim. (By the way, I myself spoke to the doctor on more than one occasion, and so am able to personally verify the medical details as well as the initial prognosis.)

"And now I have a second miracle to report: Two weeks ago today my brother-in-law, Stefan (whom I baptized last July and then married to my sister, Anna), was in a serious auto accident here in town. He broke both legs (compound fracture in the left leg) and also shattered the left ankle and the left big toe. He was immediately taken into surgery, where the doctors worked for four and a half hours to clean the wounds (the bones had broken through the flesh in more than one place); road dirt had been ground into the flesh and bones, and the danger of life-threatening infection was very great. I saw the photos of his left leg and foot just before they took him into surgery, and it was an appalling sight: the left foot was just hanging; the ligaments and tendons had all been torn away, and the bones completely crushed.

"During that first operation we prayed in the waiting room. Remembering that Bishop Nektary had sung a Glorification [hymn] to Fr. Seraphim, I served a Moleben to Fr. Seraphim on behalf of Stefan. Starting the next day, and every day thereafter, he was anointed with oil from Fr. Seraphim's grave. Through the bandages we were even able to reach one of the mangled toes of the left foot.

"After the surgery the doctor told us there was a good chance that he would lose the foot. Also, there was a possibility that if infection set in it could become 'life-threatening.' But we had great confidence in the prayers of our Righteous One before the throne of God, and we waited, patiently.

"Six days later the surgeons operated again. This was a critical time, for based upon what they saw when they removed the bandages, they would have a good idea about whether or not the foot could be saved. Afterwards the surgeon himself said that it was a 'miracle'! Not only was everything mending well, but there was no sign of infection—in itself a miracle.

"Of course Stefan now has three months in a wheelchair, and then he will have to learn to walk all over again. There are still many difficulties, and possibly more operations, in the near future. But I believe that in this, as in so many other things, Fr. Seraphim again heard our prayers, and turned on our behalf to God's throne in order to give us help. Truly, God rests in His saints!

"Of both of the above miracles I am personally a witness. In addition, photographs exist of the second case which would quickly convince anyone — lay person or physician — that something of a truly extraordinary nature took place."

3. In March of 1984 Alison moved temporarily to Redding to be close to the grave of Fr. Seraphim. Before she found an apartment in the city, she stayed in a motel with her daughter. There Fr. Seraphim appeared to her one night, looking as he did when she last saw him in the flesh in 1960. Sitting at the table in the kitchen area of the motel room, he seemed to be actually present in body before her, not like a ghost; and she was not at all frightened. "Eugene," she said to him, "I thought you were dead." Fr. Seraphim looked at her with joy. "Don't you know we'll always be together?" he asked.

These words of assurance remained with Alison for the rest of her life. With them, Fr. Seraphim confirmed posthumously what he had written to her back in 1963: "I pray and hope and believe that we shall be together when this brief life is over."

Alison reposed on February 12/25, 2002. According to God's inscrutable Providence, this was the commemoration day of St. Eugene of Alexandria: Fr, Seraphim's nameday in the world and the fortieth anniversary of his reception into the Church.

In fulfillment of Alison's last request, her body was buried on the grounds of the St. Herman Monastery.

4. In 1979 Pastor Marion Cardoza, who was connected with the Evangelical Orthodox movement, began to write Fr. Seraphim heartfelt letters expressing his desire to enter more deeply into Orthodoxy. At that time his church near Santa Cruz, California — called the "hippie church" because it brought in young seekers from the counterculture — had not been received into the canonical Orthodox Church, and in fact had had practically no contact with traditional Orthodoxy and its monasticism. In August of 1980 Fr. Seraphim wrote to Pastor Cardoza in order to arrange a meeting:

I have received your second letter and am very couched by the urgency of your appeal to find the true roots of Christianity....

May God reward your search for true Orthodoxy. I myself found it twenty years ago after a fruitless wandering in Oriental religions, and I have never doubted that this is the true Church established by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The pitfalls in the way of finding and becoming one with Christ's Church are many, as you yourself have already realized. I myself believe that if one is absolutely sincere and truthful, and will beware of trusting his own opinions and feelings, God will grant him to find His Church.

