Spiritual heritage

For the first time in Optina Pustyn, the most complete edition of the spiritual heritage of Schema-Archimandrite Barsanuphius (Plikhankov) includes all the surviving texts of his conversations with his spiritual children, the diary “Cell Notes” and poems. The Elder's conversations are published in the form in which they were recorded at the beginning of the 20th century - in the Optina Skete and the Staro-Golutvin Monastery. The living, inspired word of the great Optina Elder is clearly discernible in these conversations. (Editorial editing was allowed only in those rare cases when it was necessary to clarify the meaning of a particular entry.) “Cell Notes” was supplemented with several fragments that were missing in previous editions. The book also includes memories of Schema-Archimandrite Barsanuphius of his spiritual children and contemporaries. These memories are supplemented by letters from the Optina archive (Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library). A unique hagiographical monument is “A Wreath on the Grave of Father” - a collection of materials about the last days and burial of the Elder, prepared by his admirers and published in 1913. We hope that this new meeting with the Monk Barsanuphius of Optina will fill the hearts of God-loving readers with genuine spiritual joy. You might be interested in: