Fr Seraphim Rose Glorification: The Case Against
He knew the truth about Gleb Podmoshensky and allowed the abuse to continue.
“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 18:10
The recent announcement by ROCOR, about the setting up of a commission to consider the formal glorification of Fr Seraphim Rose, has raised concerns amongst many Orthodox clerical sexual abuse survivors, advocates and the broader ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) community. The concerns are well founded and bring into serious question, the suitability of this controversial figure of Orthodoxy in America, to be formally recognized as a saint.
Fr Seraphim was undoubtably a man of great faith that inspired and brought many Americans to Orthodoxy. He was also a highly insightful intellectual, philosopher, theologian and a prolific writer that filled a particularly special niche in the heady, hippie era of 1960’s and 70’s America. In the Californian zeitgeist of free love, moral relativism, New Age eastern spirituality and religious experimentation, Fr Seraphim stood for the complete opposite - Jesus Christ, traditional Orthodox Christianity & the Orthodox Church, absolute Truth, prayer, repentance, and in later years - dedicated and selfless asceticism.
While all of these qualities are admirable, and his influence in bringing many people to Christ significant, there is a major aspect of his life that continues to provoke doubts and troubling questions in many people, when it comes to the matter of his formal glorification. This doubt revolves around:
His intimately close, 20 year relationship with Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky, the notorious Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) serial pederast and sexual abuser.
The question of how much he knew of Gleb’s perverted sexual predilections and acts of child abuse?
The question of why, if he knew, he didn’t take any actions to address such an urgent, moral and criminal, child protection danger in his midst?
The question of the reliability and integrity of the main written source on Fr Seraphim’s life - Fr Damascene Christiansen, the current head of St Herman’s Monastery, Platina, and author of the comprehensive biography “Fr Seraphim Rose - His Life and Works”.
1. The Problem of the Association with Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky
The most serious objections to his proposed glorification, is the concern about Fr. Seraphim’s long-term, close association with the notorious ROCOR abuser and pederast Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky, who was his longtime partner, and monastic co-founder of the St Herman’s Monastery in Platina, California. Any study of the life and works of Fr Seraphim cannot omit, ignore or separate the life and crimes of Gleb Podmoshensky, including those that occurred after Fr Seraphim’s death.
The two were inseparable for 20 years from their meeting in 1961 to Fr Seraphim’s repose in 1982. Both Fr Seraphim and Gleb were homosexuals, and while there is no direct evidence that they were actually in a gay relationship at any time, their closeness certainly bordered on the kind of emotionally intimate dynamic commonly found between spouses. Anyone that has ever read the Damascene Christiansen biography, “Fr Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works” cannot come away with any other impression. These two were more than just good friends.
Amusingly, some of the stories of their clucky, little arguments are like those of a longtime, married couple. All you need is to do is overlay some camp mannerisms, and you have a classic 1980’s British sitcom, or even Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street. Just a couple of gay men living alone together in the woods, struggling against the elements and having petty personality clashes before making up by sunset. Today it would be a reality TV show, like an Orthodox version of “Survivor”.
Humorous reflections aside, there simply can be no Fr Seraphim story or hagiography, that doesn’t include a frank and truthful account of Gleb’s life as well, including his serial sexual assaults that occurred at Platina and elsewhere.
Complaints of Podmoshensky’s molestation and abuse of boys and young men began to be referred to ROCOR leadership from the late 1970’s and continued throughout the 1980’s. The complaints were common knowledge in the community. Some of the written complaints, continue to be locked away in the archives of the ROCOR’s Western American Diocese, and in those of the ROCOR Synod in New York. The evidence is there, but in line with ROCOR’s coverup policy and inability to honestly confront it’s tragic clerical abuse history, it remains sealed.
Many of the accounts of victims have been documented and some are freely available online. See here:
And a PDF of this web page can be found here:
A 2001 letter from Fr Gerasim Eliel (also a former Platina monk and now OCA Bishop of Fort Worth) to Serbian Orthodox Church in America Bishop Jovan, where Gerasim references a report from one of Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky’s victims. This letter indicates that the now Bishop Gerasim of the OCA (civilian name Gordon Trent Eliel) knew about allegations regarding Gleb Podmoshensky. He would likely even have been aware of Gleb’s sexual assaults from when he himself was a monk at Platina. Do note in the final paragraph of pg. 4 where he makes a distinction between “molestation” and “inappropriate physical contact” when in fact it is all just SEXUAL ASSAULT. And this man is now an Orthodox bishop with a responsibility for child safeguarding in the Orthodox Church in America.
Podmoshensky not only committed sexual assaults on boys, he taught his disciples that homosexual activity was ACCEPTABLE in monastic settings. This is documented by one of his victims, Reader Daniel Everiss.
Daniel Everiss is one of the most important sources on the truth about Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky. He was a lifelong member of ROCOR and had a blog for many years which covered church affairs. He passed away in 2023 but his testimony about Podmoshensky gives an excellent insight into the genuinely evil culture that existed at St Herman’s Platina and Fr Seraphim’s knowledge of this fact.
Reader Daniel testifies:
Herman totally lost control of the passions of his flesh, (his main spiritual problem) and he taught others, that such a licentious false way of monastic life, was alright & acceptable in Orthodox practice and monastic life as long as it was hidden from view.
Source: https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/2014/07/death-of-fr-herman-podmoshensky.html
Podmoshensky was later defrocked by ROCOR for “disobedience”, whilst whatever genuine investigation there may have been into his abuse, was promptly and conveniently ended, and then covered up by the hierarchy. ROCOR did not refer the matter to police, thereby allowing Gleb’s offending to continue once he left their jurisdiction.