I will be in Santa Cruz over the Labor Day weekend to give a talk at a Russian-language religious conference there, and I would be very happy to meet with you then, and with members of your community if you wish....

We are sending you separately a few more Orthodox publications. Please pray to God that He might make our meeting fruitful.

When Fr. Seraphim came to visit the church on September 5, a parishioner who saw him outside told Pastor Cardoza, "There's a heavy dude out there!" The pastor, afraid it might be a member of a motorcycle gang, opened the door and saw for the first time in his life an Orthodox monk. Fr. Seraphim talked with him for two or three hours; and as he arose at the end of their talk he reached out and hugged the pastor. "God is in this place," he said emphatically. "Stay on the path."

Later Fr, Seraphim wrote in his Chronicle: "A good meeting — he [the pastor] has read much on Orthodoxy and seems to accept it in his heart." Fr. Seraphim saw that the church, having come from a Protestant background, still had much to learn, but he believed that if the people continued to seek the Kingdom of God, all things would be added unto them. He especially valued their attempt to save the victims of today's counterculture, having once been one himself.

After Fr. Seraphim's repose, Pastor Cardoza needed a larger church for his growing community. An ideal church was available in the town of Ben Lomond for $250,000, but his community had no money at the time. Taking some earth that had come from Fr. Seraphim's grave in Platina, he sprinkled it over the church's grounds and asked Fr. Seraphim for his heavenly intercession. The next day the lady who was selling the church told the pastor that he could move in right away and not worry about immediate payment. The community was subsequently received into the Orthodox Church, grew to include over three hundred families, and became widely known as one of the most fervent convert parishes in America. Its original pastor attributes the miracle of the acquisition of the Ben Lomond church to Fr. Seraphim's prayers in heaven. * Having taken the name Seraphim out of gratitude to Fr. Seraphim, he now serves as the priest of St. Innocent's Orthodox Church (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad) in Rogue River, Oregon.

5. Toward the end of his earthly life Fr. Seraphim had begun to receive copies of a magazine called Sonflowers, produced by a "New Age Christian" society called the Holy Order of MANS.** The magazine was obviously put together with much love and care, and revealed a groping toward a mystical dimension of Christianity. The Holy Order of MANS was but one of hundreds of gnostic and mystical groups that had sprung up in the 1960s and early 1970s, but it was its decidedly Christian aspect that interested Fr. Seraphim.

After the death of its founder in 19/4, the Order had been in a process of a searching not unlike the one in which Fr. Seraphim had been involved many years before. Its new Director General, Vincent Rossi, had inherited the leadership of nearly two thousand souls, a third of whom had taken vows of poverty and obedience. Although the Order had always placed Jesus Christ as the reason for its existence and the eucharist at the center of its worship, in its early years it had held heretical ideas such as reincarnation and Gnostic illumination: New Age teachings of the kind Fr. Seraphim had warned people about in his books. By 1983 Vincent had already thrown out many of these ideas (which caused not a few people to leave), but still he was without a solid foundation for his group. If they were to solidly adhere to basic Christianity, what sort of Christianity would it be?

Vincent was reading through piles of books in search of the fullness of Truth. Just like Ft. Seraphim, he was initially struck by the writings of Rene Guenon, from which he learned the necessity of ancient tradition, of orthodoxy. The focus of his study now became Orthodox Christianity, and of the many Orthodox writings he read he was especially moved by those of Fr. Seraphim. He formed a desire to get into contact with Fr. Seraphim himself; but then, to his great sadness, he read in an issue of The Orthodox Word that Fr. Seraphim had died a year before. Days passed, weeks, and he could not get the thought of Fr. Seraphim out of his mind. How strange, he thought: no other writings had actually "followed" him like this. As he recalled later: "It was as if Fr. Seraphim were drawing me, calling me, not letting me be until I pursued Orthodox Christianity to the end." He prayed to God that He would bring the Order into the living tradition of Orthodox Christianity.

