PROFILES IN PORRIDGE

To all who have written to me ... Thank You!

There is, however, no way I could answer all your questions. I don't have the time or energy to do so. What I have decided to do is answer the two most frequently asked questions from you. I was only going to answer one question but when there was a second question with an equal number of inquirers I felt obligated to answer both questions. As some of you have suggested I will try to answer these questions monthly. Therefore I will attempt to re-post this everytime it goes into the archives. The two most frequently asked questions were ...

1. Is Lawrencium Latin for Lawrence?

2. Requests for a more detailed profile.

As for question number one, to put it simply - the answer is no. The Latin is laurus "laurel". This is taken from the Bay Laurel Tree (Laurus noblis, from the genus Laurus and family Lauraceae) a native of the Mediterranean Sea Area. This Bay Laurel is the source of the bay leaves which are used for their flavour in cooking. It was also the source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece and therefore the expression of "resting on one's laurels". A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games. It is also the source of the word baccalaureate (laurel berry). But what doest this have to do with me? Well, Laurus has a Roman cognomen: Laurentius, which meant "of Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy. Ancient Italy was the one time center of the Roman Empire. It was in this Roman Empire that on August 10, A.D.-258 (today August 10/23) that an archdeacon of the infant Orthodox Church of Rome was roasted to death on a giant gridiron couch. This was ordered and witnessed by Valerian the prefect of Rome and the Emperor Decius. This archdeacon was named Laurentius (Greek: Lavrentios, Russian: Lavrenti, English: Lawrence. Among other things it is recorded that Archdeacon Lawrence was "Stripped naked" and laid upon the gridiron. Above red-hot coals St. Lawrence was, as the record says tortured by imperial servents who "... held the holy Lawrence down with iron spears, searing him just as they would a choice piece of meat. All those present marvelled at the cruelty of the emperor in roasting a man alive. But St. Lawrence's face shone bright with radiance, and he said: "I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that Thou hast given me the strength!" And lifting his eyes to Decius and Valerian, he said, "Assum est, versa et manduca." ("I am roasted enough on this side; turn me round, and eat"). Then glorifying God he said: "I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that Thou hast vouchsafed me to enter Thy gates!" With these words he surrendered his spirit."
But still yet this is not why this blog is named "fatherlawrencium" even though St. Lawrence does have something to do with it. Yes ... my name is Father Lawrence. There is also an Ernest Lawrence. He made a gadget called the Cyclotron. Sounds like a ride at the amusment park. It might be something from Star Trek. The full name for it is the Cyclotron Particle Accelerator, in which sub-atomic particles are sent round and round in a circle at ever increasing speeds until they have enough energy to smash into an atom, thereby creating a new atom. That's just what the Geeks in the below picture did. They created a new atom that had never existed before. They used the Cyclotron Particle Accelerator that was invinted by Ernest Lawrence to do this and they named this element after him, thus:

Since the Cyclotron that first made Lawrencium spins atoms around in circles faster and faster and faster the Periodic Element Image looks like this:

Sorry to Father Paisius DeLucia

This is just the reality of how the Periodic Element Image is!

So what are these boys doing?
Gloating!

Updating the periodic table, Albert Ghiorso inscribes Lawrencium in space 103; codiscoverers (L. to R.) Robert Latimer, Dr. Torbjorn Sikkeland, and Almon Larsh look on approvingly.
Are these boys Amateur Radio Operators? In any event they have a good start on a Ham Shack there.
So now you know that this Blog is named after the element Lawrencium.

But Why?

It's because I'm Father Lawrence, the person who invented the Cyclotron is none other than Ernest Lawrence and these boys here made the element at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. What's the Big Deal?
It's Lawrence, I'm Lawrence, He's Lawrence. Lawrence to the Third Power?!?
My little handheld electronic Merriam-Webster's Dictionary Describes Lawrencium in the following manner:
"A short-lived radioactive element." That's me! I am and will be short-lived. And I am in a day after day process of becoming more and more Radio Active. That's my element! It's elementery!! I'm in my element!!!
Ol' Father Lawrence KB7BNW the Priest-Monk at the Blessed Seraphim Hermitage KF6ZSY Station.
And so, soon I will be so active on the Radio that people will be glad that I was short lived!
So if you are ever asked if you know of "A Shortwaved ,!er - um ... Short Lived Radio Active Radio Amateur, -um... I mean Amateur Radio Operator who is active on the Radio and who will not live to very much longer" say YES ! and ask them if they are talking about me. I am "A short-lived radioactive element"
KB7BNW@KF6ZSY Ol' Father Lawrence, Lawrencium, Lavrenti, Lavrentios, Laurentius, Laurus or...Lawre!

