Try to pay more attention to yourself, and not to analyze the deeds, actions and appeals of others to you, but if you do not see love in them, then this is because you yourself do not have love in yourself.
Where there is humility, there is simplicity, and this branch of God does not experience the destinies of God.
God does not despise prayers, but sometimes He does not fulfill their desires solely in order to arrange everything better according to His Divine intention. What would happen if God - the All-Knowing - completely fulfilled our desires? I think, although I do not claim, that all earthly creatures would perish.
Those who live without attention to themselves will never receive a visit from grace.
When you don’t have peace of mind, know that you don’t have humility in yourself. The Lord revealed this in the following words, which at the same time show where to look for peace. He said: Learn from Me that you are meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29).
If you ever show mercy to anyone, you will receive mercy for that.
If you suffer with someone who is suffering (not much, it seems), you will be counted among the martyrs.
If you forgive the offender, and for this not only will all your sins be forgiven, but you will become a daughter of the Heavenly Father.
If you pray from your heart for salvation, even if it’s a little, you will be saved.
If you reproach yourself, accuse and condemn yourself before God for the sins you feel in your conscience, then you will be justified.
If you confess your sins before God, for this you will be forgiven and rewarded.
If you are saddened by your sins, or are touched, or shed a tear, or sigh, your sighing will not be hidden from Him: “It is not hidden from Him,” says St. Simeon, “not a drop of tear, not a drop of a certain part.” And St. Chrysostom says: “If you complain only about sins, then He will accept it for your salvation.”
Check yourself every day: what did you sow for the next century, wheat or thorns? Having tested yourself, be prepared to do better the next day and spend your whole life in this way. If the present day was spent poorly, so that you neither offered a decent prayer to God, nor were contrite in heart even once, nor humbled in thought, did not show mercy, or did not give alms to anyone, nor forgave the guilty, nor endured insults, on the contrary, did not abstain from anger, did not abstain in words, food, drink, or immersed your mind in unclean thoughts, having considered all this according to your conscience, judge yourself and decide the next day to be more attentive to good and more careful to evil.
To your question, what does a happy life consist of, in splendor, fame and wealth, or in a quiet, peaceful, family life, I will say that I agree with the latter, and I will also add: a life lived with a clear conscience and humility brings peace, tranquility and true happiness. But wealth, honor, glory and high dignity are often the cause of many sins and do not bring happiness.
People for the most part desire and seek prosperity in this life, and try to avoid sorrows. And it seems that this is very good and pleasant, but constant prosperity and happiness harms a person. He falls into various passions and sins and angers the Lord, and those who go through a sorrowful life come closer to the Lord and more easily receive salvation, therefore the Lord called the joyful life a wide path: the wide gate and the wide path lead to destruction and many follow it (Matthew 7:13 ), and called the sorrowful life: a narrow way and a narrow gate that leads to eternal life, and few find them (Matthew 7:14). So, out of His love for us, the Lord, foreseeing possible benefit for those who are worthy of it, leads many from the long path, and places them on a narrow and regrettable path, so that through the patience of illnesses and sorrows they can arrange their salvation and grant them eternal life.
You want not only to be good and have nothing bad, but also to see yourself as such. Desire is commendable, but to see one’s good qualities is already food for self-love. Even if we acted correctly and correctly in everything, we should still consider ourselves worthless slaves. We, being faulty in everything, should not even consider ourselves good in our thoughts. That’s why we get embarrassed instead of reconciling ourselves. That is why God does not give us strength to fulfill, so that we would not be exalted, but would humble ourselves and acquire the guarantee of humility. And when we have it, then our virtues will be strong and it will not allow us to ascend.
We, weak-minded people, thinking of arranging our condition, become sad, fuss, deprive ourselves of peace, and fulfill the abandonment of the duty of faith behind vanities, in order to leave a good estate for our children. But do we know whether it will benefit them? Wealth does not help a stupid son - it only served as a reason for him to have bad morals. We must take care to leave our children a good example of our lives and raise them in the fear of God and in His commandments; this is their main wealth. When we seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything that is here and necessary will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). You will say: this cannot be done; Today the world demands not this, but something else! Fine; but did you give birth to children only for this world, and not for the hereafter? Comfort yourself with the word of God: if the world hates you, know that it hated Me before you (John 15:18), and carnal wisdom is enmity towards God: it does not submit to the law of God, and indeed cannot (Rom. 8:7). Do not want your children to have the glory of the world, but to have good people, obedient children, and when God arranges it, good spouses, gentle parents, caring for those under their control, loving towards everyone and lenient towards their enemies.
You have a desire to bring yourself closer to God and receive salvation. This is the entire duty of every Christian, but this is accomplished through the fulfillment of God’s commandments, which all consist of love for God and neighbor and extend to love for enemies. Read the Gospel, there you will find the way, the truth and life, preserve the Orthodox faith and the statutes of the Holy Church, study in the writings of church pastors and teachers and adapt your life to their teachings. But prayer rules alone cannot bring us any benefit... I advise you to try as much as possible to pay your attention to matters of love for your neighbors: in relation to your mother, wife and children, strive to educate them in the Orthodox faith and good morals. St. Apostle Paul, counting different types of virtues and feats of self-sacrifice, says: “If I do this and that, and do not have love, I have no benefit.”
Many painters depict Christ in icons, but few capture the resemblance. Thus, Christians are animated images of Christ, and whoever is meek, humble in heart and obedient is the one most like Christ.
We must beware of murmuring against God and fear it like death, for the Lord God, in His great mercy, patiently endures all our sins, but His mercy cannot bear our murmuring.
Do not impose any vows or rules on yourself without the approval of your spiritual father, with whose advice one bow will bring you more benefit than a thousand self-made bows.
The Pharisee prayed and fasted more than we do, but without humility all his work was nothing, and therefore be most jealous of the publican’s humility, which is usually born from obedience and is sufficient for you.
In any grief: in sickness, in poverty, in cramped conditions, in bewilderment, and in all troubles - it is better to think and talk less with oneself, and more often with prayer, albeit short, turn to Christ God and to His Most Pure Mother , through which the spirit of bitter despondency will flee, and the heart will be filled with hope in God and joy.
Meekness and humility of heart are virtues without which it is not only impossible to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is impossible to be happy on earth or to feel peace of mind.
Let us learn to mentally reproach and condemn ourselves for everything, and not others, for the more humble, the more profitable; God loves the humble and pours out His grace on them.
No matter what grief befalls you, no matter what trouble you have, say: “I will endure this for Jesus Christ!” Just say this and it will be easier for you. For the name of Jesus Christ is powerful. With him, all troubles subside, demons disappear. Your annoyance will also subside, your cowardice will also calm down when you repeat His sweetest name. Lord, let me see my sins; Lord, give me patience, generosity and meekness.
Do not be ashamed to bare your scabs to your spiritual mentor and be ready to accept shame from him for your sins, so that through him you can avoid eternal shame.
The church is for us the earthly heaven, where God Himself is invisibly present and watches over those who are present, therefore in the church one should stand in order, with great reverence. Let us love the Church and be zealous for her; She is our joy and consolation in sorrows and joys.
To encourage those who mourn, the elder often said: If the Lord is for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31).
Every task must begin by invoking the name of God for help.
The elder often spoke about maintaining conscience, about carefully observing one’s thoughts, actions and words, and about repenting for them. He taught to bear the weaknesses and shortcomings of his subordinates complacently. “Make comments,” the elder instructed, “without giving food to your own pride, considering whether you yourself could bear what you demand from another.”
If you feel that anger has seized you, remain silent and do not say anything until your heart is calmed by unceasing prayer and self-reproach.
It is more beneficial for the soul to recognize oneself as guilty of everything and the last of all, than to resort to self-justification, which comes from pride, and God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
The elder often quoted the apostle’s saying: “True love is not irritated, does not think evil, and never falls away.”
If we abandon our desires and understandings and try to fulfill the desires and understandings of God, then we will be saved in every place and in every state. And if we adhere to our desires and understandings, then no place, no state will help us. Even in paradise, Eve transgressed the commandment of God, and for the unfortunate Judas, life under the Savior himself did not bring any benefit. Everywhere patience and compulsion to a pious life are needed, as we read in the Holy Gospel.
In vain will we accuse that those who live with us and those around us interfere and hinder our salvation or spiritual perfection... our mental and spiritual unsatisfactoriness comes from ourselves, from our lack of art and from an incorrectly formed opinion, which we do not want to part with. And it is this that brings upon us confusion, doubt, and various bewilderments; and all this torments us and burdens us, and leads us to a desolate state. It would be good if we could understand the simple patristic word: if we humble ourselves, then in every place we will find peace, without bypassing with our minds many other places where the same, if not worse, may happen to us.
The main means to salvation is to endure many different tribulations, depending on which ones are suitable, according to what was said in the “Acts of the Apostles”: “Through many tribulations it is fitting for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Anyone who wants to be saved must remember and not forget the apostolic commandment: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.” There are many other commandments, but not a single one has such an addition, that is, “so fulfill the Law of Christ.” This commandment is of great importance, and before others we must take care of its fulfillment.
Many wish for a good spiritual life in the simplest form, but only a few and rare actually fulfill their good wishes - namely those who firmly adhere to the words of the Holy Scriptures, that “through many tribulations it is fitting for us to enter the kingdom of heaven,” and, calling for help God, they try to meekly endure the sorrows and illnesses and various inconveniences that befall them, always keeping in mind the words of the Lord Himself: “if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
And the main commandments of the Lord: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; let go, and it will be forgiven to you.” In addition, those who wish to be saved should always keep in mind the words of St. Peter of Damascus, that creation is accomplished between fear and hope.
The work of our salvation requires, in every place, wherever a person lives, the fulfillment of God’s commandments and submission to the will of God. This is the only way to gain peace of mind, and nothing else, as it is said in the psalms: “There is peace for many who love Your law, and there is no offense for them.” And you are still looking for inner peace and peace of mind from external circumstances. Everything seems to you that you live in the wrong place, that you have settled with the wrong people, that you yourself have made the wrong decisions, and that others seem to have acted in the wrong way. The Holy Scripture says: “His dominion is in every place,” that is, God’s, and that for God the salvation of one Christian soul is more valuable than all the things of the whole world.
The Lord is ready to help a person acquire humility, as in all good things, but it is necessary for the person himself to take care of himself. Said by St. Fathers: "Give blood and receive spirit." This means - work until blood is shed and you will receive a spiritual gift. And you are looking for spiritual gifts and asking, but you are sorry to shed blood, that is, you want everything so that no one touches you, does not bother you. Is it possible to acquire humility in a quiet life? After all, humility consists in when a person sees himself as the worst of all, not only people, but also dumb animals and even the spirits of evil themselves. And so, when people bother you, you see that you cannot tolerate this and are angry with people, then you will inevitably consider yourself bad... If at the same time you regret your fault and reproach yourself for the fault, and sincerely repent of it before God and spiritual father, then you are already on the path of humility... And if no one touched you, and you remained alone, how could you recognize your badness? How could you see your vices?.. If they try to humiliate you, it means they want to humble you; and you yourself ask God for humility. Why then grieve for people?
To the question: “How to pay attention to yourself, where to start?” came the following answer: “You must first write down: how you go to church, how you stand, how you look, how proud you are, how vain you are, how angry you are, etc.”
Anyone who has a bad heart should not despair, because with God's help a person can correct his heart. You just need to carefully monitor yourself and not miss the opportunity to be useful to your neighbors, often open up to the elder and give alms within your power. This, of course, cannot be done suddenly, but the Lord is patient. He only ends a person’s life when he sees him ready for the transition to eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.
Teaching that in spiritual life one cannot neglect even unimportant circumstances, the elder sometimes said: “Moscow burned down from a penny candle.”
Regarding judging and noticing other people's sins and shortcomings, the priest said: “You need to pay attention to your inner life so as not to notice what is happening around you. Then you will not judge.”
Pointing out that a person has nothing to be proud of, the elder added: “And why should a person really be proud here? A ragged, plucked person asks for alms: have mercy, have mercy! But whether mercy will be given, who knows.”
When pride attacks, tell yourself: “There’s a weirdo walking around.”
They asked the priest: “So-and-so doesn’t die for a long time, everyone imagines cats and so on. Why is that?” Answer: “Every sin, no matter how small, must be written down as you remember it, and then repent. That’s why some people don’t die for a long time, because some unrepentant sin is holding them back, but as soon as they repent, they are relieved... You definitely need to write down your sins as you remember it.” Otherwise we put it off: either the sin is small, then it’s a shame to say it, or I’ll say it later, but we come to repent and have nothing to say.”
Three rings cling to each other: hatred from anger, anger from pride.