As Vincent began to introduce Orthodox Christianity to members of the Order, he found that they were incredibly receptive to it, seeing it as the true, mystical Christianity for which they had so long been groping in the dark. With such a large group involved, however, one could not expect it to become fully Orthodox at once. Much struggle and soul-searching was needed along the way.

During Bright Week in May of 1984, one of the Order's pastors, Nathaniel, made a pilgrimage to the St. Herman Monastery. The day was cold and foggy when Nathaniel, having just left the services in church, came to stand before Fr. Seraphim's grave. His heart was heavy; he felt agitated and uncertain, as if he were trying to grasp something that remained out of reach. The beauty and depth of Orthodoxy had overwhelmed him and satisfied the yearning of his soul, but he wondered now how his community could fully enter the Church.

Since the members of the Order were renunciant and had taken lifelong vows, a unity born of spiritual struggle had grown up among them. They had dedicated their lives to service in the name of Christ, doing "street missions" to bring the light of Christ to the most dangerous neighborhoods, feeding the poor, and opening "Raphael House"*** shelters for distressed families. Many members had been sent out on mission to new cities with no more than twenty-five dollars in their pockets. They would begin and end the day with prayer, coming to church to receive communion every morning at 6:00 a.m.

Nathaniel knew that there were many things the Order would have to change as it entered more deeply into Orthodoxy — and already this change had begun — but he feared that too sudden and drastic a change would wipe out all that they had built up over the years. Would it be possible for those in the Order to be received into the Orthodox Church with their erroneous ideas and practices removed, but without having to throw out their good ideas and their good works?

Standing before Fr. Seraphim's grave with conflicting thoughts on these matters, Nathaniel asked for Fr. Seraphim's help. He felt that Fr. Seraphim had taken his community thus far on the path to Orthodoxy, and now he asked him where to go from there. His prayer, coming as it did from pain of heart, was concentrated and intense, and was unexpectedly followed by a wondrous calm. Within his heart he heard Fr. Seraphim say, "Read Acts 10." Having never heard a voice in such a way before, he thought he had imagined it. But the voice came again, this time more clearly: "Read Acts 10."

At that time Nathaniel did not remember the contents of that particular chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. When he turned to it later, the meaning of the words he had heard became clear. The tenth chapter of Acts deals with the conversion and entrance into the Church of Cornelius the Centurion, a Roman Gentile. Cornelius is at first described as a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave alms to the people, and prayed to God always. God, desiring his salvation, granted him a vision in which an angel told him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. Then the Apostle Peter, who had also been spoken to in a vision, came to Cornelius and his friends, saying, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.

Hearing and believing all that St. Peter confessed of Christ, Cornelius received the Holy Spirit. Referring to Cornelius and his friends, St. Peter said, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? At this, Peter commanded them to be baptized.

In reading this story, Nathaniel understood that the description of Cornelius could be applied directly to his Order. Like Cornelius, the devout men and women of the Order had been accepted by God for their sincere prayers and almsgiving, and had thus been led to the true, Orthodox Church of Christ, to the consummation of all that God had come to earth to give. In becoming Orthodox they could continue their good works, which had attracted to them God's grace and mercy in the first place.

Nathaniel's question had thus been answered by three words from Fr. Seraphim, who was obviously continuing to look after the Order from the other world. Today many hundreds of people from the Order—now called the Christ the Saviour Brotherhood — and its communities have been received into what Fr. Seraphim called the "saving enclosure" of the Orthodox Church. Not at all abandoning their good works, they have on the contrary found new, creative outlets for their original apostolic zeal, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in an Orthodox context. Orthodox missions and bookstores have been opened throughout America and overseas, while the Raphael House shelters continue to provide a home and services for struggling families. Twenty-four people who came from the Order (including their children) have taken on the yoke of monastic life in the St. Herman Brotherhood and elsewhere; thirty now serve as clergymen in various Orthodox jurisdictions, and others are currently preparing for ordination.

Vincent Rossi, the man who discovered Orthodoxy for the Order, attributes the miracle of its conversion to Fr. Seraphim's prayers. "It's my belief," he says, "that up in heaven Fr, Seraphim saw us struggling and searching. We might have appeared strange on the outside, but he could see behind that, that deep down we really weren't so bad after all. And he came to help us out."

