Introduction to
THE OPTINA ELDERS SERIES

    “The Apostle Paul enumerated three ministries in the Church: apostles, prophets, teachers (Eph. 4:11, I Cor. 12:28)…. The prophetic ministry is a special gift of grace, a gift of the Holy Spirit (charisma). The prophet possesses a special spiritual vision—clairvoyance. For him the boundaries of space and time are, as it were, set aside…. The prophetic ministry, bound up with personal sanctity, has flourished when spiritual life in the Church was high, and has declined in decadent periods. Most brightly of all is it manifested in monastic eldership….”

—Prof. I. M. Kontzevitch

    In 19th-century Russia, the legacy of St. Paisius Velichkovsky produced a host of outstanding God-bearing Fathers. Among the brightest of these luminaries were the Elders of Optina Monastery, who for a hundred years formed an unbroken line of eldership, speaking as one continuous voice of prophecy and God-illumined spiritual counsel.

    “In these present cruel times, which are worthy of much weeping and lamentation, so few have such instructors; therefore if any zealots … should desire to please God, their teacher and guide must be God Himself (through the Holy Scriptures) and the divine writings of these Holy Fathers which have been preserved by God’s Providence even up to now. And if these zealots pay careful heed to these writings as it were to those Fathers themselves, by reading them with the fear of God and understanding, and with God’s help, they may be in part imitators of their God-pleasing life.…”

—St. Paisius Velichkovsky, 18th century

    In the span of a century, Optina became one of the foremost centers of the Orthodox patristic revival. Under the loving guidance of the Elders, it contributed significantly to the spiritual blossoming of the nation, publishing a vast body of patristic literature and ascetical writings. These grace-filled men had a tremendous impact upon Russian society, attracting countless thousands of spiritual seekers, including the renowned authors Gogol, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.

    “As a ship which has a good helmsman comes safely into harbor with God’s help, so the soul which has a good shepherd, even though it has done much evil, easily ascends to heaven. Without a guide it is easy to wander from the road, however prudent you may be….”

—St. John Climacus, 7th century

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