An Orthodox Response to Fr. Seraphim (Rose) and His Followers: "Blessed Seraphim Rose" Considered Harmful (The Collected Works of CJS Hayward)

This edition is a heavily revised version that removed confusing satire and expanded other offerings considerably. It now includes a sample of live dialogue from an attempt to befriend one of Fr. Seraphim's followers and establish a non-heirarchical friendship, and an article looking at what good there is to one work from Fr. Seraphim's "St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood."

Not that this is the best book ever published. It has a narrow goal, and whether it meets this goal is another question. Its own author does not exactly view it as the best thing he ever wrote. But Fr. Seraphim (Rose) inspires fanatical devotion among some people, but makes others nervous. (Or at least his followers do.) Fr. Seraphim was a devoted Orthodox Christian whose struggles were noteworthy; that much is true whether or not he should be canonized as a saint. But the phenomenon seen among his followers is really something else.

This book takes a brief look at Fr. Seraphim, and a longer look at the fruit this tree has left in his wake. (And it may be a help to readers wondering, "Why do the adamant devotees of 'Blessed Seraphim Rose' make me so nervous?")

The present edition is revised and expanded.


Table of Contents

Preface

What Makes Me Uneasy About Fr. Seraphim (Rose) and His Followers

WHO Needs a Lesson in Humility? In Their Own Words
Creation and Holy Orthodoxy: Fundamentalism Is Not Enough

Work-Mystic