6. In 1985 the Brotherhood received the following letter from a frequent pilgrim to the monastery, a twenty-five-year-old Greek-Arabic man named Paul Baba:

"Fr. Seraphim has answered my prayer! Yesterday was probably one of the worst days of my life. I was just about to fall apart!... The problem I was having was all about how I didn't want to spend most of my time serving and pleasing man in this world with the musical talent that God gave me. What I mean by pleasing man is when 1 write dancing tunes that are so useless to man's salvation, songs that do not take any talent whatsoever. The only reason I would write them is so I could get paid a lot of money. As you know, I've been writing [Byzantine] chants. In my heart, I feel so at ease serving God, serving the Church, and doing something useful for the salvation of man. But even though I've been writing chants, my life still feels very empty. I've been told I need a degree if I'm going to continue to write chants. If I don't have a degree, no one will recognize me as a writer.

"Well, G. B. invited me over to his house yesterday and gave me the new Orthodox Word on the 'Optina Elders' to read. As I was leaving for home, which was at midnight, I fell into despondency. I was so hurt because I felt as though the Church wanted neither me nor my talents. Then I remembered Fr, Seraphim lying dead in his coffin. I remembered watching people touching him and praying to him to intercede for them. These people would cry their hearts out as though they needed help in their spiritual life....

"I was so tired of being sick at heart that I went to bed and, right before I slept, I asked Fr. Seraphim to help me.... A tear came rolling down from my eye; I guess I was just so hurt and alone.

"In my dream last night, I was in the old church at Platina, looking at Fr. Seraphim lying dead in his coffin. He looked so humble and innocent that I felt compelled to give him a layman's blessing with the sign of the Cross. As I thought of my problems, I started to cry heavily right over his coffin. I felt so alone and in need of comfort that I got on my knees and lay my head on his shoulder. I kept crying and crying. I started pouring out my troubles about how no one accepts my talents because I don't have a degree and how I feel so alone in the world. I went on and on and cried and cried. After I was done letting all my problems out, I felt so warm and comforted that I wanted never to leave. I had to leave, though, and as I looked at his face, he had tears rolling down from his eyes. It was so beautiful to see that he entered himself into my sorrow. And as I hugged him in parting, I heard his voice say, 'You will get your answer.'

"Then I woke up and it was morning. For some reason, the first thing that 1 did was to read the whole Orthodox Word on the Optina Elders. When Fr. Seraphim was alive, he used to say to me, 'You think you've got problems — read the Lives of Saints.' So, with that always in my mind, I read the Optina Elders [article]. They were so beautiful, but still no answer to my problem. But there I saw on the next page, written by Eugene Rose, "The Love of Truth."**** There was my answer. It was so true and encouraging for me to do what is right. Especially when I read: 'For the rest, it's a matter of making money, getting a secure place in life — and using the mind as a kind of toy, doing clever tricks with it and getting paid for it, like circus clowns.' You see, I wouldn't last here in the world by rearranging the talent God gave me, to satisfy my stomach. God is glorified through His saints."

Fr. Seraphim gave Paul his answer in more ways than one. Since writing this letter, Paul was given unforeseen opportunities to serve Christ in His Church, in much the same way that Fr. Seraphim did. For several years he ran a popular Orthodox book and icon store in San Francisco, in a storefront right next to the one where Fathers Seraphim and Herman had theirs. Through him and his store, hundreds of people were converted to Orthodoxy. Today, Paul is married, has three children, and serves as the priest of the St. George Orthodox Church (Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

7. In 1988 Paul's store was visited by a monk, Fr. Tikhon, who told him of a miracle worked through Fr. Seraphim's prayers. Paul encouraged him to inform the St. Herman Brotherhood about this, and thus on the Feast of the Dormition ("Fr. Seraphim's" Feast) Fr. Tikhon wrote the following:

"I fell ill in December 1987. On Christmas Eve the doctors told me I had cancer of the pancreas. This diagnosis, of course, meant death. After the doctors left my room I began to pray the Jesus Prayer, and then it came to me to pray to Blessed Seraphim Rose, whose writings I had been reading since the 1960s. Although I never met Fr. Seraphim, I always felt he had been helping me and reaching out to me through his writings. I had the icon of Blessed Seraphim that you had sent me before I got sick.

