The Optina Elders Series – 7 Books – 7 different Elders – Elder Ambrose, Elder Leonid, Elder Anthony, Elder Sebastian, Elder Anatole the Younger, Elder Nikon, Elder Barsanuphius – Multiple Book Discounts 20% off
Book 1: Elder Ambrose of Optina
by Fr. Sergius Chetverikov
Elder Ambrose (1812–1891) is considered the pinnacle of Eldership in Optina. He embodied the virtues of all the elders in the highest degree–divine humility, purity of mind and heart, overflowing love, and total self-sacrifice for the salvation of his fellow man. So great were his gifts that hundreds of people flocked daily to his humble cabin at Optina, including the writers Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Leontiev.
Paperback $17.00
Book 2: Elder Leonid of Optina by Fr. Clement Sederholm
272 pages, illustrated, full-color cover, paperback, $12.00
“…The wellspring of prayer is in everyone—it is tapped either by gradually delving deeper into oneself in accordance with the teachings of the Fathers, or instantaneously, thunderstruck by God’s piercing to the core of the soul.”
—Elder Leonid
Possessing penetrating spiritual discernment, Elder Leonid (1768–1841) was at the same time loving and fatherly. He could mystically see into the hearts of his spiritual children, knowing when to rebuke, when to exhort, and when to console. He especially cared for those whom no one else seemed to have time for, and thousands came away from him healed both in soul and body.
“When we find that we are deprived of the virtues and therefore have no high opinion of ourselves, then this by itself can attract God’s favorable gaze, which will strengthen us with hope against the deadly spirit of despair. When we have had no success in the virtues, there is no closer means for salvation than humbleness of mind.”
—Elder Leonid
No one ever saw Elder Leonid disturbed by passionate anger or irritation. During the most difficult times of his life no one ever heard a sound of impatience or grumbling from him—no one saw him downcast. It was hard not to marvel at his joyfulness and inward peace. Preserving a holy simplicity, free of hypocrisy, he spoke with everyone in a direct and straightforward way.
“A person cannot overcome the passions on his own. This is the work of the right hand of the Most High, the action of the power of God. On our part we have only to preserve intact the holy disposition given us by God, and, in keeping with it, offer our efforts to attain the land of passionlessness.”
—Elder Leonid
Elder Leonid was very significant for Optina Monastery and for all of Russia. He introduced and firmly established in Optina the ancient tradition of eldership transmitted through St. Paisius Velichkovsky—a tradition founded on the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Holy Fathers.
Also included in this volume is the Life of Elder Leonid’s preceptor, Elder Theodore of Svir.
Book 3: Elder Anthony of Optina
by Fr. Clement Sederholm
272 pages, illustrated, paperback, $14.00
The Elders of Optina Monastery have had a tremendous impact on Russian society, calling forth a nationwide blossoming of sanctity. During the course of a century, their prophecy and God-illumined counsel attracted spiritual seekers from far and wide.
Among the first Optina Elders was Elder Anthony (Putilov) (1795–1865), who, together with his brother Elder Moses, came to Optina after living for years in silence and prayer in a remote forest. Enduring terrible hardships and excruciating physical ailments, Elder Anthony acquired perfect spiritual freedom through the careful guarding of his soul and the acceptance of God’s providence. He remained joyful to the end, filled with an unconquerable inner peace and with tender compassion for all who came to him. His life and writings breathe this same peace. The reader is involuntarily drawn into the quiet, restful atmosphere of Elder Anthony’s beautiful soul, learning there the meaning of the lofty virtue of humble-mindedness.
Book 4: Elder Sebastian of Optina
by Tatiana Torstensen
496 pages, illustrated, full-color cover, paperback, $19.00
The spiritual image of Elder Sebastian (1884–1966) is that of a longsuffering, quiet bearer of the vision of the Optina monastic tradition—destined to preserve Optina eldership through decades of communist persecution of the Church. After the closure of Optina Monastery in 1923, Fr. Sebastian—a disciple of both Elder Joseph and Elder Nektary—matured rapidly into a truly compassionate pastor. He suffered arrest and imprisonment by the communists in 1933, and was sentenced to ten years in the Karaganda concentration camps of Kazakhstan.