But there's more.

fatherlawrencium could be the name of a photography Blog. Yes! And it was suppose to be so. That is, until I got my communication starved grubby little phalanges on the keyboard. fatherlawrencium Get it? It could be spelled as Father-Lawrence-Sees-Them. And, as I Sees them Soze I Publish Um. And, when you think about it, you can surely say that Photography is the best method man has to capture a point in history. Therefore, lettuce recapitulate. I'm A Short-Lived, Radio Active Element. Not so very different from being called a Carbon-Based Unit. Except, there is no Vger here. The next major voyage I take will probably be without my body. Amen.


NEXT QUESTION: A more detailed profile. Muse, Muse, Muse?

A more detailed profile. Well, I'm not giving out my telephone number if that is what you are asking for. Got it?

None the less I suppose since all things on the grid are tied together I could paste below what is written here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A20RF79LWRC6PR
/ref=reg_bc_pdp_home/102-1515956-3815323

Basically this is what is written in my profile at http://www.amazon.com Since it refers to this Blog, this Blog will refer to it. The same goes for my channel at You Tube. It has a specific URL and I will give you that URL here :

http://www.youtube.com/AsFatherLawrenceSees

And let me be the first in line to tell you that FatherLawrence does not see 20/20. Yep! His eyes are a little off.

SO HERE'S SOME PROFILE STUFF

You can't expect anything "original" as in "innovating". The reason for this is because I'm not lying to you. Anything in a profile that's different or innovative would indicate that there was some lying going on somewhere.!

When I was 14 years old Bill Durney told me "Life is a 'Bitch' and it will get
you any way it can!"
I've found that to be true.

When I was 18 Kevin Shelby told me "Some day your shenanigans are going to catch
up with you."
Boy was he correct.

When I was 28 Father Seraphim and Father Herman told me "Remember...you are a complete "zera"
That I am.

When I was 29 my Dad told me "Son, pretty soon you be noticin' they are makin' 6 month years. Life is short, very very short."
I thought he was just an old man talking.

When I was 31 my son Alexis told me "Grandpa's in the box and Grandpa went to the
BIG HOLE."
He was more than correct.

I have been told over the last 26 years by St. Andrew of Crete "My years have vanished like a dream on waking."
(St. Andrew's "GREAT CANON" Thursday, 1st Week of Great Fast, Song 7, Troparion 1)
Behold ... I am closer to my end than I am to my beginning.
It's so true.

Tom Schobert, who left this life a Baptized Orthodox Christian, having eaten of the Flesh and Blood of God taught me the truth of this troparion from Song 8 of the CANON OF REPENTANCE To Our Lord Jesus Christ. I find it profound. Dead Human Bodies make us True Philosophers.

"How can I not weep when I think of death? For I have seen my brother lying in his coffin, inglorious and hideous. What then, do I expect? And what do I hope for? Only grant me, O Lord, repentance before my end."

And now that I see my body falling apart before my very eyes I know that in my heart of hearts, whither I seem to be trying or not, all I want is for God to give me true and full repentance and a good death.

Truly, life is short and now I know that, as already stated at the beginning of this Blog,:

"...all my life was a preparation to the pinnacle of my being, meeting and knowing Father Seraphim. Everything in my life led to this. Since his death I can find no peace of heart unless everything in my life is in some way an awareness of the reality that I am living the rest of my life the way I am, because I met and knew Father Seraphim."

And now Alexis, I see the BIG HOLE coming so quickly, ever so quickly Now I know that life is all about death.

And here it comes. Yeah, here it comes.

Graphic Courtesy of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
HOLY BLESSED SERAPHIM PRAY
TO CHRIST-GOD FOR US!


More Profile Information
You Asked For It!

Interests & Hobbies:

Going to Heaven. I'm Very, Very Interested In Going To Heaven!
If any person really thinks about the alternative, they would be interested in going to heaven too!

What more can I say about this?

It's what this life is all about.

My Children...

Alexis Lavrentivitch Ignatius Eldred
Alexis' fiance' Elizabeth Victoria

Seraphima Lavrentievna Eugenia Irene
Seraphima's unborn child (my grandchild)

Shaunna Lavrentievna Ioanna Maxima Marie

Alexandra Lavrentievna Xenia Francis

Amateur Radio.

KB7BNW - Personal callsign

KF6ZSY - Blessed Seraphim Hermitage Station

E.M.E. (Moonbounce)

Amateur Satellites

Rag Chewing

Wholly Rollers (Pigeons, that is)

Birmingham Rollers

Parlor Rollers

Favorite Movies & TV Shows
Only TV - I Can't Afford Movies

24

BBaattttlleessttaarr GGaallaaccttiiccaa!

Did I mention Battlestar Galactica?

House

Bones

Prison Break

X-Files

The News, The True News that is.

Favorite Music

There is no bad Music.
Some is just better than Others.

Orthodox Church Chant Is the Purist Form Of Music

Russian Orthodox Chant

Greek Orthodox Chant

Nigel Kennedy

Jimi Hendrix

Cream

West African Music

North African Music

Blondie

Diana Krall

Tony Bennett

Nate King Cole

Natacha Atlas

Bob Dylan

Sherly Crow

Tracy Chapman

Bob Marley

Give me any Violin Concerto. I love concerti.

