by Timothy Honeycutt
The lesser-known biography of Fr. Seraphim Rose, Seraphim Rose: The True Story and Private Letters by Cathy Scott[1], provides a detailed look at Fr. Seraphim’s life before becoming an Orthodox Christian and highlights aspects of his life as a monk and priest at the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in the mountains of Northern California. Cathy Scott, Fr. Seraphim’s niece,
includes over 140 private letters, mostly from Eugene’s early days (his name prior to monastic tonsure in the Orthodox Church), including anecdotes from his family, friends, and spiritual children. As Scott recalls, she visited Eugene at his bookstore in San Francisco “several times” (p. 182) in the 1960s and spent time with him when he visited the family back home. Scott’s writing career has focused on true crime and biography, Seraphim Rose being her only book related to Orthodoxy. Although Scott does not have the experience of being an Orthodox Christian, hindering her ability to understand Fr. Seraphim, her journalistic vigor shines as she includes extensive source material spanning Fr. Seraphim’s entire adult life and many quotes from interviews conducted with his spiritual children. With this material, the reader is able to understand much better the depth of Fr. Seraphim’s repentance and fervent love for his Savior, Jesus Christ.
Seraphim Rose is perhaps most well known for its documentation of Eugene Rose's homosexual lifestyle before his conversion to Orthodoxy. While this is an important part of the book, there is much more that is worth the reader’s time, notably the details of his relationship with his mother, much of which is missing from the well-known biography by Hieromonk Damascene Christensen: Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works.
In this book review, the names Eugene and Fr. Seraphim are both used for the same man. To help the reader know the time in his life being addressed, both names, Eugene and Fr. Seraphim, are used according to their context.
As will become clear below, this book is not ideal for those unfamiliar with Fr. Seraphim. Readers new to Fr. Seraphim are better off first reading Fr. Damascene’s biography. Those already acquainted with Fr. Seraphim through his many writings and Fr. Damascene’s biography will learn a great deal from Seraphim Rose, not only about the mature Orthodox priest and monk, Fr. Seraphim Rose, but also the intense, brilliant, and conflicted young man, Eugene Rose.
Seraphim Rose begins with a Foreword by Fr. Alexey (now Hieroschemamonk Ambrose) Young, one of the closest spiritual children of Fr. Seraphim Rose. In his Foreword, Fr. Alexey describes his relationship with Fr. Seraphim, his personality and spiritual significance for the world, and concludes saying, “Cathy Scott's book, with its plentiful new material—previously unpublished and even unknown letters to relatives and friends—now takes its place in the growing literature about and interest in this remarkable man whom many in Orthodox Christianity even regard as a saint. But it is still too soon for the final ‘word’ to be spoken, still too early for us to see Father Seraphim properly in the context of the history of the Church, and too early to see him in the light of eternity. But to the degree that a book can shed new light on Father Seraphim, Cathy Scott's is that book” (p. x). This is the only comment from Fr. Alexey regarding the book itself. While the reader may desire a more detailed opinion from Fr. Alexey, especially comments on the difficult passages and letters in the book, it is clear that overall he has a favorable view.
In Scott’s Introduction, she begins with her first of five mentions of Fr. Damascene and his biography, Not of This World: The Life and Teaching of Fr. Seraphim Rose.[2] Scott describes it as a “sanitized” version (p. xi) since Fr. Damascene, despite writing 24 chapters about Eugene’s life before becoming Orthodox (roughly a fifth of the total book), made no mention of his homosexual activity prior his conversion to Orthodoxy. The closest Fr. Damascene comes is a mere hint, leaving the reader to read between the lines; he writes, “Having himself emerged out of the sexual immorality that was on the rise in the free world…” (HLaW, p. 151). Eugene's close friend Larry McGilvery, to whom many letters in the 1950s were addressed, including the letter where Eugene describes himself as a homosexual, wrote to Fr. Damascene prior to the publication of Not of This World. He expressed his concerns that this aspect of Eugene’s youth would be misrepresented and exhorted him that “to succumb to fear and end up falsifying the real person who became Father Seraphim is the worst mistake you can make” (p. 56). Whether justified or not, despite whatever good intentions Scott had, a clear disdain for Not of This World comes through, including her emphasis later in the book that Fr. Damascene “did not spend any time with Eugene” (p. 235) and “did not personally get to know Eugene (p. 211), only meeting him a couple times. Though one can sense that Scott restrained herself, the tone towards Fr. Damascene is unfitting for a book meant to show the truth about Fr. Seraphim.
Answering a basic question from any reader, Scott points to her purpose for writing the book: “Speaking as a member of Eugene’s immediate family, it is important that who he was and his quest for a purpose to his life be told in his own words. This collection of letters provides the raw material to help us understand Eugene as a priest, a writer, a son, a brother, a foster parent, and a friend” (p. xii).
Scott’s emphasis in Seraphim Rose is first and foremost on Eugene Rose before his conversion to Orthodoxy and secondarily on Hieromonk Seraphim Rose. It appears this emphasis is largely dictated by three things: 1) her personal experiences with Eugene were prior to his life as a monk and priest (Scott was 21 years old when Fr. Seraphim was tonsured a monk, being born in 1949), 2) the source material available to her and a desire to avoid duplicating the material published in Fr. Damascene’s Not of This World, and 3) for her book to be a chronicle of her entire family. As Scott says, “This book, which he will never read, is a tribute and a family legacy to my uncle so that the true story is told of how Eugene Rose came to be Father Seraphim” (p. xii). In fact, throughout the entire book she refers to him primarily as Eugene. Even after quoting one of his spiritual children calling him “Fr. Seraphim” she returns to calling him Eugene. Additionally, between the six letters and a postcard Fr. Seraphim wrote to his mother comprising the majority of the chapter on the final year of his life, the inclusion of five condolence letters his mother received after his death, and the one-page epilogue solely focused on his mother, Scott not only wrote a biography about her uncle, but through her uncle a chronicle of their entire family.
Chapters One and Two focus on Eugene’s childhood, his parents, Frank and Esther Rose, their backgrounds, and their homelife in beautiful San Diego, California that formed young Eugene. Eugene was a very bright child. He grew up in a middle-class family with a strict mother who expected much from her children and a father whose more agreeable nature helped balance out the intensity of his mother. Eugene was bright but stood out as being odd to many, not being interested in getting his driver’s license or having a girlfriend. Scott briefly discusses Eugene’s religious upbringing, noting that he attended various Protestant churches with his mother, and when he was fourteen, he joined the First Methodist Church. Nothing is mentioned about why he joined, how devoted he was in his faith, any particular religious views he held, or spiritual experiences he had in his youth. These first chapters include numerous quotes from Eileen Rose Busby, Eugene’s sister and Scott’s mother.
Eugene’s undergraduate college years at Pomona College begin in Chapter Three. There we read his first private letter, a “thank you” to his aunt and uncle written at age 19 on August 23, 1953, telling them “...I am certain now of my career. I am going into philosophy, both teaching and writing” (p. 22). In these years, Eugene’s letters and excerpts from his college papers exhibit his intellectual prowess and growing preoccupation with the ultimate questions of religion and philosophy. Throughout his entire life, Eugene was a truth seeker par excellence. “It was evident to most everyone,” writes Scott, “who spent any time around Eugene—his classmates, friends, instructors, and family—that he was truly searching for something he could latch onto” (p. 31).
Frederick Sontag, Eugene’s philosophy professor at Pomona, said of Eugene, “To get started in academia you have to do some conforming. He wasn’t a conformist…. He was restless. Eugene was not a quiet type…. There was something he was searching for, but you couldn’t pin down exactly what it was…” (p. 32). This is the focus of Chapter Four, during which Eugene developed close friendships with the brightest and most intellectually-gifted students at Pomona. He sought truth beyond what he considered simple answers and systems of thought, and, disillusioned with the answers provided by western Christianity, his search led him to explore primarily non-Christian eastern religions.
The pages continue with letter after letter containing Eugene's deep, philosophical streams-of-consciousness. Amidst these reflections were reviews of plays he attended, food and wine he consumed (sometimes extravagant but sometimes rudimentary), and a simple yet immediate concern for the well-being of his friends, even when, as he notes himself on occasion, writing inebriated. Chapter Five covers the mid to late 1950s where Eugene moved to San Francisco and started diving deeper into Eastern thought, ultimately finding the Christianity he didn’t know existed: Holy Orthodoxy. Since his embrace of Orthodoxy came about gradually, the many letters from this period showcase his spiritual journey and offer precious insights for anyone who loves Fr. Seraphim Rose.
Often when this book is discussed, Eugene’s confession of living a homosexual lifestyle is one of the main, if not the only, subjects highlighted. Having access to many private letters written to close friends, Scott reveals a part of Eugene’s past that would have otherwise remained unknown to many. Fr. Seraphim never wanted to discuss his past once he became an Orthodox Christian[3], especially his relationship with Jon Gregerson. As Eugene said, “When I became a Christian, I voluntarily crucified my mind” (p. 191).
Many Orthodox Christians are unsettled talking about the sins of a righteous man before his conversion to the Orthodox Church. Significantly, however, even the details we have from Eugene are very mild and unspecific. By God’s providence, we know nothing about the details of his homosexual activity. The details we have are his self-identification in 1956, "I am homosexual”, a few of his thoughts on this as it relates to his identity before his conversion to Orthodoxy, and the reflections of Jon Gregerson and others. The purpose of this part of the book review, much like Scott’s aim in Seraphim Rose, is not to “expose” Fr. Seraphim’s past nor to promote a view of Fr. Seraphim that is seen primarily through “rainbow-colored glasses”. The purpose is to address in a balanced and sober way what has been revealed to the public in Seraphim Rose since its publication in 2000 and related material. This material is often discussed without referring to the sources; this review attempts to contextualize and clarify what this book reveals about both Eugene and the man he would become, Fr. Seraphim Rose.
Eugene’s main letter regarding homosexuality was written to his close friend, Larry McGilvery, on June 17, 1956 where Eugene reveals his homosexual lifestyle and fears Larry’s reaction. Shortly before, as Eugene relates to Larry, his mother entered his room without permission and found his private correspondence with his new friend Jon. Esther was very upset and threatened to force Eugene to live elsewhere. After packing up most of his belongings, Eugene traveled to San Francisco where Jon was living. During his stop at the train station in Los Angeles, Eugene wrote to Larry, saying:
…my mother has discovered, rather illegitimately (I shall tell you of it later) that I am homosexual…. I suppose you have also surmised by now that I shall live this summer, and sleep, with a young man I love, and who loves me…. I suppose I have not told you earlier of myself because I feared you would regard me a bug, a monster, or merely ‘sick,’ as my parents regard me. I am certainly ‘sick,’ as all men are sick who are ever absent from the love of God, but I regard my sexual inclinations as perfectly ‘normal,’ in a sense I do not as yet understand” (p. 72).
