Good day! Optina elders are monks. In the fourteenth century they founded a monastery in the Kaluga region - Optina Pustyn. They are especially revered in the Orthodox Church. The monk Lev Nagolkin is considered their founder and inspirer.
Optina elders are monks of the Optina Hermitage, canonized. These are the reverend fathers Hieroschemamonk Leo (Nagolkin), Hieroschemamonk Macarius (Ivanov), Schema-Archimandrite Moses (Putilov), Schema-Abbot Anthony (Putilov), Hieroschemamonk Hilarion (Ponomarev), Hieroschemamonk Ambrose (Grenkov), Hieroschemamonk Anatoly (Zertsalov), Schema-archimandrite Isaac (Antimonov) , Hieroschemamonk Joseph (Litovkin), Schema-Archimandrite Barsanuphius (Plikhankov), Hieroschemamonk Anatoly (Potapov), Hieroschemamonk Nektary of Optina, Hieromonk Nikon (Belyaev), Archimandrite Isaac II (Bobrakov).
The Optina elders are sons of God, predictors of the future. None of the healers had such abilities and knowledge as the elders. The Optina Monastery was very popular among pilgrims who came to cleanse their minds and bodies, and learn about their future. The main spiritual wealth of the temple is its elders.
The Optina elders are monks who in the 14th century in the Kaluga region organized the Optina Pustyn monastery...
monk LEO (Nagolkin) - considered the founder and inspirer of the Optina eldership...
The prototype of Elder Zosima in Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov was Elder Ambrose, whose writer was in Optina Hermitage...
Not far from Kozelsk on the Zhizdra River, in the Kaluga region there is the Optina Pustyn Monastery. The most famous of the Optina elders is Reverend Ambrose Optinsky. No less honorable: Macarius, Leo, Hilarion, Moses, Anthony, Isaac, Joseph, Barsanuphius, Nektarios, Aatoly, Nektarios, Nikon. The elders have a special gift; they guide souls to salvation. SENIORITY is a special gift. In the Monastery, the relics of almost all of these saints were found. This is a wonderful holy place!
The Optina elders are monks who, back in the 14th century, built a monastery in the Kaluga region near the settlement of Kozelsk. They are especially revered in the Orthodox Church. They had the gift of guiding souls to salvation.
Optina elders are Orthodox holy fathers. They lived in the Optina Hermitage near Kozelsk. This is not far from Kozelsk, in the Kaluga province. Known for their works, they are revered in Orthodoxy.
Surrounded by forest, on the banks of the Zhizdra River, far from the noisy cities where Optina Pustyn is located, stands an ancient monastery that was of great importance before the Bolsheviks came to power.
Today, when the Orthodox Church in our country is experiencing a period of revival, attention to this ancient monastery is returning.
Numerous churches that were closed during Soviet times have become accessible to believers. Their magnificent architecture pleases everyone, regardless of religion.
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Geographical location and place on the map
Optina Pustyn has the following GPRS coordinates: 54.053416, 35.831969. Located in the Kaluga region.
The distance from the regional center is 79 kilometers, from the capital of Russia - 256 kilometers, from St. Petersburg - 935 kilometers. And the shortest distance from the nearest town called Kozelsk is only 2000 meters.
Brief history of the monastery
On modern territory People lived in the Kaluga region for a very long time. During excavations, archaeologists found sites of Stone Age people. Kozelsk was mentioned in chronicles already in 1146.
The small town became famous for its unprecedented resistance to the Tatar-Mongols in 1238. For seven weeks the huge army could not take Kozelsk. After its capture, the town was burned to the ground, glorious warriors and residents were killed.
The history of the monastery begins much later. Exact date The foundation of the monastery is unknown, but in 1625 it already existed. A secluded, deserted place in the middle of the forest was chosen by the hermits for the monastery. In the 17th century there were only monks' cells and a wooden church. At the same time, the Vvedensky Cathedral was built.
During the reign of Peter I, the monks were almost deprived of their livelihood, the mill and river crossing were taken away, and fishing was prohibited. And then it was decided to close the monastery, although it did not operate for only 2 years.
Metropolitan of Moscow Platon
Metropolitan Platon of Moscow and Bishop Philaret of Kaluga played a huge role in the revival of the monastery.
It is important to know: The role of Father Abraham, appointed rector of Optina Pustyn, is great. It was he who introduced the way of life in the monastery that lasted until the 20th century - the time the monastery was closed.
His concern for the material well-being of the monastery, the repair of dilapidated church buildings, and the attraction of believers from the surrounding area over the many years of his activity made the monastery famous not only in the Kaluga province, but also beyond its borders.
Moscow Metropolitan Filaret
The most important period in the life of Optina Pustyn was the time when Philaret became Metropolitan of Moscow. Despite his high clergy, Filaret loved a quiet, silent life, and therefore patronized the monastery and visited it often.
Note: under Filaret, a kilometer from the monastery, the monastery of John the Baptist was built, which became the place of life for all the elders of Optina Pustyn.
