Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Journey to Orthodoxy & Advice to a Beginner

Fr. Seraphim Rose writes to a woman who was baptized as a child, left the faith, and returned to the Church as an adult. Fr. Seraphim rejoices in her return, shares how he too was far from Christ, and some basic tenants of living the Orthodox life.   Fr. Seraphim writes:   “Coming from a Protestant background, I rejected it completely and became an agnostic and atheist, and then started searching for some meaning to life in various philosophies and Eastern religions, until I finally came to the point where I thought there was no meaning to life at all, and I wondered why I should keep on living. And then I went for the first time to a Russian Orthodox Church, and something in my soul responded to this, and I began a gradual but sure recovery from my spiritual disease of despair and lack of faith. Many people today say that God has turned away from us and does not listen to us. But I have found that just the opposite is true: it is we who have turned away from God and followed vain philosophies and our own selfish desires. But God remains always the same and is always ready to receive us with great love.”  “True faith comes from a small seed which is planted in our hearts by God Himself, and which is nourished and gradually grows through God’s grace and through our own actions which are in accordance with His commandments and the tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church, which has been given by the Holy Spirit and handed down to us through our Holy Fathers.”   The three practical suggestions Fr. Seraphim gives:   1) Daily Prayers, morning and evening  2) Read every day at least a chapter or even a few verses from the Four Gospels  3) Read a little each day of the book “Unseen Warfare”   “Do not read any books on “spirituality” by Catholics, Protestants, psychologists, or anyone who is not Orthodox, because they will only mix you up. There may be wisdom or insights in some of these, but only in our Orthodox Faith is there to be found the whole path of salvation, the infallible way of coming to God. Many people spend a lifetime trying to find what is only to be found in the Orthodox Church; but God has granted you the good fortune of being born in His Holy Church, and you only need to return to what is yours already. Even I, from a Protestant background, felt that I had “come home” when I found Holy Orthodoxy; how much more you will feel the same way when faith begins truly to grow within you.”  -Letter dated Jan. 23/Feb. 5, 1971   https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/  Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!