In addition to the June 17, 1956 letter, the issue of homosexuality is mentioned only twice more, once with introspection and once in passing. On June 26, 1956, Eugene writes to Larry:
However “normal" or “abnormal," I consider my homosexuality a rather minor element in my character. I have not been to Jon's psychiatrist, and quite possibly will not go at all. He does not attempt impossible “cures," but tries to make one realize what one is sexually—he considers homosexuality quite “normal" for some people. I think in my case there is so little doubt, and I am so unconcerned about it, that he would probably be of no benefit, at least in that regard. My parents are now quite anxiously begging me to come home and be “cured," which is of course quite out of the question, even if a “cure" were possible or desirable. The great physician does not heal diseases, but tends to the one disease that afflicts all man. This cured, everything else cures itself (p. 74).
After graduating from Pomona College, Eugene was deciding between attending the University of Michigan and the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco. At that time, he wrote the following to Larry on August 4, 1956: “Michigan has the world’s worst laws for homosexuality, I find out” (p. 104). No further commentary is made.
Some have responded with indignation to these letters published in Seraphim Rose, denying their authenticity. Yet, we have very good reason to believe that the letters are genuine and that Eugene completely ceased homosexual activity and conquered this passion for all twenty years he lived as an Orthodox Christian. When reviewing the corpus of Fr. Seraphim’s published books and articles, we find that the main letter on homosexuality from June 17, 1956 is quoted in part by Fr. Damascene, not after the publication of Scott’s book, but before. In his Preface to the 1994 edition of Nihilism[4], Fr. Damascene includes the following quote from Eugene: “I am sick, as all men are sick who are absent from the love of God.” The context of this quote, which Fr. Damascene does not reference, is Eugene’s then homosexual desires and his own understanding of this in the context of his ultimate personal identity. Therefore, those who claim this letter is in any way falsified and not genuinely from Eugene himself have to contend with Fr. Damascene. He had access to this letter and quoted it six years prior to the publication of Seraphim Rose: The True Story and Private Letters.
As briefly referenced above, Larry McGilvery wrote to Fr. Damascene shortly before the publication of Not of This World about his experience with Eugene Rose and the early letters, many of which were later published in Seraphim Rose:
“Here is Eugen’s [5] authentic voice. These wonderful letters could have been written for the ages, though they were not. They are rich with closely observed details, and they are clear (except when wittily obscure). They are articulate and funny and passionate and, at times, poetic. What I hope they convey most of all is the one quality that is my strongest recollection, that of Eugen's constancy. He was always there. He was always a genuine friend. Read these letters, and understand the times in which he lived, and you will have Eugen to perfection during his college years and shortly after.” Larry continued, “Everyone else who knew him certainly would agree, as would he himself. He was what he was, and that was enough. Certainly, he had fewer flaws of character than the great majority of humanity. It is not as if history were not full of great men with troubled beginnings, Augustine, for one. To succumb to fear and end up falsifying the real person who became Father Seraphim is the worst mistake you can make" (p. 55-56).
Clearly, Larry heard that such information might be omitted before publication of Not of This World, prompting him to express his concerns.
The testimony of Eugene’s friends and family from before his conversion agree completely with that of his spiritual children and friends while he was a monk and a priest: that by the time he converted to Orthodoxy he not only ceased all homosexual activity but discouraged it as well. "As he became more and more Orthodox," Jon Gregerson recalled, "he did not share my view that one could have a homosexual relationship and remain in the Church. Once he became Orthodox he emphasized the fact that any relationship between us in that sense was over” (p. 161). Scott adds perspective to Eugene’s decision, saying, “From my research, I learned that Eugene quit that behavior around 1960, when he embraced Orthodoxy… Clearly, it is not necessarily where he came from that is essential but what he became” (p. xi).
In the early 1960s, Eugene wrote in his notes for Nihilism:
“Promiscuity is indeed the rule. Sex is good, wholesome, free, say the moderns, use it freely with whomever you please… How different, how utterly foreign and incomprehensible to contemporary man, is the face of the Christian ascetic, who by striving to master instead of indulge his passions reveals an inwardness undreamed of by the moderns…. ‘Sexual freedom’: this coupling of words that represent totally incompatible realities (since ‘sex’ as practiced today is slavery) is but another instance of that modern incompetence to do anything but follow one’s passions and accept whatever vulgar slogan justifies this aim”[6].
A letter written on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1975 (nearly 20 years after Eugene's reflections on his homosexual lifestyle and 13 years after his conversion to Orthodoxy) to Alexey Young sheds more light on Fr. Seraphim's approach towards homosexuality. This private letter speaks about the need to write something from an Orthodox Christian perspective on various issues related to sexuality, including homosexuality. Fr. Seraphim writes, “All of this should one day be written out and printed, with abundant illustrations from the Holy Fathers and Lives of Saints—together with the whole question of sexuality—abortion, natural and unnatural sins, pornography, homosexuality, etc. With Scriptural and Patristic sources, this could be done carefully and without offensiveness, but clearly. Frankly, you are the logical candidate to do it—but it should be allowed to ripen in you for a while before coming out.”[7]
Further illustrating his stance as a monk, and now a priest, towards the sin of homosexuality, Fr. Seraphim writes to Fr. Alexey Young (who was ordained a priest in 1979, two years after Fr. Seraphim) regarding a young man who, as Fr. Alexey relates in a footnote in Letters from Father Seraphim, was “struggling with a homosexual background and alcoholism” (p. 194). With his characteristic compassion and firmness, Fr. Seraphim writes, “My general impression is: his habit of self-pampering and self-justification is so deep that humanly his case is almost hopeless. But there is God. We should continue to help and support him—and firmly insist that he change, persistently working on himself” (p. 194). Continuing in the same letter, he writes, “You should not baby him, but hold him to the basic rules, and make it clear that if he can't do this much he just can't stay—for his own good as well as yours. There's no point for his good if you are simply enduring his eccentricities, if he persists in them” (p. 195).
