Elder Anthony of Optina

Publication Data: Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2012
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 269
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.0 cm × 13.5 cm × 1.3 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 0‒938635‒51‒4
ISBN13: 978‒0‒938635‒51‒2

   
by Fr. Clement Sederholm

Volume 2 of The Optina Elders Series

“Abbot Anthony—in the world, Alexander Ivanovich Putilov—was born on March 9, 1795, in the town of Romanov in the Yaroslavl Province. His parents, Ivan Grigoryevich and Anna Ivanovna Putilov, were native residents of the town of Serpukhov, but later became registered as Moscow merchants. They were pious and God-fearing people and raised their children in the fear of God, in the spirit of strict Orthodoxy, teaching them from an early age to love the Church of God with its holy services. As a child, young Alexander was very quiet and modest. He did not like the noisy games of his playmates, and in his youth was protected by the fear of God from passions harmful to the soul. Even in his childhood he felt an inclination toward monasticism.”
—“I: Childhood AND THE FIRST YEARS OF HIS YOUTH, 1795-1816”

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
   About the Author: Hieromonk Clement Sederholm
FOREWORD
I. THE LIFE OF ELDER ANTHONY OF OPTINA
   1. Childhood
   2. Life in the Roslavl Forests
   3. Life in the Skete of Optina Hermitage
   4. Abbacy in the St. Nicholas Monastery
   5. Life in Retirement at Optina Monastery
   6. Last Years and Death
II. PERSONAL NOTES AND LETTERS
   1. The Personal Notes of Abbot Anthony
   2. The Letters of Alexander Putilov (the Future Abbot Anthony) to His Brother Timothy (the Future Elder Moses)
   3. Excerpts from the Diary of Father Anthony
   4. An Excerpt from the Personal Calendar of Abbot Anthony
III. PASTORAL LETTERS
APPENDICES
   1. A Letter of Abbot Anthony Bochkov
   2. An Amazing Incident
   3. An Entry from the Diary of Hieromonk Euthymius
GLOSSARY
INDEX