"I prayed and slept for three days. During this time Fr. Seraphim came to me, as if out of a tunnel with light at the other end. He walked out of the light and began talking to me. He spoke of what the monastic life was supposed to be, and told me what I should be doing with my life. He had a very gentle spirit, but he told me my sins and what I had to change in myself. It was like a big brother helping a little brother. He told me it was not my time to die and that God had things for me to do....

"After I woke up on the 28th of December, Fr. David came to give me Communion and to pray with me. I told him I had been praying and had asked Blessed Fr. Seraphim to take my case before God.

"The next day my blood began to get better, and the next day it was even better; and the doctors said I could go home. They said they could do no more for me and that I would have to come back for more tests in one week.

"When I came on the day of the test, I almost at once knew something was going on. They kept doing it over and over; then they sent me to the Nuclear Medicine Department, and the same thing. I had three more CAT scans, all the same — no cancer. The young doctor told me he could not take care of me anymore. He is a Japanese man — they do not make mistakes. He had seen the malignant lump and had seen the results of the biopsy; but now the lump had suddenly disappeared, and the pancreas was back to normal. He was frightened because he had lost face by making a diagnosis of death which turned out to be wrong. I could not explain to him that he had not made a mistake. He is not Christian or Orthodox and did not understand that our blessed brother had asked God to hear my prayer.

"Blessed Fr. Seraphim Rose will always be my friend and brother. He has with his life and writings changed my life, and the lives of my brothers."

8. On May 2, 1989, Dr. Raphael Stephens III of Virginia Beach, Virginia, wrote of how Fr. Seraphim had helped him in his involvement with a Christian movement to stop, through nonviolent means, the legalized crime of abortion. It is not surprising that Fr. Seraphim, having been very conscious of the nihilistic disrespect for the mystery of life in our times, should have shown his care for the unborn victims of our society. Dr. Stephens' letter reads:

"Reverend and Dear Father:

"Recently I participated in the National Day of Rescue, which was an attempt to prevent babies from being murdered by abortion. The issue of abortion to me is just as it is in Holy Orthodoxy — abortion is murder. In many respects it is similar to the Nazi holocaust of the Jews during World War II, and the Communist holocaust that is still going on in Russia today. Because I feel so convicted of this truth, I decided to be one of those who would 'lay down' my life for the unborn by blocking the entrance to an abortuary this past Saturday (Holy Saturday).

"My reason for writing you all the way from Virginia Beach, Virginia, is not to share my personal convictions but to share something that directly touches St. Herman's Brotherhood. I wrote the Brotherhood shortly after Fr. Seraphim Rose had died, inquiring about Holy Orthodoxy. I received some very informative material and later ordered the first two titles of the Little Russian Philokalia. I became minimally familiar with Fr. Seraphim during this time.... Recently God has begun to stir me heavily toward Holy Orthodoxy (I am a Roman Catholic), and I know God is calling me and my family into the fold. So, I wrote asking for some materials, which someone graciously sent to me. One was an issue of The Orthodox Word featuring Fr. Seraphim's writings with a full-face, color cover of Fr. Seraphim. As I read the material my heart burned for the truth that Fr. Seraphim radiated.

"Now the essence of why I write. The night before the 'Rescue' I was very nervous and frankly scared — I am a law-abiding, conservative Christian who is a good citizen. I knew I would be arrested and that was an unpleasant prospect. I went to bed and restlessly fell asleep, only to be awakened shortly thereafter with Fr. Seraphim Rose's face gleaming at me. I knew I was to pray to him that he would pray for my protection in 'Operation Rescue.' I felt him say that he and the Host of Heaven were supporting all Rescuers in heavenly prayer. I felt him say to me to trust his prayers for me. At that moment I put my trust in Jesus by turning to Fr. Seraphim. Throughout the night I would awaken only to find Fr. Seraphim there comforting me — and I never knew him and still am not sure who he is — I just know he was there like a patron saint or guardian angel. When I awoke in the morning Fr. Seraphim was still with me. I shared that with my wife, who is a strong woman of faith. I proceeded to the 'Rescue.' When the Rescue call was given by the leaders, I proceeded to the back door of the abortion clinic and took up my place blocking the doorway with thirty-two other Christians — the front and side doors by another thirty brothers and sisters. I could see Fr. Seraphim looking at me and protecting me and all of the other Rescuers. Father, I am not a weirdo — I don't see visions or hear voices. But I do know that, in the Kingdom of God, at those times when it's necessary the saints and angels are sent to us, and we can see and hear what God wants us to see and hear. This was one of those saintly times. As soon as we settled in by the doorway, the leader had us begin singing a hymn whose second verse began with 'Cherubim and Seraphim....' I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Fr. Seraphim was there — right there at that Rescue in Norfolk, Virginia. We were all (sixty-two) arrested — there were six hundred other participants not involved in the 'civil disobedience' part of the Rescue. We were taken to the Police Precinct No. 2 in Norfolk. All the way there I was praying to Fr. Seraphim, and I felt a sense of gentle assurance that everything was going to be all right. The police were loving and gentle to us — not as they had been in Atlanta and Los Angeles where they were brutal and many got hurt. They reduced our charges to a class 'A misdemeanor, which is the same as a traffic ticket, and we were all released on our own recognizance. The police Captain intentionally put us on the court docket of the only really pro-Life judge in Norfolk. Before the actual release the police allowed us to have a joint prayer and hymn service with the sixty-two who had been arrested. The police told us that they did not consider us 'common criminals,' and therefore did not lock us in jail cells, but rather took all sixty-two of us into the police precinct gymnasium, where they set up temporary processing stations so we could all go home as quickly as possible. Now that is a miracle. Norfolk is a tough, Navy port of call, with a rugged police force, and a 'no monkeyshine attitude.'

"I firmly believe we were delivered because of the prayers of this SAINT — Fr. Seraphim Rose.

"I am grateful to Fr. Seraphim and to the St, Herman Brotherhood for continuing the truth of Holy Orthodoxy. Please pray for me, my family, and all Rescuers — I really believe Fr. Seraphim has taken up the cause of the unborn in heaven and has been assigned a 'Patronage' in heaven over the Rescue efforts."

Three months after writing this, Dr. Stephens was received into the Orthodox Church along with his family, taking the name Seraphim in gratitude to Fr. Seraphim. In 1992 he was ordained to the priesthood, and today he is the rector of the St. Ignatius Russian Orthodox Church (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which he and his wife founded.

9. The following account was contributed by Fr. John Mack, a priest of the Orthodox Church in America:

"In 1993 I was completing research on my doctoral dissertation in the library at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) Seminary in Berkeley, California. At the time I was going through a very serious religious crisis. I was an ordained minister in the Reformed Episcopal Church, but I knew that my spiritual life was completely empty and void. Even though outwardly I was leading people in prayer, I did not know how to pray. Even though outwardly it appeared as if I had my act together, internally I knew that I was a mess, I had been a Christian all of my life, yet I did not know God. I knew a lot about Him, but I had no relationship with Him and did not know where to start. To make matters worse, I was closely involved with other religious leaders and found that, like me, they too were empty. Everything religious seemed fake to me, without authenticity and without meaning. This was a serious crisis. I was at the end of my rope; I had even come to the point where I did not know whether I could believe in God. 'Is it real?' 'Is this just a game that people play in order to manipulate and control others?' 'Is there such a thing as a holy man?' I knew that the answer to my question could only be found in the existence of a holy man or woman. Nothing else could answer the longings of my heart.

