Fr Seraphim Rose - Russian Documentary w/English Subtitles

This excellent film has been out for a few years, but only recently was it given English subtitles by the Russian Faith website.

UPDATED 9/11/21: My original attempt to embed the video here failed when it was blocked by YouTube on copyright grounds, so I am simply posting the link to Russian Faith website for you to view it there. 

There is still some worthy info below if you care to scroll down and explore.

My apologies for any inconvenience:

https://russian-faith.com/saints/american-monk-who-inspired-russians-video-documentary-fr-seraphim-rose-n2330

Icon of Hieromonk Seraphim from Mt Athos

September 2 is the anniversary of the Repose of Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim Rose in 1982. Visit our Special Resource Page to learn more about this extraordinary figure in contemporary Orthodoxy.

I return to Father Seraphim Rose on this blog again and again because of his clear warnings against ecumenism and syncretism, against the tendency in our age for even well intentioned Orthodox Christians to compromise the True Faith in Jesus Christ in their confused efforts to appeal to other Christians or even to non-Christians.

Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim is widely venerated as a saint in traditional Orthodox nations such as Russia, Greece, Romania, and Serbia, and is considered by the Monks of Mount Athos as one of their own, as evidenced by photographs and icons of him seen by pilgrims to the monastic republic in northern Greece.

Pilgrims to Orthodox monasteries across North America will likewise notice photographs and the occasional icon of Father Seraphim at numerous monasteries, both men's and women's, under various jurisdictions, and there are a growing number of parishes which openly venerate Father Seraphim. Some, with direct ties to the St Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina CA, which Father Seraphim co-founded, have secondary relics such as his vestments or other items which they make available for the faithful to venerate.

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Fr. Seraphim Rose on Islam - Fr Seraphim didn't write much about Islam, or did he? A look at Fr Seraphim's teaching on the Monotheistic Religions, and how he might have approached the challenge of Islam.

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This organic and heartfelt growth in the veneration of Hieromonk Seraphim of Platina, by monasteries, parishes and the faithful touched by his life and intercessions, points to his eventual glorification as a saint by the Orthodox Church... if the Lord doesn't return first.

VIDEO: A Legendary American Monk Who Inspired Christians in Russia - Fr. Seraphim Rose

Russian-Faith.com, July 26, 2019:

Russians have long appreciated Fr. Seraphim Rose, the beloved Orthodox monk who started a monastery in northern California. This documentary was produced in Russian, and is available here for the first time with English subtitles.

He was a Protestant in California, an atheist genius at Berkeley, a practicing Buddhist, and finally — a Russian Orthodox Monk in the American wilderness. Fr. Seraphim Rose became a legend in Russia, where many now recognize him as a Saint.

This fascinating film was produced by NEOFIT.TV, a quality production company that creates numerous documentaries about Orthodox Christian saints, apostles, prophets, well known preachers, and Church history. Many excellent films are available on their website.

TRANSCRIPT:

Fr. Stephen Freeman: 'Living in the Real World'

As we prepare to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ, the Word of God Incarnate, here is a reminder of what is real:

"God gives us Himself, His life-creating grace, in very concrete and particular ways. The reason is simple – we were created to live in a concrete and particular way. The life of abstraction is alien to the life of grace. There is no sacrament of the abstract, vague or general. The only Presence is a real presence..."

Living in the Real World
Fr. Stephen Freeman, Glory to God for All Things, November 24, 2015

Nothing exists in general. If something is beautiful or good, it is manifest in a particular way at a particular time such that we can know it. And this is our true life. A life lived in a “generalized” manner is no life at all, but only a fantasy. However, this fantasy is increasingly the character of what most people think of or describe as the “real world.”

A monk lives in a monastery. He rises early in the morning and prays. He concentrates his mind in his heart and dwells in the presence of God. He will offer prayers for those who have requested it. He will eat and tend to the work assigned for him to do. And so he lives his day. He works. He prays.

And someone will say, “But what does he know about the real world?” But what can they possibly mean? He walks on the earth. He breathes the same air as we do. He eats as we do and sleeps as we do. How is his world any less real than that of anyone else on the planet?

The Importance of St Herman for Orthodox Christians in America Today

St Herman of Alaska is commemorated on December 13 (repose) and August 9 (glorification).

When we really stop to reflect upon what Blessed Father Herman accomplished in Alaska—and what his significance is for us today—we should be stunned by his humility, his selflessness, and his simple and pure dedication and obedience to his original mission to bring the Orthodox Faith to his new land. 

The greater part of his forty-plus years in Alaska he lived alone, tirelessly caring for the native Alaskan peoples who, seeing the Love of Christ embodied in their beloved "Apa" (grandfather) became themselves pious and faithful Orthodox Christians. We should be similarly moved and converted in our hearts by Elder Herman's witness. As one monastic writer in North America has put it:

The first saints God raises up in a country contain a special message about what Orthodoxy must be like for that nation.  Thus, Sts. Boris and Gleb for Russia—the passion bearers.  And it is not a coincidence that Holy Russia begins with passion bearers and ends with passion bearers (the royal martyrs) and a whole host of New Martyrs!

So what is the lesson the Lord wants American Orthodox like us to learn from St. Herman? He was a meek and humble monk, not even a priest, but a strong witness against injustice and a confessor of the true Faith.  

Fr. Seraphim Rose's Monastery - A Photographic Pilgrimage

"Not only did Hieromonk Seraphim open the whole world of the Orthodox heritage of the Holy Fathers for himself, but he also was able to tell of it in such a way that it attracted millions of people worldwide, carried across by his books, to the self-sacrificing exploration of this heavenly promised land."  — Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

For the 33rd anniversary of the repose of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose (1934-1982)

by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Pravoslavie — September 2, 2015

Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him:
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings
(Isaiah 3:10)

150 years after the repose of St. Seraphim of Sarov, in the opposite corner of the world, a monk who sought to imitate the spiritual labors of the elder of Sarov and took his name in monasticism reposed in the Lord.

Few of the ascetics of piety in the twentieth century played such an important role in the catechism of our compatriots in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia as Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose).

His unusual path to the Church, yet one so familiar and close to us, his strict ascetic life, overwhelmingly living faith, erudition, his deep and joyous discovery of the opportunity to enter the life with Christ has inspired and strengthened a great many seekers of God.

The Kurdish People, the Yezidi Religion, and Christianity

“To tell the truth is useful to those to whom it is spoken,

but disadvantageous to those who tell it,

because it makes them disliked.”

~ Blaise Pascal, Pensées.

Related:

• Fr. Daniil Sysoev: Special Resource Page
• 'To Make the Whole World Love Christ' - Seraphim Maamdi's memories of Fr. Daniel Sysoev
• 'The Light of Christ will also shine over Kurdistan' - An Interview with Seraphim Maamdi, an Orthodox Kurd
• Fr. Daniel Sysoev's Posthumous Mission: Three Stories

PRAVOSLAVIE — May 11, 2015

This English translation of an interview by the Russian correspondent for the “Rûdaw” newspaper with Monk Madai, an Orthodox Kurd, was sent to OrthoChristian.com for publication.

Monk Madai (Maamdi) was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, to a Kurdish-Yezidi family. In 2002, he and his family moved to Moscow, where in 2007 he was baptized in the Orthodox Church with the name Seraphim.

In 2009 Seraphim finished the “School of Orthodox Mission”, which was established by priest Daniel Sysoev. That same year, Fr. Daniel was killed in his own church by a Muslim extremist.

In 2012, Seraphim went to Greece, to live in one of the Greek monasteries. In 2014 he became a monk with the name Madai (in honor of the grandson of Noah, the son of Japheth, Medes’ grandparent, one of the descendant nations of whom are the Kurds). In the same year he entered the Theological Department of the University of Athens. He is a monk of the Georgian Orthodox Church, in the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of Holy Queen Sunniva, Norway.

Hoshavi Muhammad: We would like to welcome our honored guest, monk Madai. Monk Madai, in your first interview you said that the majority of Kurds confess the Islamic faith, while the minority belong to a closed religion, known as Yezidism. Why do you think that Yezidism is a false religion?

Monk Madai: I say that as a Christian, speaking from the point of view of Divine Revelation. A religion that is closed to other people and that is held by a small number of people cannot be the truth for all people. Neither can a faith come from God that only acknowledges one language, here I am speaking about Islam.

In and of itself Yezidism arose as a result of the compilation of various religious teachings. It is a natural phenomenon when in the context of Christianity, Judaism or Islam religious leaders appear who, on the basis of traditional religious teachings, add something new and create their own “true path”.

H.M.: In your opinion the founder of Yezidism is the Arab Sufi Sheikh Adi. He radically changed the worldview of Kurdish society. He united ideas from heretical Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Paganism to form Yezidism. For the Yezidis, is Sheikh Adi God or a messenger of God?

M.M.: That is not merely my opinion; it is a well-known and credible fact that the Arab Sheikh Adi descended from the Arabic Umayyad Caliphs. The testimonies of his contemporaries tell us that he was a Muslim of the Sufi doctrine and studied under well-known Sufis of the time. He later settled in a Christian monastery (now called Lalish) and wrote his Tariqa (path). His followers began to be called “Adavis” (followers of Adi) among the locals. Today they are known as Yezidis.

Unfortunately, modern Sheikhs and Pirs, and the clerics of Lalish as a whole, react very negatively to the historical facts which show that Yezidism is an offshoot of Islam. This is related to the fact that Yezidis have always been persecuted by Muslims. Any contact with Muslims is, therefore, categorically rejected by Yezidis.