Many books have been written about eldership in Rus'. This unique, purely Russian phenomenon dates back to the times of Sergius of Radonezh. An elder, as a rule, is a priest - a monk who provides spiritual guidance and mentoring to people who come to the monastery. This guidance takes place in the form of conversations or advice, as well as in correspondence with spiritual children.
Elder hermits
Filaret invited the first hermit elders to Optina Hermitage. Here this amazing phenomenon flourished most, making the monastery the spiritual center of Russia.
Interesting fact: The monastery became famous not for architectural miracles, not for ancient icons, but for the great Optina elders.
For almost a century, a huge number of pilgrims flocked to the Optina Monastery to receive advice, instructions, and spiritual help. Among the visitors to Optina there were many celebrities: N.V. Gogol, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, philosopher V.S. Soloviev, V.A. Zhukovsky, S.T. Aksakov, F.I. Tyutchev, P.I. Tchaikovsky, A.L. Chizhevsky and many others.
Monastery after the revolution and the USSR
After October revolution The spiritual center of Russia was closed in 1918. There was an agricultural artel, a museum, a sawmill, a tannery, where monks and elders worked and also secretly continued religious activities. Pilgrims continued to go to the monastery.
The succession of various organizations on the territory of the monastery was replaced by the Rest House. A concentration camp was set up here in 1939.. It accommodated more than five thousand Poles who were shot at Katyn.
With the beginning of the Second World War, a hospital for the wounded was needed, and the Optina Monastery was chosen as the site. Already three years after the start of the war, the hospital was converted into an NKVD camp intended for prisoners Soviet officers who returned from Germany to their homeland. In 1949, the camp was replaced by a military unit.
1987 is the year of the return of Optina Pustyn to the Russian Orthodox Church. The very first liturgy was celebrated in June 1988 in the gate tower. Many years of work lay ahead to restore the holy monastery.
Current state of the monastery
Vvedensky Cathedral
Immediately after the transfer of the monastery to the church, its restoration began. Elder Elijah headed the work. It was not only about returning the churches to their original appearance, but also about the spiritual revival of the monastery, about returning Optina to its significance as the most important center of Orthodoxy.
Today there are 8 functioning churches in excellent condition on the territory. In addition to the temples, other buildings were also restored:
- The Vvedensky Cathedral is the main church of the monastery. The shrine with the holy relics of St. Ambrose is located in the northern limit, the shrine with the holy relics of Fr. Nectaria - in the refectory;
- The Vladimir Church was rebuilt on the site of a hospital church that had not survived. This temple is the tomb of the seven great elders of the monastery: Leo, Macarius, Hilarion, Anatoly, Joseph, Barsanuphius, Anatoly;
- The monastery where the Optina elders lived was also restored. But access to it is closed to everyone except monks who serve in divine services day and night;
- The infirmary tower is adjacent to the hospital building. Today a hotel for pilgrims is open here.
What about the elders? Are they in the monastery today?
This is interesting: Elder Elijah, who lived in the monastery for 20 years, is today the confessor His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and Optina Pustyn. Considering the elder’s venerable age - he is 85 years old - and the burden of his spiritual father’s affairs, he is practically elusive and inaccessible to ordinary people.
But the glory of the monastery is still great. Pilgrims and believers who want to become monastery workers come here in search of peace and meaning in life.
Optina elders
The monastery, built under Filaret, became the place where the Optina elders lived. For a century and a half, this place became a source of grace for hundreds of people who came here.
Optina Elder Father Ambrose
Many written testimonies, books, and memoirs have been preserved about the 14 elders who lived in the monastery in the 19th and 20th centuries. A lot has become known thanks to the archive of the monastery, which in 1928 was taken by the poetess N. Pavlovich to the library named after. Lenin.
The elders were not only spiritual teachers of their parishioners. Many of them had the gift of foresight and healing. There are many documented cases of their healing of terminally ill patients.
Among all the Optina elders, Father Ambrose stands out for his ascetic life. The scope of spiritual mentoring by Fr. Ambrose is amazed. Every day a crowd of people from all over Russia and from abroad gathered at his modest cell. In addition to personal conversations, Fr. Ambrose maintained an extensive correspondence, and he was a very sick man.
In the diary of Fr. Ambrose has preserved records about how the work of eldership was beyond his strength, about the lack of sufficient time for prayer, about the lack of strength to overcome the road to the monastery. For his service Fr. Ambrose received a rare award - a golden pectoral cross.
Shamordino Women's Monastery
Father Ambrose became the founder of the Shamordino women's monastery, which still exists today. Here the priest spent a lot of time, finding the solitude and peace he needed so much.
Father Nektary
By the beginning of the revolution, three elders lived in the monastery: Nektary, Nikon and Anatoly II. Their fates turned out differently:
- O. Nektaria arrested in 1923, taken into custody, then demanded to leave the region. O. Nektary obeyed, he went to the Bryansk region and settled there with his spiritual son. Even to this distant village to Fr. Spiritual children came to Nectarius. He died in 1928 from illnesses. Seven years later, robbers arrived at the cemetery, wanting to find treasures and get rich. Tearing open the elder's grave, they saw an incorruptible body;
- O. Nikon After the monastery closed, he worked a lot, trying to provide food for the remaining monks. In 1924 he moved to Kozelsk and served in the Assumption Church. In 1927, Fr. Nikon was arrested and after three years of imprisonment in the Kemperpunkt camp, in unbearable living conditions, he was sent to the North, to Pinega. He died in 1931 from tuberculosis in the arms of an Optina monk at the age of 43;
- O. Anatoly Potapov continued his religious activities in Kozelsk and its environs, despite the Bolshevik ban on serving. He refused to leave and in 1923 he was arrested. There were several of them in Fr.'s life. Anatoly II, as a result he was accused of counter-revolutionary activities and executed in 1938.
