Глава VI. Замечательное духовное движение в православном иночестве и участие в нем Оптиной Пустыни

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but understanding is good for all who create and... (Ps. 110:10) Come, children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. (Ps. 33:12) The merit of the elder Fr. Paisius of Velichkovsky lies not in the fact that he discovered any new paths of monastic asceticism, but in the fact that he restored and established in the minds of his many disciples the true meaning of monasticism, the true goal of Christian achievement and indicated the path or the method by which this goal is achieved. His teaching was not his own invention, but was only a restoration of the ancient patristic, ascetic teaching, which Fr. Paisius extracted from the ancient patristic books and reminded his contemporaries, trying to imprint it in their minds and hearts with his personal example. Elder Paisios, based on the patristic works, taught that the true meaning of monasticism, the true goal of Christian life is to achieve likeness to God. External exploits are not valuable in themselves, but only insofar as they contribute to the achievement of the above goal. Likeness to God is achieved through the constant purification of the heart and the imprinting of Christian virtues on it - humility, repentance, meekness, love, chastity, prayer and others. In order to succeed in this feat and not deviate onto the wrong path, it is necessary to have an experienced mentor, to have a constant sincere revelation of your thoughts to him and trusting, sincere obedience to him. If there is no such mentor, then it is necessary to turn to the works of the holy ascetic fathers and try to find life guidance from them. This is the teaching of Elder Paisius. That this teaching is a patristic teaching can be confirmed by the following, for example, the testimonies of St. fathers. “All the effort, all the feat (of a person),” writes Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, - must be focused on acquiring the spirit of Christ, and thus bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit, for this is the spiritual law and goodness” 25. “And in the future life, a Christian will not be tested to see whether he has renounced the world, whether he has fasted, or kept vigils... but he will be carefully tested to see whether he has any likeness to Christ, like a son to his father, as Paul also says: “My children, in the image of whom I am sick, until Christ is imagined in you” (Gal. 4:19). The likeness of Christ consists of truth, meekness, righteousness, and with them humility and love for mankind” 26 . The same rev. Simeon writes about the “eldership”: “One must be careful with all diligence, care and attention, with all vigilance and many prayers, so as not to attack any deceiver, or deceiver, or false apostle, or false Christ, but to find a true and God-loving leader, who would have Christ within himself and would accurately know the teachings, rules and regulations of the Holy One. apostles and dogmas of St. fathers, or, better said, who would know the will and secrets of the Lord and Teacher of the Apostles Himself, Christ. We must seek and find such a teacher, who would first hear all this in word and learn it from words, and then be taught everything mysteriously and in truth by the Comforter Himself, the Spirit, through work and experience; so that he too would be worthy to hear from Christ the Lord Himself, who taught the apostles: “It has been given to you to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 13:11) 27. At Rev. John Climacus we read about the eldership: “Those were deceived who, having placed their trust in themselves, considered that they had no need of any guide” 28 . “Just as a ship that has a good helmsman, with the help of God, comfortably enters the pier, so the soul, having a good shepherd, comfortably ascends to heaven, although it once committed many sins. Just as one who does not have a guide conveniently errs on his path, even if he is very smart, so one who goes arbitrarily along the path of monasticism easily perishes, even if he knew all the wisdom of this world” 29. “Whoever walks on his own, without the gospel mind and without any instruction,” says Mark the Ascetic, “he stumbles a lot, falls into many pits and snares of the evil one, and falls into many troubles, and does not know what end he will receive. For many have traveled their path with much labor, asceticism and suffering, and have endured many labors for God’s sake; but their self-rule, lack of reasoning, and the fact that they did not seek instruction from their neighbors made such their labors futile” 30 . At Rev. Cassian the Roman we read the following: “Prudence is a gift of God, which, however, must be developed and educated. How? Giving everything to the judgment of the most experienced fathers. This is the wisest school of prudence, in which even those who do not have a special ability to do so learn to reason well about what is right... True prudence is acquired through true humility, the first proof of which is to reveal to the fathers not only what we do, but also what we think, not trusting our thoughts in anything, but in everything to follow the instructions of the elders and consider good or bad only what they recognize as such. This action helps you stay safely on the right path and protects you from all the snares of the devil. It is impossible for one who arranges his life not according to his own judgment, but according to the advice of those who have succeeded, to fall from the temptation of demons. Thus, surrendering one’s thoughts to the reasoning of the fathers replaces one’s own prudence and teaches it! The enemy does not like light, therefore the revelation of evil thoughts, as soon as they are revealed, disperses them and destroys them. Just as a snake, brought out of a dark hole into the light, tries to run away and hide, so evil thoughts, being discovered by frank recognition and confession, try to escape from a person. This is confirmed by many, many examples and experiences” 31. About the fruits of obedience St. John Climacus writes the following in the 4th word: “From obedience comes humility, and from humility comes reasoning... from reasoning comes consideration, and from this comes insight. Who would not want to follow the good path of obedience, seeing that such benefits flow from it? 32. He writes: “The benefits of obedience will be taught to you by those who fell away from it, for they only then knew in which heaven they stood” 