"Why do people sin?" - the elder sometimes asked a question and answered it himself: “Either because they don’t know what to do and what to avoid; or, if they know, then they forget; if they don’t forget, then they are lazy, despondent... These are three giants - despondency or laziness, oblivion and ignorance - from which the entire human race is bound by insoluble bonds. And then comes negligence with the whole host of evil passions. That is why we pray to the Queen of Heaven: “My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your holy and all-powerful prayers, take away from me , Thy humble and accursed servant, despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts."
Don’t be like a bothersome fly, which sometimes flies around uselessly, and sometimes bites, and annoys both of them; and be like the wise bee, which in the spring diligently began its work and by autumn finished the honeycomb, which is as good as correctly written notes. One is sweet, and the other is pleasant.
When they wrote to the elder that it was hard in the world, he replied: “That is why it (the earth) is called the vale of tears; but some people cry, and others jump, but the latter will not feel good.”
To the question: “What does it mean to live according to your heart?” the priest answered: “Do not interfere in other people’s affairs and see all the good in others.”
Father said: “We must live on the earth as a wheel turns, only one point touches the ground, and the rest constantly strives upward; but we, as soon as we lie on the ground, cannot get up.”
To the question: “How to live?” the priest answered: “To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and my respect to everyone.”
We need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily, then our cause will be true, otherwise it will turn out badly.
You need to force yourself, albeit against your will, to do some good to your enemies; and most importantly, do not take revenge on them and be careful not to somehow offend them with the appearance of contempt and humiliation.
So that people would not remain careless and would not place their hope in outside prayerful help, the elder repeated the usual folk saying: “God help me, and the man himself does not lie down.” And he added: “Remember, the twelve apostles asked the Savior for their Canaanite wife, but He did not hear them; but she herself began to ask and begged.”
Father taught that salvation has three degrees. Said by St. John Chrysostom:
a) do not sin,
b) having sinned, repent,
c) whoever repents poorly must endure the sorrows that come.
Once we started talking about sorrows, one of them said: “Better illness than sorrow.” The priest replied: “No, in your sorrows you will pray to God and they will go away, but you can’t fight off the disease with a stick.”
When the blues set in, don’t forget to reproach yourself: remember how guilty you are before the Lord and before yourself, and realize that you are unworthy of anything better, and you will immediately feel relief. It is said: “Many are the sorrows of the righteous,” and “Many are the wounds of the sinners.” Such is our life here - all sorrows and sorrows; and it is through them that the Kingdom of Heaven is achieved. When you are restless, repeat more often: “Seek peace and marry it.”
After communion, one must ask the Lord to preserve the gift with dignity and that the Lord will give help not to go back, that is, to repeat previous sins.
When the priest was asked: “Why do you sometimes feel consolation after communion, and sometimes coldness?” he answered: “He who seeks consolation from communion experiences coldness, but whoever considers himself unworthy, grace remains with him.”
Humility is about giving in to others and considering yourself inferior to everyone else. It will be much more peaceful.
“It’s always better to give in,” said the priest, “if you insist fairly, it’s the same as a ruble of banknotes, and if you give in, it’s a ruble in silver.”
To the question “How to acquire the fear of God?” the priest answered: “You must always have God before you. I always see the Lord before me.”
When people annoy you, never ask “why” or “why.” This is not found anywhere in Scripture. It says on the contrary: “If they hit you on your right cheek, turn your left also,” and this is what it means: if they beat you for telling the truth, then don’t complain and turn your left, that is, remember your wrong deeds and you will see that you are worthy of punishment. At the same time, the priest added: “He was patient with the Lord, and he heard me.”
“Father! teach me patience,” said one sister. “Learn,” the elder answered, “and start with patience when you find and encounter troubles.” “I can’t understand how you can not be indignant at insults and injustices.” The elder’s answer: “Be fair yourself and do not offend anyone.”
Father used to say: “Moses endured, Elisha endured, Elijah endured, and I will endure.”
The elder often cited a proverb: “If you run from a wolf, you will meet a bear.” There is only one thing left to do - to be patient and wait, paying attention to yourself - not to judge others, and pray to the Lord and the Queen of Heaven, that they will arrange something useful for you, as they please.
It’s obvious that you are trying and want to be saved, but you just don’t know how, you don’t understand spiritual life. The whole secret here is to endure what God sends. And you will not see how you enter heaven.
Consider yourself worse than everyone else, and you will be better than everyone else.
Your patience should not be unreasonable, that is, joyless, but patience with reason - that the Lord sees all your deeds, your very soul, as we look into the face of a loved one... He sees and tests: what kind of person will you find yourself in sorrows? If you endure, you will be His beloved. And if you do not endure and grumble, but repent, you will still be His beloved.
Every prayer to God is profitable. And which one exactly - we don’t know. He is the One righteous Judge, and we can recognize lies as truth. Pray and believe.
I’m telling you a secret, I’m telling you the best way to find humility. This is what it is: endure any pain that pricks a proud heart. And wait day and night for mercy from the All-Merciful Savior. Those who wait so much will certainly receive it.
Learn to be meek and silent, and you will be loved by everyone. And open feelings are the same as open gates: both the dog and the cat run there... and they shit.
We are obliged to love everyone, but we do not dare demand that they love us.
Sorrow is our path, we will go on until we reach our assigned fatherland of eternity, but only grief is that we care little about eternity and do not tolerate even the slightest reproach in a word. We ourselves increase our sorrows when we begin to grumble.
He who has conquered passions and acquired spiritual intelligence has access to everyone’s heart without external education.
An imposed rule is always difficult, but doing it with humility is even more difficult.
What is acquired through labor is useful.
If you see a mistake in your neighbor that you would like to correct, if it disturbs your peace of mind and irritates you, then you also sin and, therefore, you will not correct the mistake with an error - it is corrected with meekness.
A person's conscience is like an alarm clock. If the alarm clock rings, and knowing that you need to go to obedience, you get up right away, then you will always hear it afterwards, and if you don’t get up immediately for several days in a row, saying: “I’ll lie down a little longer,” then eventually you will wake up from its ringing you will not.
What is easy for the body is not good for the soul, and what is good for the soul is difficult for the body.
You ask: “What can I do to consider myself as nothing?” Thoughts of arrogance come, and it is impossible for them not to come. But they must be countered with thoughts of humility. As you do, remembering your sins and various shortcomings. Continue to do so and always remember that our entire earthly life must be spent in the fight against evil. In addition to considering your shortcomings, you can also humbly say: “I have nothing good... My body is not mine, it was created by God in my mother’s womb. The soul was given to me from the Lord. Therefore, all mental and physical abilities are gifts of God. And my property is only my countless sins, with which I have daily angered and anger the Merciful Lord. What can I be vain and proud of after this? There is nothing." And with such reflections, prayerfully ask for mercy from the Lord. In all sinful endeavors there is only one cure - sincere repentance and humility.
There are many who cry, but not about what is needed; there are many who mourn, but not about sins; There are many who seem to be humble, but are not truly. The example of the Lord Jesus Christ shows us with what meekness and patience we must endure human errors.
There are different paths to salvation. The Lord saves some in the monastery, others in the world. Saint Nicholas of Myra went into the desert to labor there in fasting and prayer, but the Lord ordered him to go into the world. “This is not the field in which you will bear fruit for Me,” said the Savior. Saints Taisia, Mary of Egypt, and Evdokia also did not live in monasteries. You can be saved everywhere, just don’t leave the Savior. Cling to the robe of Christ - and Christ will not leave you.
A sure sign of the death of the soul is avoidance of church services. A person who grows cold towards God first of all begins to avoid going to church, first tries to come to the service later, and then completely stops visiting the temple of God.
Those who seek Christ find Him, according to the true gospel word: “Knock and the door will be opened to you, seek and you will find,” “In My Father’s house are many mansions.”
And note that here the Lord speaks not only about heavenly, but also about earthly abodes, and not only about internal, but also about external.
The Lord puts each soul in such a position, surrounds it with such an environment that is most conducive to its prosperity. This is the outer abode, but the inner abode that the Lord prepares for those who love and seek Him fills the soul with peace and joy.
Do not read godless books, remain faithful to Christ. If asked about faith, answer boldly. “You seem to go to church often?” - “Yes, because I find satisfaction in it.” - “Do you really want to be a saint?” - “Everyone wants this, but it does not depend on us, but on the Lord.” This way you will repel the enemy.
You cannot learn to fulfill God’s commandments without labor, and this labor is threefold - prayer, fasting and sobriety.
I hear complaints that we are now going through difficult times, that complete freedom has now been given to all heretical and godless teachings, that the Church is being attacked from all sides by enemies and it is becoming scary for it, that these muddy waves of unbelief and heresies will overcome it. I always answer: “Don’t worry! Don’t be afraid for the Church! She will not perish: the gates of hell will not prevail against her until the Last Judgment. Don’t be afraid for her, but you need to be afraid for yourself, and it’s true that our time is very difficult. Why? Yes, because now it is especially easy to fall away from Christ, and then - destruction."
Something dark, terrible is coming into the world... A person remains, as it were, defenseless, so possessed by this evil force, and he does not realize what he is doing... Even suicide is suggested... Why is this happening? Because they don’t take up arms - they don’t have the name of Jesus and the sign of the cross with them.
Life is bliss... Life will become bliss for us when we learn to fulfill the commandments of Christ and love Christ. Then we will live joyfully, joyfully endure the sorrows that come our way, and ahead of us the Sun of Truth, the Lord, will shine with indescribable light... All the Gospel commandments begin with the words: Blessedness - blessedness of meekness, blessedness of mercifulness, blessedness of peacemakers... From here it follows, as a truth, that fulfilling the commandments brings people the highest happiness.
Our whole life is the great mystery of God. All circumstances of life, no matter how insignificant they may seem, are of great importance. We will fully understand the meaning of real life in the next century. How carefully we need to treat it, but we turn over our lives like a book - sheet by sheet, without realizing what is written there. There is no accident in life, everything happens according to the will of the Creator.
In order to become like God, we must fulfill His holy commandments, and if we look at it, it turns out that we have not truly fulfilled a single one. Let's go through them all, and it turns out that we barely touched on that commandment, another, perhaps, we also just began to fulfill a little, and, for example, we did not even begin to the commandment about love for enemies. What remains for us sinners to do? How to escape? The only way is through humility. “Lord, I am sinful in everything, I have nothing good, I only hope for Your boundless mercy.” We are absolute bankrupts before the Lord, but He will not reject us for humility. And indeed, it is better, having sins, to consider oneself great sinners, than, having some good deeds, to be proud of them, considering oneself righteous. The Gospel depicts two such examples in the person of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
We live in terrible times. People who profess Jesus Christ and attend the temple of God are subjected to ridicule and condemnation. These ridicule will turn into open persecution, and do not think that this will happen in a thousand years, no, it will come soon. I won't live to see it, but some of you will see it. And torture and torment will begin again, but good for those who remain faithful to Christ God.
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, and the grace of God is everything... There you have the greatest wisdom. So you humble yourself and say to yourself: “Although I am a grain of sand on the earth, the Lord also cares about me, and may God’s will be done to me.” Now, if you say this not only with your mind, but also with your heart, and really boldly, as befits a true Christian, you rely on the Lord, with the firm intention of meekly submitting to the will of God, whatever it may be, then the clouds will dissipate before you, and the sun will come out and will illuminate you and warm you, and you will know true joy from the Lord, and everything will seem clear and transparent to you, and you will stop tormenting, and your soul will feel at ease.”
So you are asking the fastest way to humility. Of course, first of all, we should recognize ourselves as the weakest worm, unable to do anything good without the gift of the Holy Spirit from our Lord Jesus Christ, given through the prayer of ours and our neighbors and by His mercy...
They say the temple is boring. Boring because they don't understand the service! Services need to be learned! Boring because they don't care about him. So he seems not one of us, but a stranger. At least they brought flowers or greenery for decoration, if they took part in the efforts of decorating the temple - it wouldn’t be boring.
Live simply, according to your conscience, always remember that the Lord sees, and don’t pay attention to the rest!
Prophecy about the fate of Russia
There will be a storm, and the Russian ship will be destroyed. Yes, it will happen, but people also save themselves on chips and debris. Not everyone, not everyone will perish... God will not abandon those who trust in Him. We must pray, we must all repent and pray fervently... And there will be calm (after the storm)... a great miracle of God will be revealed, yes. And all the chips and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will gather and unite, and the ship will be recreated in its beauty and will go on its course, intended by God. So it will be, a miracle revealed to everyone.
Job's position is a law for every person. While you are rich, noble, and prosperous, God does not respond. When a person is in the pit, rejected by everyone, then God appears and Himself talks with the person, and the person only listens and cries out: “Lord, have mercy!” Only the degrees of testing are different.