Need I go on?

Music-God-Soul-Truth-CHRIST- GOD.

My Hope Is The Father,
My Refuge Is The Son,
My Shelter Is The Holy Spirit.
Oh Holy Trinity Glory To Thee!

Jesus Christ is at the same time Fully God and Fully Man.

Jesus Christ is GOD! How can we not sing?

Favorite Books:

The Christian Holy Scriptures

The Soul After Death

Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future

Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works

The Sin of Adam

The Philokalia

Archie and the Strict Baptists

The Vicar of Nibbleswicke

And much, much more.

And with this much information you will have to be content. If you want to know something else you can go to the website at http://www.sisqtel.net/~williams I'm always happy to get snail mail or you can always email me. But you are not getting my telephone number. Nobody gets it! I am not even sure that I know it.

A "To Heavy" Blog

OK! OK!

I Get it! Yes ... I have been a little heavy on the spiritual side for a Blog that was suppose to be a Photo-Blog.
But, before I get started let me say that today is the 14th Sunday after Pentecost (I should say was, not is) and we were honored to celebrate in panegyrics that hero, that giant, that messiah, that God-Seer and Prophet Moses. How wonderful to be with him today. And, I couldn't but in amazement think of Jews, Christians and Muslims as he was celebrated. He means so much to all three religions yet they all three differ in their veneration of him. What a world we live in. And, as an Orthodox Christian Clergyman I couldn't help but pay attention to the comments of Pope Benedict of the Roman Catholic Church addressing the peoples of the world about his comments during his quoting of a "Byzantine" (pronounced Bizz-an-teen, not Bye-zan-tine) Emperor concerning Muhammad the founder of the Muslim Religion. I think he answered quite correctly. Boy! Do the Muslims have a "Tizzy-Fit" if they even hear that someone has said something about them. It reminds me of the homosexuals having a riot of a tizzy when Harvey Milk was murdered in San Francisco. I'm going to have to start having Tizzy-Fits. It sure gets a lot of attention.
So, I took this old body on a trip to see my son Alexis for his 25th birthday. It's only once that a person can say that they have lived a quarter of a century. His sweet and lovely fiancee Elizabeth and I were able to pull off getting him a digital camera. He's like me - an SLR-Darkroom man. But we are losing the battle to the pixel. If you can't beat them ... join them. Beside, real photography will probably be against the law very soon. Almost everything else is now against the law. OH! THAT'S RIGHT! Not heavy but very easy.
So it worked havoc on this old man but I consider it worth it and I also pixelated it. I'm told pixelate is not a word. If I confessed that I were capturing digital pixels I might go to jail for kidnaping - so - I wasn't doing that.

So here we are: Father and Son 25 years into it. How come the older I get the more I look like Bozo the Clown? I haven't been reading any man-ga-zines like he used to do.

Alexis is just sleepy. Sleepy but happy. They don't give our children a chance to even go to the bathroom anymore. He works full time, goes to college and attends all the services at his parish and still society calls on him to do more. I never was called to do so much. But I was part of the Pepsi Generation. That lasted until Michael Jackson started his head on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. I guess that's where the innocence went "Up in Smoke"!!!

AND HERE SHE IS FOLKS! TAH DAH!!!
This is the fiancee of the day, the dear of the year, and soon the wife for life, dear sweet and lovely Elizabeth. What a smile Uh? Yeah! Yasure! Yabetcha! If she only knew I plan on moving in with them during the time they are on their honeymoon. No! I will remain where I am. I am just delighted that they are only about 130 miles away. Still, with the cost of gasoline, it is a $60.00 minimum trip. And, that's if I don't eat, add oil to the car or add coffee to the monk.



And see, they do fit together. You will also notice that Alexis is still sleepy but that he is still happy too. No! I think the problem is the photographer. It's like my Dad's friend Stan Olsen would tell me in about 1971. I was always having car trouble. He would always tell me the problem with my vehicles was simple to fix. He said that the nut behind the wheel had screwed loose. If the nut behind the wheel would tighten up and not be so loose my problems would be solved. My problem was that back then I listened to no one.