The St Herman’s monastery in Platina, California, they co-founded became embroiled in scandal and ecclesiastical disorder soon after Rose’s death, raising questions about its toxic internal culture and lack of oversight by any responsible authority. In this sense it was the proverbial house built on sand that was always bound to fall.
Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev), the ruling bishop of the Western American Diocese was elderly, and the geographical distance from San Francisco to Platina made it difficult for him to regularly visit and properly oversee the monastery. As with the case of the Rosentool monastery more lately in Australia, the superficial image of Platina was very different to what went on in the shadows behind the façade.
Archbishop Anthony knew the complete details about Gleb Podmoshensky’s sexual abuse of young boys but refused to refer the crimes to law enforcement. As the ruling bishop of the diocese in which Platina was located, he received all the complaints about Gleb and had better knowledge than anyone of what was going on there. He was instrumental in the formation of ROCOR’s abuse denial and coverup policy that continues to the present day.
As discussed in previous articles, neither Seraphim Rose nor Gleb Podmoshensky had any proper monastic formation or guidance under an experienced abbot or elder before deciding to set up their own monastery. It was D.I.Y - Do It Yourself monasticism driven by spiritual pride. If Fr Seraphim or Gleb had approached their endeavour with the true humility and due diligence it deserves, they would have gone to live, for at least several years, in a well-established monastery like Holy Trinity Jordanville where they could have learned the ropes from experienced elders, before going out on their own.
For a complete biography of Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky, see our article here:
ROCOR Abuse History: The Case of Gleb "Fr. Herman" Podmoshensky
Writing about clerical sexual abuse and child protection issues in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, takes one down many dark rabbit holes. One of these rabbit holes is researching historical abuse cases. Without a doubt, one of the most notorious abuse cases in ROCOR hist…
In Orthodox tradition, sanctity is not only personal, but is also reflected in:
Discernment of character and the spiritual state of one’s brothers.
Actual inheritance of spirituality and practical guidance from elders and more senior, experienced monks.
The fruits and legacy of one’s immediate community.
A close personal and spiritual partnership with someone later exposed as an abusive pedophile, raises legitimate questions:
If Fr Seraphim was so saintly, how could he have failed to perceive such serious moral corruption in Gleb?
How can someone supposedly be filled with the saintly grace of the Holy Spirit, be unable to clearly sense such immediate evil and demonic activity?
Even if we put the question of saintly grace and perception aside, how could anyone believe that someone like Fr Seraphim, a highly intelligent, articulate and sensitive man, who spent 20 years in a close, almost spouse-like relationship and partnership with Gleb, have not had any idea about the darker aspects of his partner’s character? That is quite simply - absurd.
If Fr Seraphim indeed did not sense anything, which is incredibly unlikely, doesn’t this indicate a complete lack of spiritual discernment, which is central to sainthood?
How could he write whole books preaching to others about the evil of the coming Antichrist and the “Religion of the Future”, but not sense a real antichrist by his side? Would this not be anything more than intellectual hubris and hypocrisy? Fr Seraphim would have done well to listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah, to first “Put your house in order!” (Isaiah 38:1) before preaching to others.
In this regard, Fr Seraphim was completely blind in that “The Religion of the Future” had already arrived in his own monastery, it was the religion of pedophilia and sodomy that lived in the sick mind and actions of his partner Gleb Podmoshensky.
Gleb’s Confessions
Any doubt about Fr. Seraphim’s knowledge of Gleb Podmoshenky’s child abuse, is ended by the fact that Gleb confessed regularly to Fr Seraphim. This is an often overlooked, and clearly obvious, part of the circumstantial evidence.
The important primary eyewitness, and source on the truth about Gleb and Fr Seraphim, Reader Daniel Everiss who was at Platina both before and after Fr Seraphim’s death, continues to provide pertinent testimony.
Reader Daniel’s blog can be found at:
https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/
In his blog, Reader Daniel Everiss attests:
They both were monastic brothers, but Fr. Seraphim put himself under the obedience of Herman, for his humility sake. Yet, BOTH CONFESSED THEIR SINS TO EACH OTHER.
Source: https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/search?q=podmoshensky
Photo source: https://mosvedi.ru/article/
And what sort of saint, keeps himself under the “obedience” of someone who he knows is a pedophile and an abuser? This is not humility, but rather a cowardly avoidance of genuine responsibility to confront evil. If Fr Seraphim did not know early on in the relationship, he certainly knew later in the Platina years, and yet still did not act. At what point does the claim of humility, become a hollow excuse to avoid righteous action?
Reader Daniel Everiss continues:
This is perhaps one of the most damning pieces of evidence. Presuming that Gleb was not completely corrupted in the years before Fr Seraphim’s death and still made half-decent confessions, it can be assumed that he at least revealed some of his sexual abuse crimes in these confessions. If he did not confess even a part, then he was more evil than anyone realizes.
The simple conclusion from this, is that there is no doubt that Fr Seraphim knew all about Gleb’s sodomy. While there could be some argument that the seal of confession prevented Fr Seraphim from going to the police, there were many other actions he could have taken, to at least do something about Gleb and his desecration of the sacred grounds of the monastery and defilement of young men.
Actions Fr Seraphim could have taken, include ending their association and banishing him from the monastery as a bare minimum. This would at least have aroused further inquiry from others who could have then made a stronger case against Gleb and initiated more formal action from church hierarchy. Instead Fr Seraphim did NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. He kept writing his books that preached to others about God, morality and virtue while, with his knowledge, his partner’s abuse of children continued unimpeded. When it really mattered - Fr Seraphim was found wanting in taking truly courageous action, not just writing words.