33 . Of the many patristic instructions about the true purpose of Christian and monastic life, as well as about “elderhood,” we have cited only a few, 34 but even from them it is clear that the teaching of Elder Paisius was based entirely on patristic teaching. However, as the biography of this elder shows, he had to put in a lot of effort and labor before he achieved a clear knowledge of the truth, which by that time had been lost in the minds of the monks. O. Paisiy (Velichkovsky) was a native of Little Russia. He was born in Poltava in 1722 in the family of a cathedral priest, in the world he was called Peter, and received his education at the Kiev Theological School. From an early age he was imbued with an ardent love for God and burned with the desire to devote himself entirely to Him. Carried away by this desire, he, without completing a course at theological school, entered the Lyubechsky monastery, from where he later moved to other Little Russian monasteries. Moving from monastery to monastery, he looked everywhere for a person who would teach him the true monastic life, and, not finding one, he went to Moldavia and Wallachia, where he spent several years in different monasteries, using the advice and guidance of the best Moldavian monks in life. His heart became more and more inflamed with love for God, and yet he continued to feel dissatisfied, since he did not find the desired mentor of spiritual life. Finally, he retired to Athos, where, having visited some monasteries, he settled in complete solitude. He was 25 years old at that time. He lived in extreme poverty: he didn’t even have a shirt; There was only a cassock and a very shabby cassock, all covered in patches. His time was spent in prayer and reading patristic books, which he obtained from neighboring monasteries. At this time, a young monk named Vissarion found him and begged him to let him settle with him and be his student. Wonderful answer. Paisius, given by him to Vissarion: “Brother! You force me to tell you about a sad matter... For I, too, with great diligence and sorrow, sought a mentor, and did not find one. And I have endured many sorrows, and even now I still endure. The salvation of the soul that you seek cannot be conveniently accomplished otherwise than through a true spiritual mentor, who himself forces himself to fulfill all the commandments of the Lord. For how can anyone instruct another on the path that he himself has not walked? We must first strive to the point of bleeding against all passions of the soul and body, to overcome with the help of Christ lust and rage, pride, voluptuousness, love of glory and love of money, in order to learn how to heal others and instruct them in the commandments of God... We should have found such a mentor, brother, for ourselves, but alas! What a time it is! Foreseeing in the spirit of God this ill-fated time, the God-bearing fathers, out of pity for us, left us their holy writings, in which we must study with great care and with many tears day and night!” Following this rule, carefully studying the works of the ascetic fathers and carrying out their instructions by deed itself, Fr. Paisius gradually achieved greater and greater experience, so that he was soon noticed by many seekers of Christian wisdom, who, having settled near him, persistently asked him to be their leader on the path to salvation. Father Paisius refused for a long time, but finally had to give in to their requests, and thus a society of his disciples arose around him. A few years later, he moved with his brotherhood to Wallachia and settled first in the Dragomirne monastery, and then in the Neamets monastery, which he ruled until his death in 1794 on November 15. From the time Fr. Paisius became the head of the spiritual brotherhood of monks; he directed all his concerns to the implementation of the patristic ascetic covenants in the life of the brotherhood. He set the goal of monastic deeds, as we said above, to spiritual growth in Christ, and the means to achieve this goal was “the path of eldership,” that is, the path of sincere revelation of thoughts on the part of disciples and loving guidance on the part of mentors. According to the order he established, all the brothers had to reveal their thoughts to their spiritual fathers every evening. If displeasure arose between the brethren, it had to be ended on the same day by reconciliation. If anyone did not want to reconcile, the elder excommunicated him, so that he would not even enter the church threshold and would not read the Lord’s Prayer until he made peace. In order to better acquaint the brethren with the true task of asceticism, Fr. Paisius considered it necessary for her to constantly and carefully study the patristic ascetic works. One of the greatest merits of Fr. Paisius not only for Russian monasticism, but also for the entire Russian Orthodox society is that with great difficulty and at great expense he collected ancient Slavic, as well as Moldavian translations and Greek originals of the patristic works, carefully checked them with each other, corrected them, and sometimes with great skill translated them again into Church Slavonic. He did not leave this work until his death. When he could no longer get out of bed, he surrounded himself with books on the bed; here he had dictionaries, a Greek and Slavic Bible, a Greek and Slavic grammar and a book that he translated; and among the books there were lighted candles. He himself, bent over, wrote for whole nights, forgetting the weakness of the body, and serious illnesses and labor. When the Nativity Fast began, all the brethren of the monastery, Fr. Paisiya gathered every day, except Sundays and holidays, in the evenings for a meal. Candles were lit. The old man came. He sat down in his usual place and began reading the patristic works he had translated: St. Basil the Great, John Climacus, Abba Dorotheus, Theodore the Studite or Simeon the New Theologian. The brothers listened with deep attention. Such readings continued throughout the winter, until Lazarus Saturday. While reading the book, the elder at the same time interpreted it, citing evidence from the Holy Scriptures of both testaments and from the teachings of the holy fathers of the Church. And he had such a gift that with his words he could inspire the most despondent, console the saddest and arouse in everyone zeal for salvation. Thus, the monastery of Fr. Paisia ​​was truly a school of spiritual life, where both in word and in deed the brethren were instructed in the rules of true Christian asceticism. The