And so here is a good shot of the boy and his toy. So as you can see ... I have lightened up my posting. But the truth is that I haven't. It is heavier now than at any other time. This is because my flesh and blood, my children, are the most powerful force for God in my life. I never pray as intensely for anything as I do for my children. If it has to do with my children I'm a fanatic on it and all over it. In Wounded by Love a book about Elder Porphyrios(+1991) of Kavsokalyvia on Mt. Athos (a book Alexis gave me for Fathers Day) the Elder calls it insanity. He calls it a Godly insanity for it stems from zeal for Christ-God.
In the eyes of the world we seem to be totally whacked out. This same Father calls it a Divine intoxication and he uses as his example the writings of the Apostle and Evangelist Luke in Acts Chapter one and two. What did the people say about the infant Orthodox Church? They said "These men are full of new wine." They supposed we were intoxicated. Thus today they say the same thing about us.
All I know is that I want to be with God First and with my Children Second for all of ETERNITY. Eternity! Now there's a concept. Is it to live forever? Do we come into being and live from that point on forever? No. I don't think that is it. God the Holy Trinity existed outside time and space before there was time and space. He is the God that called time and space into being. God created time and space out of nothing. God has told us that there will be an end to time and space. Therefore to be with God for eternity can't be from now onward and forever. Now that is a good reason to be with God and in fact, I think in ways past knowing God still exists outside time and space even now. With such a God as Our God the living of eternal life must be unending in both directions, forever in the future and forever in the past. This is eternity: a lack of time or a reality of timelessness.
Great is the Godhead. Being outside time and space and at the same time having united Himself to human flesh which He took from the Virgin and as such He was dwelling as the self aware Son of God inside the Virgin's womb. Truly the womb of the Theotokos is "More spacious than the Heavens" for she carried in her womb in the full essence of His Deity He that is so great that He is everywhere present and fills all things. And, yes ... He is to large for time and space to hold Him. But, the Virgin Mary's womb was large enough to hold within herself that which the universe can not. Truly, Most Holy Mother of God you are a "Living Temple". Far greater than all the temples made by men for the dwelling of the creator. God is present in all his temples of the Orthodox Faith. But in a special and ineffable way God dwelt in His fullness within the Virgin's womb. Oh living temple, most Holy Theotokos, surely your prayer to your son and our God is pleasing to Christ your child. Oh most Holy Theotokos, you do not redeem us but we call upon you to save us, to deliver us from ourselves and all the evil machinations of the world. Pray to your son and our God to have mercy on Father Lawrence and his children Alexis, Elizabeth, Seraphima, Shaunna and Alexandra. Amen.
Oh! I can't help it. There will be a "Post Lite" next time.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Psalm 115:15(LXX) (116:15 (KJV)

THE REPOSE OF
BLESSED HIEROMONK
FATHER SERAPHIM (ROSE)

From our Website - http://users.sisqtel.net/williams/repose.html

The weather had been near-perfect all summer. And so it was on the eve of Transfiguration when the brethren of the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery made their traditional climb to the top of their mountain to a spot called "Transfiguration Skete," singing the Vigil service as they went. The sky was already dark and the stars were visible as they descended the back of the mountain, their voices carrying the beautiful stichera into the wilderness, and their candles flickering like a chain of lights. When they reached the large cross marking a corner of the monastery property, they stopped and, after the candles were extinguished, Fr. Seraphim gave a short sermon. It was one of his favorite feasts. Like his beloved St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, he loved to look up at night into the heavens. Seeing the starry sky he was always inspired by that mystery of divinity to which we sinners are called, the wonder of Transfiguration. This is the message he spoke that night: "Our home is in heaven. Never forget that for which we are created." Little did anyone suspect that the next morning he would serve Liturgy for the last time here on earth.

Soon afterwards Father Seraphim became ill. He was of fragile health and it was not unusual for him to be sick. It was never easy to tell just how ill he was because he never complained. In a few days, however, when the pain became very severe, he agreed to be taken to the hospital. It came as a shock to everyone when, after two serious operations in which the doctors had to remove a massive blockage in the intestine caused by decaying tissue, Fr. Seraphim was given only a two percent chance of recovery. For those close to him, it was as though a great cataclysmic event had taken place. The nightmarish intensity of the days that followed—the feelings of shock, of helplessness, bewilderment, anxiety, loneliness, despair—is hard to describe. One could not help thinking of the approaching feast of Dormition. Was the Mother of God going to take her faithful servant?

On the even of the feast, many from the St. Herman Mission gathered at the Surety-of-Sinners Chapel in Redding to celebrate a midnight Liturgy and there to pray fervently for the recovery of their beloved Fr. Seraphim. Fr. Alexey Young who served the Liturgy, prepared to take the Holy Gifts to Fr. Seraphim. At the hospital Fr. Herman was already keeping vigil. As the Liturgy ended there was a call from the hospital announcing that visitors were allowed one at a time to see Fr. Seraphim. Everyone thought it was to be a final farewell. All knew that having run the race as a prize athlete, Fr. Seraphim was ready to say, together with St. Paul: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). But while there was life there was hope. We sinners were not ready to relinquish him to the other world. And we prayed for a miracle.