In terms of modern lexicon, Fr Seraphim Rose was an abuse ENABLER. An enabler is someone who knows full details of a situation of abuse and does nothing about it, thereby enabling the abuser to continue their crimes. There is no way around this unfortunate situation and it would have to be a major barrier to any type of glorification or canonization.
Fr Seraphim’s complete inaction was not only a willful and cowardly act of avoidance - it had real-world consequences in that it allowed many more innocent boys and young men to be abused, leading to their lifelong suffering and trauma. In some cases, as Reader Daniel attests, they even left the Church completely - all this thanks to Fr Seraphim’s devotion to Gleb Podmoshensky and the twisted and completely misunderstood notion of “covering your brother’s sins”. These are not the actions or legacy of a saint. A true saint stands up for the weak and the abused.
The Evil & Cowardly Excuse of “Covering Your Brother’s Sins”
It’s worth noting here as an aside, that in the discussions of the Church’s response to clerical sexual abuse, we often hear excuses like:
“Well he just wanted to cover up his brother’s sin.”
It is usually heard when talking about priests and bishops, who upon learning about the sexual abuse of children by one of their priestly colleagues, decide to remain silent, ignore the crime and take no action to make the offender accountable. The practice of this excuse is seen today in the longstanding ROCOR abuse coverup policy.
Nothing is as contemptible and pathetic as this excuse, in the context of abuse response failures in the Church. It is based on several biblical verses including 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins", and similar ones like Proverbs 10:12. None of these verses refer to the active covering up of a serious crime - be it murder, rape or sexual abuse, especial in a church setting. Any attempt to exonerate Fr Seraphim’s inaction in dealing with Gleb Podmoshensky using this excuse, is grossly offensive to the intelligence of the Orthodox community and only makes the case against his glorification even stronger.
Christ did not ignore the money changers in the temple but drove them out with a whip and righteous anger. And how much worse are the crimes of pedo-priests, that they too should not be driven from the church in the same way?
2. Fr Seraphim’s Deathbed Condemnations: Evidence of Late Awareness
Another key source on Fr Seraphim and his awareness of Gleb Podmoshensky’s crimes, is Fr Alexey Young, (later Monk Ambrose). Fr Alexey was born in 1943 in the United States. He was originally raised Roman Catholic but converted to Eastern Orthodoxy around age 27.
His conversion brought him into contact with Fr Seraphim Rose in 1966, beginning a close spiritual relationship. The relationship lasted until Fr. Seraphim’s death in 1982. Fr. Alexey Young stated in his review of Damascene Christiansen’s biography of Fr Seraphim, that Fr. Seraphim’s final words to Podmoshensky were a harsh rejection:
I’m finished with you! Damn you!
Most interestingly, Fr Alexey states that it was Gleb Podmoshensky himself, that made this revelation to him:
Fr. Herman himself told me that the very last words spoken to him by Fr. Seraphim were: “I’m finished with you. Damn you!” Fr. Seraphim’s uncharacteristically angry words bespeak a mind deeply troubled over Fr. Herman’s general behavior and suggest that there was more going on than any of us suspected at the time.
Fr Alexey’s full review, that includes the above quote, can be found at:
In case that web page should ever go offline, here is a PDF version of the page, saved in 2026:
Perhaps the most worrying revelation that Fr Alexey makes is the following:
The Archbishop (Anthony Medvedev) treated these accusations against Fr. Herman with utmost discretion, with all his heart HE DID NOT WANT TO BELIEVE THEM and DID NOT PRESS THESE PARTICULAR CHARGES AGAINST FR HERMAN. (It is a fact, however, that Fr. Herman’s alleged problems in this area actually surfaced shortly before Fr. Seraphim’s death, and were known to him, undoubtedly contributing to the overwhelming sense of sadness that precipitated his final illness and repose, and which may explain his last words to Fr. Herman.)
This statement reveals 2 important details:
That even the Archbishop Anthony knew of Gleb’s crimes, and as is plainly stated, did not want to believe them. While ROCOR apparently did initiate some kind of investigation, the details are murky and have never been made public. Ultimately, when Gleb Podmoshensky was defrocked by ROCOR, it was not for abuse, but merely “disobedience”. Its believed that this was intentional so that the abuse case could be covered up and allow ROCOR hierarchy to evade its accountability in that regard.
Gleb’s abuse and molestation were COMMON KNOWLEDGE , including by Fr Seraphim, and allowed to continue unchecked.
Reader Daniel Everiss, also speaks of these deathbed condemnations. He attests:
He (Fr. Seraphim) suffered from the sins of his monastic partner. On Fr. Seraphim's intensive care hospital death bed, he was heard clearly to say in Herman's face, three times before he died: "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" When later these last death-bed words were repeated to Archbishop Anthony, he replied: "But then, Fr. Seraphim cannot be a saint!"
And:
He (Gleb “Fr. Herman” Podmoshensky) gave in to his passions, and then made excuses for doing it. He harmed many souls, myself included. He drove me away from his Platina Monastery. He drove only God knows, how many wounded souls, especially of young men, from the Church, even from God.
https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/2016/04/english-letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose.html
Reader Daniel also describes a pathetic scene following Fr Seraphim’s death, where in a rare expression of regret for his sodomy & pederasty, Podmoshensky belatedly begged for Fr Seraphim’s forgiveness:
When Fr. Seraphim died, and I was at his all night vigil over his coffin, and funeral on the following day, Herman was totally out of his mind with remorse and guilt and weeping and self-accusation , kneeling down many times at night, in front of the coffin and trying to tell Fr. Seraphim, that he was sorry.
