Catherine,
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Let me begin by thanking you for sharing what your spiritual Father in Russia has opined about the American Hieromonk Seraphim Rose. It certainly deserves careful consideration.
I should tell you that my own spiritual Father is one of Father Seraphim Rose's closest disciples; Hieromonk Ambrose Young, formerly Father Alexey Young. Hieromonk Ambrose was originally ordained by ROCOR Bishop Nektary (Kontzevich) at Platina in the 1970s, and he was the founder and former editor of the newspaper [i][u]Orthodox America[/u][/i]. Hieromonk Ambrose has also published a number of Orthodox books and pamphlets during the past 30 years-- including a history of the ROCOR, a monograph about the philosophy of Kireyevsky, a hagiography of St. John of San Francisco, and his own lengthy correspondence with Father Seraphim. This is all a matter of open, public record.
While I would never presume to speak for Hieromonk Ambrose (he can certainly do that more eloquently, himself, I dare say!) he has spoken to me privately (and in public sermons, etc.) about Father Seraphim Rose on many occasions during the past 20 years. As you may know, Hieromonk Ambrose publicly criticized the original biography of Father Seraphim Rose, [i][u]Not of This World[/u][/i], on the grounds that it was inaccurately negative in its portrayal of Father Seraphim's relationship with the ROCOR hierarchs. My understanding is that Father Seraphim had profound love and respect for the ROCOR hierarchs of his day-- including blessed Metropolitan Philaret, and his own Orthodox mentor, St. John (Maximovitch), who originally ordained him a Reader, and blessed him to establish a skete at Platina. After Father Seraphim's repose in 1982, the St. Herman's brotherhood eventually departed from the ROCOR. It is this later development at Platina which may have led to the inaccurate, negative portrayal of Father Seraphim's relationship with his ROCOR superiors in [i][u]Not of This World.[/u][/i]
I have heard many profound, marvelous first hand stories about Father Seraphim Rose from Hieromonk Ambrose, and have also witnessed some rather remarkable things relating to Hieromonk Ambrose, himself, which would, perhaps, be improper to mention at this time. I will say, however, that your comment about Hieromonk Seraphim Rose appealing only to the superficial, "Western" Orthodox is patently false. I, myself, found and joined the ROCOR primarily because of Hieromonk Ambrose and his spiritual Father-- as have many other Americans in the ROCOR whom I have known personally during the past 20 years. Of course, it was a struggle for me to become part of the ROCOR, and I had to begin from a more Westernized liturgical tradition (for five years) before being baptized in the ROCOR and learning how to stand and pray for hours at a ROCOR service.
Recall that St. John (Maximovitch), himself, said that one of God's hidden purposes in the White Russian diaspora of the 1920s and 30s was to bring Russian Orthodoxy to the West-- to Western Europe, Australia, North and South America. This has, in fact, happened, partly through the translational work of Orthodox clergymen like Hieromonk Seraphim Rose (and his spiritual son Hieromonk Ambrose Young.) The sad truth is that most other Orthodox emigres to the West never had a significant missionary focus toward heterodox westerners. They were focused, instead, on preserving their churches in the context of their own ethnic communities. This has certainly been true of the Greek Orthodox in America, for example. It is also true, I fear, in the case of many recent Soviet-era Russian emigres in the American ROCOR, who tend to view the church as a Russian social, ethnic club. Not that this wrong, mind you, but it is not very missionary-oriented toward Westerners.
I know of cases in my own former ROCOR parish where recent Soviet emigres have directly told American converts that they needed to leave the ROCOR and go to an "American" parish. Hence, I suspect that some of the recent misunderstandings about Father Seraphim Rose and his work--which consisted mainly in ascetic labor and the publication of Russian Orthodox literature-- may be related to his Anglo-American ethnicity, or perhaps to the problems that occurred at Platina after Father Seraphim's repose. As for the spiritual aspects of his hagiographical work, it speaks for itself! If you doubt this, try reading [i][u]Russia's Catacomb Saints[/u][/i], published by Father Seraphim at Platina many years ago. The book is, in my opinion, priceless. What could be more significant for the true Orthodox today-- in Russia and in America-- than Father Seraphim Rose's chapter on "The Nuns of Shamordino" in [i][u]Russia's Catacomb Saints[/u][/i]?