Seraphima’s Extraordinary Adventure: A Christian Viewpoint to Totalitarian Resistance
Alexandra Strapko
With tears in her eyes, listening to the booming voices of her peer’s yell “God’s not real!” echo throughout the large ballroom of the orphanage, Seraphima could feel the weight of evil on her shoulders begin to tear down her faith. In the next moment, the floor beneath her began to glow and with some external, spiritual force backing every ounce of humanity in her she stated: “God exists!” while holding up her cross the headmistress had confiscated from her days prior. In the animated film, Seraphima’s Extraordinary Adventure, Orthodox Christian values and beliefs, such as steadfastness and forgiveness, are highlighted in Seraphima’s faith in God and her relationships with others, therefore resisting totalitarian ideology rooted in an atheistic and anti-religious framework that seeks to erase religion as what Rod Dreher calls the “bedrock” of competition to its success and power over people. Soviet dissident Igor Shafarevich explains this erasure or abolition of religion in his study of socialism as “inherent” in modern socialist states.Seraphima’s remembered faith allows her to connect with and lean on her patron saint, Saint Seraphim, to resist the pressure of her peers and her superiors to renounce God, as well as to give her the strength to forgive her friend Rita’s betrayal in giving away Seraphima’s secret to the overseer of the orphanage. In today’s society there is a great threat to the survival of the human race especially by the legal operation of same-sex marriages and abortion which are severely anti-religious at their core. Diminishing religiosity poses a threat to our society in being susceptible to totalitarian ideals and practices by minimizing moral values.
The headmaster of the orphanage walked up to Seraphima standing over her with authority and asked her directly if she renounced her faith in God; she adamantly admitted that he exists and clung to her beliefs with great tenacity holding up her cross for all to see. Seraphima’s steadfast belief in God allowed her to reject the opportunity to renounce her faith, therefore resisting the atheistic rhetoric impressed upon her via the attempted abolition of religion incited by the Soviet regime. In this scene Seraphima was willing to put her faith above everything else, even if that meant she was to be sent away to prison or a camp for her belief (Seraphima’s 51:25). Her faith was so strong nothing was going to divert her from being different from her peers and even encouraged others with her tenacity. Similarly, in The Gulag Archipelago, there is a description of those who have especially strong faith are the most dangerous people to the Communist Party. Those with exceedingly tenacious faith are willing to give up that “survive at any price” mentality and allow God’s will to guide them. If that means starvation and death then so be it, “Because…what hold do they have on you?” (Solzhenitsyn 308). This is exactly correct, what hold does one have over another if they do not even fear death? This absence of fear when confronted with a situation such as death, or in Seraphima’s case being ostracized from her fellow peers or being sent to a correctional facility where she would be all alone, defines and solidifies one’s identity as a Christian who puts those beliefs and values that God’s law teaches above all else, even one’s life. Comparatively, she herself knows her fate has already been decided by the headmaster and the headmistress and there is nothing more she can do than stand by her core values until the end. Solzhenitsyn interprets this solidification and coming to terms with fate as the period when the soul is truly resurrected (Solzhenitsyn 305). Seraphima’s soul is brought back to life when she realizes that there is nothing more she can do to stop the progression of events but to simply pray and proclaim her faith for all to hear. This is especially impressive to witness a child of her age to have such a robust and pious Christian identity in spite of losing both her mother and father and moving to a foreign place where she did not know anyone. Moreover, Seraphima’s reluctance to let fear overcome her and renounce God in times of hardship reinforces her faith and identity as an Orthodox Christian.