As far as we know, the only other documented word from Fr. Seraphim Rose regarding homosexuality comes from a recollection by Reader Daniel Everiss: “Someone who participated in a St. Herman Summer retreat, told me later, that when he and Fr. Seraphim walked alone, up the mountain from the monastery, he asked Fr. Seraphim's spiritual advice about his vexing homosexuality, to which Fr. Seraphim responded… as a huge rattlesnake made it's sudden appearance/rattling near them and ready to strike them, in the brush, ‘See that snake!... just as we now must flee that snake, so FLEE homosexuality!’ ...as they both ran from the spot…”[8]
In Not of This World, though removed from later editions of his biography, Fr. Damascene writes:
Since his repose, Fr. Seraphim has become a heavenly intercessor for people struggling against sexual sin, for those who wish not to be dependent on the powerful sexual influences which have become so prevalent in our days. The following letter was received very recently:
“I am writing to you so as to explain my situation and to ask for your prayers and guidance. We had already begun to talk about this before, i.e., my battle with fornication and homosexual sins…. Just yesterday I was under a demonic attack both physically and spiritually. I prayed to all the saints near to me, but when I prayed to Father Seraphim Rose, peace came immediately to my soul and body” (p. 972)
Given the sensitive nature of such a topic, even those who love Fr. Seraphim have responded in various ways. Some are scandalized that an Orthodox man could become a priest, even a saint as many today regard him, with homosexual sins in his past[9] Yet these same Orthodox Christians show themselves near-sighted. The Orthodox Church universally embraces St. Mary of Egypt and other saints who lived very sexually sinful lives prior to their repentance. St. Mary was not only a prostitute, but she was so inflamed with sexual passion that she willingly gave herself to men free of charge. The past sins of St. Mary and other saints should not cause scandal, rather they should highlight the abundant mercy of God, for “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Romans 5:20). The greater their past sins the more incredible and inspiring the degree of their repentance and union with Christ. The Orthodox Church enshrines this attitude in many ways, notably by setting aside the last Sunday in Great Lent, the annual season of repentance, for the veneration of St. Mary of Egypt and the remembrance of her turn from lust to Christ.
Perhaps the best expression of the significance of Fr. Seraphim’s example for us today comes from Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou in Cyprus. In March 2024, His Eminence was asked to speak to the significance of Fr. Seraphim for our times. His answer in full:
Look, Fr. Seraphim Rose is received by people that study the phenomena of the New World Order, the prophecies of the holy fathers and mothers concerning the future events, as well as by those who have experience of Western and especially American culture. I personally consider him a prophet of our times. If what is rumored is true, that in his pre-Christian life, before he was baptized, he had homosexual erotic experiences then you realize that he is a great example for all our repentant homosexual brethren, that holiness is also for them, where there is repentance. When repentance is combined with Orthodox confession, instruction, and catechism, which Fr. Seraphim Rose accomplished, and is a model for many of us.
While Scott expresses some disagreement with the Orthodox understanding of homosexuality, she does not sensationalize this aspect of her uncle’s past. Everything on this topic in Seraphim Rose is contained in these three letters from 1956. Scott leaves the reader to place as much importance on it as he will. As in Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works (and Fr. Damascene’s first edition of the biography, Not of This World), there is every reason to believe Fr. Seraphim completely avoided any homosexual activity and overcame all temptations during his life as an Orthodox Christian, having “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). Much like St. Mary of Egypt, we do not know the details of their sexual sins, but we do know they are a genuine part of their past. The reader can rightfully look at Fr. Seraphim Rose as a man who entirely set aside his sinful passions, as a great man of repentance, much like St. Augustine of Hippo, whom he deeply loved, and St. Mary of Egypt, greatly venerated by the entire Orthodox Church.
Many more letters from Eugene fill the pages, most of which may not be of great interest to the average reader. Eugene is focused on abstract streams of consciousness, trying new food and wine, and simple kindness and hospitality to his friends. The Fr. Seraphim that many today have come to love will find a man far from Orthodoxy, but with the seeds ready to sprout. Even at the end of Chapter Five—halfway through the book—we are in 1957, where Eugene is beginning to show interest in Russian Orthodoxy and culture, but still 25 years of Eugene’s life remains.
A few other highlights from this period include the following from an undated letter, likely late 1955/early 1956: “A ‘spiritual tradition’ is something not to be given intellectual ascent, but to be lived—as it was lived by its ‘founders.’ No one can hope, for instance, to know Buddhism who does not give himself up entirely to the Buddhist way of life; but no one can give himself up thus who is not first convinced that there is something in it to give himself up to. I, myself, I think, am nearing the place of no-return: where I must either resolve to go all the way, or take up something else (or, like a ‘professor of philosophy,’ TEACH about that which I do not know first hand)” (p. 94).
In 1957, Eugene attended his first Orthodox Christmas services, describing the church decorations, noting, “The Russians are awfully happy on feast days” (p. 118). After his first Pascha a few months later, Eugene writes, “Every day this week is a feast day. In Russia the bells ring all day every day. After this, the outside world is dreary indeed. Everywhere people are only pieces, fragments of a broken whole; one realizes this too intensely after such a Holy Week” (p. 125). Eugene’s interest in all things Russian grows as he continues to read Russian literature, attend theatre and orchestral performances written by Russians, and attend Russian Orthodox church services.