Having driven all night, Archbishop Anthony arrived at the hospital where he and Fr. Herman read the prayers for the departure of the soul. It was close to 2:00 A.M. Those at Fr. Seraphim's bedside did not want to leave. And then something unprecedented happened. Perhaps it was the compassion of the Mother of God which opened the doors. People began to gather in Fr. Seraphim's room—not three or four, but at least 20 surrounded his bed, and for the next several hours they sang for Fr. Seraphim to hear perhaps for the last time the beautiful Dormition stichera: "O ye apostles from afar, being now gathered together…" Then the entire Paschal Canon was sung. Many sang through their tears. Fr. Seraphim was breathing through a respirator and could not speak. But he was conscious, and when he heard the singing of one of his favorite hymns, "Noble Joseph," he began to cry. It was hard to look upon Fr. Seraphim's sufferings, but it was harder still to tear oneself away from his bedside. Finally, however, the nurses asked everyone to leave. No one knew that this was only the beginning of a vigil that was to last another five days and nights.

Among us was a catechumen, a young man who had asked Fr. Seraphim to baptize him on the feast of Dormition. Knowing the spiritual strength in the grace of this Mystery, Fr. Herman decided to proceed with the Baptism, hoping that through this act which was so pleasing to God, Fr. Seraphim would also be strengthened. In the company of four others, Fr. Herman left for the Monastery, having promised Fr. Seraphim that he would serve Liturgy for him there that day. The creek beyond the monastery sparkled in the sun. As the newly-enlightened John Damascene was clothed in the white robe of righteousness, a beam of joy pierced the veil of grief which hung heavy over everyone's heart. Exhausted by the all-night vigil at the hospital, the long drive to the monastery and the long service, an attempt was made to rest. But anxiety overcame sleep. Was Fr. Seraphim still alive? That afternoon at the monastery there were tearful entreaties before the icon of the Mother of God, "Quick-Hearer." On Mt. Athos the monks were also praying before this icon for Fr. Seraphim's recovery. Before leaving for Redding, a phone-call to the hospital—always made with a pounding heart—relieved everyone with the news that Fr. Seraphim's condition had slightly improved.

That evening there were still more people at the hospital. And a greater feeling of hope, even though Fr. Seraphim was still given only a ten percent chance of recovery.

During the very early hours of the morning, the night-shift nurses kindly permitted prolonged visits. Those who had the opportunity to spend several hours at this time praying or reading the Gospel at Fr. Seraphim's bedside will never forget this intense and very sobering experience. It was a time to think about death which was hovering very close, and about the meaning of suffering for Christ. Utterly helpless, tied to the bed to avoid danger from possible seizures, wires from monitoring devices crossing his chest, his arms punctured with tubes and breathing with the help of a respirator, Fr. Seraphim looked like the image of one crucified; truly, we were witnessing a martyrdom. So often he had spoken about suffering and the benefit it had upon the Christian soul. He had such compassion and admiration for the suffering Orthodox behind the Iron Curtain. Perhaps God was allowing him to co-suffer with them. The Scripture passage came to mind: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (II Corinthians 4:17).

The Sunday Liturgy in Redding was followed that evening by a service of Holy Unction. Each one felt as though his other sins were at least partially responsible for Fr. Seraphim's illness. Everyone, therefore, took part in the service of Unction, being anointed unto the healing of soul and body, repenting and fervently praying during the service, "Hear us, O God!" Afterwards, Fr. Herman went to the hospital to anoint Fr. Seraphim.

For all those close to Fr. Seraphim, it was a very intense and exhausting experience—emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The phone in the ICU waiting room began to ring constantly with calls from people all over the country asking about Fr. Seraphim—and praying. Here, and even abroad, fervent petitions were directed to the throne of God, imploring Him to spare Fr. Seraphim, not for his sake, for he had long since prepared himself for this hour, but for those of us who needed his guidance for the salvation of our souls. A man of such rare spiritual stature, a lamp of true wisdom in this age of spiritual darkness and confusion… Surely God would not deprive us so soon of such a brightly shining light? The fields white with harvest in which Fr. Seraphim had labored so zealously… Who could replace him? His sermons, so simple yet piercing the heart…, who would speak them? The many profound and inspiring articles and books he had written, guiding souls along the "royal path,"… who would be able to take up his pen? How we needed him! But we had to remind ourselves that God's ways are not our ways, and we had to prepare ourselves to accept His will.

The hours passed slowly. Each telephone call, each visit from the doctors or nurses—we hoped for the best, and feared the worst. The waiting room became a prayer room, with one akathist or canon following another. The Gospel was read by turns, all four books, and again. It was such a time of intense and prolonged prayer that few of us had ever experienced before.

Tuesday morning Fr. Seraphim's condition again became very critical; phone calls were mad to ask for increased prayer. That afternoon Abbot Chrysotomos and Hieromonk Auxentios arrived from the St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Ohio. Soon afterwards Bishop Nektary of Seattle also arrived to keep watch over his spiritual son whom he had ordained only five years ago. That night a midnight Liturgy was held in the hospital chapel, a room on the same floor as the Intensive Care Unit; it had a low ceiling and no windows which gave it a catacomb feeling. This was heightened by the intensity of the situation and the fervent prayers, united in spirit and purpose. Just as he had every day that week, Fr. Seraphim received Holy Communion and appeared to be more at peace.