Source: https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/2014/07/death-of-fr-herman-podmoshensky.html
Reader Daniel corroborates the testimony of Fr Alexey Young and even goes further because he himself is a survivor of Gleb’s abuse. His validity and sincerity as a reliable source is unquestioned.
Why this matters
Even if taken at face value, this creates a dilemma:
If Fr Seraphim only discovered the abuse at the end, then for years he was spiritually aligned with an abuser without even recognizing it.
If he did know about it earlier, then the question becomes : “Why he didn’t do anything about it?”
If even a great bishop of ROCOR like Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev) of blessed memory questions the suitability of Fr Seraphim for sainthood, then who is Bishop James (Corazza) to say otherwise?
Either scenario presents difficulties for glorification:
Late moral clarity is not the same as consistent spiritual insight.
Saints are typically seen as possessing heightened discernment, especially regarding members of their own brotherhood.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/110063552339710/posts/9020365194642790/
In 2026 Fr Ambrose is very old and in declining health, so if one even wanted to get his final testimony on the matter of Fr Seraphim’s knowledge of Gleb Podmoshensky’s crimes, it would likely be impossible today. If any of our readers have an update on Fr Ambrose (Alexey Young) health, we would love to hear how he is going.
3. The Spiritual Collapse of St Herman’s Platina - The House Built on Sand
The swift spiritual and moral collapse of St Herman’s Monastery Platina after Fr Seraphim’s death, cannot be overstated, as another clear reason why Fr Seraphim Rose should not be glorified.
After Fr. Seraphim’s death in 1982, the monastery under Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky:
Left the canonical Orthodox Church altogether.
Began to associate itself with the new age Holy Order of MANS cult.
Came into association with a convicted pedophile Pangratios Vrionis, leader of the Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis sect.
Remained in schism and apostasy for almost 20 years.
Convicted pedophile Pangratios Vrionis before and after his arrest. He headed a schismatic sect called the “Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis”. Gleb Podmoshensky and Damascene Christiansen joined his sect.
The questions needs to be asked:
How can Fr Seraphim have been a saint, if his very own monastery and brotherhood, could so easily abandon Orthodoxy after his death?
What sort of foundation was it built upon - rock or sand?
Where was the fruit of his saintly influence if his Platina brotherhood crashed and burned so quickly after his death?
If we use the example of true saints and the monasteries they established like St Sergius of Radonezh - the Trinity Lavra Monastery Moscow, and St Anthony of Kiev - the Kiev Caves Monastery, we can see what true monastic legacy of a saint should look like. These monasteries thrived and grew, becoming centers of true Orthodox spirituality. The same cannot be said for Platina.
A saint’s legacy should produce spiritual stability and continuity. Instead, Seraphim Rose’s legacy as far as his own monastery is concerned at least, produced confusion, scandal, and shattered lives. What sort of influence did he have on his monks if they all dove headlong into apostasy and cultism soon after his death?
The broader concern
Glorification is not just about personal piety—it is also about:
The health of one’s spiritual lineage.
The fruits of one’s leadership
The troubled aftermath of Platina raises the question:
Did Fr Seraphim’s spiritual foundation adequately safeguard his community?
4. The Principle of “No Scandal” in Canonization
Orthodox canonization is traditionally cautious, especially when:
There are unresolved controversies.
There is potential for division among the faithful.
In Fr. Seraphim’s case there is:
His association with a mentally ill pedophile, predator and megalomaniac.
Troubling testimonies about his final pronouncements.
Significant ongoing debate about his legacy.
Other concerns including his advocacy of the Gnostic and highly controversial aerial tollhouse teaching.
…all contribute to a situation where glorification in the present day would be premature and divisive.
5. Is Fr Seraphim’s Chief Biographer, Fr Damascene Christiansen Also An Unrepentant Cultist & Child Abuser?
What would be the odds, that one of the St Herman’s Monastery Platina monks, a faithful minion and disciple of the abuser Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky, might later face a court case, where he too was accused of child sexual abuse?
What also would be the odds, that part of his biography of Fr Seraphim was actually dictated by Gleb Podmoshensky himself and would of course omit any mention of Gleb’s abuse and cult associations?
This is the case with Fr Damascene Christiansen and his major biography of Fr Seraphim entitled: “Fr Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works”. When the perception of Fr Seraphim for many people, including notions of his supposed sainthood is based on this biography, it’s accuracy, biases, and especially its omissions, deserve further scrutiny along with the chequered background of the biographer himself.
Who is Damascene Christiansen?
Born in 1961 in family with Scandinavian roots. He was raised as a nominal Protestant Christian.
Met Fr. Seraphim in 1981, when he came to his college campus, at the University of California in Santa Cruz.
He was ordained by the Moscow Patriarchate in Russia in 1995 according to this source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/world/christ-the-eternal-tao/7
Regards Fr Seraphim as a guru, stating in an interview: “My first impressions of him were very strong. I felt from the first meeting that he was the wisest person I had ever met in my life, in the sense of having true spiritual wisdom.”
Adopted Fr Seraphim as a “spiritual father” (read “guru”), and was present at Platina for his final months and death.
After Fr Seraphim’s death, he became a disciple of the pedophile Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky, the abbot of Platina.