As the director held Seraphima up by the collar of her shirt giving her one more chance to denounce Christ, the other orphan girls began to chime in with the headmistress saying “God does not exist!” and the pot of oatmeal began overflowing. Even when confronted with fear right in front of her and the pressure of her peers Seraphima would not renounce Christ, therefore further resisting atheistic, totalitarian ideologies encompassing her life at the time. After Seraphima expresses her beliefs to the group, the director automatically switches from patience to hate and anger toward Seraphima. Overcome by his passions, he becomes abrasive and grabs her by the shirt collar in order to use fear to get her to change her stance on God and her belief, along with the screaming children in the background. Even just the sight and threat of the cross in her hands has such an impact on the director and the headmistress, they call her crazy and a thief (0:51-0:52). Shafarevich defines socialist followers having a striking contempt toward the symbols of Christianity, specifically the cross and the church (Shafarevich 225). The existence of those institutions in the Christian faith poses such a threat to the success of their control over people that socialist states need to destroy them in order to assert their dominance. The director of the film compared this overwhelming scene visually to a pot of overflowing oatmeal to signify the “bubbling” up of tension and fear between the orphanage director and Seraphima (Seraphima’s 0:51 – 0:53). Solzhenitsyn describes this phenomenon as constant fear instilled in the hearts of victims of persecution during the Soviet Union. This fear was not limited to arrest but of interrogation, expulsion, exile, usurpation of residence, and many others (Solzhenitsyn 321). Yet even under such horrific circumstances of constant fear there were still those people who were not afraid and stared death right in the eyes, silently iterating to let God’s will lead them in whatever direction they were meant to go in, whether that be life or death. Seraphima’s experience was no less different than that of the oppressed Soviet people in the Gulag. She was confronted with fear of the orphanage director, the headmistress, and her peers for she would be completely isolated from all society because of her belief. Yet, she held fast to her faith and never let it waver even in the face of adversity, which goes to show just how firm her belief in God and her identity as a Christian really was.
Seraphima was awakened by the sparkling blue image that was calling her to follow, as she traversed the dark streets lit with light of dawn rising above the horizon and the rapids of the flowing stream she finally arrived at the destination, a place she once knew so fondly: her church. Seraphima learns her true responsibility and purpose in resisting denunciation of her faith through Christ’s life and example, therefore symbolizing her solidified justification to resist totalitarian ideals of atheism. This scene in particular is especially powerful as she creeps through the dilapidated temple, that was once her family’s church, viewing the iconography on the walls depicting Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and lastly the Resurrection of Christ (Seraphima’s 1:00 – 1:02). She is brought closer to Christ and His life in her inspection of the destruction and evil others inflicted upon such a sacred place. Seraphima’s actions emulate Christ’s when He was persecuted for the sake of the salvation of mankind. This short clip in the film puts her situation into perspective that even God himself was persecuted and judged by ignorant people who were to closed minded to see the truth. Christ was persecuted until He took His last breath but never gave in to the people that doubted and crucified Him; exactly as Seraphima did in not giving in to the peer pressure from her fellow orphans. Dreher declares that one of the important aspects in resisting totalitarianism and communism is to make great sacrifices for the greater good (Dreher 140). This statement was invoked in the child-rearing section of the book quoting the Benda family’s personal experience with sacrifice. The husband was given an ultimatum to be let out of prison early and promise to move to the West with his family or remain in prison. His wife replied and told him to say no, they would stay and fight for what they believe to be the truth. Standing up for the principles and morals that you believe in, no matter the consequences, for the sake of humankind is a difficult task. However, when God is your only judge the ability to stand on moral principle becomes simple. This scene in particular was a turning point for Seraphima in living by Christ’s example and setting an example for the other girls in the orphanage. Her firmness of faith had a greater purpose of benefiting the other girls than she had originally thought, eventually bringing her and her mother back together again.
As the walls began to metamorphose into the dwelling place of the late Father Seraphim, Seraphima opened the door and was handed a basket of red-colored eggs as he said “Christ is Risen, my dear!”. Seraphima often leans on or prays to her patron saint, Father Seraphim, to give her the strength to persist in her faith and learn to forgive those who wronged her, therefore thwarting totalitarian ideology of anti-religiosity and pride from infiltrating her mindset. Throughout the film, Seraphima is transported to a “paradise” where her patron saint resides and offers her advice for the terrible treatment she endures as a result of her faith. He tells her of the sacrifice that Christ made for mankind to enter the kingdom of heaven and acts as a beacon guiding her to persist in her tribulations on Earth for the greater salvation of her soul and the souls of others. Father Dmitry, an Orthodox priest in the USSR, stood on principle against the authorities for the sake of the faith. He and other priests in the Soviet era preached Christ’s word, encouraged and motivated the masses to resist the common rhetoric of atheism by living by a moral code and Christ’s teachings (Dreher 156-157). In a way, Father Seraphim in the animated film acts as a guide to Seraphima with his words of wisdom and encouragement to not give up her faith and strong will for the sake of comfort.