elder paid special attention to strengthening the sense of brotherly love and mercy in his spiritual children. In Neamet he established a hospital and a shelter for wanderers. There he placed both his elderly brothers and strangers - the lame, the blind and the paralytic. He ordered the servants to serve the sick as if they were the Lord, to wash their heads and change their shirts every Saturday, to keep their beds and beds clean, and to air their clothes in the sun in the summer. The long and tireless work of Fr. Paisiya did not remain fruitless. His name soon became known not only on Mount Athos and Wallachia, but also in Russia. He conducted extensive correspondence with many Russian monks and priests. A whole host of disciples-elders prepared by him, educated by him, equipped with manuscripts of his translations, went from his monastery to Russia, dispersed here to many monasteries and poured a fresh, living stream into the life of Russian monasticism. The translation of the patristic works he made, the book of Philokalia, interested St. Petersburg Metropolitan Gabriel, and at the request of the latter, the elder’s disciple Athanasius delivered him both this book and its Greek original. By order of the Metropolitan, the book was printed in St. Petersburg in 1793, and then published in subsequent editions under Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow in 1822 and 1832. In addition to the Philokalia of Fr. Paisius also translated the book of the great teacher of the inner life of St. Isaac the Syrian and some others. All these translations about. Paisiyas were distributed in manuscripts among Russian monks, carefully copied, studied with diligence and strengthened in the monks the desire for spiritual life, for spiritual improvement. From the students of Fr. Paisius, who lived in Russia, let us mention some who were related to the Optina Hermitage. These are: 1) Archimandrite of the Sophronium Hermitage Theodosius. Fr. subsequently had contact with him. Macarius of Optina. 2) Cleopas, who lived in the monasteries of Ostrovskaya and Tikhvinskaya and in the Moscow Simonov Monastery. He left many disciples, of whom the builder of the Pesnosh monastery, Macarius, was especially remarkable, who himself was in correspondence with Fr. Paisiy and placed his remarkable disciple Abraham, about whom was mentioned above, in the Optina hermitage. 3) Novospassk monks Alexander and Filaret. They had spiritual communication with Fr. Paisiy and had a strong spiritual influence on the future Optina monks Moses and Anthony (Putilov), about whom we will talk below. 4) Athanasius (from the Senate secretaries), who delivered the translation of the Philokalia to Metropolitan Gabriel Paisiyev, who later labored with some other Paisiyev disciples in the Svensky Monastery, where the aforementioned Moses lived with him at one time. 5) Another hieromonk Cleopas and his friend schemamonk Theodore, who lived for many years in the monastery of Fr. Paisius, who took monastic vows from him and were thoroughly established by him in spiritual life. They came to Russia in 1801. The famous Hieroschemamonk Leo, or Leonid (Nagolkin), became close to them and under their leadership grew up. 6) Another schemamonk Afanasy (former captain of the hussar regiment), who lived under Elder Paisius for seven years, moved to Russia in 1777 and died in the Ploshchanskaya hermitage of the Oryol diocese, where another Optina elder, Hieroschemamonk Macarius (Ivanov), grew up under his spiritual leadership. From this short list of students, Fr. Paisius can see what a wide spiritual network he has spread across the Russian land. It was into this network that those persons who were destined to begin a spiritual life according to the behests of Fr. Paisiya in Optina Hermitage. Apart from the aforementioned Abraham, these persons were the following: Moses and Anthony (Putilov), Leonid (Nagolkin) and Macarius (Ivanov). We must now talk about them in more detail. The son of a Serpukhov merchant, Timofey Ivanovich Putilov (as Father Moses was called in the world), grew up in a family distinguished by strict piety, and he himself was very pious. At the age of 19 he entered service in Moscow in the trade business. Here he spent all his free time reading the Holy Scriptures. Scriptures and loved to visit people of high spiritual life. He was strongly influenced by the nun of the Ivanovo Monastery, Dosifeya, and the Novospassk monks Alexander and Filaret, who, as we have already said, adhered to the Paisian leaven. Listening to their conversations, Timothy himself flared up with a thirst for whole life in God, and finally, together with his younger brother Jonah, he went to the Sarov Hermitage, where Fr. Seraphim of Sarov. Jonah remained here forever, and the Lord destined for Timothy to move to the Svensky Monastery, where by that time many of the Paisiyev’s disciples had gathered - monks Athanasius, Seraphim, Vasily and others, to whose society Timofey joined. Having heard that in the impenetrable Roslavl forests of the Smolensk province another group of disciples of Elder Paisius had settled in separate cells, Timofey was inflamed with the desire to share their way of life and in 1811 he moved to them. Here he took monastic vows with the name of Moses and lived as a perfect hermit for ten years, in the likeness of the ancient desert dwellers, under the guidance of the elders Athanasius, Dositheus and Dorotheus. His time was spent in prayer, reading and copying the patristic books of the Paisian translation. While still in the Svensky Monastery, he rewrote the half-rut for himself from the translation of Fr. Paisius book of St. John Climacus and the life of St. Simeon the New Theologian. In the Roslavl forest, with Elder Afanasy, he found many other translations of Fr. Paisiya, which he also hastened to use for his spiritual edification. In 1816, his other younger brother, Alexander, moved in with him, and was soon also tonsured a monk with the name Anthony. To show the reader what thoughts and feelings the young ascetics were imbued with in their forest solitude, we present an excerpt from a letter from Fr. Moses to his brother - then still a layman - Alexander, a letter written by Fr. Moses after returning from a trip to Moscow to his forest refuge. “Having reached my deserted nest, I wished and hurried with my soul to quickly communicate my lines to you... We can say that just as peace is sweet after work, so after the end of the wandering and the absent-mindedness that came with it, it is very pleasant to be in a haven of quiet solitude. At the same time, my own experience reveals that being in the circle of objects that occupy sight, taste, hearing and all the senses, mental activity in the memory of God and the teaching of His holy law can no longer be so sweet. By moving away from the world, freed from sensory encounters that captivate the mind and thoughts, all spiritual pursuits become livelier, sweeter, because the mind, freed from cases of distraction, begins to gather to itself, and through this the soul begins to feel the presence of God, reverent fear and love for Him more palpably... For this reason, for us, who desire God’s salvation, but have a weak and corrupted nature by sin, a very good, easy and effective way to repentance is to move away from the light. The mind, through solitude and attention, gathering to itself, sees nasty thoughts emanating from the heart and coming to it, and having seen it, it understands its impurity and, not tolerating it, is forced to cleanse itself. Being unable to cleanse and resist them on his own, he learns from experience his weakness, his damnation, and his complete need for the Savior Christ. In order to seek the help of Christ, he turns to His Almighty power, like one who is weak in his own mind and strength. Calls on the all-good and all-powerful name of Jesus, with sincere self-abasement, depreciation and heartfelt sadness, so that it will cleanse, strengthen and give the hand of salvation. And thus, having first recognized one’s own wretchedness and weakness, one later recognizes God’s salvation, which intervenes during the internal battle. For the Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth (Ps. 145:18) and will save those who are crushed in spirit. Having recognized this salvation in the feeling of the heart, he rejoices both in the relief received from the impure thoughts that occur, and especially in the goodness of God and His Providence, which is co-present with him and saves. And through this he enters into living faith with a reliable feeling in himself of the strength not of his own, but of Christ, which is why, with the sweetness of his heart, he especially commits himself to the Savior and devotes himself entirely to Him, with undoubted trust and love in Him. This surrender of oneself and heartfelt trust imparts to the soul excellent peace and joy, which constitute the inner Kingdom of God, which Christ the Savior commands us to seek first of all. And it truly is the complete and most satisfactory bliss for a person, so that all other sensual good desired by the light seems too crude, meaningless and not worth any search. All this, when starting the letter, came to my mind to write, not because I was in exactly the same state of mind now, but partly recognizing the course of inner life in silence, which attracts the soul for the sake of true repentance ... " From this letter it is clear that the main attention of Fr. Moses and his spiritual friends were drawn to the inner state of their hearts, and he, no doubt using the advice of his elders and the instructions of the patristic books, subtly noticed the features of this state and determined the exact path that leads a person to a living knowledge of God, through a clear consciousness of his infirmities and a feeling within himself of obvious help from above. With such a spiritual dispensation, Moses, apparently, was already sufficiently prepared to become a leader of other people along the path to spiritual salvation. And indeed, a great change soon took place in his external position. In the Optina Hermitage at the beginning of the 19th century there lived one ascetic of high life, also one of the Paisiyevs’ students, Fr. Feofan. He was friendly with Fr. Moses. Through Fr. Feofana O. Moses became known to the rector of Optina Hermitage, Fr. Abbot Daniel. Just at this time, His Grace Bishop Filaret of Kaluga, in order to give the wishing monks of Optina Pustyn the opportunity for a more secluded and contemplative life, decided to establish a monastery at the monastery. The rector of the desert introduced Fr. Moses, as a person who could serve to carry out this work. The Eminence received Fr. Moses was very supportive - and on June 6, 1821, a group of Roslavl hermits, headed by Fr. Moses, arrived in Optina Pustyn and, with the blessing of the Reverend. Philareta set about building the monastery, which was soon built and consecrated. Father Moses was appointed the first head of the monastery. In 1825, when the position of rector of Optina Pustyn became vacant, Fr. Moses was moved to this position, and his brother Fr. was appointed head of the monastery. Anthony, who bore this responsibility until 1839, when, in turn, received a different appointment 35. Father Moses remained the rector of Optina Pustyn until his death in 1862. Having become the rector of Optina Hermitage, Fr. Moses, brought up in the precepts of Elder Paisius, wanted to plant in the Optina Hermitage the order of spiritual life that Fr. Paisius bequeathed to his students, that is, the order of “elderhood”. But Fr. Moses, both due to his complex duties as abbot of the monastery and for other reasons, could not be an “elder” for his brethren. It was necessary to find a person who, without occupying an official position in the monastery, could, by his high personal qualities, and by his spiritual experience, and by his knowledge of the path of “elderhood,” attract the trust, love and respect of the brethren and become the head of its spiritual achievement. It was just such a person that the Lord soon sent Fr. Moses. It was about. Leonid (in schema Leo) Nagolkin, famous, first in the line of great Optina elders. Father Leonid was born in 1768 in the city of Karachev, Oryol province. In his youth, he was engaged in trade and, as a merchant clerk, traveled to many corners of Russia, everywhere entering into relations with people of all ranks and conditions, so that even in his youth he acquired great knowledge of people and life experience. In 1797, he left the world and entered Optina Pustyn, but this time he did not stay here long. Soon he moved from Optina Hermitage to Beloberezhskaya, under the leadership of one of the aforementioned disciples of Elder Paisius - Vasily Kishkin. In 1804 Fr. Leonid was elected rector of the Beloberezh Hermitage, but, burdened by this title, he left the abbotship in 1808 and, together with the disciples of Paisius - schema-monk Theodore and Cleopas - settled two miles from the monastery, in a dense forest, in a wretched cell, where he spent time in solitary prayer, contemplation of