Excerpt from ELDER SEBASTIAN OF OPTINA
“I demand one thing—love one another, so that there will always be peace among you. Peace and love! If you will obey me in this—and I implore you to do this—then you will be my children. I am unworthy and sinful, but the Lord has much love and mercy. I place my hope in Him. And if the Lord will vouchsafe me His radiant abode, I’ll pray for you unceasingly. I’ll say, ‘Lord, Lord! I’m not alone; all my children are with me. I can’t enter in without them; I can’t be alone in Thy radiant habitations. They were entrusted to me by Thee.’”
—Elder Sebastian
Elder Sebastian had a constant concern for instilling deep peace in people’s souls, and a constant sense of service—through his labor and love—to those surrounding him. He was exacting in everything, but first of all toward himself. He had the gift of great and profound discernment, and exercised moderation in everything.
“Our family’s elder, Sebastian, was clairvoyant, as I personally witnessed several times. Through his unforgettably deep and penetrating look into one’s soul he was able to see things hidden within the person with whom he spoke. Several times he demanded from me things I was reluctant to do, yet, having shown obedience to him, I avoided calamities and death. In him was a great Elder hidden from the eyes of the world.”
ELDER SEBASTIAN OF OPTINA has been translated from the recently published Russian biography, as well as from original manuscripts and various materials from Elder Sebastian’s spiritual children. Also included is an Akathist to the Saint.
Book 5: Elder Anatole the Younger of Optina
208 pages, illustrated, paperback, $14.00
The Elders of Optina Monastery have had a tremendous impact on Russian society, calling forth a nationwide blossoming of sanctity. During the course of a century, their prophecy and God-illumined counsel attracted spiritual seekers from far and wide.
One of the last Optina Elders was Elder Anatole (Potapov) (1855–1922), a disciple of the great Elder Ambrose and a contemporary of Elder Nektary. After his period of discipleship in the Optina Skete, he spent his years of eldership at the Church of the Vladimir Icon in Optina Monastery. There he confessed and gave counsel mostly to the crowds of lay pilgrims who flocked to Optina in order to unburden their souls and find resolutions to their problems. He was known as “the Consoler.” In the words of Archpriest Sergius Chetverikov, “His brisk, joyfully loving, and humble way of addressing the people reminded one of St. Seraphim of Sarov. One could clearly sense in him the spirit and power of the first great Optina Elders.”
Elder Anatole lived to see the advance of godlessness that overtook Russia during the revolutionary period; and, through his clairvoyant insight, he was able to help believers survive spiritually during those calamitous times.
Book 6: Vol. 9: Elder Nikon of Optina – New release
The Elders of Optina Monastery have had a tremendous impact on Russian society, calling forth a nationwide blossoming of sanctity. During the course of a century, their prophecy and God-illumined counsel attracted spiritual seekers from far and wide.
Elder Nikon (Belyaev) (1888–1931) was the beloved disciple of Elder Barsanuphius of Optina for over five years, during which time he assimilated his spiritual father’s sanctity and teachings to such a degree that was later able to take on the labor of eldership himself. Fr. Nikon kept a spiritual journal detailing his relationship with Elder Barsanuphius, giving us a valuable view into how eldership is passed on. His humble acceptance of God’s providence at all times enabled Fr. Nikon to maintain his spiritual equilibrium no matter what the circumstances—and his lot was to be a difficult one. After the closure of Optina Hermitage as a monastery by the Soviets in 1918, he was the last hieromonk to continue serving there in the one open church until its final closure in 1923. Elder Nikon then began his ministry of eldership in the town of Kozelsk, where he settled with other Optina monks, and continued selflessly serving those around him until his arrest in 1927 and his exile to Russia’s far north, where, in poverty and sickness, with uncomplaining trust in God, he reposed in 1931.
The Life of Elder Nikon is particularly appropriate for our times, as the decline of the collective West into a Soviet-style dystopia mirrors the tragedy that overtook Orthodox Russia a century ago. Elder Nikon’s words of counsel on how to maintain faith, as well as his own example of confessing Christ in the face of persecution, are as needful for us today as they were during his own lifetime.
In addition to Nun Maria’s beautifully written biography of her spiritual father, this volume also contains Elder Nikon’s edifying letters and teachings.
Elder Nikon of Optina is the ninth volume in the series of Lives of the Optina Elders
544 pages, illustrated, paperback, $20.00
Book 7: Vol 7 Elder Barsanuphius
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