Turned his back on the Orthodox Church and followed Podmoshensky into association with the Holy Order of MANS cult.
Placed himself under a schismatic jurisdiction, the Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis under convicted pedophile “Metropolitan” Pangratios Vrionis.
Remained in schism, heresy and apostasy, outside the Church for over a decade until St Herman’s Platina was accepted into the Serbian Orthodox Church in November 2000 by Bishop Jovan of lhambra and Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral.
Has never condemned Podmoshensky, Vrionis or publicly repented of his associations with them.
Is now himself the Abbot of St Herman’s Platina.
How he was ordained as a hieromonk in Russia while in schism from the Orthodox Church in 1995 remains a mystery and is not addressed in any of his biographies. Has the Serbian Orthodox Church which took him in, ever provided any confirmation of his legitimacy as a priest?
Damascene Christiansen and his Fr Seraphim biography - “Fr Seraphim - His Life & Works”
While no doubt a comprehensive tome that is the most detailed biography of Fr Seraphim Rose, “Father Seraphim - His Life & Works” has also come under some criticisms. Fr Alexey Young, when writing a review of the preceding biography on which this one is based upon, noted that:
But, unfortunately, there are also a number of critical places where we do not hear Fr. Seraphim’s “voice”; nor do we really hear the voice of Fr. Damascene, the author, either. Instead, we are subject to the views and interpretations of Fr. Herman, the co-founder of the St. Herman Skete and Fr. Seraphim’s monastic brother-and not all these ideas were shared by Fr. Seraphim. Anyone who knows Fr. Herman can quickly identify these passages-and, unfortunately, there are many. Fr. Herman’s speaking and writing style is quite distinctive, a style not at all shared by the author or Fr. Seraphim, who wrote and spoke in a very unsentimental and lean manner. Perhaps these sections were simply dictated to Fr. Damascene, who then edited and corrected them, incorporating them into the text. In any case, what we get in some passages is not the unadorned Fr. Seraphim, but Fr. Herman’s own version of him.
The original biography by Damascene Christiansen was entitled: “Not of This World” and many parts of “Father Seraphim - His Life & Works” are extensions of that work to which Fr Alexey’s observations apply just as equally. The bottom line is that we know that Christiansen is disciple of Gleb Podmoshensky and that he has every reason to omit and sanitize the truth about him as possible.
“Omission” is a word we have often used in this Substack and the greatest criticism of “Father Seraphim - His Life & Works” is of course what Damascene Christiansen omits. Specifically, in the last two chapters and epilogue, following Fr Seraphim’s 1982 repose, there is not a single mention of Gleb Podmoshensky or anything that followed. No mention of the apostasy, the cults, the abuse complaints or Gleb’s defrocking. The disingenuity and boldness of this omission is stark and crude. For the entire tome, there are hundreds of references to “Gleb Podmoshensky” and “Fr Herman” and then suddenly, “POOF!”, in a puff of smoke, Fr Herman just vanishes. Perhaps it is too difficult for Christiansen to admit his complicity and account for how he was able to simply discard all that great Orthodox influence, that Fr Seraphim supposedly had on him. Perhaps its all just too inconvenient, and he actually believes that if he just leaves it out, nobody will know any better. Such is the contempt of this man for his readers and those that hunger for the truth. Such is the legacy of Fr Seraphim Rose.
Accusations of Sexual Abuse
As with his two past gurus, Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky (proven abuser but never convicted) and “Metropolitan” Pangratios Vrionis (convicted twice in New York for child sexual abuse), Damascene Christiansen was also accused of sexual abuse and faced a court process as recently as 2022. Because of statutes of limitation in California, he was not tried in a criminal case but in a civil lawsuit. The details of the case are publicly available and make harrowing reading.
*** Warning - The Following Section Contains Graphic & Disturbing Content ***
In 2022, a case concluded in the SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES.
Case No. 22STCV12219
The plaintiff (person bringing accusation) was a John Doe, identity suppressed.
The Defendants were JOHN CHRISTIANSEN (the secular name of Damascene Christiansen), a John Dove aka Fr Thomas “Theophil” Dove, the Brotherhood of St Herman, the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America.
The complaints were the following:
(1) INTENTIONAL INFLICTIONOF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS; (2) NEGLIGENCE; (3) NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION; (4) NEGLIGENT RETENTION/HIRING; (5) NEGLIGENT FAILURE TO WARN, TRAIN OR EDUCATE; (6) BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY; (7) CONSTRUCTIVE FRAUD (CIVIL CODE §1573) ; (8) SEXUAL HARASSMENT (CIVIL CODE §51.9). (9) SEXUAL BATTERY; (10) GENDER VIOLENCE (CIVIL CODE §52.4) (11) VIOLATION OF PENAL CODE § 647.6(a)(1). [Filed pursuant to C.C.P. §340.1.] DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
The specific allegations of the victim, who was a child at the time of the alleged assaults include that:
CHRISTENSEN was a resident of California and perpetrated his repeated sexual assault against the victim while he was both a monk and an abbot with THE DIOCESE, THE BROTHERHOOD. CHRISTENSEN later joined the Monastery, where he has resided for over 25 years. CHRISTENSEN has served as the Monastery's abbot since in or around 2013.
DOVE is presently a senior member of THE DIOCESE, THE BROTHERHOOD, and DOES 1 through 50, who was assigned to the Monastery. During all instances of sexual assault outlined herein, DOVE was a resident of California and perpetrated his repeated sexual assault against the Plaintiff while acting as a senior and longstanding member of THE DIOCESE, THE BROTHERHOOD
Photo source: https://westsrbdio.org/tonsure-of-monk-theophil-into-the-great-schema/
WARNING. GRAPHIC SEXUAL ASSAULT DETAILS FOLLOWING.