Thus ended the amazing age of old age. A tradition has been interrupted, the revival of which will take a very long time.
Monastery in the spiritual life of Russia
The enormous significance in the life of Russia can be assessed by the example of the influence of a visit to the monastery on the worldview and work of three great writers - N.V. Gogol, L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky:
- N.V. Gogol visited the monastery three times. The timing of the first visit coincided with a deep spiritual crisis, aggravated by illness. A writer who has already written his best works is tormented by doubts about the correctness of his chosen field. Gogol felt the calling of a monk, dreamed of living in Optina Pustina, praying for the sins of people. The writer's gift of genius contradicted his religious beliefs. This was his tragedy. But the elders, many of whom were very educated people, and, of course, read his works, did everything possible so that the literary world did not lose the writer. Long conversations with Fr. Makariy, Fr. Porfiry and the monks of the monastery had a beneficial influence on Nikolai Vasilyevich. Father Porfiry subsequently conducted a long correspondence with the writer, was his friend and mentor;
- Leo Tolstoy visited the monastery several times. One day he and his companions came here on foot. The great writer's relationship with the church was complex. Even repeated conversations with Elder Ambrose did not return him to the fold of Orthodoxy. But here’s the strange thing: while disagreeing with the elders on religious issues, the writer considered visiting the monastery very important event own life;
- In 1878, the great Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky lived here for some time. The writer’s youngest son, Alyosha, dearly beloved by his father, died of epilepsy. In the monastery the writer met and talked with Fr. Ambrose, who became the prototype of Elder Zosima in last novel writer "The Brothers Karamazov".
What you must visit and see
The relics of Fr. Ambrose and Fr. Nectaria
Unfortunately, due to the tragic history of the monastery, there are almost no old buildings left on its territory. Everything had to be rebuilt, practically from ruins.
The monks of the monastery did a lot to restore spirituality to this holy place. This is felt by any person, regardless of faith, who finds himself here.
So what is worth visiting:
- Arriving at the monastery, you must definitely attend the service in the main Vvedensky Cathedral. Services are especially solemn during church holidays, as well as on the Days of Remembrance of the Great Optina Elders. In the temple you can venerate the relics of Fr. Ambrose and Fr. Nectaria, pray, just stand or light a candle near miraculous icon the Kazan Mother of God, which is located to the right of the altar;
Vladimir Church
- Behind the Vvedensky Cathedral is the Vladimir Church with a small of blue color with stars dome. Here are the relics of the six great elders of Optina;
- The holy monastery springs are famous for numerous healings and miracles. Optina's three springs are no exception:
- One of them, the most famous, is located on the territory of the monastery, in honor of Paphnutius of Borovsk the Wonderworker;
- Source in honor of Fr. Ambrose is located not far from the monastery;
- The third source in honor of Sergius of Radonezh is hydrogen sulfide. It was recently rediscovered by monks. There is a bath here, immersion in the waters of which gives an extraordinary surge of strength.
It is worth not only drinking holy water from any source, but also taking it home. Holy water will last a long time. It should be drunk in the morning, after reading a special prayer before taking holy water, or in case of illness of family members. But everything must be done in faith.
Arriving in Kozelsk, you can take a taxi or minibus, but there is another way. You should go to Optina Pustyn on foot (the path is about 3 km) along a forest road, across the Zhizdra river. Numerous temples are gradually revealed to the eye, and the bustle modern world remains behind.
Many churches in Russia organize pilgrimage trips to Optina Pustyn, which are a real holiday for believers. Many travel companies organize such trips every week.
Where to stay
On the territory of the monastery there is a hotel for pilgrims with eight-bed rooms and bunk beds. Amenities and a kettle are located on the floor. The cost of living per day is 300 rubles. Reservations are only possible for groups.
For pilgrims there are houses in which single, double, triple and quadruple accommodation is possible. The cost of one seat is 1000, 800 and 600 rubles, respectively. You can eat in the monastery pilgrimage refectory.
There are several small new hotels in Kozelsk. You can make reservations directly or through hotel booking sites. The price category of hotels is from 1500 to 3000 rubles per day per room.
Everyone should visit Optina Pustyn: both believers and atheists. The amazing atmosphere of this place, its tragic story, traditions will not leave anyone indifferent. Attend a service, bow to the graves of the great elders, draw water from three springs on the territory of the monastery and just sit surrounded by silence - these wonderful moments are worth coming here for.
