The XV Annual Lenten Retreat at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, California, was held on Sunday, March 22, 2026. This year’s retreat was titled: “Hieromonk Seraphim Rose of Platina: His Life, Teachings & Legacy”. Over 100 people were in attendance, many of whom attended the English-language Divine Liturgy in the morning. They came to hear from Bishop James of Sonora and Archpriest Martin Person, Rector of the St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Sunnyvale, California. Both clerics knew Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) personally during the last few years of his earthly life, which ended in 1982.
The first talk, titled “Biography of a Man Transformed in Christ,” was given by Fr. Martin. He provided a detailed overview of Fr. Seraphim’s life, adding throughout stories of his personal experiences with Hieromonk Seraphim. Father Martin was a student at UC Santa Cruz when Hieromonk Seraphim was invited to the university to give two talks. For Bishop James and other friends of theirs, encountering Father Seraphim struck something deep in their hearts, changing the entire course of their lives. Many of these young men became bishops, priests, and monks. Fr. Martin expressed deep regret that he did not attend those talks, noting that he was not yet interested in such a thing at the time. However, his friends who did attend later inspired him to travel to Platina to visit the American-born hieromonk. When visiting Platina, the young Martin took long walks with Fr. Seraphim, who provided clarity regarding eastern religions and the syncretistic, philosophical worldview Fr. Martin was then drawn to. Through Father Seraphim’s clear and direct words, and the Holy Spirit’s presence in him, Father Martin’s heart began to be formed in the ways of Christ, Who Himself is Truth.
Father Martin drew attention to Father Seraphim’s embodiment of the harmony between right belief and right practice. He read the following quote from St. Tikhon of Zadonsk in full, which Father Seraphim also quoted in the lecture he gave in Jordanville in 1979 titled “Orthodoxy in the USA”: “If someone should say that true faith is the correct holding and confession of correct dogmas, he would be telling the truth, for a believer absolutely needs the Orthodox holding and confession of dogmas. But this knowledge and confession by itself does not make a man a faithful and true Christian. The keeping and confession of Orthodox dogmas is always to be found in true faith in Christ, but the true faith of Christ is not always to be found in the confession of Orthodoxy... The knowledge of correct dogmas is in the mind, and it is often fruitless, arrogant, and proud.... The true faith in Christ is in the heart, and it is fruitful, humble, patient, loving, merciful, compassionate, hungering and thirsting for righteousness; it withdraws from worldly lusts and clings to God alone, strives and seeks always for what is heavenly and eternal, struggles against every sin, and constantly seeks and begs help from God for this.”
Bishop James gave the afternoon talk, titled “Reflections on Father Seraphim’s Theological, Pastoral, & Prophetic Legacy”. Speaking on the important themes of Fr. Seraphim’s teachings for us today, Bishop James echoed Father Seraphim’s famous talk, “Living the Orthodox Worldview” by reminding us that in traditionally Orthodox countries they do not have a word for the English term “fun”. Bishop James once asked a Romanian how he would translate that word into his language and he said “distraxia.” This “distraxia” is a grave pitfall many in the world today fall into, Bishop James noted. Many do this by seeking enjoyment from various forms of entertainment, especially the world of social media and the various distractions of the smartphone. He exhorted those in attendance to make use of our limited time in such a way that we grow in the knowledge and love of God, that we might acquire the Holy Spirit and, in this way, imitate Father Seraphim and bring great benefit to ourselves and those around us. A very helpful tool in this pursuit are the teachings of Father Seraphim Rose. Bishop James, in a very sober tone, stated: “I submit to you that not a day should go by without bringing a bit of Father Seraphim’s treasury into your life.”
Bishop James made a point of reminding listeners that shortly after Fr. Seraphim was received into the Church, Saint John Maximovitch arrived in San Francisco to serve as Archbishop of the Western American Diocese. Bishop James reflected upon how much the young Eugene learned from Saint John and how Saint John saw something special in Eugene early on in their relationship. He said that we cannot understand the man Father Seraphim became apart from Saint John. Later in life Father Seraphim said that St. John “was the noblest man I had ever met.”
Archimandrite Anastassy Newcombe, spiritual father to Bishop James, up until his repose in 2004, told the young James regarding Father Seraphim: “Record everything that man says.” Bishop James did just that. As he noted, many of the recordings that people find online today were recorded on his tape recorder.
Bishop James said that whenever he met with Father Seraphim, “he didn’t look healthy. He looked tired.” He explained that Father Seraphim was an ascetic and struggled hard for Christ and his neighbor. But when Father Seraphim lay in repose for three hot, summer days in the monastery church in Platina, after having suffered greatly for a week in the hospital after two intense intestinal surgeries, he not only showed no rigor mortis, but he looked different as well. His skin color was healthier, and the wrinkles on his face were gone. As Bishop James put it, “He looked more alive in death than he did while he was alive.”
Looking at Father Martin with the expectation of a shared experience, Bishop James said that not a single pastoral conversation goes by without direct influence from what he has learned from Father Seraphim. He said, without qualification, that in order to understand the world today, there is no more important voice for us than Father Seraphim Rose.
Bishop James ended his talk saying that Father Seraphim read Blessed Augustine’s Confessions every year during Lent because in that book one can see a truly repentant heart. Quoting from Confessions, Bishop James read Blessed Augustine’s famous saying, which also captures the essence of Father Seraphim’s life: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”
Both speakers clearly conveyed how they understood that in Father Seraphim (Rose), they had met a man filled with the Holy Spirit. They spoke from experience, both as young men in his presence and in applying his wisdom in their pastoral work over the last forty years, that Father Seraphim is a faithful guide for all who live in these troubled and confused times.
In December 2025, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia established a commission to study the life, legacy, and veneration of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose). Bishop James, who was appointed as Chairman of this commission, gave a brief update regarding the progress and next steps. He said that the commission is in the early stages of gathering materials, reading the many texts by and about Father Seraphim, and working to ultimately present the Synod of Bishops with the information they will need in order to determine if Father Seraphim (Rose) is worthy of being enlisted in the calendar of Saints and venerated in the Churches of God. He also noted that a website is being created to allow people to share stories of miraculous intercessions by Father Seraphim that they may have experienced. The retreat concluded with a lengthy Q&A with many attendees staying afterwards to talk with the two speakers and receive a blessing from Bishop James.
Timothy Honeycutt