During the time the Plaintiff was approximately 12 years old (in or around March of 2013) to 13 years old (in or around September of 2014), he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by CHRISTENSEN and DOVE on the premises of the Platina Monastery.
The sexual abuse of the Plaintiff by CHRISTENSEN and DOVE consisted of, but was not limited to: the Plaintiff having his genitals fondled by the Perpetrators, the Perpetrators forcibly touching the Plaintiff with their genitals, the Perpetrators forcibly orally copulating the Plaintiff's genitals, the Perpetrators forcing the Plaintiff to orally copulate their genitals, the Perpetrators digitally penetrating the Plaintiff’s anus, the Perpetrators forcing the Plaintiff to engage in sexual intercourse, and the Perpetrators permitting a visitor of the Monastery to sexually assault the Plaintiff while the Perpetrators looked on. These acts of childhood sexual assault occurred on numerous occasions and often involved the Perpetrators hanging the Plaintiff from his wrists from the ceiling, so that they could gain access to the Plaintiff to sexually abuse him.
Horrific allegations against Damascene Christiansen. Excerpt from court documents. The sexual assault described herein was done for the sexual gratification of CHRISTENSEN and DOVE, and was based, at least in part, on the gender of the Plaintiff, who was a minor boy at the time.
As a direct and proximate result of his sexual assault by CHRISTENSEN and DOVE, which was enabled and facilitated by Defendants THE DIOCESE, THE BROTHERHOOD, and DOES 1 through 50, Plaintiff has suffered, and will continue to suffer personal physical injury, as well as psychological, mental and emotional distress, including but not limited to anger, sadness, anxiety, depression, re-experiencing of the trauma, guilt, shame, and fear. He has and will continue to incur expenses for mental, psychological, psychiatric, and medical care due to the assault, according to proof at trial.
Plaintiff is informed and believes, on that basis alleges, that prior to and during the sexual harassment, molestation and assault of Plaintiff, Defendants knew or had reason to know that CHRISTENSEN and DOVE had violated their roles as teachers, mentors, supervisors, caretakers and advisors to minors, and used this position of authority and trust acting on behalf of Defendants to gain access to children, including Plaintiff, on the premises and grounds of Defendants, in which they caused Plaintiff to touch them, to allow them (grown men) to touch Plaintiff in a sexual manner, and engaged in sexual conduct and assault, including harassment and molestation, with such children including Plaintiff
Most interesting is a paragraph that states:
THE DIOCESE, THE BROTHERHOOD knew, or had reason to know, or were otherwise on notice of misconduct by the Perpetrators that created a risk of sexual assault to minors, including the Plaintiff.
This suggests that the Serbian Orthodox Church in America had already received previous information and concerns about Damascene Christiansen and Thomas Dove related to child abuse and safeguarding concerns.
This disturbing information is available on public record. For those that interested in the full document, it is attached here and available for download. Its authenticity can be verified through the SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
So there we have it. The strange and unlikely coincidence that a monk that was a loyal disciple of two other pedophiles, Gleb Podmoshensky & Pangratios Vrionis:
Is also accused of child sexual assault.
And that this assault allegedly took place in a monastery that had been the site of previous sexual assaults by Gleb Podmoshensky stretching back to when Fr Seraphim Rose was alive.
That another monk of the monastery is also allegedly involved.
That these assaults were allegedly male on male i.e. homosexual in nature.
Source for above photo: https://orthochristian.com/148431.html
In the photo above, Fr Damascene Christiansen is with Fr Maximos (Andrew Vincent) Rossi. Rossi was a leader of the HOOM - Holy Order of MANS Cult that was also associated with many other child abuse cases and pedophile priests. For a time in the early 1980’s, HOOM was under the direct spiritual guidance of Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky and “Metropolitan” Pangratios Vrionis, both known pedophiles. Is it a coincidence that Damascene Christiansen is always connected to these individuals and was then himself the subject of sexual abuse allegations? And this man remains the abbot of Platina, and the self-styled guardian of Fr Seraphim’s memory.
The Facts About False Reports
A common criticism sometimes bought by child sexual abuse deniers, especially those in religious communities, is that the victims are “making it all up” and that “they are just after monetary compensation”. In response to this, we would direct these deniers to the facts that are abundantly available in countless research studies that in child sexual assault reports:
Less than 5% of reports are generally false while >95% are true
It takes the victims of child abuse years to finally be able to report the crimes by which time the statute of limitation for criminal proceedings has expired in many jurisdictions.
Victims have nothing to gain by making false allegations. The process of reporting and legally following up historical sexual abuse is expensive, arduous and involves further retraumatization for the survivors. The balance of probabilities is overwhelming that those making the reports are telling the truth.
Other Takeaways
Some other interesting things to note:
Do you notice that none of the alleged sexual assaults at Platina are ever on girls or women? These are ALWAYS male homosexual attacks which add significant weight to the opinion that at least some proportion of monks are latent homosexuals. This is not to say that all monks are gay, or that ones that are gay, are necessarily pedophiles or abusers. Still, this common thread is hard to ignore…
That the problem of child safeguarding is not only a Russian Orthodox Church problem, but one that exists in other Orthodox Churches. When the Serbian Orthodox Church took Platina into its jurisdiction in 2000, why did it not pick up the investigation of Gleb Podmoshensky and all his crimes as part of the deal? Or did they just think that after 20 odd years everyone had just forgotten about Gleb and all his kiddy-fiddling? Instead they just accepted him as a common monk and left it at that. The bishop that took in Platina was Bishop Jovan (Mladenovic).
