page_title: Seraphim Rose
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: Seraphim Rose / Death
caption_attribution_description: English: Grave of Seraphim Rose at the Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, California, US
context_page_description: Seraphim Rose, also known as Seraphim of Platina, was an American hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia who co-founded the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California. He translated Orthodox Christian texts and authored several works. His writings have been credited with helping to spread Orthodox Christianity throughout the West; his popularity equally extended to Russia itself, where his works were secretly reproduced and distributed by samizdat during the Communist era, remaining popular today.
  Rose's opposition to Orthodox participation in the ecumenical movement and his advocacy of the contentious "toll house teaching", led him into conflict with some notable figures in 20th-century Orthodoxy and he remains controversial in some quarters even after his sudden death from an undiagnosed intestinal disorder in 1982. However, Orthodox Christians hold him in high esteem, venerating him in iconography, liturgy and prayer though he has not yet been formally canonized by any Orthodox synod.
  Rose's monastery is currently affiliated with the Serbian Orthodox Church and continues to carry on his work of publishing and Orthodox missionary activity.
context_section_description: After feeling acute pains for several days while working in his cell in August 1982, a reluctant Rose was taken by fellow monks to Mercy Medical Center in Redding for treatment. When he arrived at the hospital, he was declared to be in critical condition and fell into semi-consciousness. After exploratory surgery was completed, it was discovered that a blood clot had blocked a vein supplying blood to his intestines, which had become a mass of dead tissue. He slipped into a coma after a second surgery, never regaining consciousness. Hundreds of people visited the hospital and celebrated the Divine Liturgy regularly in its chapel, praying for a miracle to save Rose's life. Prayers were offered for the ailing hieromonk from places as far away as Mt. Athos, Greece, the spiritual heart of Orthodox monasticism. Rose died on September 2, 1982.
  Rose's body lay in repose for several days in a simple wooden coffin at his wilderness monastery. Visitors claimed that Rose's body did not succumb to decay and rigor mortis, remaining supple and even allegedly smelling of roses. Several reputed miraculous events, healings and apparitions of Rose have been reported around the world, commencing soon after his death. Many Orthodox Christians anticipate Rose's canonization, though no formal proceedings for canonization have yet been opened.  His grave at St. Herman's monastery has become a popular site for pilgrimages.
caption: Grave of Seraphim Rose at the Saint Herman of Alaska monastery
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