Father Seraphim (Rose) And The Modern West

[尼古拉前执事]

LOL, if I remember the SRA logic tests we took in the AGATE gifted classes I had in Middle school, that is, "I Understand."

[Justin Kissel]

Ohh... logic! That's why I couldn't figure it out. And I suppose the nearly invisible periods before the "I" symbolize the mysterious, difficult-to-see nature of Orthodox "logic"?

[Methodius]

....A P
E ....... P
S ....... L
....U A

[Justin Kissel]

Come'on Methodius, I went to Vo-Tech! Cut me some slack!

[Justin Kissel]

Ok, the text has now been edited (I just edited my first post and pasted it there)

Postscript--If anyone has any resources from an Orthodox perspective concerning usage of western terms or literary styles/devices, or just comparisons of rhetorical approaches, please say so I'm especially interested in studies on those who used western terminology, such as Saint John of Kronstadt, Saint Theophan the Recluse, etc. In any event, I'm going to attempt studies of my own on Saint Basil and Saint Gregory sometime in the probably distant future (whenever I get down reading their extant works and rereading the pertinent sections... which will be a while from now! )

[尼古拉前执事]

Here's an interesting piece by Fr. Serraphim Rose:

We must, of course, continue to read Orthodox spiritual texts, such as the Life of Blessed Paisius, or we will spiritually wither and die. But we must at the same time humble ourselves and use the very height of the life described in these texts as our opportunity to "grow in awareness of our degradation," as St. Nilus so well says. We must properly apply the Life of Elder Paisius to our own spiritual condition.

Therefore, let all readers be aware:

1. There are no more elders like Paisius today. If we imagine there are, we can do irreparable harm to our souls—"imagination" being precisely one of the forms of prelest or spiritual deception. We must learn to read of his life and deeds without being able to apply them entirely to our corrupt and degraded life. At the same time, we must have respect for our spiritual fathers and elders, who at least know more than we and try their best to guide their spiritual children under almost impossible conditions. Many young people today are seeking gurus and are ready to enslave themselves to any likely candidate; but woe to those who take advantage of this climate of the times to proclaim themselves "God-bearing Elders" in the ancient tradition—they only deceive

themselves and others. Any Orthodox spiritual father will frankly tell his children that the minimum of eldership that remains today is very different from what Blessed Paisius or the Optina Elders represent.

1. The type of community which Paisius guided is beyond the capabilities of our times. Bishop Ignatius said that such a way of life was not given even to his times—when Optina was at its height; and how much more has

Orthodox life fallen since then! Such a "heaven on earth'' could not exist today, not just because there are no God-bearing Elders to guide it, but because even if there were, the spiritual level of those who would follow is too impossibly low. Ours is the age of spiritual fakery par excellence, not of the ancient Spirit-bearing life. The Abbot of any Orthodox monastery today will tell you the same.

But let us therefore learn to make maximum use of the limited opportunities we do have (which still, after all, are "heaven on earth" if compared to the worldly life of today!), not demolishing our few remaining Orthodox communities with self-centered and idle criticism, nor unsettling ourselves and others by dreams of impossibly perfect communities.

1. Our times, above all, call for humble and quiet labors, with love and sympathy for other strugglers on the path of the Orthodox spiritual life and a deep resolve that does not become discouraged because the atmosphere is unfavorable. We Christians of the latter times are still called to work persistently on ourselves, to be obedient to spiritual fathers and authorities, to lead an orderly life with at least a minimum of spiritual discipline and with regular reading of the Orthodox spiritual literature which Blessed Paisius was chiefly responsible for handing down to our times, to watch over our own sins and failings and not judge others. If we do this, even in our terrible times, we may have hope—in God's mercy—of the salvation of our souls. Perhaps the chief function of the Life of Blessed Paisius for us today is to give us the courage to endure the frightful anti-spiritual climate of our times; for as our Saviour has warned us, even in the last times when "the love of the many shall grow cold," he that endureth to the end shall be saved (Matt. 24:13).

The Life of Elder Paisius which we here present was written by his own disciples, chiefly by Schema-monk Metrophanes of Niamets Monastery, and was published in its present form exactly 125 years ago (1847) by the God-bearing Elders of Optina Monastery as the first of the texts of the veritable patristic revival which they inspired in 19th-century Russia. It is much to be preferred to the 20th-century biography* in that it gives not only the facts of the Elder's life, but more importantly, the very savor of his struggles. It is itself a patristic text capable of guiding and inspiring the Orthodox believer today.

[Justin Kissel]

I'm not quite sure how to take some of the words of Fr. Seraphim. I realise that he said much that is difficult because of his eschatological views (he believed that the end was near), and also because of the eschatological views of many saints (saints who believed that, near the end, just keeping the faith would be a struggle worthy of a priceless crown--and that we would certainly not be doing miracles and mighty works). On the other hand--and I'm ready to admit that perhaps this is my youthful zeal or inexperience talking--Fr. Seraphim seems to have been much more.... "pessimistic" * than he needed be. After all, all generations in all times are suppose to think that Christ's return is near. We should all live our lives knowing that he might return any second. And from the first century on there have always been men who said that the time was right and that most of the necessary prophecies had been fulfilled. I don't think Fr. Seraphim was "negative," exactly, but I still can't help but feeling that we Orthodox are perhaps not, yet, so beaten down and incapable of great things as Fr. Seraphim believed.

Justin

• This is not the right word, but neither is negative or any other than I can think of right now. Perhaps the best phrase--an admittedly wordy and awkward one--would be that Fr. Seraphim seems "too much the opposite of hopeful and optimistic" to me.