As he gives her the eggs, he says “take these with you and make everyone you meet happy” (Seraphima’s 1:02-1:03). The eggs signify hope, happiness, and forgiveness in a time of hatred, despair and destruction, because they resist totalitarianism and atheistic viewpoints by symbolizing the miracle of Christ’s resurrection and open-mindedness among the girls toward Orthodoxy. Seraphima herself acted as a beacon of light inspiring them with the words of Christ and her own positive outlook on life. Although she confided in her patron saint for the initial courage to speak her mind, evidently, she was able to integrate those words into her everyday life to influence the girls with her actions as much as with her spoken word. Rita was influenced most of all by Seraphima’s kindness and forgiveness even after her betrayal of her one and only friend, she knew what she had done was wrong. That betrayal is often praised and sought after by totalitarian regimes, turning on one’s friends or family for the sake of self-preservation and fear of what he or she does not understand. That constant fear is preyed upon by totalitarianism and is expressed through betrayal as a form of existence (Solzhenitsyn 323). Rita’s fearfulness of Seraphima’s faith and lack of understanding turned into feelings of hate and betrayal toward Seraphima. However, Seraphima made sure to tell the other girls to give Rita an egg on this holy day as recompense for the suffering they both endured as a result of this betrayal of trust (Seraphima’s 1:03-1:04). Through forgiveness Seraphima is able to strengthen and mend her relationships with her fellow orphan girls and Rita that initially started out on rough terms with the help of God and Saint Seraphim.
To conclude, the animated film Seraphima’s Extraordinary Adventure highlights Orthodox Christian values of forgiveness and steadfastness eliciting Seraphima’s strengthened relationships with God, Saint Seraphim and her peers, therefore resisting totalitarian, atheistic ideologies that pursue the erasure of Christian religion as what Dreher explains as the “bedrock” of its struggle for success and control over people. Shafarevich defines this abolition of religion as “inherent” in all modern socialist and totalitarian regimes today due to fear of those dangerously zealous Christian people willing to give up their lives for the sake of the faith, in Solzhenitsyn’s interpretation. Seraphima is empowered to counteract the ignorant and cruel treatment of her superiors and peers toward her for her beliefs by confiding in God and her patron saint, Father Seraphim. With the help of Saint Seraphim, Seraphima is able to remain steadfast in her trust in God and His teachings as well as learn to forgive those who have wronged her. Her tenacious faith and forgiveness solidify her identity as an Orthodox Christian and empower others to follow in her lead. Symbolism played a large role in the expression of those Orthodox themes of steadfastness and forgiveness, particularly Seraphima’s cross and the eggs. These items stand as a reminder to Christians that our life on Earth is simply a temporary trial for the greater purpose of our souls to reach heaven. Each object in their own way convey the miracle of Christ and His guidance to the path of salvation for Orthodox Christians to resist the temptations of the modern world. Religion in itself is an act of resistance to all sorts of societal norms these days like same-sex marriage, abortion, homosexuality and transgender practices, child birth out of wedlock, and drug use predominantly defended by leftist, atheist conformers unable to define right from wrong. This expanding crisis of faith the world is facing today will have serious consequences in its ability to resist totalitarian and socialist propaganda as it is presented. Moral, Christian values will be the only saving grace for the success of the future.
Works Cited
- Dreher, Rod. Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents. Sentinel, 2020.
- Seraphima’s Extraordinary Adventure. Directed by Igor Kazantsiev, Kinoatis, 2015. Youtube, uploaded by CitizenBasilChannel, 26 Oct. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfVAMbpHnyY&t=16s
- Shafarevich, Igor. The Socialist Phenomenon. Gideon House Books, 2019.
- Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich, et al. The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation. Vintage, 2018.