God and the study of the patristic works. Having lived here for some time, the friends found it necessary to move to the far north. First about. Theodore, and behind him Fr. Leonid and Fr. Cleopas moved to Valaam, where they labored for six years. In the words of one local holy fool, they “traded well,” that is, they themselves prospered and led others forward along the spiritual path. However, a test awaited them here. Some Valaam monks and even the abbot himself were very embarrassed by the fact that they, being schema-monks, spent all their time with the people, talking about the salvation of the soul. In their opinion, such a lifestyle was not suitable for schema-monks. They were also confused by the teaching of the elders about the revelation of thoughts and internal work. And so they finally sent a denunciation to Metropolitan Ambrose of St. Petersburg, accusing the elders of allegedly preaching heresy. An inquiry was carried out, and the elders were acquitted. But it was already inconvenient for them to remain on Valaam after that, and in 1817 they moved to the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, where they were noticed by Emperor Alexander the Blessed. Here in 1822 Schemamonk Theodore died, and Fr. Leonid, having lost his spiritual friend and mentor, decided to return to his native place, to the south. He lived for some time in the Ploshchanskaya hermitage in the Oryol province, where he became spiritually close to the local ascetic Hieromonk Macarius (Ivanov), and then, at the invitation of Fr. Moses, moved in April 1829 to Optina Pustyn, where he lived until his death in 1841. In the person of Fr. Leonida O. Moses found a true elder for his monastery. Father Leonid became the soul of the monastery. Without occupying any position of authority, solely by virtue of his high talents and enormous life experience, he became the spiritual leader of the Optina brotherhood. Without the elder’s blessing, none of his spiritual children took a single step in their lives. Every evening the brethren flocked to his cell with the goal of opening their souls to him for the past day and receiving useful instructions or consolation. The laity followed the brethren. People of all ranks began to appear from cities and villages - nobles, merchants, townspeople and peasants of both sexes. Everyone heard about his wisdom and insight, everyone believed and experienced the power of his prayer. No one was refused. The doors of the elder’s cell were not closed to anyone. Everyone was received by the elder with fatherly affection and love, and no one left his cell unconsoled. An interesting picture of the elder’s cell life and his relationship with visitors is painted by the famous wanderer monk Parfeniy, who visited Fr. Leonidas shortly before his death. “Entering the cell,” he writes, “I was afraid and trembled. For the cell was almost full of people of different ranks: gentlemen, merchants and simple people; and everyone kneels with fear and trembling, as if before a formidable judge, and everyone awaits an answer and instruction; and I, too, behind everyone else, fell to my knees. The old man sits on the bed and weaves a belt. This was his handicraft - to weave belts and give to visitors as a blessing... Among these people, one gentleman, who had come to worship at the monastery and to visit the great elder, was kneeling before the elder. The elder asked him: “What do you want to get from me?” He answered with tears: “Father, I wish to receive spiritually beneficial instruction from you!” The elder asked: “Did you fulfill what I ordered you before?” He replied: “No, Holy Father, I cannot fulfill this!” The elder said: “Why did you, having not fulfilled the first, come to ask for another?” Then he said threateningly to his disciples: “Push him out of his cell.” And they kicked him out. I and everyone who was there were afraid of such a strict act and punishment. But the elder himself was not embarrassed and continued to talk meekly with others and let people go... Then I asked the elder: “Holy Father, why did you treat your master so very strictly?” He answered me: “Father of Athos! I know what to do with whom; he is a servant of God and wants to be saved, but he fell into one passion, he got used to tobacco; he came to me before and asked me about it; I ordered him to stop using tobacco and gave him a commandment never to use it again, and until he stopped, I did not order him to come to me. He, having not fulfilled the first commandment, also came for another. Here, my dear, Father of Athos, how difficult it is to drive passions out of a person!“ When we were talking, three women brought to him one sick woman who had lost her mind and reason, and all three cried and asked the elder to pray for the sick woman. He put on the epitrachelion, placed the end of the stole and his hands on the sick woman’s head, and, having read the prayer, crossed the sick woman’s head three times and ordered her to be taken to the hotel... The next day I came to him again, and he again received me with love and talked to me a lot; then yesterday’s women came, and the sick woman was with them, but no longer sick, but completely healthy; they came to thank the elder. Seeing this, I was surprised and said to the elder: "Holy Father, how do you dare to do such things? You can ruin all your labors and exploits with human glory." He answered and said to me: “Father of Athos! I did not do this by my own authority, but it was done through the faith of those who came, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, given to me at my ordination, acted; and I myself am a sinful man.” Then yesterday’s gentleman came again and asked the elder for forgiveness with tears. He forgave and ordered to carry out what was ordered before. Then he let us all go.” The enormous spiritual experience and high authority of the elder Fr. Leonida are visible from the following, for example, cases. They say that in the late 20s or 30s he visited the Sophronian hermitage while passing through. At that time, Hieroschemamonk Theodosius lived there in seclusion, whom many revered as a spiritual husband and seer, since he predicted the war of 1812 and some other events. To Father Leonid his arrangement seemed dubious. After talking with the recluse, the elder asked him how he knew and predicted the future. The recluse replied that the Holy Spirit was telling him about this. When the elder asked how he proclaimed, the recluse explained that the Holy Spirit appears to him in the form of a dove and speaks to him in human language. Father