Included in both Scott’s and Fr. Damascene’s biographies is a letter of encouragement from Frank Rose, Eugene’s father, to his son about his interest in Orthodoxy, as well as a few quotes about Christ and spirituality from various writings around that time.
Reflecting on his relationship with the future hieromonk of Platina, Eugene’s friend Dirk van Nouhuys said, “There was something we missed the whole time we knew Eugen, and we knew him pretty well," Dirk noted. "I told that to Larry [McGilvery] recently. Eugen was in pain, and we missed it. You don't go into a church like that and embrace that rigidity without needing to” (p. 160). Eugene’s nephew, Michael Scott, seems to express something similar but from a different angle: “Eugene was very serious, although he did have a sense of humor. A dry sense of humor. He was bright and thoughtful. He wasn't boisterous” (p. 168).
Though it was originally published in a 1986 issue of The Orthodox Word, Fr. Seraphim and Fr. Herman Podmoshensky’s bimonthly periodical, Scott includes a theological masterpiece: Eugene’s full letter to Thomas Merton written shortly after Eugene entered the Orthodox Church. This letter, taking up thirteen pages in Seraphim Rose, was written around the same time as one of Eugene’s most influential books: Nihilism. Eugene discusses the differences between Merton’s version of Roman Catholicism, which was gaining popularity, and an Orthodox Christian view on social activism and the Kingdom of God; emphasizing the Orthodox understanding of the kingdom of God as not of this world, and the difference between the spiritual reign of Christ and the pursuit of a mere outward earthly utopia through social activism.
In late 1962, shortly after Eugene was received into the Orthodox Church, St. John Maximovitch arrived in San Francisco and was appointed Archbishop of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Eugene was immediately drawn to St. John, seeing in him a spirit that was not of this world. Valentina Harvey, a friend of both men, reflects on Fr. Seraphim's relationship with St. John: "Saint John thought the world of Father Seraphim. Saint John meant the world to all of us, and he cared about all of us. But there were a few special people he really loved, and that's the way he looked at Father Seraphim. When I saw the way that he looked at him, it told me immediately how much Father Seraphim meant to Saint John. Saint John recognized a kindred spirit. They were the same: Special” (p. 187).
St. John fostered the monastic inclinations that Eugene had deep within him, encouraging him and Gleb (the future Fr. Herman) to start a small monastic-oriented brotherhood for the sake of bringing Orthodoxy to the English-speaking world through writing, printing, and translating. Scott provides another insight that is not included in the biography published by the St. Herman Brotherhood, sharing three principles Eugene established for the newly formed Father (later Saint) Herman Brotherhood:
1. The reverence toward “holy money," that is, the distinction between money acquired through a labor of love toward God, and money appropriated from ungodly, unlabored for gains;
2. Mutual blessing for all activity between brothers, so as to avoid self-will and thus disrespect toward the providence of God;
3. The independent promotion of Orthodox literature of activity geared to inspire podvig (ascetic heroism), especially among the youth who are outside the threshold of the Church. (p. 192)
In an interview conducted by Scott for her book, Fr. Alexey Young shared an example of Fr. Seraphim’s exceptional disposition, saying, "I had asked Father Seraphim, when he was translating the lives of the saints, if he would like to see where these saints had lived. He said no. I asked him, 'I don't understand. Why not?' He said, 'Because God has given me everything I want right here and now.' It was a wonderful statement by someone who was satisfied with everything he had. I was very impressed with his stability. He had this wonderful detachment. I never knew anyone who saw things more clearly than he did. You could go to him with a problem in the church or a problem in your marriage. He could see it and go straight to the problem. This was a very rare gift” (p. 201).
Fr. Alexey also recalls how transformative the lives of the nineteenth-century elders of the Optina Monastery were for Fr. Seraphim. “He read them in Russian,” said Fr. Alexey, “and was absolutely transfixed by the lives of these Russians. What's interesting to me is there's almost a Zen feeling to them, and, of course, Father Seraphim had studied Zen. Father told me once that Zen had everything Orthodoxy had except Jesus Christ. He was trying to be like those monks. This was a conscious thing. He had decided he wanted to live the way they lived. That meant no electricity, no TV, no running water. The way they [the Platina Brothers] lived was essentially as early Russian monks” (p. 204). As part of his ascetic calling, Fr. Seraphim translated most of the Lives of the Optina Elders that the Brotherhood published after his repose. He was so gifted with language that, “One time,” Fr. Alexey remembers, “shortly before he died when I was at the monastery, during the meal he read from a Russian book and translated it at the same time he was reading it. The translation was taped so it could be transcribed later. Think of what a brilliant man he was to be able to do that. Russian syntax is very difficult” (p. 216).
Fr. Seraphim was not only gifted with a powerful intellect, but a compassionate and humble heart as well. At the end of Chapter Eight, “The Platina Wilderness”, Scott includes a letter Fr. Seraphim wrote to his aunt by marriage, Grace Holbeck, telling her about his upcoming plans. In describing these plans, he used the more “Western” terms “Good Friday” and “Easter Sunday” without mentioning the often-used Orthodox terms of “Holy Friday” and “Pascha Sunday”. Grace was not Orthodox and Fr. Seraphim chose to use the terms she would be more familiar with. For certain readers, maybe those who are “super-correct” as Fr. Seraphim called them, this may come as a surprise. Yet, one can see him imitating the Apostle Paul, who says, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). For those familiar with Fr. Seraphim, it’s these insights that keep the keen reader engaged in Seraphim Rose.
