In Fr. Seraphim Rose’s time, as well as today in 2023, many diverse and strongly held opinions exist when it comes to how we should regard Blessed Augustine of Hippo. In one extreme, some treat him as either the greatest father of the first millennium, as one can see in some western confessions and even by some Orthodox. In another extreme, some see him as the root source of a multitude of heresies, even explicitly or implicitly condemning him as a heretic.
This collection of writings by Fr. Seraphim Rose is meant to express the moderate, sober understanding of the place Blessed Augustine holds in the Orthodox Church. What follows are readings from the biography of Fr. Seraphim Rose, titled “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works”, sections from his book titled “The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church”, selected private letters, and concluding with the Troparion and Kontakion for Blessed Augustine.
This collection of writings is by no means all of what Fr. Seraphim taught on Blessed Augustine. You’ll find much more when you buy the book here: www.sainthermanmonastery.com/...
0:08 Editor’s Introduction
1:42 Excerpts from “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works”
From “On The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church”:
4:07 Preface
13:10 The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church
14:24 The Controversy over grace and free will
20:53 The Doctrine of Predestination
30:06 St. Photius on Blessed Augustine
35:26 Opinion of Blessed Augustine in Modern Times (NOTE: here is analysis on the use of “Blessed” and “Saint” for Augustine)
40:58 A Note on the Contemporary Detractors of Blessed Augustine
Readings of Sections of Letters Written by Fr. Seraphim Rose:
51:15 Letter to Nicholas
53:35 Letter to Fr. Michael Azkoul
58:30 Troparion and Kontakion for Blessed Augustine
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"Probably St. Cassian would not have spoken so eloquently and so in detail on the subject of God's grace if Augustine had not already been teaching his own one-sided doctrine. But the important thing to bear in mind here is that the disagreement between Cassian and Augustine was not one between Orthodox Father and heretic (as was, for example, the disagreement between Augustine and Pelagius), but rather one between two Orthodox Fathers who disagreed only in the details of their presentation of one and the same doctrine. Both St. Cassian and Blessed Augustine were attempting to teach the Orthodox doctrine of grace and free will as against the heresy of Pelagius; but one did so with the full depth of the Eastern theological tradition, while the other was led into a certain distortion of this same teaching owing to his overly-logical approach to it.” -Fr. Seraphim Rose, pp. 34-35
"Today all we Orthodox Christians, whether of East or West-if only we are honest and sincere enough to admit it--are in a 'Western captivity' worse than any our Fathers in the past have known. In previous centuries, Western influences may have produced some theoretical formulations of doctrine that were wanting in preciseness; but today the 'Western captivity' surrounds and often governs the very atmosphere and tone of our Orthodoxy, which is often theoretically "correct" but wanting in true Christian spirit, in the indefinable savor of true Christianity." -Fr. Seraphim Rose, p. 88
"I myself fear the cold hearts of the 'intellectually correct' much more than any errors you might find in Augustine. I sense in these cold hearts a preparation for the work of Antichrist (whose imitation of Christ must also extend to 'correct theology'); I feel in Augustine the love of Christ." -Fr. Seraphim Rose, p. 100-101
"We, though, who know that some of our Holy Fathers and teachers strayed from the faith of true dogmas, do not take as doctrine those areas in which they strayed, but we embrace the men." -St. Photius the Great, p. 67
"To Thee be praise, glory to Thee, Fountain of mercies. I was becoming more miserable, and Thou nearer. Thy right hand was continually ready to pluck me out of the mire, and to wash me thoroughly." -Blessed Augustine, p. 114
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