That night a dying young boy had been brought into the Intensive Care Unit. His mother was weeping uncontrollably. When Fr. Herman approached her the next morning to comfort her, he asked if she would like her son to be baptized. Receiving an affirmative reply, Fr. Herman lost no time in baptizing the dying boy, Christopher. It was none too soon. Late that afternoon, it pleased the Lord to take his soul, pure and clean from the water of Baptism. All felt that this was already a fruit of Fr. Seraphim's sufferings.

Wednesday afternoon the wonder-working icon of the Mother of God, "Unexpected Joy," was brought from San Francisco. It was immediately carried in to Fr. Seraphim. Throughout the day those present prayed before it, and sensed that truly, the Mother of God was keeping a close watch over Fr. Seraphim and that this sufferings were not in vain.

It was, after all, still the period of Dormition. Liturgy was again served at midnight in the hospital chapel and Fr. Seraphim received Holy Communion at 3:00 A.M. on Thursday morning. The icon remained in the hospital where people were still keeping vigil and periodically taking the icon into Fr. Seraphim whenever visitors were permitted.

But this vigil was not to last much longer. At about 10:30 the doctors announced that there was very little hope left, there was nothing more they could do. And within minutes, the vigil over the dying had ended, and a new life for Fr. Seraphim had begun. So it was pleasing to God. He had passed from death to life, from earth to heaven, where the choirs of the righteous shine like the stars in the glory of Transfiguration.

Of the minutes and hours that followed, Abbot Chrysostomos has written:

"I went with Abbot Herman into the hospital room to help prepare the body, immediately after the death of this holy man. The room was now filled with love, with an inner spiritual fragrance, and with a sorrowful joy. From that moment on, no one who had not loved the man ever touched his body. And thus the fruits of his suffering, the victory of his struggle with whatever evil it was that he had chose to do battle, became perfectly united with those around him. His unembalmed body we carefully and lovingly dressed. And despite efforts to bind his jaw, his face naturally fell into a quiet smile of unmistakable heavenly joy. His body never stiffened, nor did decay of any kind set it. The skin remained soft and the body seemed to be one of a sleeping child. A scientist from the University of California at Berkeley correctly described the body when he commented, "He looks precisely like a relic."
"The death of Father Seraphim produced a spiritual phenomenon untold of in our times. Lying in state in a crude wooden coffin in the humble monastery church, not only did the body remain soft and lifelike in the summer heat, but so comforting was his face that one could not bear to cover it, in the traditional monastic way. Even children could hardly move away from the coffin, since the body brought such internal peace and suggested such love. Everyone was aware that, in our times, among us, a holy man had left in his body a phenomenon that challenges science and our hearts. There was a universally expressed feeling among those present that we were privileged witnesses to a manifestation of God's Grace.

"The funeral for Father Seraphim, officiated over by Archbishop Anthony of Western America and San Francisco, and by Bishop Nektary of Seattle, produced even greater fruits. Over Fr. Seraphim's coffin two novices were tonsured rassophore monks; Deacon Vladimir from the St. John the Almsgiver Mission in Willits was ordained priest; and Reader Lawrence from the Etna Mission was ordained to the Diaconate. Father Seraphim's victory over an inexplicable evil with which he had struggled for his life had blossomed into a flower of overflowing love—a victory upon victory. And the gentleness with which he became victorious is perhaps best expressed by the family of deer which we, looking out the altar window during the singing of the Creed in the funeral Liturgy, saw gathered around his grave.

"The burial of this holy man took place amidst great personal grief, for his loss was unthinkable to all who loved him. But this grief was overcome, washed away, and transformed by a joy that one could only compare to that of Pascha. And indeed, several times during the burial the Paschal Troparion was spontaneously sung. What all of this means for us Orthodox in America, one can only vaguely understand from the astounding phenomenon which I have described. But without doubt, the death of Father Seraphim will benefit us as greatly now as his tremendous witness has during his years on earth."

OH OUR HOLY FATHER SERAPHIM
PRAY TO GOD FOR U.S.!







Father Vladimir (Above) Father Lawrence (Right)

August 22/September 4
An Anniversary Of Many Different Things

---

Reprinted from Orthodox America

"It is later than you think!"

"It is later than you think!"
AMERICAN APOSTLE TO THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE

No sarcasm is involved in the headline

From our Website: http://users.sisqtel.net/williams/blessedseraphim.html

---

Fr. Seraphim giving an open air talk

Nothing to do with sleek businessmen, fast food chains or investment schemes. And many Russian Christians will recognize him right away: few Christian stores or church book counters would not carry translations from Fr. Seraphim Rose.

It should be noted, however, that his apostleship — to Russia or to any other nation into whose languages his works are translated — did not emerge until he finished his earthly sojourn: he died in September, 1982 at the age of 48, and the twentieth anniversary of his untimely death is solemnly observed these days all over the globe. And here on earth he lived in a tiny Orthodox monastic community in the mountains of North California, constantly immersed into the church service cycle, into research, writing, editing and publishing work, translating treasures of Christian heritage into English, responding to letters from readers and inquirers, attending to the daily needs like gardening, firewood, truck engine and printing equipment, and praying in silence.