The main thing is to beware of judgment from loved ones. Whenever condemnation comes to mind, immediately pay attention: “Lord, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother.”
He spoke about the high gradualism of the spiritual path, about the fact that “everything requires coercion. Now, if dinner is served, and you want to eat and smell a delicious smell, the spoon itself will not bring you food. You need to force yourself, get up, come over, take a spoon and then eat. And nothing is done right away - everywhere you need to wait and be patient."
Man is given life so that it serves him, not he, that is, man should not become a slave to his circumstances, should not sacrifice his inner to the outer. In serving life, a person loses proportionality, works without prudence and comes into very sad bewilderment; he doesn’t even know why he lives. This is a very harmful bewilderment and often happens: a person, like a horse, is lucky and lucky, and suddenly such ... spontaneous punctuation comes over him."
He asks which way to go to God. Walk the path of humility! By humbly bearing the difficult circumstances of life, by humble patience with illnesses sent by the Lord; humble hope that you will not be abandoned by the Lord, the Quick Helper and loving Heavenly Father; a humble prayer for help from above, for driving away despondency and feelings of hopelessness, with which the enemy of salvation tries to lead to despair, disastrous for a person, depriving him of grace and removing God’s mercy from him.
The meaning of Christian life, according to the words of the holy Apostle Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians: “.. glorify God both in your bodies and in your souls, which are God’s.” So, having inscribed these holy words in our souls and hearts, we should take care that our disposition and actions in life serve the glory of God and the edification of our neighbors.
Let the prayer rule be small, but fulfilled constantly and carefully...
Let us take as an example a saint suitable for our situation, and we will rely on his example. All the saints suffered because they followed the path of the Savior, Who suffered: was persecuted, mocked, slandered and crucified. And all who follow Him inevitably suffer. "You will be sorrowful in the world." And everyone who wants to live piously will be persecuted. “When you begin to work for the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation.” In order to endure suffering more easily, one must have strong faith, ardent love for the Lord, not become attached to anything earthly, and completely surrender to the will of God.
Those who blaspheme must be looked upon as sick people from whom we demand that they not cough or spit...
If it is not possible to fulfill the vow of obedience, there is no one to obey, one must be willing to do everything according to the will of God. There are two types of obedience: external and internal.
With external obedience, complete obedience is required, the execution of every task without reasoning. Inner obedience refers to the inner, spiritual life and requires the guidance of a spiritual father. But the advice of a spiritual father should be verified by the Holy Scriptures... True obedience, which brings great benefit to the soul, is when, for obedience, you do something that does not agree with your desire, despite yourself. Then the Lord Himself takes you in His arms...
The Lord created doctors and medicine. You can't refuse treatment.
When you are weak and tired, you can sit in church: “Son, give Me your heart.” “It is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing,” said St. Philaret of Moscow.
There is no need to give vent to your feelings. We must force ourselves to be friendly with those we don’t like.
You shouldn't believe omens. There are no signs. The Lord controls us by His Providence, and I do not depend on any bird or day, or anything else. Whoever believes in prejudices has a heavy heart, and whoever considers himself dependent on the Providence of God, on the contrary, has a joyful soul.
The “Jesus Prayer” will replace the sign of the cross if for some reason it cannot be placed.
You cannot work on holidays unless absolutely necessary. The holiday should be cherished and honored. This day should be dedicated to God: be in church, pray at home and read the Holy Scriptures and the works of St. fathers, do good deeds.
We must love every person, seeing in him the image of God, despite his vices. You can’t push people away from you with coldness.
What is better: to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ rarely or often? - it’s hard to say. Zacchaeus joyfully accepted the dear Guest - the Lord - into his home, and did well. But the centurion, out of humility, realizing his unworthiness, did not dare to accept, and also did well. Their actions, although opposite, have the same motivation. And they appeared before the Lord as equally worthy. The point is to adequately prepare yourself for the great Sacrament.
When they asked St. Seraphim why at the present time there are no such ascetics as there were before, he answered: “Because there is no determination to undergo great feats, but the grace is the same; Christ is the same forever.”
Persecution and oppression are good for us, for they strengthen our faith.
We must consider everything bad, including the passions that fight us, not as our own, but as from the enemy - the devil. It is very important. Only then can you overcome passion when you don’t consider it yours...
If you want to get rid of sadness, do not attach your heart to anything or anyone. Sadness comes from attachment to visible things. There has never been, is not and never will be a carefree place on earth. A sad place can only be in the heart when the Lord is in it.
The Lord helps us in sorrows and temptations. He does not free us from them, but gives us the strength to easily endure them, not even to notice them.
Silence prepares the soul for prayer. Silence, how beneficial it is to the soul!
We Orthodox Christians should not support heresy. Even if we had to suffer, we would not betray Orthodoxy.
You should not seek human truth. Seek only God's truth.
The spiritual father, like a pillar, only shows the way, but you have to go yourself. If the spiritual father points, and his disciple himself does not move, then he will not go anywhere, but will rot near this pillar.
When the priest, blessing, says the prayer: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” then the mystery is accomplished: the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on the person being blessed. And when any person, even just with his lips, utters a renunciation of God, grace departs from him, all his concepts change, he becomes completely different.
Before asking the Lord for forgiveness, you must forgive yourself... This is what it says in the “Lord's Prayer.”
Silence is good for the soul. When we speak, then it is difficult to refrain from idle talk and condemnation. But there is bad silence, it is when someone is angry and therefore remains silent.
Always remember the law of spiritual life: if you are embarrassed by any shortcoming of another person and condemn him, later you will suffer the same fate and you will suffer from the same shortcoming.
Do not apply your hearts to the vanity of this world. Especially during prayer, leave all thoughts about worldly things. After prayer, at home or in church, in order to maintain a prayerful, tender mood, silence is necessary. Sometimes even a simple, insignificant word can disrupt and frighten away tenderness from our soul.
Self-justification closes spiritual eyes, and then a person sees something that is not what really is.
If you say something bad about your brother or sister, even if it is true, you will hurt your soul. You can convey the mistakes of another only if the only intention in your heart is to benefit the soul of the sinner.
Patience is uninterrupted complacency.
Your salvation and your destruction are in your neighbor. Your salvation depends on how you treat your neighbor. Do not forget to see the image of God in your neighbor.
Do every task, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, carefully, as if before the face of God. Remember that the Lord sees everything.
Optina Pustyn
On the banks of the fast river Zhizdra, surrounded by virgin forest, Optina Pustyn is located just a few miles from the city of Kozelsk, Kaluga province. It looked like a majestic white Kremlin with 4 temples, fortress walls and towers. Optina’s high spiritual life was in harmony with her external beauty. Gogol, after visiting Optina, describes its exceptional spirituality and its beneficial influence on everything that comes into contact with it.
The exact time of the appearance of Optina is unknown. According to legend, it was founded in ancient times by the repentant robber Optin. The city of Kozelsk is mentioned in the chronicle under the year 1146. In 1238, after a heroic defense, it was taken by the Tatars and all the inhabitants were killed. At the beginning of the 15th century, Kozelsk passed into the hands of Lithuania, then for half a century it passed from hand to hand until it was finally established in Moscow.
It is known that in 1625 Sergius was the abbot of Optina. In 1630 there was a wooden church, six cells and 12 brethren, and it was ruled by Hieromonk Theodore. Thus, Optina is one of the most ancient monasteries.
Growth, fall and rise again
Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich and the local boyars granted Optina estates and it grew, but during the reforms of Peter the Great the estates were taken away from her, the monastery became poor and finally in 1724 it was completely empty and was closed, but already in 1726 at the request of the steward Andrei Shepelev was resumed. Having been completely ruined, he was now slowly recovering.
The full restoration of Optina began only in 1795, when Moscow Metropolitan Platon drew attention to it. Fr. was appointed rector. Abraham and 12 brothers were transferred there. Father Abraham, although sickly, did a lot: he put the household in order, fenced the monastery, completed court cases in favor of the monastery, built a bell tower, the Kazan hospital church, fraternal cells, and planted a garden. Fr. had great help and support. Abraham from his confessor, Fr. Macarius, abbot of the Pesnosh Monastery.
But Optina Pustyn owes its prosperity and glory to its next abbot, Archimandrite Moses. Under him, large huge construction works were carried out, large vegetable gardens and orchards were planted, land holdings doubled... An influx of funds flowed from pilgrims who were attracted to Optina Pustyn with its special spirit reminiscent of the times of ancient asceticism. Two brothers o. Moses were also abbots of monasteries and they were all great ascetics and support for each other. Fr. himself From a young age, Moses understood the essence and depth of spiritual life. The perspicacious Elder Dosithea talks to him in Moscow and directs him to the Sarov monastery, where he receives instructions from the Venerable himself. Seraphim. Further about. Moses labored among the hermits in the Roslavl forests in the manner of the ancient Egyptian fathers, spending 6 days alone, reading the daily cycle of services and in mental prayer, and meeting on Sunday with other elders for joint prayer. The invasion of the French in 1812 interrupted Fr. Moses and he enters the Beloberezh Hermitage and here he meets three outstanding ascetics: Fr. Theodore and Cleopas (disciples of Paisius Velichkovsky) and their companion Fr. Leonidas, later an outstanding Optina elder.
In 1921, His Eminence Philaret of Kaluga convinced Fr. Moses to move to Optina and take up the construction of a monastery near the monastery. Arrived in Optina from Fr. Moses is his younger brother Fr. Anthony and two more monks Hilarion and Savvaty.
Thus was laid the foundation of the Optina Skete, in which the Optina eldership flourished and spread fame not only to the surrounding areas of the Optina Hermitage, but throughout all of Rus'.
Eldership in general
The grace-filled eldership is one of the highest achievements of the spiritual life of the Church, it is its flower, it is the crown of spiritual exploits, the fruit of silence and contemplation of God. It is organically connected with monastic inner feat, which has the goal of achieving dispassion, and therefore arises with monasticism at the dawn of Christianity. It was also revived in Russia with the advent of Christianity and was widespread, but over time it died out and by the end of the 17th century it was forgotten and disappeared. So when it was resumed by Paisiy Velichkovsky at the beginning of the 18th century, it seemed something new and even extraordinary. Likewise, the church hierarchy often became perplexed by this phenomenon; hence the frequent persecution to which the elders were subjected, for example, like St. Seraphim of Sarov, some of the Optina elders and others. But of course, not all hierarchs persecuted the elders: on the contrary, many patronized them and even bowed before them.
Optina eldership
But the eldership that we will talk about, namely Optina, has its own special properties that distinguish it from the general concept of eldership. While throughout the history of Christianity all experienced monks were considered elders, who were entrusted with the care not only of young monks who entered the monastery, but were even given care for the spiritual life of the laity - the Optina elders were distinguished by a completely exceptional depth of spiritual life, personal holiness, and the gift of insight and although they cared in the first place about the spiritual purification and salvation of those who came to them, they still constantly helped people in their everyday affairs and hardships and found a way out of the most hopeless situations, thanks to their insight; In addition, they had the gift of healing and miracles.
Himself a strict faster and ascetic, Fr. Moses was filled with the most tender love for people and was compassionate towards their weaknesses and shortcomings. His art of speaking to everyone in his tone was inimitable; with the educated in their language, and with the simple in accordance with their concepts and their way of speaking. He understood everyone's needs well. His compassion for the poor knew no bounds.
He was distinguished by exceptional humility. “I myself am the worst of all,” Fr. often repeated. Moses. “Others may only think that they are the worst, but I actually found out that I am the worst.” This is how the elder humbly expressed himself about himself, but to those who knew him closely and understood his life, it was obvious in him not only “action,” but in “vision of the sunrise,” i.e. contemplative prayer and a wealth of gifts. In 1825 Fr. Moses was appointed abbot of the Optina Monastery, and his younger brother Fr. Anatoly became the abbot of the monastery. Having gone through the same school of asceticism in the Roslavl forests, like his brother, he was distinguished by extreme humility and obedience. He did not make any decision without the blessing of his elder and brother Fr. Moses. Due to the hard physical work that he had to personally carry out with his brother during the construction of the monastery, already at the age of forty, wounds opened on his legs, which did not heal until the end of his life and caused him a lot of suffering. And he had to do a lot himself, because... many of the brothers, especially the servants, were elderly. But the order and beauty under him were stunning in everything and left a great impression on visitors.
However, neither Anatoly nor Fr. Moses did not take upon himself the direct responsibility of spiritual care for the monastic brethren. But being themselves spiritual elders, they understood the meaning of eldership and provided those great elders whom they attracted to the Optina monastery with the widest field of activity. Thus, the establishment and prosperity of eldership in Optina Pustyn is due to these two elders. Unfortunately, Bishop Nicholas of Kaluga did not have an understanding for eldership and he caused the elders quite a bit of grief and would have done even more harm if not for the intercession of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, who deeply understood and appreciated the importance of eldership.
In Russia, in educated circles, since the time of Peter the Great, a process of “denationalization” has been taking place: they admired everything Western and neglected their own; finding something positive in oneself was considered a divergence from established views and was persecuted. In the same way, the spirit of Western Protestantism seeped into the religious field and the true, primordial Orthodoxy was stifled. National, patriotic and also religious feelings were still preserved only among the people.
The year 1812 somewhat raised the spirit of patriotism again, but even such great writers as Pushkin, Lermontov and others paid the price for expressing these feelings too carelessly. And here, in this era, Optina Pustyn turns out to be some kind of counterbalance to everything that happened; it is a beacon for many writers and philosophers, not to mention the people seeking the meaning of life in true Orthodoxy. For them, the highest spiritual feat of inner work, crowned by the abundance of grace, the gifts of acquiring the Holy Spirit, and service to the world in its entirety, both in its spiritual and everyday needs, came together in Optina. In addition, the publishing of books of spiritual content, by virtue of the Spiritual Regulations of Peter the Great and the decrees of 1787 and 1808. was submitted to the discretion of St. Synod, and according to the censorship regulations of 1804, they could only be printed in a spiritual printing house. As a result, only one ascetic book, “Philokalia,” was published in 1793 and the reader was deprived of spiritual literature, while the secular press gave rise to a large number of translated works of Western false-mystical direction, and many of them were printed with the permission of civil censorship, were directly hostile to Orthodoxy. In such conditions, the work of publishing patristic literature turned out to be of great and historical significance. Thanks to the presence of deeply educated elders, the enormous and comprehensive help of several writers, writers and philosophers, as well as the complete understanding, support and blessing of Metropolitan. Moscow Philaret translated from Greek and Slavic into Russian and published the works and lives of outstanding church fathers, both ancient and more modern, for example Paisius Velichkovsky. Some books were printed in Slavic. This publishing house began in the middle of the 19th century and by the end of the same century over 125 publications were published in the amount of 225,000 copies. Library created by Fr. Moses, consisted of 5,000 books.
Printed books were sent to academies, seminaries, libraries, ruling bishops, inspectors, and reading this hitherto inaccessible ascetic literature became available to monastics and all spiritually minded Russian people. The truth of Orthodoxy has shone forth, established itself and strengthened itself in opposition to Western books of the wrong direction. The appearance of these books to the world is an event that cannot be assessed in simple words.
Special merit in undertaking this great undertaking, along with Elder Macarius, about whom we will speak especially, belonged to the outstanding Russian philosopher Ivan Vasilyevich Kirievsky and his wife (the first editions, in addition to the work on them, were published at their personal expense).
Elder Leo
The first elder attracted to the eldership in Optina o.o. Moses and Anatoly, was Fr. A lion. He was born in 1768 in Korachev and served in the world as a clerk in the hemp business and moved in the life of a merchant. During long journeys on business, he encountered representatives of all classes of society and became well accustomed to the manners and way of life of each of them. This experience was useful to him during his elder years, when a wide variety of people, noble and ignorant, came to him and opened their souls.
The beginning of the monastic life of Fr. Lev laid in Optina Pustyn, but then moved to Beloberezh Pustyn, where, under the leadership of the rector, the famous Athonite ascetic Fr. Vasily, was trained in monastic virtues: obedience, patience and all external exploits. Here about. Leo accepts the monastic feat with the name Leonidas. He spends some time in the Cholna Monastery, where he met Paisius Velichkovsky’s student Fr. Theodore and becomes his devoted follower. Elder Theodore began to teach Fr. Leonida to the highest monastic work, this “science of sciences and art of arts,” as the feat of unceasing prayer is called and through which the heart is cleansed from passions. Here about. Leonid meets with Abbot Philaret, the future Metropolitan of Kyiv. This mattered to him later.
Then Fr. Leonid is appointed rector of the Beloberezhskaya Hermitage and Fr. goes to live there with him. Theodore, under whose leadership Fr. Leonid spends a total of about 20 years. Here they were joined by another famous ascetic, a student of Fr. Paisia, Fr. Cleopas. 1808 o. Leonid resigns from his position as abbot and goes to live in the wilderness of the forest, in the cell where Fr. Theodore with Fr. Cleopas. Here in the deserted silence Fr. Leonid accepted the schema with the name Leo as a cell rite.
The new abbot drove them out of here because of the large crowd of people coming to them. Then followed many years of wanderings and trials in different monasteries: on Valaam, in the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, then, after the death of Fr. Theodora, Fr. Leo spent some time in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage, where Fr. Macarius is his future assistant during his eldership at the Optina Skete and subsequently his deputy.
Finally, in 1829, the founder of the theological school arrived in Optina Pustyn from which the entire galaxy of subsequent elders emerged. But the credit goes to Fr. Leo is not limited only to the foundation of eldership: they were given the impulse that inspired subsequent generations of elders for a whole hundred years until the very end of the life and prosperity of the famous Optina Pustyn.
O. Leo arrived in Optina in his declining years. He was tall, majestic, in his youth possessed fabulous strength, which he retained until old age, despite his plumpness, grace and smoothness in his movements. At the same time, his exceptional mind, combined with insight, allowed him to see through people. The old man's soul was filled with great love and pity for humanity. But his actions were sometimes sharp and swift. Elder Leo cannot be discussed as an ordinary person, because he reached that spiritual height when an ascetic acts in obedience to the voice of God. Instead of long persuasion, he sometimes immediately knocked the ground out from under a person’s feet and made him realize and feel his unconsciousness and wrongness, and thus with his spiritual scalpel he opened the abscess that had formed in the man’s hardened heart. As a result, tears of repentance flowed. The elder, as a psychologist, knew how to achieve his goal. Here's an example: there lived a gentleman not far from Optina, who boasted that no matter how he looked at Fr. Leonida will see right through him. Once he came to the elder when there were a lot of people there, and the elder said at his entrance: What a dumbass is coming! came to see through the sinful Leo, but he himself, a rogue, had not been to confession and St. for 17 years. Participles. The master shook like a leaf, and then repented and cried that he was an unbeliever sinner and indeed had not confessed or received Holy Communion for 17 years. Christ's Mysteries.
Another story from one Athonite monk who visited Fr. Leo. The monk was dressed in secular clothes, but Fr. Leo called him an Athonite monk; 3 women came in tears and brought one who had lost her mind, they asked to pray for the sick woman. The elder put on the stole, placed the end of the stole and his hands on the head of the sick woman and, having read the prayer, crossed the sick woman’s head three times and ordered her to be taken to the hotel. He did this while sitting, because I could no longer get up: I was sick and was living out my last days. When the monk came to the elder the next day, yesterday’s patient came completely healthy. The monk was horrified that the elder, without fear of harm to himself, performed healings. The elder replied: “I did not do this with my own authority, but it was done through the faith of those who came and the action of the grace of the Holy Spirit given to me at my ordination; and I myself am a sinful man.”
The miracles performed by the elder were countless. A crowd of destitute people flocked to him and surrounded him. One hieromonk describes that when he happened to travel from Kozelsk to the Smolensk province, along the way, in secluded villages, the villagers, having learned that he was going to Kozelsk, vied with each other to find out something about Fr. Leonida. When asked why you know him, they answered: “Have mercy, breadwinner, how can we not know Father Leonid? Yes, for us poor, unreasonable ones, he is even better than our own father; without him, we are almost like orphans.”
Unfortunately, they treated Fr. Lev some clergy, including the Kaluga diocesan archbishop. Nikolai, who caused a lot of trouble in Optina Pustyn. This bishop had the firm intention of exiling Elder Leo to the Solovetsky Monastery for imprisonment. Fortunately, many bishops treated the elder completely differently. Metropolitan Philaret, Moscow and Kiev strongly stood up for him, otherwise the elder would not have been well off.
Elder Lev died in 1841, he served as an elder in Optina for only 12 years, but during all this time he was persecuted, either because of the misunderstanding of the bishop, or because of the envy and denunciations of others, there was also a trial against him (but he was acquitted), they moved him from monastery to monastery, and even the bishop forbade him to receive visitors, but he still did not drive away those who came to him out of mercy for the suffering.
But abbot Moses and the monastery leader Fr. Anatoly treated him with utmost respect and did not even do anything without his blessing.
From the first days of September 1841, Elder Leo began to weaken. At the end of his life, he predicted that Russia would have to endure a lot of troubles and grief. After severe suffering, he reposed in the Lord on October 11, 1841. The general grief was indescribable and the crowd of people gathered at the tomb of the deceased great elder was great.
Elder Hieroschemamonk Macarius - in the world Mikhail Nikolaevich Ivanov - was born into a noble family, distinguished by piety, on November 20, 1788. They lived in the vicinity of Kaluga in a very beautiful place near the Laurentian Monastery, from which the ringing of bells could be heard every day, calling the monks to prayer. For five years he was left without his mother, who loved him dearly, and who felt that something extraordinary would come of him. Due to the mother's illness, the family changed their place of residence. He graduated from school in the city of Karachev, and already in the 14th year he entered the service of an accountant, which he did well, attracting attention to himself. But he lived in his own world. I read a lot, looking for solutions to the most important questions of the mind and heart. He loved music and played the violin very well. At the age of 24, after the death of his father, he retired and settled in the village. He managed the farm poorly. One day the men stole a lot of buckwheat. Michael admonished them for a long time, citing Holy Scripture. As a result, the men fell to their knees in sincere repentance, to the shame of his relatives, who laughed at him. An attempt was made to marry him, but because... and his face was ugly and tongue-tied, and he had no desire for it - that’s how it remained. He buried himself in spiritual books and occasionally went out to the carpenter's shop and worked there until he was tired, subduing the young flesh to the spirit.
In 1810 he went on a pilgrimage to Ploshchanskaya Hermitage, and stayed there, sending his brothers to renounce their estate. Here he, under the guidance of Arseny, a student of Paisius Velichkovsky, received the correct initial direction, learned church rules and musical singing. Helped with writing. In 1815 he was tonsured into a mantle with the name Macarius. In 1824 he visited Optina for the first time. The following year, his elder dies, and Macarius is appointed confessor of the Sevsky nunnery. Thus began his spiritual activity. It was difficult for him without his teacher, but soon, in response to his prayers, Fr. came to his monastery with his students. Leonid. Thus Fr. Marakiy acquired a leader again. Soon Fr. Leonid was sent to Optina. There was a correspondence that ended with Fr. Macarius to Optina, which cost no little difficulty.
Fr. Macarius remained with Fr. Leonid (Leo) until the latter’s death. From Fr. Leonida studied with Fr. Macarius treats all the poor and suffering physically and spiritually with great love, heals their ailments, and does not disdain anything except sin. The elder often saw where something bad was hidden, denounced, but then showered with such loving warmth that the joy of finding a clear conscience was remembered.
Fr. Macarius was of a softer soul than Fr. Leonid, extremely modest. Together with Fr. Leonid they "nursed" the great elder Ambrose. After the death of Fr. Leonidas, the entire burden of spiritual leadership fell on Fr. Macaria. Quiet joy in the Lord never left him.
The old man was of enormous stature, with an ugly face, with traces of smallpox, but white and bright, his gaze was quiet and full of humility. His character was extremely lively and active. He has an excellent memory: after the first confession, he remembered the person for the rest of his life. But tongue-tiedness and shortness of breath when speaking embarrassed him all his life. He was always poorly dressed. But he was perspicacious: when he saw a person for the first time, he sometimes called him by name before he introduced himself. Sometimes he answered written questions before receiving them, incl. the writer received a reply letter sent an hour ago. The life of the elder was full of pastoral and welfare concerns. In the church, he established the singing of the Kyiv chant, introduced the position of canonarch, smooth reading and singing in "similar." Fr. himself Macarius, although he was a hieromonk, did not serve, mainly out of his humility, but he often sang with zeal and with tears. He especially loved “Thy Chamber.” The elder spent 20 years in his modest cell, which consisted of a reception room and a small bedroom, in which the furniture consisted of a narrow bed, a desk - neatly covered with stacks of letters for reply, spiritual magazines and patristic books, and an armchair with a pillow. In the eastern corner, among the icons, there was a particularly venerable icon of the Vladimir Mother of God with an unquenchable lamp and, instead of a lectern, a wooden triangle for performing the rule, with the Gospel and other books. The walls were hung with views of monasteries and portraits of ascetics. Everything testified to his secret sighs and a spirit that had renounced the inheritance of the earth. Here he spent frequent sleepless nights and stood up as a rule when the monastery bell struck at 2 o’clock in the morning; He often woke up his cell attendants himself. We read: morning prayers, 12 psalms, 1st hour, Theotokos canon with akathist. He sang Irmosa himself. At six o'clock he was read "fine hours" and he drank one or two cups of tea. Then he received visitors. He received women outside the gates of the monastery in a special cell. Here he listened to people's grief. He clearly had the gift of spiritual reasoning, as well as the power of humility and love, which made his words especially powerful. After talking with him, people were renewed. By anointing people with oil from his unquenchable lamp, he brought great benefit to the sick. There were numerous healings. Healings of the possessed were especially frequent.