Leonid, seeing that this was an obvious charm of the enemy, began to warn the recluse, saying that such things should not be trusted. But he was offended and indignantly objected to the elder: “I thought that you, like others, wanted to take advantage of me, but you came to teach me!” Father Leonid withdrew and, leaving the monastery, said to the abbot: “Take care of your holy recluse, no matter what happens to him.” Barely o. Leonid reached Orel, when he learned there that Theodosius had hanged himself. Not far from Optina Pustyn there lived a landowner who boasted that if he looked at Fr. Leonida, how he will see right through him. One day this landowner came to the elder when he had many visitors, and entered his cell. He was tall in stature and corpulent in body. Father Leonid had this custom: when he wanted to make a special impression on someone, he would block his eyes with his hand, putting it to his forehead with a visor, as if looking at some object in the sun. So, when this landowner entered, he raised his left hand and said: “What a fool he is coming! He came to see through the sinful Leonid, but he himself, a scoundrel, had not been to confession or Holy Communion for 17 years.” The landowner was so struck by these words of the elder that he began to shake, and then cried and repented that he, an unbelieving sinner, had indeed not confessed for 17 years and had not received the Holy Mysteries. There was another such case. One of the landowners, who was a benefactor to the monastery and visited it occasionally, lived in an obvious relationship with his serf woman until old age, although he already had adult and married children from his legal wife. Having heard a lot about Elder Leonid, who took many to confession, the landowner, through the rector Fr. Moses asked Fr. Leonidas permission to confess to him. The elder refused, much to the insult of the landowner, who began to ask Fr. Moses, and other persons close to the elder, to be intercessors for him before Father Leonid. After a second request, the elder reluctantly agreed, saying that he was not responsible for the consequences. The landowner confessed and was not allowed by the elder to receive Holy Communion. You can imagine the chagrin and shame of the proud master, who was accustomed to looking down on everyone and never knew how to counteract himself in anything! To his even greater shame, his married daughter, who accompanied him, was ready to thank the great elder for such a decision. Once again the landowner tried to ask Fr. the abbot about intercession, but he refused both out of conscience and because he knew the elder’s inflexibility in such cases. What happened next? The landowner, returning home, in a month or less broke off his long-term illegal relationship, to the general joy of his legitimate family. The last two cases especially clearly show us the great moral and educational significance of a true elder. What strength and depth of faith it was necessary to have, what independence and incorruptibility of spirit, what firmness of conviction, in order to break and melt like wax the thick and hard crust of pride and voluptuousness that shackled the hearts of people like the above-mentioned landowners! Of the people around them, from the white clergy, of course, no one would have dared to even stutter to utter those words that the elder expressed without any hesitation. And even if he had, they would have made a completely different impression. In the mouth of the elder, they caused a softening of the heart, made him cry, brought about moral renewal, and caused a deep moral change. Fr. was especially close. Leonid to the common people, pitied them, loved them and was mutually dearly loved and revered by them. He was always besieged by a crowd of peasant women and peasants who brought all their sorrows and needs to him. He, so to speak, stood at the very heart of the people, listening to its beating, sometimes joyful, sometimes sorrowful. And the common people spread rumors about their beloved elder far beyond the borders of the Kaluga province. Fr. stood just as close. Leonid and to the nuns of many convents. Under his leadership, elderly care was established there too, and many nuns learned to be attentive to their inner life. However, according to the words of the Psalmist, “many are the sorrows of the righteous,” and Fr. Leonid had to endure a lot of sorrows in Optina Pustyn. There were monks who saw in the rule of revealing thoughts an abuse of the Sacrament of Confession, in the reception of numerous visitors, especially women, they saw a violation of the schematic vows, in the anointing of the sick with consecrated oil - a proud claim to the gift of miracles. And so denunciations and complaints flew to Kaluga, to the then Reverend Nicholas, and also to the consistory. Some confessors of women's monasteries, for their part, complained that Fr. Leonid, with his preaching of the revelation of thoughts to elders and elders, belittles the authority of confessors, introduces innovation and even heresy. The Eminence, wanting to put an end to the displeasure and grumbling, ordered the transfer of Fr. Leonidas from the skete apiary to the monastery, forbidding the elder to receive visitors - lay people, and in the women's monasteries a real persecution of Fr. Leonidas: many of them were expelled from the monasteries as heretics, others were taken under strict control, deprived of robes, etc. The elder himself was forbidden to wear schematic attire. The elder grieved heavily from all these troubles, but he grieved not for himself, but for his unfortunate students, in whom he tried to maintain good spirits with letters. And just at the time when Fr. Leonid had to go through all these trials, the Lord also gave him great consolation - to find himself a close spiritual friend and helper in the person of Hieromonk Macarius (Ivanov). This was the second famous Optina elder, successor to Fr. Leonida and mentor Fr. Ambrose, which is why we consider it necessary to provide some biographical information about him 36. Father Macarius came from the nobility of the Oryol province and was known in the world as Mikhail Nikolaevich. He was born on his father's small estate near Kaluga. His parents were simple, kind and pious people. In early childhood, his meek and deeply religious mother had a great influence on him. She often visited the Kaluga Laurentian Monastery with him, and the conversations of the then rector of the monastery, Archimandrite Theophan, were indelibly imprinted on his infant soul. He loved