Many other notable details from Fr. Seraphim’s life are included in Seraphim Rose. However, this review is not intended to share everything possible. Much more remains for those fortunate enough to obtain Scott’s book.
One of the most significant parts of Seraphim Rose is the relationship Fr. Seraphim had with his mother, Esther Elvina Rose. Their relationship runs throughout the book, culminating in the letters he wrote during his final year in this life which are the focus of Chapter Nine. Fr. Seraphim’s father died in 1968, just before he moved to Platina. Even as a monk he did not cease contact with his mother, regularly writing her letters and sending her his books. It is worth noting that this chapter, focused on Fr. Seraphim’s final year in this life, is rather imbalanced, focusing almost exclusively on six letters and a postcard he wrote to his mother. A two page excerpt from one of his most well-known talks, “Living the Orthodox World-view”, given in August 1982, is included. However, it seems somewhat out of place; not because it is unimportant to Fr. Seraphim’s final days, but because Scott is clearly more focused on the relationship he had with his mother than with his fellow Orthodox Christians.
As covered above, Eugene was estranged from his mother as a young man due to his mother’s reaction to his homosexual relationship with Jon Gregerson. Jon recalls that during their relationship, “Eugene was very much intimidated by his mother. He had this sense of his mother as a powerful, powerful personality. Everything he ever said about his father was positive. He used to say things like, ‘I can’t go against her’” (p. 73). Their fractured relationship continued for a few years, while Eugene continued his search for truth in San Francisco.
As Eugene distanced himself from his sins and gradually embraced Orthodoxy, Esther, although wary of Orthodoxy at first, also came to embrace her son again. Esther always hoped Eugene would make the most of his gifted intellect, yet after earning undergraduate and graduate degrees, and having great potential for a successful career in academia, Eugene broke the news to his parents about his chosen path in life. “Rather than tell them in person,” Scott writes, “he decided to break the news to his parents in a three-page handwritten letter. Given his, at times, submissive reaction to his mother, putting this decision down on paper was an easier proposition for Eugene than the prospect of a face-to-face confrontation” (p. 164). In his June 14, 1961 letter to his parents, Eugene wrote:
It's true that I chose the academic life in the first place, because God gave me a mind to serve Him with, and the academic world is where the mind is supposed to be used. But after eight or nine years I know well enough what goes on in the universities.
The mind is respected by only a few of the “old-fashioned" professors, who will soon have died out. 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. The love of truth has vanished from people today; those who have minds have to prostitute their talents to get along. I find this difficult to do, because I have too great a love of truth. The academic world for me is just another job; but I am not going to make myself a slave to it. I am not serving God in the academic world; I am just making a living.
If I am going to serve God in this world, and so keep from making my life a total failure, I will have to do it outside the academic world….
It is true that this is a mixed-up generation. The only thing wrong with me is that I am not mixed up. I know only too well what the duty of man is: to worship God and His Son and to prepare for the life of the world to come, not to make ourselves happy and comfortable in this world by exploiting our fellow man and forgetting about God and His Kingdom….
I can only follow my conscience; I cannot be false to myself. And I know that I am doing right. (pp. 165-166).
Little is mentioned about his parents’ reaction, but later that year he stayed with them during the winter. Then, just a couple months before his reception into the Orthodox Church, he told them he was to become an Orthodox Christian. While Scott does not describe his parents reaction, one can conclude from other details that this must have been difficult for his family to understand. However, they still loved Eugene and accepted him despite not understanding his new lifestyle.
A few years later, Eugene’s parents and other family members visited him in San Francisco and attended the funeral for St. John Maximovitch. By this time, Eugene was living a very ascetic, simple life. He and his missionary co-laborer, Gleb Podmoshensky, of whom very little is mentioned in Scott’s book, had opened up a bookstore selling books, icons, and other Orthodox products next to the new Russian Orthodox Cathedral on Geary Boulevard. Scott notes that, “Eugene’s mother, although a Protestant, bought candles from her son to take home with her” (p. 183).
When Eugene and Gleb were making plans to leave San Francisco for the “desert” life in the northern California forest, an ideal plot of land was discovered in Platina, California and was available for sale. However, since Eugene and Gleb had very little money saved up, the $8,000 down payment for 80 acres seemed impossible. After the $100 per month mortgage payment was providentially provided by the Russian Orthodox Cathedral as payment for Eugene’s services as a chanter, he asked his parents to consider providing the down payment. They discussed it and decided to give Eugene the money. In large measure due to his parent’s generosity, Eugene’s dream of monastic life in the wilderness became reality.
In the early 1970s, Esther travelled to Platina and stayed with her son and Gleb for a week and a half. “It was a big trip for her at the time,” Scott relates, “and she talked about it for years afterward… She was proud to have been ‘the first woman allowed to spend the night on Eugene’s mountaintop in the wilderness’” (p. 199). Around that time, in the summer of 1970, Eugene and Gleb were tonsured monks, taking the names Fr. Seraphim and Fr. Herman, respectively. Shortly after, Esther wrote a congratulatory letter to her son, saying, “So you have taken the big step to become a monk…. I’m sure you’re old enough to know what you want out of life and what your greatest contribution will be…. I wish you well and may the Lord bless you both in this big step…. Well, my boy, you’ll always be ‘Oogie’ to me and I hope your contribution to the world won’t go by unnoticed… Love, Mother” (p. 202).