At 11 o'clock the bell rang for the meal and the elder went there, after which he rested, and then again received visitors. At 2 o'clock the elder, with a crutch in one hand and a rosary in the other, went to the hotel, where hundreds of people were waiting for him, each with their own needs, spiritual and everyday. He listened to everyone with love: he admonished some, raised others from the ditch of despair. Exhausted, barely catching his breath, he returned from his daily feat. The time had come to listen to the rule, which consisted of the 9th hour, kathisma with prayer and the canon to the Guardian Angel. They called for the evening meal. Sometimes they brought it to him. But even at this time he received the monastery and skete brethren. Often he himself entered the cells and was always on time, leaving behind him peace and joy. He also gave obedience: reading the patristic books, assigning this according to the spiritual age of each. I couldn't stand idleness. Therefore, he introduced handicrafts into the monastery: turning, bookbinding, etc. Each of the brothers knew and felt that the burden of his labors and sorrows was shared by his loving and wise father, and this made monastic life easier.
Finishing the day, we listened to the rule: Little Compline, prayers for those coming to bed, two chapters of the Apostle, one of the Gospels, then a short confession, the elder blessed and dismissed. It was already late. The elder entered his cell. The body ached from exhaustion, and the heart from the impressions of the abundantly revealed human suffering. My eyes were watering with tears... and on the table lay a pile of letters requiring an answer. He sat down and wrote. When the candle went out, the elder stood up to pray. Prayer did not stop in him, whether he was in a crowd, at a meal, in a conversation, or in the quiet of the night. She exuded the oil of his humility.
Besides all this, Fr. Macarius has an invaluable merit and feat in the publication of patristic literature. For this task he sacrificed his short rest. This work united around itself spiritually oriented intellectual forces, but all these persons, in addition to literary relations, also enjoyed the spiritual guidance of the elder, and subsequently his successors.
The elder predicted the time of his death. A week before his death he was given unction. Already seriously ill, but he said goodbye, gave away his things, and instructed. People flocked to even look at him through the window. Around midnight, the elder asked for a confessor and, after a half-hour conversation with him, asked him to read the funeral service. - “Glory to Thee, my King and my God!” - the elder exclaimed while reading the funeral service, - “Mother of God, help me!” The night was very difficult, but even here, through shaking hands, blessings, and glances, he expressed his gratitude to those caring for him. At 6 o'clock in the morning he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ in full consciousness and tenderness, and an hour later, at the 9th song of the canon on the separation of the soul from the body, the great elder Macarius quietly and painlessly departed to the Lord in the Heavenly Palace. It was September 7, 1860.
Elder Ambrose
The time of aging Fr. Ambrose was different from the one in which his predecessors worked. Firstly, at that time there were no regular postal and telegraph communications and railways, as under Fr. Ambrose, in addition, the position of the Church and monasteries in the state improved greatly. Secondly, a tradition of eldership had already been created in the monastery itself, and the glory of Optina Pustyn spread throughout Russia.
After his arrival in Optina, then still Alexander Mikhailovich Grenkov, he found there such pillars of monasticism as Abbot Moses and the elders Leo and Macarius. Besides them, among the brethren there were quite a few outstanding ascetics.
Archim. Melchizedek, an ancient elder, was once honored with conversations with the saints. Tikhon Zadonsky.
Naval hieromonk Gennady, ascetic, spiritual father of the Imp. Alexander 1st. Hierodeacon Methodius, a visionary who lay on his sick bed for 20 years. The former Valaam abbot Varlaam, who had the gift of tears and extreme non-covetousness. He was a socratic Rev. Herman of Alaska.
Hierodeacon Palladius, non-covetous, contemplative, expert in church rites.
Hieroschemamonk John, one of the schismatics, gentle, with childish simplicity, lovingly gave advice, beloved by everyone.
Hieromonk Innocent is the confessor of Elder Macarius, a lover of silence, and others.
In general, all monasticism under the leadership of the elders bore the imprint of spiritual virtues. Simplicity, meekness and humility were the hallmarks of Optina monasticism. The younger brethren tried in every possible way to humble themselves, not only in front of their elders, but also in front of their equals, afraid to even offend another with a glance, and at the slightest reason they immediately asked each other for forgiveness.
O. Ambrose was born in the village of Bolshaya Lipovitsa, Tambov province on November 23, 1812. His father was a sexton, and his grandfather was a priest. There were 8 children in the family. As a child, Alexander was a very lively, cheerful and intelligent boy. His family disliked him for his pranks and excessive playfulness. He simply was not able to walk to the line, as required in a strictly patriarchal family. He learned to read from the Church Slavonic primer, book of hours and psalter. On holidays, he and his father read in the choir. Then he was assigned to a theological school and then to a seminary. The school environment was even stricter than the family environment. His abilities were exceptional. In July 1836, he completed his course of science perfectly with good behavior.
First, he got a job as a home teacher, and then at the Lipetsk Theological School. Because of his wit and cheerful character, everyone in society loved him very much. Soon he became seriously ill. There was almost no hope for recovery and he vowed to go to a monastery if he recovered. He recovered, but for another 4 years he could not end the world. At night he began to pray, but this caused ridicule from his comrades. In the summer of 1839, on his way to a pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, he stopped by the recluse Fr. Hilarion. The holy ascetic gave Alexander specific instructions: go to Optina, you are needed there. Alexander hesitated, but finally, after much repentance, feeling his inconsistency and the instability of his intentions, he suddenly decided to flee to Optina, without permission and without saying goodbye.
Subsequently, all his qualities: liveliness, humor, the ability to grasp everything on the fly, sociability, wit - did not disappear in him, but as he grew spiritually, they were transformed, spiritualized and imbued with God's grace.
In Optina he saw the blossoming of her monasticism. At first he lived in a hotel, copying a book about the fight against passions for Elder Leo. In 1840, he went to live in a monastery, at first without dressing in a cassock, until the decree came to accept him into the monastery.
For some time he was the cell attendant of Elder Leo. He worked in a bakery, and in November 1840 he was transferred to a monastery. But he continued to go to Fr. Leo for edification. On official business he visited Fr. Macarius, at the same time, told the elder about his state of mind and received advice. Elder Leo loved the young novice, but for educational purposes he tested his humility in front of people and pretended to be angry. But behind his back he said about him: “He will be a great man.”
At the end of his life, Elder Leo said to Fr. Macarius about young Alexander: “It’s painful for a man to learn from us elders, I’m already very weak now. So I’m handing you the yoke from half to half, wield it as you know.” After the death of Fr. Lev, brother Alexander became the cell attendant of Elder Macarius. In 1842 he was tonsured and named Ambrose. In 1843, hierodeaconry followed, and two years later, ordination to hieromonk.
For the dedication of Fr. Ambrose went to Kaluga. It was very cold. Father Ambrose, exhausted by fasting, caught a severe cold, which affected his internal organs. Since then he has never truly recovered.
Rev. Nikolai Kaluzhsky said about. Ambrose: “And you help Father Macarius in clergy, he is already old. After all, this is also a science, but not seminary, but monastic.” O. Ambrose was then 34 years old. He dealt with visitors, conveyed their questions to the elder and received answers from the elder. But 1846 Fr. Ambrose was forced to retire due to illness and became dependent on the monastery as a disabled person. He could no longer perform the liturgy, could barely move, suffered from perspiration, so he changed clothes and shoes several times a day. He couldn’t stand the cold, he ate liquid food and ate very little. Despite Fr.'s illness. Ambrose remained in complete obedience to the elder, giving an account to him of the slightest thing. He was entrusted with translation work and preparation for the publication of patristic books. He translated the "Ladder" of Abbot John of Sinai. These book publications were for Fr. Ambrose has very educational value for spiritual life. This period was the most favorable for him to undergo mental prayer, Fr. Macarius. Therefore, he could engage in mental prayer without troubles and the machinations of the enemy, leading the ascetic into delusion. External sorrows are considered by ascetics to be useful and soul-saving. Life o. From the very beginning, under the guidance of the wise elders, Ambrose walked smoothly, without any special stumbling blocks, guided towards ever greater spiritual improvement. But oh. Macarius raised Fr. Ambrose and subjected him to blows to his pride, raising in him a strict ascetic of poverty, humility, patience and other monastic virtues. While the elder was still alive, with his blessing, some brethren came to Fr. Ambrose for revelation of thoughts. Also Fr. Macarius brought him closer to his worldly spiritual children, preparing for himself a worthy successor, whom he later became. After the death of Archimandrite Fr. Moses, Fr. was elected rector. Isaac, who belonged to Fr. Ambrose, as to his elder. Thus, in Optina there were no frictions between the authorities. The elder was secretly tonsured into the schema during his illness. He had two cell attendants: Fr. Mikhail and Fr. Joseph (future elder).
At 4 o'clock in the morning he got up to hear the morning rule. And then his working day was similar to Fr. Macaria. The cell attendants could often barely stand on their feet due to all-day reports, and the elder himself at times lay almost unconscious. After the rule, the elder asked for forgiveness “elika (in everything in which you have sinned in word, deed or thought” and, blessing his cell attendants, dismissed him; this often happened at midnight. After 2 years, the elder suffered a new illness, his health became even weaker. Since then he has not went to the temple of God and had to take communion in his cell. In 1868 he became completely ill. Such deteriorations were repeated more than once. It is difficult to imagine how he, being nailed to such a suffering cross, in exhaustion, received crowds of people and answered to dozens of letters. Life-giving divine grace clearly contributed here.
Here is an abbreviated story from a blind monk: having arrived at my cell from the evening rule, I lay down in anguish and dozed off. And I saw in a dream that I had come to our Vvedensky Cathedral and was following other pilgrims to the corner to venerate the relics of the great Pleasant of God. I see the crayfish standing on a raised platform, the lid is closed and people are kissing it with great reverence. It was my turn, I looked - the coffin lid opened and Saint Tikhon himself rose from the shrine in all his holy vestments. In reverent horror, I fall on my face and see that it is not Saint Tikhon, but our elder Ambrose, that he is no longer standing, but sitting and lowering his feet to the ground, as if wanting to stand up to meet me... “What are you doing?” thundered a menacing old voice. “Forgive me, father, for God’s sake,” I stammered in terrible fright. “I’m tired of you with your “forgive me,” the elder exclaimed angrily. Horror seized my heart and I woke up. I jumped up and crossed myself... after early mass, I went to the monastery to the elder. It was full of people. I heard the priest’s voice: “Ivan ( that was the name in the ryassophore) come quickly to me here." The crowd gave way. The old man lay exhausted on the sofa, "lock the door," he said to me, "and tell me what you saw in your dream." I was stunned, and the old man seemed to come to life and cheerfully began to descend feet on the floor (as in a dream) and said: “What are you doing?” “Father, forgive me,” I whispered. And in response I heard: “I’m tired of you with yours: forgive me.” But not menacingly, as in a dream, but with a wondrous affection, of which he alone was capable. “Well, how could I otherwise talk some sense into you, you fool?” Father ended his reprimand with these words. Often those around the priest saw an extraordinary light above the priest’s head. At the end of his life, Fr. Ambrose in Shamordino established a women's monastery with a shelter for homeless children. The monastery quickly grew and soon there were up to 500 sisters. After the death of Mother Superior Sophia, the elder had to take upon himself all the troubles of the monastery and personally visit her. The last time he went there was in the summer of 1890, due to illness he spent the winter there, his health deteriorated and he was no longer able to return to Optina. He died on October 10, 1891. The funeral procession was accompanied by a crowd of more than a thousand. It was raining, but the candles did not go out. On the road from Shamordino to Optina, they stopped in every village and served litiya. The death of the elder was an all-Russian grief, but for Shamordin, Optina and for all spiritual children it was immeasurable.
“To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and my respect to everyone.”
Instructions of Elder Ambrose of Optina
His advice and instructions, which Elder Ambrose used to the souls of those who came to him in faith, he taught either often in a solitary conversation, or in general to everyone around him in the simplest, fragmentary and often humorous form.
In general, it should be noted that the humorous tone of the elder’s edifying speech was his characteristic feature.
“Don’t push” - i.e. so that the heart is not carried away by the inevitable sorrows and failures for a person, heading towards the One Source of eternal sweetness - God; through which a person, in the face of countless and varied adversities, can calm himself down, putting up with them, or “resigning himself.”