For interesting information about the monastery, watch the following video:
The main difference between a true confessor and others who are only trying to be like the elder is wisdom and humility. One of the most famous and mysterious representatives of the Russian clergy, who has become the symbol of the oldest monastic monastery in Russia - Optina Monastery, as well as the personal spiritual mentor of the Russian Patriarch Kirill, is Elder Eli. This man is rare example of lung, sublime and pure state of mind. That is why hundreds of people from all over the country seek meetings with him every day.
Who are the elders?
Each person goes through life in his own way. In order not to stray from the right path, not to fall into the abyss, he needs someone who will indicate a landmark, will not let him get lost, and at the right moment will support and guide him on the right path. Since time immemorial in Rus', elders have been such helpers. They were respected and feared at the same time, because they are followers of the ancient Russian magi, who absorbed the Great Wisdom with the blood of their ancestors. Many elders possessed the gift of prediction and healing, but the main objective a true elder - to know the revelation of God and spiritually help someone in need.
Elder Eli: biography
Ily (in the world - Alexey Afanasyevich Nozdrin) was born in 1932 into a large peasant family in the village of Stanovoy Kolodez, Oryol region. His father, Afanasy, during Patriotic War in 1942 he was seriously wounded and died in hospital. Mother, Klavdia Vasilievna, raised four children alone. After graduating from school in 1949, Alexey passed conscript service in the army. In 1955, he entered the Serpukhov Mechanical College, and after graduating in 1958, he was assigned to the Volgograd region to build a cotton mill in the city of Kamyshin. But not finding himself in, he decided to devote his life to God, enrolling in the Theological Seminary of the city of Saratov. In 1961, due to Khrushchev’s persecution and pressure on the church, the seminary was closed, and Alexey was forced to move to Leningrad, where he continued his studies at the Theological Academy and was tonsured as a monk with the name Ilian.
Since 1966, he served as abbot at the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, and in 1976 he was sent to serve as obedient to the monastery of the Russian great martyr Panteleimon on Holy Mount Athos in Greece. There, the future Elder Eli lived in a mountain monastery and became a priest in the Panteleimon Monastery. At the end of the 1980s, he was recalled back to the USSR and sent to the restored Optina Pustyn, which had been deserted for the past 65 years. Here Ilian accepted the great schema, which provided for complete alienation from the world for reunification with God, and also took monastic vows with the name Eli.
Over the next 20 years, he revived the elder ministry in the monastery, which ultimately returned Optina Pustyn to its former greatness. In 2009, Elder Eli was appointed confessor to the Patriarch of All Rus' Kirill and moved to his residence in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in the village of Peredelkino, Moscow region. In April 2010, on the Easter holiday, the elder was elevated by the Patriarch to the rank of schema-archimandrite.
History of the monastery
Optina Pustyn is an Orthodox monastery for men, located two kilometers from the city of Kozelsk in. According to ancient legend, the monastery was founded at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries by the repentant robber Opta (or Optius), who took monasticism under the name Macarius. The Optina monastery served as a haven for elders and elders, living in separate buildings of the monastery, but under the spiritual guidance of one abbot. The first mentions of this monastery can be found in the scribe books of Kozelsk dating back to the reign of Boris Godunov.
At the beginning of the 18th century, Optina Pustyn experienced difficult times due to constant taxes to the state for the war with the Swedes and the construction of St. Petersburg, and in 1724 it was completely abolished according to the Spiritual Regulations and annexed to the Transfiguration Monastery, located in the neighboring city of Belev. Two years later, the monastery was restored, and construction of new churches began on its territory, which continued until the beginning of the twentieth century.
Optina became one of the largest spiritual Orthodox centers in Russia; pilgrims and sufferers were drawn to it from all sides, some of whom settled in the skete, built in 1821. As donations came in, the monastery acquired land and a mill.
In 1918, Optina Pustyn was closed according to the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, and in 1939, on the territory of the monastery, by order of L. Beria, a concentration camp was organized for five thousand Polish soldiers, who were later shot in Katyn. From 1944 to 1945 a filtration camp for Soviet officers returning from captivity was located here.
Optina Pustyn today
Only in 1987 did the Soviet government transfer the monastery to the Russian Orthodox Church. From that moment on, active restoration of the monastery began - both material and spiritual. The ideologist and coordinator of the restoration of the Optina Monastery is Elder Eli. It was thanks to this man that the monastery regained its glory as the largest center of Orthodoxy and pilgrimage. Its unique energy and the beauty of its temples attract thousands of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. There are 7 operating churches on the territory of the monastery:
- Vvedensky Cathedral - main temple monasteries;
- Church of John the Baptist and Baptist of the Lord in St. John the Baptist Skete;
- Temple of St. Hilarion the Great;
- Temple of the Kazan Icon Mother of God;
- Temple Vladimir icon Mother of God;
- Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord;
- Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Loaves”.
Peredelkino
The holiday village of Peredelkino is located in the nearest railway stations - "Peredelkino" and "Michurinets". The town is famous not only for the monastery and Elder Elijah, but also for the fact that famous writers and artists lived and worked there at one time. Among them are Alexander Fadeev, Bella Akhmadulina, Valentin Kataev, Bulat Okudzhava, who also held his famous bonfires here, where Rina Zelenaya, Arkady Raikin, Sergei Obraztsov performed. The house-museums of Okudzhava, Pasternak, Chukovsky and Yevtushenko are located here.