"As I labored, researching the intricacies of nineteenth-century English theology in the basement of the GTU library, these questions haunted me, I finally reached the end. I bowed my head at my desk and cried out to God: 'Is it real? Does a holy man exist? Are You there?' I was weeping; years of struggle and disappointment washed over me in waves. I don't know how long I wept; finally it was over. I arose and went to a stack of books. Aimlessly I looked at the titles.... Nothing! I returned to my desk in despair, and there — in the middle of my books and scattered papers — was a catalogue advertising books. On the front page of the catalogue was a picture: a picture that immediately answered my questions, a picture that spoke words of comfort to my soul, a picture that breathed life into my dead soul. I did not know who the man was but I knew that he was real, that he was authentic, that he was a saint, that he had met and experienced the reality of God's presence. It was a picture of Fr. Seraphim Rose! I didn't know anything about Orthodoxy at the time. I remember leafing through the pages of the St. Herman catalogue, wondering at the titles advertised. What is this?

"As I sat looking at the picture, wondering who this man was who was speaking directly to my heart and wondering what the Orthodox Faith was, I felt a touch on my shoulder. Looking up, I was surprised to see an unknown man. 'Would you like to be Orthodox?' he asked. 'I don't even know what Orthodox is,' I responded. 'Here,' he said, scribbling something on a piece of paper and then handing it to me, 'Here, call this priest. He can answer your questions.' I looked down on the paper and saw a priest's name, 'Fr. Antony,' and next to it was a phone number. When I looked up, the man was gone. I checked around—no one had seen him come and no one saw him leave. To this day, his existence remains a mystery.

"When I came home, I picked up the phone and called Fr. Antony (Hughes, a priest in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese), 'Is Fr. Antony there?' I asked. 'Who are you? And how did you get this phone number?' 'I don't know—some guy gave it to me at GTU.' This is amazing,' Fr. Antony continued. 'I just moved here three days ago.***** Only a few people have my new phone number; even the Archdiocese doesn't have my number. How did you get it?' The only answer I can supply to this question is Fr. Seraphim.

"Fr. Antony was a Protestant convert and he was helpful in my journey to Orthodoxy. Being familiar with the Protestant world, he was able to answer many of my questions and point me to the right books to read to help me as a converting Protestant. Fr. Seraphim knew the right person to help me, and I believe that, in response to my cry for help, he asked the Lord to send His angel to guide me.

"That was my introduction to Orthodoxy. It was through that picture of Fr. Seraphim that God began to draw me into His holy Church. Throughout the years, I find myself over and over again returning to that picture, and I find myself over and over again resting in the belief that Fr. Seraphim is there to guide me whenever I am confused and lost."

10. In 1995 a Roman Catholic priest in Italy, Fr. Andrea Cassinasco, was so moved by reading Fr. Seraphim's biography and works that he made the decision to convert to the Orthodox Faith. Later he became an Orthodox monk and priest, taking the name Fr. Ambrose. In gratitude to Fr. Seraphim for changing his life and leading him to the true Church, Fr. Ambrose commissioned an iconographic painting to be made of Fr. Seraphim by a Romanian iconographer, Fr. Ireneu. A fine piece of work bearing a close resemblance to Fr. Seraphim, the painting is a pre-canonization icon lacking a halo and the word "Saint": clearly, it was made with the hope that these elements would be filled in when, God willing, Fr. Seraphim would be formally canonized. The painting shows Fr. Seraphim holding a book on which are written his now-famous words, translated into Italian: "It's later than you think! Hasten, therefore, to do the work of God."

As has been seen, local grassroots veneration of Fr. Seraphim — the first prerequisite for canonization — has occurred since the time of his death. Today, probably the most widespread veneration of him has been occurring in Russia, where the above-mentioned pre-canonization icon of him is now being sold in church bookstores of the Moscow Patriarchate. On February 19, 2001, the St. Herman Brotherhood received the following letter from an American Orthodox missionary living in Moscow, Richard Betts, about a miracle connected with this:

"I was just contacted by Slava [Vyacheslav Marchenko] with some incredible news. As you might remember, he and Dima [Dimitry Rodionov] and I had visited a professor in Moscow at whose home drops of myrrh began appearing on a large copy of the Italian-made Fr, Seraphim icon. At the same time, we left another copy of the icon there and myrrh started appearing on it, too. The professor gave that one to Slava, who now has it in his home. Here is what Slava just wrote: 'I have had the icon in my home for the past three days. It is in a frame, but without any glass over it. When I first received the icon, there were two drops of myrrh on Fr. Seraphim's face, but today there are over fifty drops of myrrh. The largest drops are approximately two centimeters in diameter. The others are smaller. Incredible. The number increases and even without glass they remain and do not dry out.'"