“Don’t judge”, “don’t annoy”. “There is nothing more common among people than condemnation and annoyance, these creatures of destructive pride.”
They alone are enough to bring a person’s soul down to the bottom of hell, while for the most part Elder Ambrose they are not considered a sin.
“My respect to all” - indicates the commandment of the Apostle: warn one another in respect (Rom 12:10). Reducing all these thoughts to one general one, we see that in the above saying the elder preached mainly humility, this foundation of spiritual life, the source of all virtues, without which, according to the teachings of St. John Chrysostom, as mentioned before, it is impossible to be saved.
In response to the general question put to the elder: “How to live?” - sometimes he answered somewhat differently: “You need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily; then our cause will be right, otherwise it will turn out badly.”
“We must,” the elder said, “live on earth as a wheel turns: just one point touches the ground, and the rest must certainly strive upward; but as soon as we lie down on the ground, we can’t get up.”
“Our salvation must be made between fear and hope”
When asked how the righteous, knowing that they live well according to God’s commandments, are not exalted by their righteousness, the elder replied: “They do not know what the end awaits them.” “Therefore,” he added, “our salvation must be achieved between fear and hope. No one should give in to despair under any circumstances, but one should not hope too much.”
Question: is it possible to desire improvement in spiritual life?
The elder's answer: “You can not only desire, but you should also try to improve in humility, i.e. in considering oneself in the feeling of the heart worse and lower than all people and every creature.”
“When someone annoys you, never ask why or why. This is nowhere in Scripture. So, on the contrary, it is said: if someone hits you on the right side of the cheek, give him the other one too. It is actually inconvenient to hit the gum cheek, but this should be understood this way: if someone slanders you or innocently annoys you with something, this will mean hitting the gum cheek. Don’t complain, but bear this blow patiently, offering your left cheek, i.e. remembering your wrongdoings. And if, perhaps, you are now innocent, then before you sinned a lot; and thus you will be convinced that you are worthy of punishment.”
If any of the brethren, out of cowardice and impatience, grieved that he was not soon being presented to the mantle, or to the hierodeaconry and hieromonasticism, the elder used to say this for edification: “This, brother, everything will come in due time,” they will give everything; no one will give good deeds.”
“In order not to indulge in irritability and anger, one should not rush”
About irritability: “No one should justify their irritability by some illness - this comes from pride. But the anger of man, according to the word of the holy Apostle James, does not create the righteousness of God (James 1:20). In order not to indulge in irritability and anger, one should not rush.”
Talking about envy and memory, the elder said: “You need to force yourself, albeit against your will, to do some good to your enemies; and the main thing is not to take revenge on them and to be careful so as not to somehow offend them with the appearance of contempt and humiliation.”
“Love, of course, is higher than everything. If you find that there is no love in you, but you want to have it, then do deeds of love, even if first without love. The Lord will see your desire and effort and put love in your heart.”
“Whoever has a bad heart should not despair, because with the help of God a person can correct his heart. You just need to carefully monitor yourself and not miss the opportunity to be useful to your neighbors, often open up to the elder and give alms within your power. This, of course, cannot be done suddenly, but the Lord is patient. He only ends a person’s life when he sees him ready for the transition to eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.”
Elder Ambrose said about alms:“Saint Demetrius of Rostov writes: if a man on a horse comes to you and asks you, give it to him. How he uses your alms is not your responsibility.”
Also: “St. John Chrysostom says: start giving to the poor what you don’t need, what you have lying around; then you will be able to give more, even with deprivation of yourself, and finally you will be ready to give everything you have.”
When asked how to understand the words of Scripture: be wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16), the elder explained: “A snake, when it needs to change its old skin for a new one, passes through a very tight, narrow place, and thus it is comfortable for it.” it happens to leave behind one’s former skin: so a person, wanting to remove his old age, must follow the narrow path of fulfilling the Gospel commandments. During any attack, the snake tries to protect its head. A person must protect his faith most of all. As long as faith is maintained, everything can still be corrected.”
“There is no excuse for atheists”
“I once told my father,” writes his spiritual daughter, “about one family that I feel very sorry for all of them - they don’t believe in anything, neither in God, nor in the future life; It’s a pity precisely because they may not be to blame for this themselves, they were brought up in such unbelief or there were other reasons.
Father shook his head and said angrily:
“There is no excuse for atheists. After all, the Gospel is preached to everyone, to everyone, even to the pagans; finally, by nature, we are all from birth endowed with the feeling of knowing God; therefore, they themselves are to blame. Are you asking if it is possible to pray for such people? Of course, you can pray for everyone.” “Father! - I said after that. “After all, someone whose close relatives will suffer in hell cannot feel complete bliss in the future life?”
And the father said to this:“No, this feeling will no longer be there: then you will forget about everyone. It's just like taking an exam. When you go to an exam, it’s still scary and you’re filled with all sorts of thoughts, but when you came, you took a ticket (to answer), and you forgot about everything.”
Some gentleman came to the elder who did not believe in the existence of demons. The gentleman said: “Your will, father, I don’t even understand what kind of demons these are.” To this the elder replied: “After all, not everyone understands mathematics, but it exists.”
About laziness and despondency: “Boredom is the grandson of despondency, and laziness is the daughter. To drive her away, work hard in action, don’t be lazy in prayer; then boredom will pass and diligence will come. And if you add patience and humility to this, you will save yourself from many evils.”
About insensibility and fearlessness, regarding the sudden death of S., the priest said: “Death is not just around the corner, but behind us, and we can at least have a stake on our heads.”
“Death is not just around the corner, but behind us, but we can at least have a stake on our heads.”
He also said: “If at one end of the village they hang people, at the other end they will not stop sinning, saying: they will not reach us soon.”
He told the following about the power of repentance: “One kept sinning and repenting, and so on all his life. Finally he repented and died. An evil spirit came for his soul and said: he is mine. The Lord says: no, he repented. “But even though he repented, he sinned again,” the devil continued. Then the Lord said to him: “If you, being angry, accepted him again after he repented to Me, then how could I not accept him after he, having sinned, again turned to Me with repentance? You forget that you are evil and I am good.”
“It happens,” the priest said, “that although our sins are forgiven through repentance, our conscience still does not cease to reproach us. The late elder Father Macarius, for comparison, sometimes showed his finger, which had long ago been cut: the pain had long passed, but the scar remained. Likewise, even after the forgiveness of sins, scars remain, i.e. reproaches of conscience."
“Although the Lord forgives the sins of those who repent, every sin requires a cleansing punishment. For example, the Lord Himself said to the prudent thief: Today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:48); and meanwhile, after these words, they broke his legs; And what was it like to hang on the cross for three hours on only your hands, with broken shins? This means that he needed purifying suffering. For sinners who die immediately after repentance, the prayers of the Church and those praying for them serve as cleansing, and those who are still alive must themselves be cleansed by correcting their lives and by alms covering their sins.”
“God does not create the cross for man (i.e., cleansing mental and physical suffering). And no matter how heavy the cross that a person bears in life may be, the tree from which it is made always grows on the soil of his heart.” Pointing to his heart, the priest added: “The tree is where the waters issue, the waters (passions) are seething there.”
“When a person,” the elder said, “walks the straight path, there is no cross for him. But when he retreats from him and begins to rush in one direction or another, then different circumstances appear that push him back onto the straight path. These shocks constitute a cross for a person. They are, of course, different, depending on who needs which one.”
“Sometimes innocent suffering is sent to a person so that, following the example of Christ, he suffers for others. The Savior Himself first suffered for people. His apostles also suffered for the Church and for the people. To have perfect love means to suffer for your neighbors.”
The elder also said: “One brother asked another: who taught you the Jesus Prayer? And he answers: demons. - “How can that be?” “Yes, so: they bother me with sinful thoughts, but I did everything and prayed, and I got used to it.”
One brother complained to the elder that during prayer there were many different thoughts. The elder said to this: “A man was driving through the market; there is a crowd of people around him, talk, noise, and he is all on his horse: but, but! but-but! - and so little by little he drove through the entire bazaar. So you too, no matter what your thoughts say, do all your work - pray!”
So that people would not remain careless and would not place all their hope in outside prayerful help, the elder repeated the usual folk saying: “God help me, and the man himself does not lie.” And T. said: “Father! Through whom should we ask, if not through you?” The elder replied: “And ask yourself; Remember, the twelve apostles asked the Savior for a Canaanite wife, but He did not hear them; and she began to ask and begged.”
But since prayer is the most powerful weapon against the invisible enemy, he tries in every possible way to distract a person from it.
The elder related the following story: “On Mount Athos, one monk had a talking starling, which the monk loved very much, being carried away by his conversations. But it’s strange: as soon as the monk begins to fulfill his prayer rule, the starling starts talking and does not allow the monk to pray.
Once on the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ, a monk approached the cage and said: “Skvorushka, Christ is risen!” And the starling answers: “That’s our misfortune, that he has risen,” and immediately died, and an unbearable stench filled the monk’s cell. Then the monk realized his mistake and repented.”
That God most importantly looks at the inner prayerful mood of a person’s soul, the elder said about this: “Once upon a time, a sick man with his legs came to the above-mentioned Father Abbot Anthony and said: “Father, my legs hurt, I can’t bow down, and this is me.” It’s embarrassing.” Father Anthony answered him: “Yes, the Scripture says: Son, give me a heart, not legs.”
“Why do people sin?” - the elder sometimes asked a question and solved it himself: “Either because they don’t know what to do and what to avoid, or if they know, they forget; if they don’t forget, they become lazy and despondent. On the contrary, since people are very lazy in matters of piety, they very often forget about their main duty - to serve God; from laziness and oblivion they reach extreme foolishness or ignorance.
These are three giants - despondency or laziness, oblivion and ignorance - from which the entire human race is bound by insoluble bonds.
And then comes negligence with all its host of evil passions. That is why we pray to the Queen of Heaven: My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your holy and all-powerful prayers, drive away from me, Your humble and accursed servant, despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts...”
One of the most common spiritual sufferings that visit us is the time when we grieve and are sick. And at this time we grumble: why, why, Lord! That is, we show no patience for sorrows and illnesses. But what actually happens to our soul at moments when the Lord sends us sorrows and illnesses? What does the entire experience of the Church tell us about this through the mouths of ascetics and spirit-bearing elders?
About patience with sorrows. About humility
He who turns to God with all his heart and often prays to Him avoids many sorrows, and if we do not want free labor, then we must endure involuntary sorrows so as not to lag behind the saints. It is said: nothing evil will enter the Kingdom of Heaven: this means that he who wants to enter this Kingdom must certainly bear fruit.
Rev. Optina Elder Anatoly
Sorrows are allowed for sins before God
...you have become so impatient, angry and cowardly.... We ask and pray from now on... to pay attention to yourself, to your weaknesses, mental and physical, and try in every possible way to endure the adventures that come your way, sorrowful and unpleasant, and to blame them for our mental and sensory attempts and sins before God, by which patience with grace and hope our sins are cleansed. Our Savior Jesus Christ Himself, with His most pure lips, spoke in St. In your Gospel: “In your patience gain (that is, train) your souls” (Luke, XXI, 19).
And therefore, you are obliged not only not to be faint-hearted, but also to thank the All-Merciful God for all the necessary sorrows and troubles, and with hope to ask the Lord for patience, and to speak the words of St. Prophet David: “In sorrow I remembered you, Lord, and in little time your punishment is upon us.”
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
Because of your pride, strong and heavy sorrows are sent to you - so you must seek a cure for this illness in the opposite of pride, i.e. in humility, which is what St. Isaac the Syrian writes in Homily 79 that unbearable sorrows are sent to the proud, but whoever is to blame for this, they themselves believe that the cure is in humility. And we advise you to look for this saving medicine, and, realizing that you are heartily worthy of sorrows, accept them with patience and selflessness, no matter how you bear them. Thank God, who still spares you, without sending greater ones, and in all your actions, watch out that the enemy’s seed - pride - does not act, but be respectful to your neighbors and consider yourself the worst of all, then, although reproaches and reproach will come, imputing yourself worthy - you will carry it more comfortably, and humility is acquired more when we do not follow our own mind and will, but according to God we listen to whom we have a disposition towards. Our fathers and mentors of our life wrote at length about this; delve into their writings, such as: St. Dorotheus, John Climacus and other saints who wrote about this virtue, how to acquire it and how to seek it. And you try to follow this, and the Lord will not leave you, and will ease your sorrow, and even comfort you.
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
...the temptations sent to us from God are definitely useful; from these we recognize our weakness, and can judge sensibly about our neighbors, and we see how small our faith is when we are only complacent, when we receive good things, and when they are taken away, we lose heart.