We see this attitude amongst Orthodox hierarchies constantly, this apparent belief among bishops that if they just don’t talk, or do anything about abusive priests, that everyone will just forget about, or not even notice the problem. This is the current mindset of the ROCOR Synod under Metropolitan Nicholas (Olhovsky) and has been for decades. And they wonder now, why they are facing so much heat from a flock that is sick and tired of their gaslighting and inaction.
The guilt of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America over Gleb and Platina is a subject for another time, but one which its leadership should rest assured, will be investigated by Pokrov Truth in the near future.
For more on Bishop Jovan, see here: https://www.eserbia.org/sapeople/church/1298-bishop-jovan-mladenovic
Why this all matters in relation to Fr Seraphim Rose
The story of Damascene Christiansen matters because he, along with Gleb Podmoshensky, are the spiritual legacy of Fr Seraphim Rose. He is exalted for his incredible influence but where was this influence when it came to the people that were closest to him or claimed such inspiration from him? How did his influence evaporate so quickly and among so many of his brotherhood after 1982?
Imagine that the Holy Trinity monastery of St Sergius of Radonezh founded, fell away into apostasy after his death. How would he be remembered now? Or if it was the same with the Koutloumousiou Monastery and the brotherhood St Paisios the Athonite belonged to? This would be unthinkable and yet in the californication of Orthodoxy sought by the disciples of Fr Seraphim Rose, they would have everyone just ignore these harsh realities when they concern Fr Seraphim.
And what of the many victims? How are they to respond to the canonization of the man that could have prevented their abuse?
In the present time, there is a trend to twist reality to suit the spirit of the age. Whether this is concerning gender, traditional family structures or any number of other things - the message is always the same: “Its ok, we can have it our way - all you have to do is pretend!” Just like this post-modern malaise that was born of the rebellious, hippie era which Fr Seraphim lived through, the supporters of Fr Seraphim Rose’s glorification would also have us suspended and ignore the uncomfortable truths about him. At this time, many are simply not prepared for such a suspension of reality and the ROCOR would do well to put aside any such plans for a very long time.
6. The Rush to Glorify
Beyond the unanswered questions about Fr Seraphim himself, is another concern - that of the impartiality of ROCOR Bishop James (Corazza) of Sonora, vicar of the Western American Diocese, the bishop appointed to lead the commission looking into the possible glorification. James Corazza was born in California in 1958 and converted to Orthodoxy in 1979. He was originally in the OCA and moved into the ROCOR in 1983. He became a monk in 1986 and went up through priestly ranks before being made a bishop in 2019. According to the official ROCOR statement:
A commission was established by the Synod of Bishops to study the life, legacy, and veneration of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose), headed by His Grace James, Bishop of Sonora, vicar of the Western American Diocese.
Bishop James is a self-confessed, admirer of Fr Seraphim Rose. According to his own memoirs:
"I shall never forget the evening – after a year and a half of difficult searching — when I finished “Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future” and everything fell joyously into place, and I knew beyond all doubt and vacillation that my future was to be in Christ's Church" (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Corazza)
While there is nothing wrong with Bishop James’s admiration per se, does not an undertaking as serious as the heading of a commission of canonization, require at least some degree of impartiality? Given Bishop James’ gushing admiration of Fr Seraphim, is there any doubt that he will do anything other than recommend a swift and decisive glorification at the earliest possible time? It’s like getting Ronald McDonald to do a review of the Big Mac.
Fr Seraphim - the Orthodox “Guru” ?
Incidentally, as much as Fr Seraphim’s fans balk at any suggestion that they see him as some sort of “guru”, both the quote above from Bishop James, and the earlier one from Damascene Christiansen, have this common theme of an almost instant, magical conversion to Orthodoxy just from meeting him once, or reading a certain one of his books.
The process here is certainly not a sober one, but one full of the intoxicating charisma of an enchanting leader and saviour. For those well versed in the study of cults, this “instant conversion” is a familiar phenomena in “cult guru/follower” relationships. And as we have just mentioned, many of these “instantly converted” followers of Fr Seraphim Rose, including his own Platina brotherhood were also very quick to abandon Orthodoxy, the Church, and all he really stood for, soon after he passed away.
The aforementioned Fr Alexey Young once wrote a book about ecumenism called “The Rush To Embrace”. With Bishop James in charge of Fr Seraphim Rose glorification process, we may well need a sequel entitled “The Rush to Canonize”.
Perhaps a final pertinent point that needs to be made about this whole matter, is that if ROCOR goes ahead with this planned glorification without acknowledging and apologizing for the crimes of Gleb Podmoshensky, it will effectively cement it’s abuse coverup policy, permanently and irrevocably into its history, and into an actual hagiography, once and for all. Such a hagiography, that is also a disingenuous coverup of the complete truth about Fr Seraphim, would not be a triumph, but a travesty. This Substack has covered ROCOR’s abuse coverup policy in great detail. From the case of Gleb Podmoshensky in the past, to Fr Matthew Williams today, ROCOR has never once made an honest and frank admission of it’s failures when it comes to its shameful record of abuse by its clerics. Indeed, it even allows its historians, like Fr Andrei Psarev to actively airbrush out the history of its predators in publications like ROCOR Studies.