How to get to the monastery?
Considering that Optina Pustyn is located near the Peredelkino and Kozelsk railway stations, you can get to it by railway will not be difficult. Electric trains run from Kievsky Station in Moscow in the direction of Kaluga or Sukhinichi. You can also get to Kozelsk by bus from the Teply Stan metro station.
Car owners, given the current abundance of various navigation systems and maps, will also not have special problems with the search for the right path. But if getting to the monastery is not a tricky matter, then how to get to Elder Elijah for an appointment is a completely different question. Before setting off for this purpose, you should find out in advance about the daily routine at the monastery, as well as the reception schedule.
If God wills
Many people want Elder Iliy (Peredelkino) to talk to them. “How to get an appointment with the elder and will he accept?” - these are the main questions of visiting pilgrims. Of course, the schema-archimandrite will not be able to satisfy all those who suffer, but, as local monks say, if God wills it, the meeting will definitely take place. Usually Elder Elijah receives people in the refectory before lunch, where those who have arrived are seated at tables, and the line moves around these tables. If people make noise in line or argue, he will personally disperse or reconcile the guests.
Closer to 16 o'clock, the elder retires to rest, and when he returns and whether he will return on this day, only the Lord knows. The monastery has its own Internet resource (www. optina.ru), where you can find out where Elder Elijah is now and when the next reception will take place.
The Power of Prayer
It is believed to have double power because it is the prayer of an enlightened one. They say that if he prays for the repose of the soul, then the soul of a sinner can even be freed from hellish captivity. An amazing incident also occurred in Optina Pustyn. One day, a soldier who was seriously wounded in Chechnya was brought to Elijah’s monastery. The doctors did not know how to save the soldier and did not dare to operate, since he was unconscious and the bullet was a few millimeters from his heart. Elder Elijah’s prayer “May God rise again” made desperate doctors believe in a miracle - the wounded man came to his senses and opened his eyes. After the operation, the soldier began to recover.
Disciple and companion of Elder Leo. He lived as an elder in the Optina Hermitage at the same time as the Monk Leo, and after his death, until his death, he carried out the great and holy feat of caring for the elderly. The main virtue that he especially cultivated in people is humility, considering it the basis Christian life. “If there is humility, everything is there; if there is no humility, there is nothing,” said the monk. The name of Elder Macarius is associated with the beginning of the publication of patristic works in the monastery, which united the best spiritual and intellectual forces of Russia around the monastery.
Death (memorial day): September 7/20, 1860 Meek elder abbot. He showed an amazing example of combining strict asceticism, humility and non-covetousness with wise management of the monastery and extensive charitable activities. It was thanks to his boundless mercy and compassion for the poor that the monastery gave shelter to many wanderers. Under Schema-Archimandrite Moses, old temples and monastery buildings were recreated and new ones were built. Optina Pustyn owes its visible flourishing and spiritual revival to the wise leadership of Elder Moses.
Death (memorial day): June 16/29, 1862 Brother and companion of Schema-Archimandrite Moses, a humble ascetic and man of prayer, who throughout his life patiently and courageously bore the cross of bodily illness. He contributed in every possible way to the work of eldership in the monastery, which he led for 14 years. Written instructions venerable elder are the marvelous fruit of his fatherly love and the gift of a teaching word. Before his death he said: “ I would like to console everyone, and if it were possible, I would tear myself to pieces and give a piece to everyone.”
Death (memorial day): August 7/20, 1865 Disciple and successor of Elder Macarius. Being a Zealous Advocate and Preacher Orthodox faith, he managed to return to the fold Orthodox Church many who are lost and have fallen away from the Orthodox faith. “Only from the moment we recognized him,” the elder’s spiritual child recalls, “we learned what peace of mind is, what peace of mind is...” The elder monastery leader died in prayer, with a rosary in his hands.
Death (memorial day): September 18/Oct 1 1873
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Death (memorial day): October 10/23, 1891 The hermitage leader and elder instructed in the spiritual life not only the monks of the Optina Hermitage, but also the nuns of the Shamordino convent and other monasteries. Being an ardent prayer book and ascetic, he was a sensitive father and a patient teacher for everyone who came to him, always sharing the treasure of wisdom, faith and special spiritual joy. Elder Anatoly had an amazing gift of consolation. Rev. Ambrose said that he was given such prayer and grace as is given to one in a thousand.
Death (memorial day): January 25/February 7, 1894
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Death (memorial day): August 22/Sept. 4 1894
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Death (memorial day): May 9/22, 1911 The monastery leader, about whom Elder Nektarios said that the grace of God in one night created a great old man from a brilliant military man. Without sparing life itself, he fulfilled his pastoral duty in Russian-Japanese war. The elder had extraordinary insight, the inner meaning of the events that took place was revealed to him, he saw the hiddenness of the heart of the person who came to him, lovingly awakening repentance in him.