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
We certify that all punishments are allowed by God in order to have humility. When you trust in God's help, repent. We can be saved by many sorrows, or illnesses, or other cases unknown to us.
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
You very desperately accept the visitation of God and, wanting to avoid this sorrow by criminal actions, you do not think that by doing this you are striving with quick steps towards eternal destruction. Resist these impulses. In sorrow, resort to the Most Merciful Lord: punishing the body with sorrowful instructions, he heals the soul. If you came to the proper feeling and realized the severity of your sins, then you would silently praise the Lord, who is punishing here in order to save you from eternal torment. When you accept the inclination to yourself that I am not such a sinner as to punish me like that, then know that pride alone is the gravest of vices. Humble yourself, imputing punishment worthy of being, do not blame anyone, do not grumble at anyone, and especially at God, you will see the relief of your sorrows. Here are your means of deliverance.
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
If you recognize yourself as a sinner, then you know that the wounds of a sinner are many, but when you admit that you are a righteous one, then again it is written: “Many are the sorrows of the righteous” (Ps., XXXIII, 20). No matter where you turn, you cannot live without sorrow. Who arranges them? God Himself provides for everyone and controls everything; whoever accepts otherwise departs from the truth and becomes like the dumb.
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
... try to pacify yourself, surrendering to the will of God and His Holy Providence, leading you to salvation in ways unknown to you. The sorrows allowed to you can only come except by God's permission - they serve for your benefit and salvation. No matter how great the sorrows, they are all fleeting and soon cease, and those that are long-lasting will all end in death. And thoughts - remember where they are leading you. Surely to eternal destruction.
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
The Lord involuntarily saves us through sorrows and illnesses, leading us away from the opposite path and seeing us off to Himself. Truly St. Paul's exclamation: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God! Who has tried the mind of the Lord" (Rom. xi. 33). Trust in the mercy of God: illnesses and suffering will bring bliss in the next century, - thereby ease your sorrow, bring thanks to the Lord: if he had not loved you, he would not have visited you with seven sufferings. He gives strength to your exhausted strength as long as He pleases to prolong your trial.
Rev. Optina Elder Leo
We should not be embarrassed about the cause of illness: the Holy Fathers command us not to look for who and why we find sorrows, but to endure complacently. Thanking God and humbly bearing will not only atone for our weaknesses and carelessness, but will also impute our own guilt into our justification. The permission that comes to our benefit by the wise Providence flows from us. He who avoids voluntary sorrows, says Mark the Ascetic, falls into involuntary ones. - And yet to our benefit and to our admonition, but not at all to embarrassment.
Physical illnesses are needed to cleanse the flesh, and mental illnesses through insults and reproaches are needed to cleanse the soul. But the Lord, without dividing one from the other, in the Holy Gospel says: “In your patience you will gain your souls” (Luke 21:19) and: he who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13).
Rev. Elder Ambrose of Optina
...The fate of the Lord is not tested. He lovingly leads others along a similar path of sorrow and illness for great spiritual good, and this is truly God’s mercy.
Rev. Elder Ambrose of Optina
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In sorrows, you pray to God, and they will go away, but you cannot drive away the disease with a stick.
Rev. Elder Ambrose of Optina
You write that illnesses and sorrows visit you. This is a sign of God’s mercy to you: since the Lord loves him, punishes him, and beats every son he accepts (Heb. 12:6), then you must thank the Lord for His fatherly Providence for you. Sorrows enlighten us and make us skillful in our affairs; they also cleanse from sins, as well as illnesses.
God cares and provides for us more than we ourselves; He arranges our salvation, but He does not want us to seek it in this joy, but in sorrow, in distress and in illness. Did our fathers and mothers enter the Kingdom of Heaven with weakness? Didn’t they acquire it in a difficult and regrettable way? They grieved, but did not feel cold or faint-hearted, and this served them as a consolation in the most severe sorrows of soul and body, after enduring which in complete humility they received complete peace and even spiritual gifts.
Rev. Optina Elder Macarius
He visits with love and illnesses, which he will accept instead of doing; and through them he will deliver from what the formerly healthy person could have been exposed to. Truly, when we pay attention to our life, we will see how far it is from the path that our holy fathers and mothers walked, and they left us an image - in the description of their lives and teachings. We are all looking for a joyful path, but we run away from the narrow and regrettable one; How can we not thank the Lord when He brings about our salvation through involuntary sorrows or illnesses? Thank the Lord for His love for us sinners, and bring as much as you can, love and humility, which can replace our lack of living and intercede for us before God for mercy...
Rev. Optina Elder Macarius
...For those who seek salvation and do not achieve it through deeds, the most merciful Lord makes up for your lack with illnesses and sorrows.
Rev. Optina Elder Macarius
When we do not force ourselves into voluntary sorrows and hardships, then involuntary ones are sent from Providence.
Rev. Optina Elder Macarius
We need to endure and prosper in the sorrows that come our way; we know that everything will pass. And first: we must be forced to move away from worldly temptations: what you don’t see and don’t hear, you don’t want. The memory of God is strong enough to preserve you from everything, if you try to remember the hour of death when the soul departs from the body.
Rev. Elder Joseph of Optina
Is it really only a person who can ever achieve eternal bliss through his single act? Through the sole merits and suffering of our dearest Lord and Redeemer, mercy and gifts are bestowed on humanity. Bear with what little you find with thanksgiving and patience, and the All-Merciful Lord will save you, and grant you eternal bliss, and make you one of all the saints.
Rev. Elder Joseph of Optina
The Gospel says: “Blessed are you when people revile you...” (Matthew 5:11). At first glance it seems strange how blissful there is; they scold, they slander - it’s just sorrow! But no, this is bliss if you endure in the name of Christ. One Elder was asked how he felt about reproach.
“With sorrow,” he answered.
- Do the reproaches really affect you too?
“No,” answered the Elder, “I rejoice for myself, but I grieve for those who listen to reproaches, because they are deprived of the benefit that they could receive from the Lord through me, a sinner.”
“Then you will be betrayed in tribulation and killed: and you will be hated by all languages for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9). This word applies to all Christians who lived in the first centuries of Christianity, and will live in the last days of the Church of Christ on earth.
If you live poorly, then no one touches you, but if you start to live well, you immediately face sorrows, temptations and insults. It is necessary to humbly endure insults inflicted by others and sorrows in general.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be earned by waving a cane. We are all looking to avoid sorrows, and Holy Scripture says: “If you do not find sorrows, then be afraid.”
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
There is a lot of bitterness in life: failures, illness, poverty, etc. But if a person believes in God, then the Lord can sweeten even a bitter life. Remember the story of the Old Testament. When the Jews wandered through the desert, they one day reached Lake Marah. Exhausted with thirst, people wanted to satisfy it with the waters of the lake, but it turned out to be bitter. Then Moses, at the command of God, put the tree in the water, and it became sweet. Did the Jews understand the significance of what happened? No, they didn't understand. Moses, he knew what it represented. The tree that sweetened the water prefigured the tree of the Cross with which we enter heaven. The Cross of Christ delights the life of a Christian. Remembering him makes it easier to bear your own cross. Our cross is illness and sorrow. It is difficult for a carnal man to bear them, but thanks to them, he is reborn spiritually. The Lord made the following comparison: “When a woman gives birth, she has sorrow, because her year is come: when a child gives birth, who does not remember the sorrow for the joy that a man was born into the world” (John 16:21). So, at first, a person is burdened by various sorrows, but when the Lord dwells in his heart, he forgets all his previous sufferings and in the very sorrows he rejoices, according to the word of the Apostle: “Just as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds in Christ” (2). Cor. 1:5).
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
Now you are returning to your studies again, your working life will begin again, perhaps full of sorrows. What to do? Sorrows are inevitable, although we wanted to avoid them. Life appears to us as a white stripe, on which black dots are sorrows, from which we would like to get rid of as quickly as possible, but in fact, life is a black stripe, and white dots are scattered on it - consolations. “You will be in a world of sorrow,” said Christ, “but take heart, (for) I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Where can we find consolation in the sorrows that surround us on all sides? It is necessary to delve deeper into yourself and into your inner world, because... therein lies a source of consolation.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
Day follows night, and night follows day, inclement weather - a bucket; So sorrow and joy replace one another.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
The Apostle Paul spoke a terrible word against those who do not suffer any punishment from God: if you remain unpunished, you are illegitimate children. There is no need to be discouraged, let those who do not believe in God be discouraged; for those, of course, grief is heavy, because... They have nothing but earthly pleasures. But believers should not lose heart, because... Through sorrow they receive the right to sonship, without which it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
Fathers educated in piety,
The evil command is careless,
Not afraid of the fiery rebuke,
But in the midst of the flames there is a standing position;
Fathers God, blessed art thou.
Tribulation is a “fiery rebuke” or test, but we should not be afraid of them, but, like the reverend youths, sing of God in sorrows, believing that they are sent by God for our salvation.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
So, to gain the right to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you need a cross, you need a crucifixion. If you read the Gospel, you will see everywhere the mysterious number four - signifying the cross. Four brought the paralytic, and four make up the cross. Who is this relaxed one? This is every Christian soul infected with sin, but coming to Christ for healing. The Lord says about Himself: “And they will mock Him, and hurt Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him,” and then adds, “and on the third day He will rise again” (Mark 10:34).
These words apply to every Christian. Whoever follows Christ unswervingly along the path of His commandments must go through these 4 stages: “And they will mock Him, and wound Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.” If any of you were asked, “Do you love Jesus Christ?” - then everyone would probably answer “I love you.” But love for Christ must be suffered; without suffering it is impossible to acquire this love. But perhaps someone would want to love Christ, and at the same time avoid sorrows, and live quite calmly. This is unthinkable, since the enemy will not leave people who work for the Lord alone. But you have to endure everything, suffer everything, and you can’t go wrong – the end is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
The Lord teaches: “Let your heart not be troubled; believe in God and believe in Me” (John 14:1). The direct path to heaven is faith. Life is both simple and complex. It seems strange how to combine two seemingly opposing concepts. But there is no contradiction. It is simple for those who, without reasoning, entrust themselves in everything to the guidance of God, and complex for those who philosophize in the matter of salvation, inventing special feats and special deeds for themselves. The Lord said about how to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven: “And even as I go, I know, and I know the way” (John 14:4). Our Orthodox Church points to this path. Life also gives you difficult tasks, but do not be embarrassed, you are on the true path, you have nothing to fear.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
The incessant sorrows sent by God to man are a sign of God’s special providence for man. The meaning of sorrows is many different: they are sent to them to suppress evil, or for admonition, or for greater glory. For example, a person gets sick and grieves about it, but meanwhile with this illness he gets rid of even greater evil that he intended to do, etc.
Rev. Optina Elder Barsanuphius
Reading the Optina elders, some will enjoy the wonderful living language XIX century, others will unexpectedly discover things that are acutely modern. Let us also, in the days of the memory of St. Ambrose and the Council of the Optina Elders, continue to communicate with them through their lives, letters, instructions, so that our lives will be illuminated by their wisdom, like the rays of the soft October sun.
“...I have never met such monks.
It seemed to me that everything heavenly was talking to each of them.”
N.V. Gogol
From century to century, the blessed source of wisdom of the elders of Optina Pustyn flows into Eternal Life and brings healing to all who seek salvation and freedom in Christ. Freedom from the laws of the world, from one’s own passions, that perfect freedom that is defined by the words of the Savior: “The Kingdom of God is within you.”
The elders were those experienced “guides” who helped people find their way to Him here on earth. Their instructions are simple. Every true teacher descends to the level of a student in order to help him rise to the highest levels of knowledge, and the Optina monks condescended to the “infancy” of their pupils, and spoke in such a way that their word would benefit both the scientist and the simple peasant. Thanks to this, Optina Pustyn gave Russia a real “treasure” of spiritual knowledge, contained in brief instructions.
"Milk of Words"
The Monk Ambrose was an unsurpassed master of such spiritual teachings. They drove to him from everywhere on carts, walked many miles on foot, old and young, just to hear him, to ask for his blessing while the priest was alive. They understood that this was a gift for life.
In the small reception area they waited their turn, sitting in a row, not bothering. From time to time, the cell attendant, Father Joseph, quietly nodded to the next visitor. On fine days Fr. Ambrose himself went out to the pilgrims on the porch. There are apparently no people around, but there are even more letters on the priest’s table. So, he tried to express the essence in short answers, so that it would be better remembered.
In the world, before leaving for the monastery, he had a cheerful and lively character, and in the monastery this liveliness turned over the years into spiritual joy. Light breathing and a joke marked his brief instructions.
Here, for example, about the main thing - about the cause of troubles and falls in life:
“What makes a person feel bad? –
Because he forgets that there is God above him.”
