Rebellion against the modern world, or how the Orthodox monk became an inspiration for American punks.

Modern opposition to the expanding abuses of the strategy is mainly manifested by attempts to reject the communicative that globalists and struggles service us to realise as much of society as possible that there can actually be specified a thing as world-view pluralism. This freedom has different shades, and although people frequently appear wanting to preserve tradition and culture in the spirit of Christianity, it can be said that in practice the life of most of them is reduced only to the outer shell around them. What does it mean, and can we rebel differently? Even if many practicers may find this a challenge.

Against nihilism.

Seraphim, secular name Eugene Dennis Rose (born August 13, 1934 in San Diego, rebranded September 2, 1982 in Platin), is an American Orthodox monk and 1 of the most recognizable Orthodox intellectuals of the 20th century. He proclaimed the request for ascetic and harsh Christianity, and opposed all attempts to institutionalize it. He was a large critic of liberalism, which he considered the top evil of modern times, under which Christianity began to modernise. His works have contributed to the popularization of Orthodoxy in current American culture and throughout the West.

Eugene was born into a Protestant family, was baptized in a community of Methodists at the age of 14. Then, as a consequence of the youthful crisis of religion and rebellion, he became a declared atheist. He was peculiarly talented, knew many languages and had large historical knowledge. He studied Chinese doctrine and learned his language perfectly only within a year. During his time in San Francisco, he was turning into a bitter environment where he abused alcohol and drugs. During this period he besides became curious in spirituality and practiced Buddhism. After graduating in California, he studied under Alan Willson Watts, thanks to which he discovered and read in René Guénon's writings. It was then that he began to search authentic spirituality, and through a friend who was at that time practicing Orthodox, he began to learn about it, which resulted in him joining the Church in 1962.

Even as a novice, he founded an Orthodox bookstore next to the Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church established in San Francisco outside Russia. A community of Orthodox booksellers and publishers, the Brotherhood of St. Herman of Alaska, was established around the bookstore. In 1968, the community decided to abandon urban life and go to more distant areas in northern California. 3 years earlier, Eugene was ordained as a speaker. With the financial support that the community received from Eugen’s parents, a monastery was created at the top of Mount Platina, where monks and a printing home continued to print Rose The Orthodox Word, which had already been published since 1964. 8 years after his accession to the Orthodox Church in 1970, Eugene was scorned as a monk and took the name of Seraphin, and during the first years spent in the monastery, he took the essential lessons to become a priest.

In 1977, Seraphin and another monks from the monastery took priestly ordination and became Hieromnich. Although it was in the years preceding the acceptance of ordination that the monk Seraphin wrote many books that contributed to the popularization of his individual and work, his key and never-finished work began to be created in the early 1960s erstwhile he was not yet a clergyman.

Nihilism's work. The origin of the revolution of modern times was to be 1 chapter in the book The Kingdom of Man, and the Kingdom of God, but beyond this chapter it never saw the light of day. Despite this, specified a critical and in-depth analysis of nihilism, an indication of its genesis and what it has led to, made the reflection of a later monk to this day 1 of the most anti-liberal manifestos in history. small wonder, then, that he became an inspiration to those seeking a different way than that of the modern world. But who would have thought these people would be a group of American punks...

Death to the World

California early 1990s. Justin Marley – a young, rebellious vocalist of the band Sleep decides to cut off from the influences of the corrupt subculture and joins the Monastery of St. Herman in northern California. After any time, he receives the monks of the span, takes the name John, and along with a group of another monks and nuns begins to lead a dense ascetic life full of sacrifices. At any point, he even goes out to the wilderness to proceed his spiritual struggles there, but yet after a fewer years, he returns to a ‘normal’ life, establishes a family, touring, and continues to publicize, which he started in 1994 erstwhile the number of the Death To The planet zina first appeared.

Black-and-white photographs of bearded monks holding human skulls combined with holy icons, and all kept in the characteristic climate of the underground magazines of those years make Death To The planet attract attention and shock at the first meeting. The title of the diary “Death for the World” refers straight to the words of St. Isaac the Syrian, where the planet is understood as all the temptations, desires and burdens that hold us by him. erstwhile individual learns more about the wine and what is published in today's social media by people who have taken over Justin Marley and his companions, it is not unnoticed that since the creation of the magazine, the father of Seraphin Rose remains a large inspiration for those publishing.

Death To The planet is primarily a rebellion, a rebellion against the modern planet with its moral liberalism and modernity. Rebellion requiring sacrifice and unpopular in an age of omnipotent consumerism. Rebellion returning to the forgotten roots of Christendom full of suffering and pain, which gives emergence to purification in the way of self-improvement. Punkrock self-destruction, accompanied by a constant sense of deficiency of future and chaos, the young monks turned into an ascetic rebellion, which they themselves claimed was the only and actual rebellion against the modern world. 1 can besides get the impression that specified a extremist attitude – which has been characterized by monastic Orthodox communities for centuries – was besides a kind of counter to the modernization of Christianity in the US, especially in its highly Protestant appearance.

To this day, the day of zin and all the surrounding around it he has created over all these years, continues to attract people who are looking for something more than empty opposition, the echo of which dies somewhere in the large city noise. Who knows, possibly in the future the attitude of American punks will besides become an inspiration for our native pariahs, both those who have so far shunned any contact with the Absolute, as well as members of the Catholic Church, who will yet diminish his further Protestantism and compromise with modernity.

Patrick Chruślak