Fr. Feofan, that once, while present with his mother at the liturgy, which was performed by Fr. Theophan rushed to his altar through the open Royal Doors. Mikhail Nikolaevich's health was naturally rather weak, but he had an impressionable, serious and deep character, receptive to everything lofty, beautiful and holy. He loved nature very much, loved music and singing, he played the violin and sang 37. He was educated first at a parish school, and then at home, under the guidance of a visiting teacher. When he turned fourteen years old, he was assigned to serve as an accountant in the Lgov district treasury; he held this position for four years. In 1806, Mikhail Nikolaevich’s father died, and he retired to take care of the village and take charge of his younger brothers and sisters. His housekeeping was not going well. He was very kind and did not know how to refuse anyone anything. He was ready to give all his property to those who asked. At the same time, he was fond of reading the Holy Scriptures and books of spiritual content. His brothers tried to persuade him to get married. He did not refuse decisively, but when the parents of the girl he had chosen answered that she was still young and they would think about it, Mikhail Nikolaevich was very happy with this answer and completely stopped thinking about marriage. On October 6, 1810, when he was 22 years old, he went on a pilgrimage to the Bogoroditskaya Ploshchanskaya hermitage in the Oryol province and never returned home from there. He found his true place. The Ploshchanskaya hermitage made an irresistible impression on him. According to him, when he entered the monastery, he himself did not know where he was, “on earth or in heaven, and all the monastics seemed to him like Angels of God.” Remaining in the monastery, he zealously began his monastic labors. His first mentor in monastic life was the strict ascetic Jonah, under whose guidance he spent six years. In 1815, Mikhail Nikolaevich was tonsured and received a new name - Makaria. In the same year, one of the disciples of Elder Paisius, schemamonk Athanasius, who had a great influence on the further spiritual life of Fr. Macaria. According to his own testimony, Fr. Macaria, Fr. Athanasius was not well-read, but he was completely imbued with the spirit of Elder Paisius and translated his covenants into his own flesh and blood. Father Afanasy was very simple-minded, full of tenderness, sincerity and warmth. He was meek, forgiving, compassionate, loving. He could not see someone in need without immediately helping him. He loved to receive travelers and supplied them with what they needed for the journey, while saying: “They send it to us, but they will get it from where.” He spoke with visitors very willingly, and not from books, but from the experience of his heart, wise by the guidance of Elder Paisius. He loved to talk about the Kingdom of Heaven, about future torment, about mercy for the poor, about how the present life should serve as a preparation for the future. He said all this with such sincerity, with such humility that it was touching to look at him, and his words involuntarily penetrated to the depths of the soul. It was precisely this kind of mentor that the humble and meek heart of Fr. Macaria. He hastened to get along with Fr. Athanasius and became firmly attached to him with devoted filial love. Finally, in 1817, with the blessing of the abbot, he completely moved into the elder’s cell and from then on remained with him inseparably, caring for him and learning from him until his death, which followed in 1825. In addition to his personal profound influence and stories about Elder Paisius and other great ascetics, Fr. Afanasy had for Fr. Macarius is also of great importance because he brought with him to the Ploshchanskaya monastery many handwritten copies of translations of patristic works made by Elder Paisius. Reading these manuscripts with deep interest and attention, Fr. Macarius gradually became more and more imbued with their spirit. Since then, Fr. Macarius began to spiritually develop into the great elder-mentor and expert on inner life that he later appeared in the Optina Hermitage. The handwritten translations of Elder Paisius were carefully preserved by Fr. Macarius and were subsequently printed by him, which will be discussed in detail below. Reading the translations of the patristic works of Elder Paisius, Fr. Macarius paid special attention to the teaching of St. fathers about the mental or heartfelt Jesus Prayer, that is, about the constant heartfelt prayerful keeping of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Father Macarius really wanted to learn this high spiritual work. But Elder Afanasy had from Fr. Paisius was forbidden to touch this feat of prayer and, according to his instructions, only performed the oral Jesus Prayer, an oral constant appeal to the Lord Jesus, and therefore could not satisfy the desire of his disciple Fr. Macarius, or maybe he didn’t want to, finding this work premature for him. Father Macarius, however, did not abandon his intention. In 1819, he went on foot on a pilgrimage to Kyiv. On the way back he stopped at the Glinsk Hermitage. Here he met one of the disciples of the rector of the desert, abbot Philaret, hierodeacon Samuel, who was a practitioner of heartfelt prayer, undergoing it under the guidance of his abbot. Father Macarius was very happy about this acquaintance. They spent three days reading the book of St. Isaac the Syrian, talking about heartfelt prayer. However, according to his own later admission, Fr. Macarius, at that time, due to his spiritual age, he could not yet accommodate this lofty work and almost harmed himself by turning to it prematurely. In 1825, as we have already said, Fr. Afanasy. Fr. greatly mourned this. Macarius, who lost in Fr. Athanasius his mentor and friend. His spiritual loneliness was painful for him. But the Lord soon consoled him. In 1828, Fr. arrived in Ploshchanskaya Hermitage from the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery. Leonid. The arrival of this elder made Fr. extremely happy. Macaria. He found in him a new mentor, even stronger in spirit and experience than Fr. Afanasy. Experienced in the fight against enemies, visible and invisible, Fr. Leonid could lend a helping hand to the tempted; Possessing a great gift of spiritual reasoning, he freely and easily resolved all sorts of confusion and gave useful advice. Father Leonid, for his part, was very glad to meet Fr. Makariy. With all his deep humility, Fr. Macarius at this time already had