Fr. Seraphim regularly sent letters and postcards to his mother during his thirteen years in Platina. Each letter was signed either “Fr. Seraphim-Eugene” or “Eugene-Fr. Seraphim”. He also sent her The Orthodox Word and the books he wrote, translated, and published. Scott notes that throughout those years “about once a year Eugene would ‘come down from the mountain,’ as his mother used to say, to visit her at her La Mesa home east of San Diego, where she relocated. During those years, she had broken her hip and had a heart attack. Each time, Eugene went to see her” (p. 218).
During these visits to his mother, Fr. Seraphim would take a shower and comb out his beard, something he rarely if ever did at the monastery. Interestingly, this appears contrary to what is written in Fr. Damascene’s biography of Fr. Seraphim, where he says, “During the years he lived at the skete, Fr. Seraphim did not take a shower or bath, washing himself with nothing except a wet rag”[10]. Scott writes, “While Eugene’s beard became matted in the last years of his life, he eventually combed it out…. Mary Manser, a spiritual child of Eugene's, said it was always evident when Eugene had visited San Diego. ‘We always knew when he came back from his mother's, because his beard would be fluffy, clean. He had showered. He was an ascetic as much as he possibly could be, so he didn't shower regularly’” (pp. 202-203). Additionally, Mansur states that on the evening which would be Fr. Seraphim’s last in Platina before his repose a week later, while spending the night in her mobile home, “He took a shower. He was very uncomfortable, very sick” (p. 236). One possible explanation for this apparent contradiction could be that perhaps Fr. Seraphim never showered in Platina, but only when he visited his mother and while enduring the illness that would take his life.
During his 1979 trip to Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary in Jordanville, New York, Fr. Seraphim took time to write his mother a postcard, sharing with her that the trip was “very successful” (p. 210). For his mother’s 79th birthday on April 1, 1980, Fr. Seraphim wrote, “Dear Mother— Just a note to wish you a happy, happy birthday and many more! May God grant you peace of soul and the desire for Christ’s heavenly kingdom….” (p. 218). Fr. Seraphim does not force Orthodoxy on her yet remains authentic regarding who he is and what he believes.
While Fr. Seraphim sent letters and books, “Eugene's mother often sent him what she dubbed ‘care packages.’ She packed the boxes with nuts, dried fruit, canned food, and home-baked cookies. ‘We were tickled about the things his mother would send him,’ Mary Manser recalled. ‘Father Seraphim would laugh. She would send him what he called Orthodox—or monk—cookies’ She baked the monk cookies special, without eggs, for Lent” (p. 220). Also, Fr. Seraphim kept in his cell a seascape oil painting of Carmel, painted by his mother (p. 239).
In Fr. Seraphim’s letters to his mother, he wrote about the weather, his travels, upcoming publications, the brothers and pilgrims, life at the monastery, his health, and often concluded asking about his mother’s health and her thoughts on recent texts he sent to her. The mature and loving heart of Fr. Seraphim shines here, not because we read anything exceptionally profound, but because we sense the simplicity and authenticity of a man with a heart full of Christ’s love and a genuine care for his mother’s health, both soul and body.
In almost all of these letters, Fr. Seraphim begins, “Dear Mother, May the blessing of the Lord be with you!” This is the common blessing a priest gives to all, and his mother is no exception. In addition to how he ends his letter asking what his mother thinks of his recent publications, it seems Fr. Seraphim is respecting her freedom but trying to encourage her towards Orthodoxy, nonetheless, as any Orthodox man who loves his mother would do. This virtuous method of encouraging but not forcing is seen in many saints, but rarely if ever have we seen such an intimate example of a saintly priest exhibiting this virtue towards his non-Orthodox mother. Fr. Seraphim writes, “The mail is going out, so will close. Are you getting Orthodox America [a newspaper] regularly now? How do you like it? It's on a more popular level than our Word and can appeal to more people” (p. 227). Additionally, “What did you think of my article on ‘Forming the Soul’ in Orthodox America?” (p. 233).
In his final letter to his mother, just five weeks before his repose, Fr. Seraphim ended with these seemingly prophetic words: “...in general the summer has been quieter than usual. But the next few weeks will be hectic” (p. 234). In August 1982, soon after the St. Herman Summer Pilgrimage ended, Fr. Seraphim began to suffer from severe pain in his abdomen. After much resistance to receiving medical help, Fr. Seraphim was checked in to the hospital, obeying Fr. Herman and his spiritual children who begged him to go. With Fr. Seraphim semi-conscious from the pain, the doctors called his mother and asked permission to operate. After his mother’s approval and the subsequent operation, the doctors gave Fr. Seraphim little chance of surviving. His intestines had died to such an extent that the doctors had to remove a significant portion, and they didn’t expect what remained to be salvaged. His other organs were showing signs of suffering a similar fate. Esther heard the dreadful news from the doctors and in her sadness, handed the phone to Cathy Scott. Esther permitted the doctors to operate again, who removed more of his intestines. Six days later, after going in-and-out of consciousness and eventually slipping into a coma, Fr. Seraphim reposed in the Lord. At only forty-eight years old, one of the greatest American Orthodox Christians ended his journey on earth and began to intercede from heaven for his family, friends, and the whole world.