IN July of 1982, less than two months before Fr. Seraphim's repose, Archimandrite Spyridon had written to the St. Herman Monastery: "May California Americans be strengthened in Orthodoxy so that they may be able to leap across the ocean (from east to west), and, with those Russians being spiritually reborn there, work at the holy task of the resurrection of Holy Russia, which of course would be to the benefit of America."

In the case of Fr. Seraphim, these words have proved prophetic. Having been responsible for the conversion of many of his fellow Americans to the Orthodox Faith through his writings, Fr. Seraphim has, through these same writings, indeed "leaped across the ocean" after his repose—to Russia first, and then beyond her borders.

Recently the St. Herman Monastery was visited by a hierarch from the ancient Orthodox land of Georgia, Archbishop Nikoloz, who told the assembled brothers that his life had been changed through Fr. Seraphim's books. Archbishop Nikoloz had been baptized into the Orthodox Church as an infant, but because he had lived under the Communist domination of his country he had grown up without faith. It was through Fr. Seraphim's writings that he came to believe in Christ and return to the Church. Today he is one of the prime forces behind the re-evangelization of Georgia, making annual pilgrimages throughout the entire country and instructing thousands in the Orthodox Faith.

Archbishop Nikoloz is only one example of how Fr. Seraphim's writings have been a catalyst in the resurrection not only of Russia but also of other Orthodox lands that have been wounded and beaten down by decades of Communism. In Serbia and Romania especially, Fr. Seraphim's works have been a key factor in the restoration of whole peoples to their Orthodox roots.

But it is in his homeland of America that Fr. Setaphim's life and works have the most unique significance. He is America's "own" righteous one. Although his legacy belongs to the Church as a whole, it may be said to belong first of all to his fellow American-born converts to Orthodoxy. Simply put, he is someone whom American converts can look up to, By the grace of God, he was raised up in a particular place at a particular time, in order to be a pathfinder for the rising generations of American Orthodox converts, which are ever increasing in number.

It is through more than his literary inheritance that Fr. Seraphim is leading these converts. As the accounts related in this chapter indicate, Fr. Seraphim, being still alive in Christ, is even now personally drawing people into the fullness of the ancient Christian Faith. Recently Fr. Alexey Young (now Hieromonk Ambrose at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in West Virginia) has affirmed his belief that Fr. Seraphim continues to build bridges between American spiritual seekers and the heart of ancient Christianity:

"Shortly after his repose I began to pray to Fr. Seraphim daily, asking him to continue being a 'bridge-builder' both for me and for other converts. And I absolutely believe that he has and is still fulfilling this great need. Now, however, two decades after his death, I hope he is also building a bridge for me from this world to the Kingdom of Heaven, where he intercedes for us all; for truly we can say:

"Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us."

* The church combined two Orthodox communities of Protestant background, formerly known as the Evangelical Orthodox Church and the Holy Orthodox Church. Before coming together as one church, the communities had been located in the same area and had stayed closely connected, the pastor mentioned above being the leader of the latter group.

** An acronym for the Greek words mystmon, agape, nous, sophia.

*** Named after the Archangel Raphael, whose name means "God has healed," and who appears in the book of Tobit as an angel of healing.

***** This was Eugene's letter to his parents (quoted in ch. 18 above) in which he explained his reasons for leaving the academic world.

***** In February of 1993, Fr. Antony moved from Pleasant Hill to Martine, California.

ORIGINAL: Hieromonk DAMASCENE. FATHER SERAPHIM ROSE: HIS LIFE AND WORKS. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood: 2003. Pages 1033-1052.