The Elder Moses of Optina

Publication Data: Boston, MA: Holy Nativity Convent, 1996
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 396
Dimensions (l × w × h): 19.7 cm × 13.3 cm × 2.9 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 0‒943405‒07‒6

   
Translated from the Russian by the Holy Nativity Convent

“[...A]ll things assessed, the greatest contribution of the the holy Elder Moses to Russia and Russian monasticism was the re-introduction of Eldership for which Optina became synonymous and famous. This had already been accomplished by Saint Paisiy Velichkovsky in Moldavia and Romania (he having brought it from the Holy Mountain), but was looked upon with suspicion in Russia. It was primarily through the persistent labors of Saint Moses that this was accomplished at Optina, which blossomed into that whole series of holy God-bearing elders with evident gifts of the Holy Spirit. But in the beginning there was much opposition not only from without but primarily from within the community by ‘certain among the brethren who were undoubtedly pious and struggling for their salvation, but who apparently emphasized bodily labors—fasting, vigil, prostrations, psalmody, and the like. The interior labor of the monk—the cleansing of the heart from passionate thoughts through prayer and through confessing them to a spiritual instructor—was not a regular part of the spiritual endeavor of the residents of Optina Hermitage at that time’[...].”
—“Introduction”

CONTENTS

   Introduction
   Publisher’s Note
   The Kozelsk Monastery of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple
   Foreword
CHAPTER 1
   Childhood and Early Youth (1782–1811)
CHAPTER 2
   Life in the Roslavl Forests (1811–1821)
CHAPTER 3
   Life at the Skete of Optina Hermitage (1821–1826)
CHAPTER 4
   Years as Superior (1826–1862)
   Relations with Church Authorities
   “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out”
   The Introduction of Eldership
   Guidance of the Brethren
   Hospitality and Almsgiving
   A Life Hidden in God
   Illness and Repose
APPENDIX
I
   A Letter of the Nun Dosithea to Timothy and Jonah Putilov, and a Brief Narrative About Her
II
   From the Letters of Archimandrite Alexander of Arzamas, Formerly Vicar of the Novo-Spassky Monastery in Moscow, to the Brothers Timothy and Jonah Putilov
III
   Three Certifications Granted to Timothy Putilov
IV
   Two Handwritten Notes of Father Abbot Moses
V
   Letters Written by Father Moses to His Brother, Father Anthony (Alexander Ivanovich in the World)
VI
   Excerpt from a letter to E. D. Taptykina
VII
   A Letter to Father Abbot Anthony
VIII
   The Spiritual Testament of Father Archimandrite Moses
IX
   A Letter of Abbot Anthony to Archimandrite Gennady
X
   A Letter Father Abbot Anthony Bochkov
XI
   Funeral Sermon Given at the Burial of Father Archimandrite Moses by Archimandrite Gerasim, the Rector of the Kaluga Seminary
XII
   On Eremitic Life in the Roslavl Forests
XIII
   A Letter of Father Archimandrite Moses of Optina to his Cousin the Nun Maximilla
   A Service for Our Righteous Father Moses of Optina
   Glossary
   Index