Fact 4.
The story about a pine cone.
Ilya and Elena Poluektov
Interview 03.10.2019
Sebastopol. (CA), USA
This incident happened in our time, with family members of a friend and associate in publishing of Fr. Seraphim, the late priest Alexey Poluektov, with his eldest son Ilya and his wife.
On June 16, 2018, Ilya and Elena Poluektov went on a pilgrimage trip to Platina, to the monastery of St. Herman of Alaska.
After visiting the monastery and with special reverence the cell of Fr. Seraphim, which is still cherished by the brethren with love and care as a memorial shrine of the monastery, Elena asked the brother to give her some incense from the cell of the ascetic, which she saw there and thought that perhaps it belonged to Fr. Seraphim. The brother replied that it’s impossible to take away any things from the cell. Elena got out of the cell with a shadow of regret that she could not get even a small memorable thing of an ascetic whom they revere so much and whom her husband Ilya and his family knew from childhood. Although it was completely understandable and indeed it was impossible to give away objects to every pilgrim, otherwise there would be nothing left of the cell soon.
A few meters from Fr. Seraphim’s cell, a pine tree grows on which a bell hangs, quite rusted from time. It was Fr. Seraphim who put it there for the notifications, instructing to ring it to those who wanted to come for a visit.
Between this tree, and another, standing across the path leading to the cell, a wooden rail is nailed from above, thus forming the upper jamb of an imaginary doorway, and together with these two trees forming a street entrance to the territory of the cell.
Near this tree, walking back from the cell of Fr. Seraphim along the path, right in the opening of this symbolic passage, Elena stumbled and fell. And at that very moment, a huge piece of tree resin fell – in essence a local natural incense, and also a small cone fell nearby, which was apparently covered with that resin on the top of the tree, and thus was just waiting for its time to fall down.
Apparently, the incense got torn off the pine cone at fall and fell directly on Elena. So, it all ended up in the hands of a gaping pilgrim.
Lena began to cry…
Later, someone from the brethren of the monastery told her that Fr. Seraphim often used this kind of incense for the service.
Since then, Elena has kept this piece of resin as "Platina’s incense" and a pine cone as a blessing of Fr. Seraphim. She considers it to be a true miracle.
ПContinuing the series of events about "Platina’s incense”, the following events could also be mentioned…
In 2018 and 20197, in the month of October, I also happened to be in Platina, the goal and result of this visit is reflected in this work: collection of material about veneration of Fr. Seraphim and the facts of the manifestation of grace through the prayers of the ascetic.
At the monastery, one of my first desires was, of course, to serve a memorial service (pannikhida) at the grave of Fr. Seraphim. During my 2018 visit, when I’ve reached the monastery and left the car near the gate of the monastery, I was headed to the cell. I noticed on the ground a huge pine cone at the ends of each scale of which there was a large drop of resin.
The next day, I and Fr. David Ogan from Nashville (TN), who was there on a pilgrimage, have asked for a censer and started to serve the pannikhida. We used that previously noted pine cone, with each drop of resin being an adequate piece of incense. During the service, it was placed on the tombstone for Fr. Seraphim, quite abundant for the divine service, and plenty of "incense" remained.
Subsequently, Fr. David took it home with great joy, as a blessing.
Also in 2019, after a conversation with both Ilya and Elena Poluektov and the recording of their testimonies about Fr. Seraphim, I went to Platina. Elena gave me a little of this "miraculously found" incense, for the sake of Fr. Seraphim.
Having arrived at the monastery, and getting ready to serve the pannikhida, I could not possibly serve with any other incense
Thus, it happened again that we served a pannikhida with the same "Platina’s incense" of Fr. Seraphim… only this time I served with the reverent Abbot Seraphim Bell from Washington State.
It may indeed be pleasing to God to commemorate Fr. Seraphim by burned incense naturally grown at his own monastery, which the Lord gave him for salvation and where he rests from his labors.
7Fr. Alexander Trushin - the compiler of this material.