Seraphim Rose: A philosophical icon
The scroll reads: "Evolutionism is the key to the philosophy of antichrist"
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A Response to “On administering Holy Communion in a Time of a Plague”
This was sent to me and deserves a read. You can read the Calivas article here . We can all agree that we are living in unusual times. However, the nature and extent of the illness that we face, and the proper response of the Church, is a matter of much disagreement. We have seen various responses to the COVID-19 epidemic: calls to close our Churches as infectious vectors, and demands to open them as places of spiritual healing. Directives a) ordering the cessation of sacramental life as part of an effort to “flatten the curve,” and cries for access to the divine grace that flows forth from those very mysteries; b) calling for the restriction of “at-risk persons,” and serious questions about the validity of such controls, c) instructions to liturgists to wear personal protective equipment during the celebration of the divine services and the distribution of the holy Mysteries, and uncertainty about the fitness of such practices. Who has been championing what and on behalf of whom? The ...
This could be profound if only it had an actual context to give it significance. The fact that this is a Romanian icon sheds some light on the iconographer's possible intention, but I am not sure all or even most of Fr Seraphim's views ought to be regarded as canonical (in the informal sense of "normative") among Orthodox Christians. That said, I do not doubt the man's sanctity - I have been to venerate his tomb myself. My parish is very close to the monastery.
ReplyDeleteFr. Seraphim (Rose), outside of the ROCOR posturing, held to patristic views normative of the Holy Mountain and Russian Orthodoxy. His views are Orthodox.
DeleteFr. Seraphim (Rose), outside of the ROCOR posturing, held to patristic views normative of the Holy Mountain and Russian Orthodoxy. His views are Orthodox.
DeleteIt has enough context to give it significance. St. Paisios of Mount Athos:
ReplyDelete"Christ was born of a human being, the Panagia. Are we to believe that His ancestors were apes? What blasphemy! And those who support this theory don't realize that they are blaspheming. They throw a stone and do not check to see how many heads they have cracked."
I don't know what is more humiliating: to be formed from mindless dirt or to come from a long line of irrational primates.
Deletemindless dirt?? what about the Divine Spirit breathed into the mindless dirt?......
DeleteFr. Seraphim Rose was wrong about evolution; St. Paisios is wrong about evolution. Since the human genome has been sequenced, doubting human evolution is like doubting that the sun is at the center of our solar system (though I am sure there are still some poor souls out there who have such doubts).
ReplyDeleteWhen evolution reconciled with Newtonian physics and the second and third laws of thermodynamics we will talk. My religion is not empiricism or evolution. Science is a tool, not an ideological weapon.
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DeleteEvolution is theologically impossible. It is to admit that death preceded Adam. But what then is the significance of Christ conquering death as the second Adam (as St. Paul says in scripture) if it was not Adam himself who brought mortality, death, frailty and sin into the world? Evolution then becomes a non-sequitur if you give priority to theology. As in, if you put God first.
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