And this is about pride that precedes falls and how important it is to avoid judging others:
“Don’t boast, peas, that you are better than beans:
If you get wet, you’ll burst.”
On how it is easier to succeed in spiritual life:
"Who gives in more?
He gains more"
In the same way, softening the pastoral word with jokes and rhymes, other elders talked with the pilgrims, taking into account the measure of their age. Spiritual mentor Fr. Ambrose, Rev. Leo often told people about the benefits of compliance:
"Where is humility,
There is salvation nearby."
Reverend Anthony
In two lines, Father Anthony recalled how important it is for a Christian to trust in God and turn to Him in prayer:
“Whoever trusts firmly in God,
God helps him in everything.”
And Elder Anatoly (the Elder) expressed in one sentence how condemnation should be avoided:
“Have pity and you won’t judge”
"Three Nuts"
Most Holy Leo
For those who, devoting themselves to the guidance of the elders, took up internal work, the “lessons” were more difficult.
The real “professors” who laid the foundations of the Optina theological school were the first elders: Rev. Paisiy, and behind him – Rev. Leo and Macarius.
The instructions of the last of them expressed the basic principles of spiritual work.
This “medicine” is not always pleasant, with a bitter aftertaste, but it brings joy from the knowledge that it is true because it's harder that way, and, although human nature resists the compulsion to follow the “straight path,” there is in it the spirit of the Gospel, the spirit of Christ.
Three qualities, three virtues for St. poppyria have a special price:patientbearing sorrows, humility and self-reproach.On them the foundation of spiritual life is built, from them the road to higher virtues is paved: mercy, love, self-denial.
Venerable Macarius
Father Macarius reminds us that the path of sorrows is prepared for everyone in the world who seeks salvation, but we should not be afraid, despondent, or shy away from them: they are sent to us to purify our souls and acquire the highest qualities. And everything that the soul “trembles”: losses, pain, labor, injustice, reproach and even one’s own imperfection - must become the “material” of our salvation:
“Our path is such that we want it or don’t want it, and sorrow should be, by God’s permission, to our trial and learning patience.”
Anyone who acquires the skill of patience passes this path without difficulty. He does not challenge, does not try to change the conditions in which he is placed, but accepts them as a test from the hand of the Lord; and then he turns both reproaches and vain accusations into a reason to look at himself more carefully: to notice a rebellious passion, or to remember an unrepentant sin. That is, patience also teaches self-reproach:
“Feats against the passions are only painful when we go through them proudly and arrogantly, but when we humbly, calling upon God’s help and ascribing Her corrections, then they too become bearable.”
This view in the Optina tradition of spiritual education will acquire the force of an aphorism:
“If there is humility, everything is there, if there is no humility, there is nothing.”
Remembering the words of the Savior that spiritual gifts can only be useful if the spirit of love operates in a person, Father Macarius advises his spiritual children to be zealous not for acquiring the gifts themselves, but for what opens the way for Christian love:
“Don’t look for any talents, but rather try to master the mother of talents - humility is stronger.”
Not only external sorrows plague a person, but also internal ones - unconquered passions. And the elder reveals a general rule in spiritual warfare: one can defeat weakness that has turned into skill only with the help of the opposite virtue:
“...against pride - humility, against gluttony - abstinence, against envy and resentment - love, but when this is not there, then we will not reproach ourselves, humble ourselves and ask for help from God.”
The idea of the benefits of humility for the sake of Christ, for oneself and for others, runs through all the advice of the Optina elders to both monastics and laity. The call to “not look for one’s own,” to turn one’s own heart into the field of spiritual warfare, sounds constantly in their instructions. But still…
Comforters
Spiritual composure and even the severity of the elders’ instructions had nothing to do with alienation or indifference. In their letters addressed to their spiritual children, there is room for both sympathy and encouragement. Here, for example, is one such letter from the archives of Elder Anatoly (Zertsalov). How much warmth and paternal empathy there is in him:
“As for your pitiful position in the circle of sisters, you will only prove that you are their sister, and not some kind of hanger-on, when you show them sisterly love and tolerate them. It even hurts me to see or hear how everyone is putting pressure on you: well, what if all your future eternal glory lies in this pressure?<…>Be patient, be patient with the Lord, be of good cheer.”
No matter how terrible the “storm” may be, no matter how insurmountable one’s own passions may seem, everything will be weighed, everything will have a price determined in the Resurrection of Christ:
“...If anyone loves Jesus, he tries with all his might to accumulate more dowry,<…>And the Lord loves such people.”
The advice of the Reverend Elders of Optina covers practically all important aspects of life, and there is reasoning in everything: one measure is for monks, another for laity, one for beginners, another for those who are in the middle and at the end of the path.
But they also examine questions that are common to everyone: about the purpose of Christian life, about what kind of fasting is correct, about whether it makes any difference how and what to believe, about the meaning and grace-filled power of church sacraments, about prayer and spiritual reading , about what use of talents the Lord expects from his disciples, and about the dangers on the path of salvation.
Reading them, some will enjoy the wonderful living language of the 19th century, others will unexpectedly discover things that are sharply modern and written, as if especially for pastors who fall “under the fire” of the press, which arrogates to itself the right to judge the church...
And how good it is in the days of the memory of St. Ambrose and the Council of the Optina Elders to continue “communication with them” - to look for or re-read the literature available now: lives, letters, instructions, so that our lives will be illuminated by their wisdom, like the rays of the soft October sun.
Reading the Optina elders, some will enjoy the wonderful living language XIX century, others will unexpectedly discover things that are acutely modern. Let us also, in the days of the memory of St. Ambrose and the Council of the Optina Elders, continue to communicate with them through their lives, letters, instructions, so that our lives will be illuminated by their wisdom, like the rays of the soft October sun.
“...I have never met such monks.
It seemed to me that everything heavenly was talking to each of them.”
N.V. Gogol
From century to century, the blessed source of wisdom of the elders of Optina Pustyn flows into Eternal Life and brings healing to all who seek salvation and freedom in Christ. Freedom from the laws of the world, from one’s own passions, that perfect freedom that is defined by the words of the Savior: “The Kingdom of God is within you.”
The elders were those experienced “guides” who helped people find their way to Him here on earth. Their instructions are simple. Every true teacher descends to the level of a student in order to help him rise to the highest levels of knowledge, and the Optina monks condescended to the “infancy” of their pupils, and spoke in such a way that their word would benefit both the scientist and the simple peasant. Thanks to this, Optina Pustyn gave Russia a real “treasure” of spiritual knowledge, contained in brief instructions.
"Milk of Words"
The Monk Ambrose was an unsurpassed master of such spiritual teachings. They drove to him from everywhere on carts, walked many miles on foot, old and young, just to hear him, to ask for his blessing while the priest was alive. They understood that this was a gift for life.
In the small reception area they waited their turn, sitting in a row, not bothering. From time to time, the cell attendant, Father Joseph, quietly nodded to the next visitor. On fine days Fr. Ambrose himself went out to the pilgrims on the porch. There are apparently no people around, but there are even more letters on the priest’s table. So, he tried to express the essence in short answers, so that it would be better remembered.
Reverend Ambrose
In the world, before leaving for the monastery, he had a cheerful and lively character, and in the monastery this liveliness turned into spiritual joy with the mountains. Light breathing and a joke marked his brief instructions.
Here, for example, about the main thing - about the cause of troubles and falls in life:
“What makes a person feel bad? –
Because he forgets that there is God above him.”
And this is about pride that precedes falls and how important it is to avoid judging others:
“Don’t boast, peas, that you are better than beans:
If you get wet, you’ll burst.”
On how it is easier to succeed in spiritual life:
"Who gives in more?
He gains more"
Reverend Leo
In the same way, softening the pastoral word with jokes and rhymes, other elders talked with the pilgrims, taking into account the measure of their age. Spiritual mentor Fr. Ambrose, Rev. Leo often told people about the benefits of compliance:
"Where is humility,
There is salvation nearby."
Reverend Anthony
In two lines, Father Anthony recalled how important it is for a Christian to trust in God and turn to Him in prayer:
“Whoever trusts firmly in God,
God helps him in everything.”
Venerable Anatoly (the Elder)
And Elder Anatoly (the Elder) expressed in one sentence how condemnation should be avoided:
“Have pity and you won’t judge”
"Three Nuts"
Reverend Leo
For those who, devoting themselves to the guidance of the elders, took up internal work, the “lessons” were more difficult. The real “professors” who laid the foundations of the Optina theological school were the first elders: Rev. Paisiy, and behind him – Rev. Leo and Macarius.
The instructions of the last of them expressed the basic principles of spiritual work. This “medicine” is not always pleasant, with a bitter aftertaste, but it brings joy from the knowledge that it is true because it's harder that way, and, although human nature resists the compulsion to follow the “straight path,” there is in it the spirit of the Gospel, the spirit of Christ.
Three qualities, three virtues for St. Macaria has a special price: patient bearing of sorrows, humility and self-reproach. On them the foundation of spiritual life is built, from them the road to higher virtues is paved: mercy, love, self-denial.
Venerable Macarius
Father Macarius reminds us that the path of sorrows is prepared for everyone in the world who seeks salvation, but we should not be afraid, despondent, or shy away from them: they are sent to us to purify our souls and acquire the highest qualities. And everything that the soul “trembles”: losses, pain, labors, injustice, reproach and even one’s own imperfection – must become the “material” of our salvation:
“Our path is such that we want it or don’t want it, and sorrow should be, by God’s permission, to our trial and learning patience.”
Anyone who acquires the skill of patience passes this path without difficulty. He does not challenge, does not try to change the conditions in which he is placed, but accepts them as a test from the hand of the Lord; and then he turns both reproaches and vain accusations into a reason to look at himself more carefully: to notice a rebellious passion, or to remember an unrepentant sin. That is, patience also teaches self-reproach:
“Feats against the passions are only painful when we go through them proudly and arrogantly, but when we humbly, calling upon God’s help and ascribing Her corrections, then they too become bearable.”
This view in the Optina tradition of spiritual education will acquire the force of an aphorism:
“If there is humility, everything is there, if there is no humility, there is nothing.”
Remembering the words of the Savior that spiritual gifts can only be useful if the spirit of love operates in a person, Father Macarius advises his spiritual children to be zealous not for acquiring the gifts themselves, but for what opens the way for Christian love:
“Don’t look for any talents, but rather try to master the mother of talents - humility is stronger.”
Not only external sorrows plague a person, but also internal ones - unconquered passions. And the elder reveals a general rule in spiritual warfare: one can defeat weakness that has turned into skill only with the help of the opposite virtue:
“...against pride - humility, against gluttony - abstinence, against envy and resentment - love, but when this is not there, then we will not reproach ourselves, humble ourselves and ask for help from God.”
The idea of the benefits of humility for the sake of Christ, for oneself and for others, runs through all the advice of the Optina elders to both monastics and laity. The call to “not look for one’s own,” to turn one’s own heart into the field of spiritual warfare, sounds constantly in their instructions. But still…
Comforters
Spiritual composure and even the severity of the elders’ instructions had nothing to do with alienation or indifference. In their letters addressed to their spiritual children, there is room for both sympathy and encouragement. Here, for example, is one such letter from the archives of Elder Anatoly (Zertsalov). How much warmth and paternal empathy there is in him:
“As for your pitiful position in the circle of sisters, you will only prove that you are their sister, and not some kind of hanger-on, when you show them sisterly love and tolerate them. It even hurts me to see or hear how everyone is putting pressure on you: well, what if all your future eternal glory lies in this pressure?<…>Be patient, be patient with the Lord, be of good cheer.”
No matter how terrible the “storm” may be, no matter how insurmountable one’s own passions may seem, everything will be weighed, everything will have a price determined in the Resurrection of Christ:
“...If anyone loves Jesus, he tries with all his might to accumulate more dowry,<…>And the Lord loves such people.”
The advice of the Reverend Elders of Optina covers practically all important aspects of life, and there is reasoning in everything: one measure is for monks, another for laity, one for beginners, another for those who are in the middle and at the end of the path.
But they also examine questions that are common to everyone: about the purpose of Christian life, about what kind of fasting is correct, about whether it makes any difference how and what to believe, about the meaning and grace-filled power of church sacraments, about prayer and spiritual reading , about what use of talents the Lord expects from his disciples, and about the dangers on the path of salvation.
Reading them, some will enjoy the wonderful living language of the 19th century, others will unexpectedly discover things that are sharply modern and written, as if especially for pastors who fall “under the fire” of the press, which arrogates to itself the right to judge the church...
And how good it is in the days of the memory of St. Ambrose and the Council of the Optina Elders to continue “communication with them” - to look for or re-read the literature available now: lives, letters, instructions, so that our lives will be illuminated by their wisdom, like the rays of the soft October sun.
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