Our righteous Father Anatolius the Elder of Optina.
Saint Anatolius entered Optina monastery in 1853 and became a disciple of the Elder Macarius and of Macarius’s successor, the Elder Ambrose, eventually joining the latter in spiritual direction of the brotherhood and also of Shamordino Convent, and reposing three years after him, in 1894. The Elder Anatolius was a very diligent practitioner of the Jesus Prayer and a tenderly compassionate spiritual father. His many letters (available here) to the nuns who were his spiritual children show his deep wisdom, his long-suffering and compassion, and his gentle humor in dealing with his sometimes wayward wards.
Copyright © 2016, Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, all rights reserved.
All reproduction of texts or icons on this website in any form
without prior written permission is forbidden.
