I just came across this video from 2020, sort of by accident, but it shows, I believe, that they are planning on officially canonizing/glorifying Fr. Seraphim…perhaps soon.
The original Platina Monastery that I knew years ago, never looked this good.
Do they have this right? I cannot say, but surely this means, that they (The Serbian Patriarchate & the monks there) will have to dig up and unearth his body at some point, and soon.
Would he approve of all of this? ..or that the monastery he helped to create is now under the Serbian Church- which is in full communion with the KGB controlled uncanonical Stalin created in 1943 Moscow Patriarchate, and also heavily involved in the world-wide ecumenical movement?
Would he approve of his image being painted (though still without a halo or the words: “St. Seraphim” on them as if “icons”of himself?)
Also, of course, they have already composed hymns to him.
For myself, I pray FOR the salvation of his soul, -as I have the deepest respect for his memory, though I do not know if he is among the blessed, but I pray so.
MEMORY ETERNAL TO FR. SERAPHIM! MAY God Forgive all of his earthly sins, and MAY HE TRULY! REST WITH THE SAINTS!
Retired Reader Daniel Everiss in Oregon, who knew him personally.
P.S. The place looks now, much more civilized and clean and prosperous and spiffy -i.e. physically beautiful, than it did when Fr. Seraphim was alive there. Would he approve of all of this? Again, I cannot say, but I suspect not.
I personally visited and spoke with him in his cell about 2 weeks before he passed away, and my last setting foot there was at Fr. Seraphim’s very memorable funeral, when the general feeling among most of the very large crowd in attendance, was that we were priviledged participants in burying a holy man. We were deeply saddened to loose him, and many shed many tears at his funeral, but happy at the same time: a spiritual inner happiness. We felt that our beloved Fr. Seraphim was going to a happier & much better place, to his eternal reward, his crown. GOD GRANT THIS!
His face in his coffin had a broad serene smile, which all who gazed at it, were transfixed. Of course, his face should have stayed covered with the altar AER, and the Archbishop several times ordered it put back over his face…but finally he gave up, as the people kept removing it so we could all gaze at his beautiful countenance.
Also attending his funeral were two bold deer, apparently his pets when he was alive, who were not afraid of the crowd of people, but who stood nearby for the entire hours long funeral, funeral procession around the church with his coffin, and then his burial. I am told that even today, deer often gather and stay around his grave. Clearly this was a sign, that he was kind and merciful to them, God’s innocent creatures. They were repaying him with their loving attendance at his funeral….which to them meant the loss of a close friend.
After we all helped to fill in his grave with many shovels of dirt, we all spontaneously began to sing, many times, something not part of the USTAV priestly- funeral prayers: “CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, TRAMPLING DOWN DEATH BY DEATH, AND UPON THOSE IN THE TOMBS BESTOWING LIFE!,” to which at first our ruling Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev) who oversaw and who lead the entire funeral service, gave a slight facial frown of disapproval, but then, he too joined in the joyful singing himself. We all innately perceived, the heart-felt hope of The Resurrection, that death had not conquered, but had been conquered.
Fr. Seraphim once taught that: in these end-times, when Anti-Christ is about to reign openly on earth, we Orthodox should no longer build beautiful churches- or beautiful monasteries, as Anti-Christ will seize and use them for himself to be worshiped in them, instead of Christ Our God.
THE VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omnyT-bfH1w
Fr. Seraphim was a Son of ROCOR, and only the ROCOR has the prerogative to glorify him. Even among our the Sister Churches it is our prerogative. Fr. Seraphim's glorification has been mentioned in our synod meeting minutes, but first we are focused on the glorification of our 1st hierarchs, Metropolitans Anthony, Anastasia, and Vitaly.
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