Who was he, that humble, reticent priest-monk? Eugene Rose before monasticism, younger son of a janitor, born in San Diego, CA, in his school and college years he had little involvement with, or interest for Christianity. But he had a bright, inquisitive mind and an honest heart, yearning for the truth — and that has made all the difference.

He studied Buddhism under Alan Watts in San Francisco and Chinese philosophy in the University of California, Berkeley, excelling in any field he touched and realizing at the same time that the full truth had to be found elsewhere… As he later recalled,
“…a new idea began to enter my awareness: that Truth was not just an abstract idea, sought and known by the mind, but rather something personal - even a Person - sought and loved by the heart. And that is how I met Christ”.

A number of outer circumstances furthered his conversion. Eugene had connections to the Russian immigrant community in San Francisco with very strong Orthodox Christian roots. In 1962 it was headed by Archbishop John Maximovitch, known by some of his followers in China and Western Europe as a saint even during his lifetime (and indeed, he was canonized in 1994 in San Francisco). He took spiritual charge over the young American inquirer, and Fr. Seraphim throughout his life kept the deepest devotion to Archbishop John.

But there is more to it. A throng of faithful flocked around the saintly Archbishop - yet no one else was to become like Fr. Seraphim. Much later a person who had known him quite well summarized it as follows:

“He was very intelligent - such a genius that few people saw him for what he was. But at the same time he was very simple, not complicated at all, rather like his father and mother. He could see things exactly the way they were - a down-to-earth, warm, honest man”.

Fr. Seraphim’s heritage, both tangible and intangible, is truly immense, and even today, twenty years after his death, it keeps unfolding, opening new riches. A new volume of his correspondence, Letters from Fr. Seraphim, has just been published. Before that, a vast collection Genesis, Creation and Early Man has appeared, devoted mostly to the evolution vs. creation controversy. His most widely known work, Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future, reprinted many times in the US and abroad, should be credited for exposing numerous modern-day spiritual deceptions and rescuing countless souls from the New Age and Occult sects. The Soul After Death spells out the traditional Christian view and explains otherwise mysterious “near-death” and “after-death experiences”. The Orthodox Word bi-monthly, published by Fr. Seraphim since 1965, at times single-handedly, is still serving the English-speaking Christians.

And that’s just a small portion of what he has done. His disciples, both clergy and laity, are found in Orthodox communities all over the US and, in fact, all over the world; his articles, sermons and lectures provide an ever-fresh source of knowledge and inspiration. And his gravesite in Platina, CA has become a popular place of pilgrimage for those who loved him here on earth as well as those who never met him personally.

From the preface to the Heavenly Realm, a collection of essays by Eugene Rose, future Fr. Seraphim:

“The wonder of a soul of a modern young man who managed somehow to penetrate into the realm of the rich Christian tradition, then to saturate himself by its divine splendor, and finally to emerge as a living link with the Church Fathers - is indeed awesome! Who would suspect that our prosaic America could produce such a visionary?”

From Remembering Fr. Seraphim (Orthodox America, Aug.-Sep. 1982):

• In conversation he was the proverbial “man of few words”. He had no interest in idle chatter, seldom expressed a personal preference for anything, and disliked fakery of all kinds, often speaking of the “Disneyland mentality” of America which was making it impossible for people to seek and find the truth (Such aversion to Disney, in those years ostensibly innocent, seemed strange to many - but soon the cat will be out of the bag, and in 1996 American Christians will begin boycotting Disney – ed.).
He worried about the fact that most of us were “unconscious”: we were so abysmally ignorant of the great truths of our Faith… “Be awake, aware, informed!...” - he would plead, - “Don’t keep Orthodoxy to yourself as though it were some private treasure. Share it!”

• Fr. Seraphim was an inspiration for thousands of people. He gave some of the most inspiring sermons ever uttered in the English language. His constant counsel was: “Never excuse yourself. If you must, or think you must, give way to a weakness, then be certain to recognize it as a weakness and a sin. But see your own faults and condemn not your brother!”
During the latter portion of his life, Fr. Seraphim continually emphasized the need for spiritual attentiveness in preparation for struggles to come. He seemed to have an awareness, a foreknowledge of apocalyptic times ahead. His message was conveyed in a well-known phrase: “It is later than you think!”

• The death of Fr. Seraphim produced a spiritual phenomenon untold of in our times. Lying in state in a crude wooden coffin in the humble monastery church, not only did the body remain soft and life-like in the summer heat, but so comforting was his face that one could not bear to cover it, in the traditional monastic way. Even children could hardly move away from the coffin, since the body brought such internal peace and suggested such love. Everyone was aware that, in our times, among us, a holy man had left in his body a phenomenon that challenges science and our hearts.