a very large spiritual experience and could be not only a student, but also a friend of Fr. Leonida. Unity of spirit, unity of upbringing and unity of aspirations quickly tied the hearts of the elders with a close, mutual friendship, which nothing could dissolve. And when, after some time, Fr. Leonid moved from the Ploshchanskaya hermitage to the Optina monastery, with all his soul he was drawn there and Fr. Macarius. However, a lot of time passed before his wish could come true. Only in 1834 did it move to Optina. He tearfully said goodbye to the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage, in the shadow of which he had lived for 24 years, and set off on his journey. Soon after his arrival in Optina Pustyn, he was appointed in 1836 the confessor of the entire Optina brotherhood, and in 1839, after the arrival of Alexander Mikhailovich in Optina, and the head of the monastery. In conclusion of this brief biographical information about two famous Optina elders - the predecessors of Fr. Ambrose - here is a description of their appearance. Father Leonid was naturally gifted with a strong build and extraordinary strength: he could lift up to 12 pounds. His darkish, round face was shaded by thick, long hair; In his old age, this lion became a real mane, yellow-gray, wavy, and went down much below his shoulders. The eyes were small, greyish, looking straight and penetratingly; His height was above average, his gait was very beautiful: courageous and light. From childhood, Father Macarius had a weak, sickly constitution, which became somewhat stronger over the years, but in old age he suffered from spiritual problems. During his stay in Optina, he was already all gray-haired and of average height; He walked to his cell in a white linen or canvas 38 robe, with a black knitted cap on his head; for cell prayer rules he used a short robe; For writing and reading, he wore old-style steel-framed glasses. When leaving the house, in the summer he put on an old fly-fly 39 duckweed and boots, in the winter - a very worn fur coat covered with a green draped 40, while having a crutch in one hand and a rosary in the other. The face is nothing striking at first glance, ugly, even somewhat irregular (due to the lack of eyes), with the mark of constant deepening into oneself, therefore in appearance more stern than affectionate; but such is the power of grace that this face, serving as a mirror of a pure, loving soul, shone with some kind of unearthly beauty, reflecting in itself the properties of the inner man. From our sketch of the spiritual movement in Russian monasticism at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, the reader can clearly imagine the spiritual atmosphere that must have enveloped Alexander Mikhailovich upon his arrival in Optina Pustyn. It also becomes clear why Fr. Hilarion Troekurovsky sent him not to any other place, but to this monastery: “Go to Optina - and you will be experienced!” Here exactly were all the necessary conditions for the comprehensive spiritual improvement of the young ascetic. The monastery was ruled by Fr., filled with wisdom, both spiritual and worldly. Abbot Moses, caring guardian of true monastic covenants. His collaborators in the spiritual leadership of the brethren and lay worshipers were such pillars of the spirit as Fr. Leonid and Fr. Macarius. At the same time, many other, not so bright, but still very prominent lamps of faith and piety, stayed in the monastery - such as: Hieromonk Anthony, brother Fr. Moses, soon after arriving at the monastery of Alexander Mikhailovich, he was transferred to the abbot of the Maloyaroslavets Monastery; O. Archimandrite Melchizedek, who saw Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk with his own eyes and received his instructions; Valaam abbot Varlaam, a solitary man and man of prayer who had the gift of tears; Hieroschemamonk John, who converted from the schism and himself wrote several books about it; great lover of silence, confessor Fr. Macarius Hieroschemamonk Job and others. Under the influence of all these elders, the entire monastery acquired a special, bright, tender, spiritual mood, shone with true spiritual Christian enlightenment, constantly clearing its conscience by sincerely confessing its thoughts to the elders. In such a fertile environment, as in a cozy spiritual cradle, God’s Providence placed His new chosen one, who thirsted for spiritual growth and education, Alexander Mikhailovich. Here, under the skillful guidance of experienced elders, he was to reveal his rich spiritual gifts, perceive the sophisticated science of Christian life, grow into a great spiritual mentor, and shine as a bright star above the horizon not only of the Optina Hermitage, but of the entire Orthodox-believing Russia and even the entire Orthodox East. Observing this amazing action of God's Providence in the destinies of Russian monasticism, in the life of Elder Ambrose, in the history of the spiritual enlightenment of the Russian people, how can one not exclaim: “Wonderful are Your works, Lord! You have created all things with wisdom!” Rev.'s words Simeon, the New Theologian, translated by Bishop. Feofana vol. 1. Word 2. P. 30. Rev.'s words Simeon, the New Theologian, translated by Bishop. Feofana vol. 1. Word 2. P. 31. Ladder. Ed. Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Hermitage. S. 4. Rev. Mark of the Ascetic - moral and ascetic words. P. 278. Philokalia in Russian lane T. 2. P. 150. Rev. Cassian the Roman - about leadership in spiritual life. Those who wish to get acquainted with them in more detail will find them in the works of Abba Dorotheus, John Climacus, Simeon the New Theologian, in the Philokalia, as well as in the collection of letters of the Optina elder Hieroschemamonk Macarius, especially in the 4th part - to the nuns. O. Anthony (Putilov) was one of the most remarkable ascetics of the Optina Hermitage. About him, see: Biography of the abbot of the Maloyaroslavets Nikolaevsky Monastery, Abbot Anthony. Ed. Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage. Moscow, 1870 Detailed information about him is included in the book “The Legend of the Life and Deeds of the Elder of Optina Hermitage, Hieroschemamonk Macarius, of blessed memory, compiled by I. L.” Ed. Optina Pustyn. 1861 Subsequently he was a charterer, a choirmaster and a canonarch. Kanifas is a light, dense cotton fabric with a raised woven pattern. Mukhoyar is an ancient variegated fabric made from a mixture of linen, wool, and less often cotton. Dradedam - light thin cloth. You might be interested in: