Update and A Reflection on the Passing of 'RTOC-Trenton', Fr. Lawrence Williams (Hieromonk Lawrence) of Etna, California:
For much of his 58 years, he lived in the small quaint isolated mountain old 'Gold-Rush' town of Etna, in extreme northern California, born into some Protestant-evangelical church, he at some point, encountered Orthodoxy, and was early involved with the ROCOR St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, at Platina, California, where he had much association and interaction with both Fr. Seraphim (Rose) and Fr. Herman (Podmoshensky). His godfather in baptism was the recently reposed Fr. Vladimir Anderson (just reposed on Dec. 16).***[see below "His Godfather"]
Fr. Lawrence was a highly intelligent and gifted personality, vivacious, loving animals, very zealous in efforts at spreading Orthodoxy to fellow Americans, with an intense sense of humour, and a quick wit, and extremely devoted to Fr. Seraphim (Rose).
Many who knew him have said, "He had a loving good heart!"
Apparently too, as we are now seeing, he has had a world-wide following of devoted admirers and spiritual children, with whom he corresponded frequently, by email and written letters, and sometimes via the phone, etc.
It was at Fr. Seraphim's Platina funeral, in 1982, that Lawrence was made a ROCOR deacon, by the hand of San Francisco Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev), and at that same funeral, his godfather, Fr. Deacon Vladimir Anderson, was made a priest.
But for all his extreme zeal and energies and devotion, Fr. Lawrence was regrettably caught up in all the church chaos, as were many many others, all true VICTIMS, created by Fr. Herman's unjustified rebellion against his bishop and ROCOR, which took the Platina Monastery (and Lawrence), into a schism, to that of the cultic 'Holy Order of MANS' (renamed, 'Christ the Saviour Brotherhood'), and it's subservience to the vagante pseudo, 'Metropolitan Pangratios-Vrionis, of Vassiloupolis (New York)' ....which hierarch, NO other Orthodox recognized as legitimate. It was that 'bishop' who ordained to the 'priesthood' Fr. Lawrence, and apparently, he was the one who gave him the monastic tonsure (though, that may have been by Herman's hand-?)
Poor Lawrence, because of his 2-3 failed marriages, (before he became a monastic), as with many others who obeyed defrocked Fr. Herman, he was put through a many-yeared literal hell, until the Platina brotherhood, tired of the insane chaos and of them being not accepted as fellow Orthodox by ANY other Orthodox, they petitioned the Serbian Patriarchal Church to receive them, which did happen. But this was after, at the command of the Serbian Bp. Longin who received them, they had first gone to the hospital death bed of their former legitimate bishop, ROCOR Archbishop Anthony in San Francisco, and asked his forgiveness and his blessing to go to the Serbian church, both of which he granted, in his last breaths.
But both Herman and Lawrence went their own, separate, bishop-less ways. Lawrence did not join the Serbs. Herman was close to the MP, which Lawrence never was.
However, about 3 years ago, Lawrence asked to be received into ROCA under far away Odessa, Ukraine, Met. Agafangel, which was granted. Met. Agafangel knew nothing about Lawrence's full church history, and trustingly took his word, seeing him as another ROCOR priest fleeing that 'union.'
Then, about 2 years ago, without any clear reasons being given, Lawrence abruptly left ROCA and went to 'RTOC-Trenton', in Trenton, New Jersey, and was quietly re-ordained a priest, by RTOC-Trenton Bp. Stefan (Sabelnik), who he was under at the time of his death.
Fr. Lawrence was found dead, laying face down in the snow with snow on top of him, on his Etna Hermitage porch, by a neighbor, this December 1, apparently due to a heart attack while engaged in bringing in firewood to his home.
The Siskiyou, California County Coroner (in Yreka), did an autopsy, which results we do not know, (though by now his son Alexander, may know this), so his exact date or cause of death is NOT publicly known.
He had been in poor health for a long time, it seems, and living a rather impoverished life, and alone, without any local congregation or friends to speak of, a true 'hermit', (his 4 children living far away), existing on mailed-donations and the sales of various photos of Fr. Seraphim and other pious printed materials.
He left, '100 pigeons and a number of other animals,' for his 4 children to find homes for.
Due to circumstances beyond far-away Bp. Stefan's control, Fr. Lawrence's 4 children (their jurisdictional affiliations not known), made arrangements for his funeral/burial to be at Platina Monastery, which was done, December 11. His children said that their father had earlier expressed his desire to, 'be buried near Fr. Seraphim, my mentor'.
MEMORY ETERNAL! Fr. Lawrence! and MAY YOU REST WITH THE SAINTS! ...and may you finally find that rest and peace, that seemed to escape you, for much of your troubled life. What we do know, is that your last years were spent in deep repentance and soul-searching, preparing your soul for your passage.
This last summer, Fr. Lawrence told a visitor, "I don't think that I will live much longer," and so it was.
[-- the above is compiled from things shared by some of those who knew him -jh]
*** His Godfather:
And an update about the godfather of Fr. Lawrence Williams of Etna, California, our ROCA Fr. Vladimir Anderson who just reposed this Dec. 16
in a nursing home in Santa Rosa, California:
His family, as they belong to the OCA, have arranged his OCA funeral in their Santa Rosa OCA church, for this Tuesday, Dec. 21, to be conducted by OCA Bp. Benjamen (Peterson), and his OCA clergy. Which OCA clergy gave their OCA confession and communion to our ROCA priest a number of times in his hospital, at the son's Serge's request.
Our ROCA clergy were kept at bay, for these past two months, after Fr. Vladimir's October heart surgery, so we could not even visit him, call him or write him or give him our sacraments or for us to bury our priest. So, once again, as with the funeral/burial of his godson, Fr. Lawrence Williams, our Fr. Vladimir in his end, is being buried by a church, in this case, the OCA, which in his life, he did NOT want to join. But, how could he protest anything, as he knew he was dying and as he was, prostrate in his hospital bed, and at the total control of his family, all of whom are not in our church, but hostile to us.
But, no doubt his family felt that they were just doing their best for their beloved father, and grandfather, Fr. Vladimir, whom they obviously have loved VERY MUCH, they often being by his bed, daily, these last 2 months, and reading the Psalter non-stop at his end dying time.
God help them in this difficult time!
Anyway! May God's will be done, and MEMORY ETERNAL! to our beloved Fr. Vladimir Anderson! of Willits, California. He was 77, I believe.
Rd. Daniel