Eugene (Fr. Seraphim) Rose in the early 60's

From God’s Revelation to the Human Heart by Fr. Seraphim (St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1987):

…Is there a special organ for receiving revelation from God? Yes, in a certain sense there is such an organ, though usually we close it and do not let it open up: God’s revelation is given to something called a loving heart. We know from the Scriptures that God is love; Christianity is the religion of love (you may look at the failures, see people who call themselves Christians and are not, and say there is no love there; but Christianity is indeed the religion of love when it is successful and practiced in the right way)… If you ask anyone who knew Archbishop John what it was that drew people to him - and still draws people who never knew him - the answer is always the same: he was overflowing with love; he sacrificed himself for his fellow men out of absolutely unselfish love for God and for them. This is why things were revealed to him which could not get through to other people and which he never could have known by natural means. He himself taught that, for all “mysticism” of our Orthodox Church that is found in the Lives of the Saints and the writings of the Holy Fathers, the Orthodox faithful always has both feet firmly on the ground, facing whatever situation is right in front of him. It is in accepting given situations, which requires a loving heart, that man encounters God. This loving heart is why anyone comes to a knowledge of the truth…

The opposite of the loving heart that receives revelation from God is cold calculation, getting what you can out of people; in religious life, this produces fakery and charlatanism of all descriptions. If you look at the religious world today, you see that a great deal of this is going on: so much fakery, posing, calculation, so much taking advantage of the winds of fashion…

From the Letters from Father Seraphim (Nikodemos, Richfield Springs, NY, 2001):

• Good heavens! What is happening to people? How easily one gets dragged off the path of serving God into all kinds of factions and jealousies and attempts at revenge.

• I think about... that older generation that is now almost gone, and I want to weep for the young know-it-alls who have missed the point. But the understanding comes only through real suffering, and how many can do that?

• Christians, surrounded by and already swimming in a sea of humanist-worldly philosophy and practice, must do everything possible to create their own islands, in that sea, of other-worldly, God-oriented thought and practice.

• Try to remember that all real Christian work is local - right here and now, between myself and God and my neighbor.

• Do you have a notebook for taking down quotes from Holy Fathers in your reading? Do you always have a book of Holy Fathers that you are reading and can turn to in a moment of gloom? Start now - this is essential!

• Now one cannot be a half-hearted Christian, but only entirely or not at all.

Deacon-monk Makarios
Ivanovo
Russia

---

Reptrinted from Pravda.ru
September 27, 2002

---

24 YEARS AGO TODAY

24 YEARS AGO TODAY GOD MADE
BLESSED FATHER SERAPHIM ROSE
AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE

WE HAD TO LOSE HIM IN ORDER TO KEEP HIM !

Blessed Father Seraphim (Rose) sermonizing before the open Royal Doors
During the evening of Friday July 26/August 8, 7488/1980

TROPARION TONE 4

Being one supremely devoted to the Mother of God/
thou didst take up thine abode on a mountainside near Platina/
and there thou didst crucify thy flesh, with its lusts and passions,/
through ascetic struggle,/
wherefore thou art become the first born American saint,/
an inspiration and guiding star to American Orthodoxy./
Wherefore we cry unto thee,/
save us by thy prayers,/
Oh Seraphim our holy father.

THE BLESSED REPOSE OF OUR HOLY FATHER SERAPHIM +1982
Through his prayers, Oh Lord Jesus Christ Our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

How can I ever recount all you have done for me? Through your life you have shown me all that a Human life could be. You forced yourself and showed me the fruit of ascetic struggle. In all things you were temperate thus teaching me what self control is and wherein is the middle road, The Royal Path. You have shown me that Orthodoxy is not just Doctrine and Dogma, not mere tradition but you have shown me how one learns that "Orthodoxy is a way of Life!" Now that you behold me from the Other World you see my manner of being, yea, within minutes you saw my sinfulness. You left us, your spiritual children, in order to be with us in a fashion that is fuller than anything you could have been to us in this life. I can't help but wonder what you would think of me if you were still in this life. I don't believe they would have left on your mountainside. They would have taken you away - far away - as distance is in this life. No. The Lord Jesus Christ knew how we needed you. But, He also knew how untold multitudes in the future would need you with your Golden Writings, in your spiritual presence, by your prayers for all of them. How would I pray if I had never witnessed you praying? How would I walk among men if I had never seen you walk in the midst of the people of this world?
And soon, surely soon I will follow you for I was your contemporary child in this worldly life.

Oh! May God grant me to be the one who takes out your garbage in the next life. I promised to be God's garbage collector and he led me to you because of this promise. Now may I discharge this responsibility to God by being your trash man in the heavenly realms. Pray for me my Father. I'm just a country boy. But It's true! There are Russians in Platina. I always knew it! My Father.

The Northern Exposure (Above) and the Southern Exposure (Right) of Father Seraphim's Cell.
This Was His Love
This Was His Cabin In The Woods!