Death (memorial day): April 1/14, 1913 Nicknamed by the people as the comforter, he was endowed by the Lord with great grace-filled gifts of love and consolation of the suffering, insight and healing. Humbly carrying out his pastoral service in the difficult days of revolutionary turmoil and godlessness, the elder affirmed his spiritual children in their determination to be faithful to the holy Orthodox faith even to death.
Death (memorial day): July 30/August 12, 1922 The closest disciple of Elder Barsanuphius, an ardent prayer book and a loving shepherd, who selflessly performed the elder ministry after the closure of the Optina Hermitage, suffered torment from the atheists and died in exile as a confessor.
Death (memorial day): June 25/July 8, 1931
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Death (memorial day): December 26/January 8, 1938
The meaning of Optina Pustyn national history difficult to overestimate. The monastery is a striking example of the process of spiritual revival that arose in Russia at the end of the 18th century.
Situated at the edge of a virgin pine forest, cut off from the world by the Zhizdra River, it was an excellent place for a hermitic contemplative life. It was a wonderful spiritual oasis, where the grace-filled gifts of the first centuries of monasticism were repeated. They - these gifts - received full expression in a special service - eldership. Indeed, the Optina elders were distinguished by the highest of all gifts - the gift of prudence, as well as foresight, the gift of healing and miracles. This ministry is prophetic - just as the prophets did this in apostolic times, so now the elders consoled the suffering and proclaimed the future according to the will of God.
From ancient times, the area where the cities of Kozelsk and Optina Pustyn are located was already inhabited. Thus, archaeological excavations in 1899 discovered Stone Age objects here, historical times it was inhabited by the Vyatichi tribes, enlightened by St. Kuksha (victims in Mtsensk in 1213).
The city of Kozelsk was first mentioned in chronicles in 1146. In 1238 it was taken by the Tatars. The city bravely resisted for seven weeks. All residents were killed. According to legend, two-year-old Prince Vasily drowned in blood. The Tatars nicknamed Kozelsk “the evil city.”
At the beginning of the 15th century, Kozelsk passed into the hands of Lithuania, and for half a century passed from hand to hand until it was finally established in Moscow.
The time of Optina's founding is unknown. There is an assumption that it was founded by the monk-loving Prince Vladimir the Brave, or his closest heirs. According to another version, it was founded in ancient times by the repentant robber Opta, who took the name Macarius as a monk, which is why it was called Makaryevskaya. However, a more realistic assumption is that previously the monastery was common to monks and nuns - and those previously bore the name Optina.
It is likely that its founders were unknown hermits who chose for their exploits a remote place in the forest, far from any habitation, near the border fence with Poland, a place inconvenient for arable farming, not needed by anyone and not belonging to anyone. Thus, Optina is one of the most ancient monasteries. It is known that in 1625 Serius was its abbot. In 1630 there was a wooden church, six cells and 12 brethren, and it was ruled by Hieromonk Theodore. Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich granted Optina a mill and land in Kozelsk for vegetable gardens. In 1689, the Shepelev brothers (local boyars) built the Vvedensky Cathedral.
Soon the time of reforms of Peter I came. In 1704, the mill, transportation through Zhizdra and fishing were taken from the treasury, and in 1724, the impoverished monastery was completely abolished by decree of the Synod as a “small monastery.” But already in 1726, at the request of the steward Andrei Shepelev, it was restored. Completely ruined when it closed, it was now slowly recovering. By decree of 1727 the mill was returned to her.
But its complete restoration began only in 1795, when the Moscow Metropolitan Platon drew attention to it and appointed Hieromonk Joseph there as a builder, and a year later Fr. Abraham. Through the efforts of first Metropolitan of Moscow Platon (Levshin), then Bishop of Kaluga Filaret (Amphiteatrov), Optina Pustyn turned, according to Father Pavel Florensky, into “a spiritual sanatorium for many wounded souls,” which quickly attracted the attention of contemporaries.
1796-1829
“In 1796, His Eminence Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, visiting this hermitage, recognized this place as very convenient for hermitage community; that’s why I decided to establish it here, in the image of the Pesnoshsky monastery. And in order to carry out this assumption as successfully as possible, he asked the Pesnosha rector of the builder Macarius to give him a capable person for this, which Hieromonk Abraham was recognized to be. When he came to this place, he found several monastics here, and the building, except for the cathedral church, was all wooden, and even dilapidated, etc.” (From the History of the Russian Hierarchy).
Father Abraham, who had been a gardener before his appointment, introduced exemplary internal order into the monastery, thereby earning himself the respect and respect of the entire surrounding population. As his funds increased, he took up the material maintenance of the monastery, with the help of donations from God-loving citizens. Abraham was both the founder and the architect.
In 1801, “for the excellent services of the monastery to common benefit", Abraham was promoted to abbot of the Likhvinsky Pokrovsky Good Monastery, with control at the same time in Optina. But soon weakness, as well as fear that the improvement he had established in Optina would not be disrupted, forced Fr. Abrahamia refuses new dignity. The Eminence granted his request, and he was still left in charge only in Optina Pustyn, but already in the rank of abbot.
