SAINT SERAPHIM ROSE

A monk for our time

Saint Seraphim Rose (1934-1982), born Eugene Rose in California, was one of the most influential Orthodox thinkers of the 20th century in America. Converted after a long spiritual and intellectual journey (from Protestantism, through Buddhism and atheism), he founded the monastery of Platina (California) with Father Herman, a Russian monk, in a spirit of radical asceticism and fidelity to the Orthodox tradition.

A scholar and translator, he put his intellectual rigor at the service of faith. He left behind an immense and accessible body of work: books, treatises, and spiritual letters. He addresses young people, converts, and seekers of truth, with clear, direct, yet profound language.

His fanzine "Death to the World," created with young believers in the 1990s, continues to inspire a generation of Orthodox believers today. This visual, ascetic, and radical manifesto proclaims death to the world of illusion, sin, and superficiality, to be reborn in Christ. A monastic cry in a secular world.

Among his most recurring themes: spiritual vigilance, discernment in the face of modern errors, prayer of the heart, the role of silence, and the necessity of suffering for the truth.

“It is later than you think”

This phrase, often linked to the thoughts of Saint Seraphim Rose, is a warning. It awakens us from our spiritual torpor. It reminds us that time is short, that the end is near, not as a fear, but as an urgency to live fully for God. Discipline, for him, was an essential tool for remaining vigilant, praying, and escaping spiritual laziness.

He reminds us that faith is not a comfort but a struggle. These words, simple yet powerful, resonate powerfully today.

To go further

  • Recommended book: Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future , by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose
  • Documentary: The Life and Works of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose (Orthodox Wisdom, YouTube)