Elder Leonid of Optina

Publication Data: Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2002
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 271
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.0 cm × 13.5 cm × 1.5 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 0‒938635‒66‒2

   
by Fr. Clement Sederholm

Volume 1 of The Optina Elders Series

“Over the course of one century—from Elder Leonid’s arrival in 1829 until the Monastery’s forced closure by the Communists in 1923—Optina, with its Skete of St. John the Forerunner, was at the center of a tremendous spiritual revival in Russia. [...]With the arrival of Elder Leonid, the practice of eldership was introduced in Optina. This is the prophetic ministry of the Church, which has existed since apostolic times, and through which God’s will is directly revealed to those seeking guidance. An elder is one who, through inward purification, has become a vessel and conduit of the action of the Holy Spirit. This ministry was passed on in Optina from one Elder to the next, in a remarkable chain of sanctity that lasted a full century.”
—“Preface to the Second English Edition”

CONTENTS

Preface to the Second English Edition
Preface to the 1976 Centennial Russian Edition
Forword to the 1876 Russian Edition
THE LIFE OF ELDER LEONID
   I. The Youth of Father Leonid
   II. Father Leonid Settles at the Optina Monastery
   III. The Opponents of Eldership
   IV. The Distinctive Qualities and Spiritual Gifts of Elder Leonid
   V. Stories About Elder Leonid
   VI. The Persecution of Elder Leonid and his Belev Nuns
   VII. The Last Days and Repose of Elder Leonid
SPIRITUAL COUNSELS OF ELDER LEONID
   I. A Disciple’s Questions and the Replies of the Elder
   II. The Questions of Another Disciple and the Replies of the Elder
THE LIFE OF ELDER THEODORE OF SVIR
APPENDICES
   I. A Letter of Elder Theodore of Svir
   II. Righteous Anthony Ivanovich, Fool-for-Christ of Valaam
   III. The “Pancake” Commemoration of Elder Leonid
Glossary
Index