The year 1797 was memorable for all Russian monasteries due to the merciful attention to them of Emperor Pavel Petrovich. According to the decree of December 18, Optina Pustyn, among others, received 300 rubles a year “for eternity.” In addition, the Desert was granted a flour mill and a pond. This royal favor contributed greatly to the initial improvement of the monastery.
Years passed. Abraham, even at an advanced age, did not abandon his good deed. At the request of His Grace Theophylact, Bishop of Kaluga, the pious monarch (now Alexander Pavlovich) agreed to the request of Father Abraham. Since 1764, it was not allowed to keep more than seven people in Optina, but this sacred monastery attracted many pilgrims. By decree Holy Synod, Desert is allowed to add twenty-three more people.
Having thus filled the main deficiency in the Optina Hermitage, Abraham did not weaken, but worked and worked, increasing the wealth of his monastery. The favor he deserved from the Kaluga archpastors increased even more. Bishops Evlampy and Eugene showed special favor to Optina Pustyn. His Grace Evlampius even wanted to spend the rest of his days in the monastery, and a special cell was built especially for him.
God judged Fr. Abraham will enjoy the fruits of his endeavors and labors. After the memorable year 1812, when he once again proved himself to be a remarkable abbot worthy of the title of abbot, Fr. Abraham lived for several more years, loved and respected by everyone in the monastery.
Those who took his place were no less than Fr. Abraham cared about the welfare and spiritual life of this monastery. Every year the monastery grew and grew. His influence in the world also grew.
A very important milestone in the history of Optina Monastery was the coming to power of Metropolitan Philaret, who supported the establishment of eldership in the monastery. As a lover of silent desert life, he greatly patronized the desert monastery of Optina, often visiting it, sometimes living (during fasting) for whole weeks. It was he who founded in 1821 a monastery in the desert in the name of St. John the Baptist, the first “new grace” inhabitant of the desert. Filaret called there the hermits from the Roslavl forests - Moses and Anthony, as well as three other monks. These were the forefathers of Paisius Velichkovsky, who saw in eldership the most important way of reviving human souls. In 1829, eldership was introduced in Optina, with the assistance of its then rector, Fr. Moses. Optina Pustyn was the last monastery where eldership was introduced. And it was in this desert that it experienced its heyday.
Optina Pustyn is famous for its care for the poor, orphans, the reception of pilgrims, its schools and hospitals. Divine services at the monastery lasted 8 hours, which, according to Fr. Sergius Chetverikov "university for the Russian people." But what distinguishes Optina from countless similar monasteries is the exceptional influence of its elders.
The eldership in the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage was introduced later than all the eldership monasteries listed above. We know the names of probably all the elders who lived in Optina throughout its short history: Hieroschemamonk Lev (Nagolkin; +1841), Hieroschemamonk Macarius (Ivanov; +1860), Schema-Archimandrite Moses (+1862), Hieroschemamonk Ambrose (Grenkov; +1891 ), Hieromonk Joseph (Litovkin; +1911), Schema-Archimandrite Barsanuphius (Plekhankov; +1913), Hieromonk Anatoly (Zertsalov; +1894), Hieromonk Anatoly (Potapov; +1922), Hieromonk Nektary (+1928).
In our days, their feat was continued by Schema-Archimandrite Sebastian (Fomin; he died on April 19, 1966) who lived in Karaganda.
1830-1861
This is the period of true prosperity of Optina in all respects. The material wealth of the Desert has improved significantly. By 1862, the Optina Brotherhood already extended to 150 people, including 20 hieromonks. But it was not just the external structure of the monastery and the number of brethren that Fr. Archimandrite Moses, former desert dweller of the Roslavl forests. The deanery and duration of church services, all the external and internal orders of Optina Pustyn, its entire current spiritual structure - all this was established and approved under the abbotship of Fr. Moses. With the introduction of eldership, Fr. Moses strengthened the improvement and well-being of Optina Pustyn for future times.
The first elder of Optina was Hieroschemamonk Leonid (in schema Leo, +1841).
Since 1839, Optina Pustyn began publishing generally useful spiritual books, especially patristic writings (in Slavic and Russian translations). The first to work in Optina on the publication of such works were those who lived in the Optina Forerunner Skete, Hieroschemamonk John and monk Porfiry Grigorov.
Hieroschemamonk John, who had previously belonged to the community of schismatics, and therefore knew in detail all their reasonings, trying to atone for his sin, in ten (1839-1849) years wrote and published six books that exposed the wrongness of schismatic “philosophies.”
At the same time as Hieroschemamonk John, another Optina monk, Fr. Porfiry Grigorov published the biographies of some remarkable clergy: schemamonk Theodore, abbot of the Sanaksar monastery Theodore Ushakov, Peter Alekseevich Michurin, the Desert-dweller Bassilisk and others; in addition to that letter from the Zadonsk recluse Georgy, which already had several editions.
But the most active publishing activity began seven years later, in 1846, under the leadership famous old man O. Makaria (Ivanov, +1860). And again, behind this Godly deed is a wonderful Russian politician and clergyman - Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow.
Hieroschemamonks Leonid and Macarius were disciples of the disciples of the great elder Paisius Velichkovsky, Abbot Anthony and Archimandrite Moses had spiritual communication with his disciples. Therefore, Optina’s publishing works began precisely with this famous Moldavian elder. His biographies were published, and then numerous of his translations, as well as his own writings.