The timeline of events as recorded in Seraphim Rose leading to Fr. Seraphim’s repose, despite being written in a very fact-oriented style, lacked balance and rhythm. After writing about his repose on September 2, 1982, Scott immediately turns to speculate as to why he died. She writes, “No one will ever know for sure what killed Eugene” (p. 237) since there was no autopsy. Scott notes that Fr. Seraphim would not have wanted an autopsy to be performed since they are not a traditional Orthodox practice; Esther respected her son’s wishes. Scott speculates that his ascetic lifestyle may have been the cause, even that his fasting led to the dead tissue in his intestines. The Orthodox reader would rightly balk at this, remembering the countless saints who fasted intensely without lethal harm, but again, Scott is not an Orthodox Christian and may not be aware of this historical witness. Unfortunately, one can even sense a bit of resentment in her voice, as she says regarding the absence of an autopsy, “While it may have been against the rules of the Church, it would have answered the question of why he died” (p. 238). Immediately after, Scott’s focus shifts as she includes a few stories from Fr. Seraphim’s closest spiritual children about his miraculous, heavenly intercession after his repose and the impact he had in their lives.
In a way no one has before, Cathy Scott details the relationship between Fr. Seraphim Rose and his mother. It may be this relationship that Scott primarily has in mind when she says, “This book, which he will never read, is a tribute and a family legacy to my uncle…” (p. xii). Even the one-page epilogue is focused much more on Fr. Seraphim’s mother than on Fr. Seraphim. From prized young boy to estranged young man to esteemed Orthodox hieromonk, Fr. Seraphim’s life is not only one of redemption in the eyes of Orthodox Christians but also in the eyes of his mother. As Esther wrote, “I’m happy that he’ll be laid to rest on his beloved mountain where he’ll be part of the work that will be continued” (p. 239).
Scott ends the book focusing on Fr. Seraphim’s mother, her grief of her youngest son’s passing, and includes four postcards she received expressing condolences for his passing. This is significant for the reader who is very devoted to Fr. Seraphim, but for many will seem rather peripheral; again, Scott is writing a book not only about her uncle but about her entire family.
The book’s final sentence, before the one-page Epilogue, leaves one feeling provoked and unsettled. After the condolence letters to Fr. Seraphim’s mother, Scott ends the book alluding to events that were completely out of Fr. Seraphim’s control and that had nothing to do with him, saying, “What was about to happen would shatter the very foundation of the Brotherhood that Eugene worked for so many years to preserve” (p. 243). Even for a non-Orthodox author writing the biography of an Orthodox holy father, this ending is undeserving of her beloved uncle and entirely unnecessary. Such a statement, without any further explanation, serves only to cause scandal.
It would be too easy to simply criticize a non-Orthodox author for not understanding Orthodoxy and the mind of the Holy Fathers when writing about someone whose life was entirely dedicated to the Orthodox Faith. For all the limitations that single aspect brings, Cathy Scott has offered the Orthodox faithful something tremendously valuable: not only the depth of insight into the young Eugene who eventually found Christ amidst the exceeding vanity of this world, expressed primarily in his own words, but also precious glimpses into the mature and ever-memorable Hieromonk of Platina.
For many, Fr. Seraphim is a pathfinder to Holy Orthodoxy, especially for his fellow Americans. Though in his youth he was far from Christ, Scott herself declares: “It is not necessarily where he came from that is essential but what he became” (p. xi). As the back cover of the book states, “Seraphim Rose is truly a story of rebirth!” Cathy Scott’s labors in preserving her uncle’s memory are worthy of the attention and study of all those who love and cherish Hieromonk Seraphim Rose.
Footnotes
Copyright 2000 by Cathy Scott. All rights reserved. ISBN 1-928653-01-4, Regina Orthodox Press, P.O. Box 5288. Salisbury, MA 01952. 1-800-636-2470.
Not of This World: The Life and Teaching of Fr. Seraphim Rose was the title of the first edition of his Life. The second edition is titled Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works.
"This was a hell that Eugene wished on no one. In later life he said that certain sinful realities, which he had known while being in that hell, are best left unmentioned so that they will not be put into the air. Such was his desire to bury the sinful aspect of his past that, in his later years, he did not even want anyone to see a photograph of himself from his 'bohemian' days, showing him sitting a desk and wearing a goatee." (Hieromonk Damascene, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works (Platina, CA: St. Herman's Press, 2010), p. 95.)
Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age can be found here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/nihil.htm
The spelling “Eugen” was sometimes used by Eugene and his friends.
Hieromonk Damascene, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works (Platina, CA: St. Herman's Press, 2010), pp. 151-152.
A thorough collection of the letters of Fr. Seraphim Rose can be found online here: https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/
https://startingontheroyalpath.blogspot.com/1999/02/in-fr-seraphims-defense.html
As for those who may be scandalized that Fr. Seraphim was ordained to the priesthood despite what he has said in these few letters regarding his self-identification as a homosexual before his conversion to Orthodoxy; it is important to note that these letters do not provide details regarding what sins he actually committed during this time of his life. It is not profitable to speculate further but should trust that Father Seraphim confessed all of his past sins before and after his conversion, as is required of all converts, and that the bishop who ordained him to the priesthood first ensured that he was without impediments to ordination.
Hieromonk Damascene, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works (Platina, CA: St. Herman's Press, 2010), p. 638.
Ibid, p. 1052.
This is a wonderful and rich review! Thank you, from all of us who will not be able to now spend the $150 to $200 to buy a rare used copy of the book. I do wish to point to a couple of references which Fr Damascene makes in the revised biography (FSR - His Life and Works) which suggest, while never expressly stating, Eugene's homosexual lifestyle in the 1950s. It is entirely conceivable that a single, albeit long, footnote to a future edition of the "official" bio might address this a bit more fully, but these excerpts, from Chapter 8: The Taste of Hell, make it clear that Eugene was partaking of "forbidden" sexual sins:
"From his first summer…
I loved this!! What a profound example of God’s mercy and graces. Thank you!