In an age where even the Roman Catholic Church has made many statements of acknowledgement and apology for its own horrific abuse history, the cowardly silence of Metropolitan Nicholas and his Synod in this regard, speaks of a Church that cares nothing for abuse victims, its reputation, or for giving its own long overdue and much needed apology, for its many past child safeguarding failings. Now, ironically, ROCOR is moving to glorify a priest, who also engaged in a serious coverup and enablement by inaction, of the sexual abuse crimes of his monastic brother. Do these men have any idea how out of touch they are with the expectations of their flock? One wonders how it all came to such a sad and shameful point for the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
For all these reasons, any move to glorify Fr Seraphim Rose at the present time would not be an act of spiritual clarity, but of moral evasion that will create further division in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Whatever gifts Fr Seraphim Rose possessed, and whatever good he may have done for many souls, the unresolved questions surrounding his long association with Gleb Podmoshensky, his apparent silence and inaction in the face of grave evil, and ROCOR’s own continuing failure to confront its history of abuse and concealment, make such a canonization profoundly dangerous and troubling.
Sanctity cannot be built upon omission, nor can the Church hope to honor truth while refusing truthfulness. Until there is full honesty, full disclosure, and a sincere reckoning with the suffering of victims, any hagiography of Fr Seraphim will remain overshadowed by the cry of those who were abused and ignored. In such a matter, the Church must choose not sentiment, nostalgia, or institutional self-protection, but repentance, justice, and the fear of God.
Links and Further Reading
Another excellent Substack piece from La Chanson des Étoiles that also addresses the problem of glorifying Fr Seraphim Rose.
https://www.chansonetoiles.com/p/christianity-and-eros-the-dark-underbell
Reader Daniel Article: The Death of Gleb Podmoshensky
https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/2014/07/death-of-fr-herman-podmoshensky.html
More Links
The Truth About Gleb “Fr Herman” Podmoshensky
Damascene Christiansen Interview with Pravoslavie.ru
https://orthochristian.com/7197.html
Review of “Bio Not of this World”
https://benedictseraphim.wordpress.com/2005/11/26/not-of-this-world-a-review/
Article on the passing of Reader Daniel, an important source on Fr Seraphim and Gleb Podmoshensky
https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/2023/09/memory-eternal-reader-daniel-of-oregon.html
Reddit Discussion of What Fr Seraphim Knew
Reader Daniel Letters
https://readerdanielsharing.blogspot.com/2016/04/english-letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose.html
Fr Seraphim Glorification Article
https://www.acrod.org/orthodox-christianity/articles/saints/frseraphimrose
Fr Seraphim & Fr Alexey Young
https://fallen-leaves.org/2019/03/07/fr-seraphim-rose-part-8/
Article on Damascene Christiansen including reference to his alleged ordination in Russia in 1995. Who ordained him and is he even a legitimate priest remain as serious questions about Seraphim Rose’s biographer.
As I have written more than a few times here, my expertise & training is the clinical assessment & management of pedophiles. There is a very clear clinical distinction between homosexuality and pedophilia in the diagnostic criteria with very limited "crossover" in the clinical literature. Some researchers would literally go so far as to refer to pedophilia as a sexual orientation in and of itself. This would seem to suggest, then, that Fr. Seraphim and Fr. Herman were not two homosexuals living together.
There seem to be some individuals - though the numbers are very limited - who are referred to as "acquired" child sexual offenders who, upon CT scans of the brain demonstrate literal lesions that seem to explain a lack of inhibition, memory, and "verbal fluency" who carry out acts with little regard for witnesses; security cameras; are more likely to record their acts; are more likely to share their recorded acts; and are more likely to discuss their acts with other pedophiles. On the other hand, and more customarily, a second group referred to as "developmental" child sexual offenders, who are compulsive, rather than impulsive as are the former. While they likewise share deficits of inhibition, they are less prominent, and they are able to structure, plan, and delay their actions until conditions are favorable for offending. Likewise, they are significantly more likely to set conditions of threat and fear for disclosing the abuse.
Further, there is a correlation between Antisocial Personality Disorder, and many pedophiles in prison report themselves report being molested as children. There is a strong correlation with Substance Use Disorders; Bipolar Disorder; Depressive Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; other Paraphilias ((Exhibitionism, Sexual Sadism, Sexual Masochism, Voyeuristic Disorder, etc.).
So what is my point is stating all this? After three decades and more than 500 clinical assessments of felony child sexual predators and their enablers, I can tell you affirmatively and factually that anyone who lives in close proximity to an active, practicing, victim-seeking, victim-grooming predator cannot help but know it. They may willfully have chosen to ignore it, but they could not have denied it.
You will pardon me, but to somehow invoke the lives of the Saints to justify a protective "blindness" is unconscionable. There simply is no justification for enabling child sexual predation. None. Never.
I don’t necessarily believe Fr. Seraphim Rose knew what was happening. How could I know that? Even so, there at least would have to have been thick denial on his part, and it seems the controversy would be better avoided by not canonizing him. We know there are many saints who are never canonized, so there’s no harm in not canonizing. In the 1990s I worked for a plaintiff’s attorney in civil sex abuse cases against the Catholic Church. It’s hard to think of a worse way to curse the name of Jesus than for a clergyman to sexually abuse a child. Better for him the donkey’s millstone and drown in the sea (Matthew 18: 6). I wish leadership understood it is the COVERUPS that make the Church vulnerable to expensive lawsuits. It is COVERUPS that cause the faithful to become cynical and to even lose faith. Hierarchies don’t have to cut clergy loose over allegations alone, but at least they should cooperate with law enforcement in finding the truth.