But, with the permission of Metropolitan Philaret, the brethren of Optina Pustyn were engaged not only in publishing translations of Paisius Velichkovsky, but also translated and published the famous works of “the great healers of human souls”: Rev. Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet, Abba Dorotheus, Peter Damascene, John Climacus, Isaac the Syrian, Simeon the New Theologian, Theodore the Studite, Anastasius Sunaita, St. John Chrysostom. The books published by the Optina elders guided many generations of Russian people in their spiritual lives.
Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (Drozdov) and professor of the Moscow Theological Academy Archpriest Theodore Golubinsky, who was the censor of Optina publications, gave a high scientific assessment to these works of the elders of the Optina monastery.
According to the author, Optina’s publishing activity was far from less significant than the spiritual activity of her elders. In our time, and even then, people are not able to go on a pilgrimage, drop everything and leave for the sake of saving their souls. That is why books, especially those of such great and experienced people, are so important in our spiritual education. In addition, a conversation, even with an old man, is a temporary phenomenon, but books, no matter how you look at them, are eternal in comparison with words.
1862-1891
The administration of Abbot Isaac and, in the monastery, the eldership of the hieroschemamonk Fr. Ambrose, whose spiritual influence spread throughout Russia. The time of Ambrose's eldership coincided with the emergence of the intelligentsia in Russia, which came under the influence of rationalistic and materialistic ideas (for example, nihilism), which aimed to achieve justice and happiness of people by changing the political and social system of the country. Many truth-seekers soon became disillusioned with these ideas. O. Ambrose knew how to fill the void in the souls of these people, he could sort out the most confusing situations human soul, could give a person hope and a reason to live again.
People simply flocked to Optina. In this blessed monastery, the most prominent people of Russian literature, politics, and clergy received a creative impulse. In 1877 F.M. arrived. Dostoevsky. Surrounding nature, conversations with the elders and the atmosphere of love and hospitality that reigned in this monastery prompted him to write “The Brothers Karamazov”. He wrote: “There are so many humble and meek people in monasticism, longing for solitude and fervent prayer in silence. These are pointed out less and even passed over in silence altogether, and how amazed they would be if I said that from these meek and thirsty solitudes, perhaps once again the salvation of the Russian land will come!” He said in an ancient way, not very clearly, but it is clear what, in his opinion, was the hope of the Russian land.
The famous Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov also visited the elder, but they did not agree: their understanding of spiritual truths was different, the elder did not approve of Solovyov’s path, but could not convince him. Kostantin Leontyev was an admirer of the elder and spent a lot of time in Optina for his sake. Tolstoy was there three times. A Russian count once came there in bast shoes and with a knapsack over his shoulders. It’s a pity, we don’t know what Fr. said to this. Ambrose. He was skeptical about this - ostentatious appearance without internal content does not bring a person closer to moral perfection. Last time Tolstoy was with his family in Optina in 1890, a year before the elder’s death.
Optina blessed and helped find the right path for Archimandrite Leonid (Kavelin; +1891), a remarkable Russian archaeographer, head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, then rector of the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery and vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra; as well as priest Pavel Florensky (+1943) - the great Orthodox philosopher and theologian.
Many great elders, pillars of Russian Orthodox Christianity, founded women’s monasteries: Fr. John of Kronstadt, Fr. Barnabas, Fr. Gerasim from Tikhonova Hermitage. O. Ambrose confirms this pattern. He created the Shamordino Kazan Convent, where he spent the last year and a half of his life, strengthening the monastery he created and instructing sisters in monastic service. The old man was sick.
On November 10, 1891, Elder Fr. Ambrose, affectionately known to the common people simply as “Father Abrosim,” died. Thousands of grieving people accompanied his body back to Optina Pustyn, the abode of goodness and love that he had nurtured.
1892-1923
This was a period when religion and Orthodoxy were treated skeptically, even hostilely; therefore, Optina Pustyn seemed to fade into the shadows, they forgot about it, which allowed the Bolsheviks to destroy this God-pleasing monastery without much political harm to themselves. In 1923, the monastery’s churches were officially closed, a sawmill was built in it, and a rest house was built in the monastery.
In 1987, the Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage experienced its rebirth. On November 17, 1987, the surviving monastery buildings were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and on June 3, 1988, services began in the monastery, first in the gate church, and then in the Vvedensky Cathedral.
In 1988, the Monk Ambrose of Optina was glorified by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (celebrated on October 10 (23). In the Holy Vvedensky Optina Monastery, the holy relics of the venerable elder were found and placed in the Vvedensky Cathedral of the monastery.
On July 26-27, 1996, the remaining thirteen venerable Optina elders were canonized as locally venerated saints of Optina Hermitage, and they established a general Council celebration on October 11 (24). In 2000, they were glorified by the Jubilee Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church for church-wide veneration.
The monastery is visited daily numerous groups pilgrims. Materials about Optina Hermitage are regularly published in church and secular periodicals. There are radio broadcasts dedicated to the monastery and its history.