The relics of the holy elders are kept in Optina Pustyn, in the Vladimir church of the monastery. During their lifetime they treated mental and physical diseases. Today pilgrims come here all over the world, hoping for a miracle of healing.
An elder is an experienced monk in spiritual life, possessing the gift of reasoning, a teacher, a mentor. People came to him for advice and consolation, and the elder did not refuse to help anyone, with his attention and warmth he warmed everyone who came. A man came out of his cell, flew on wings, the world seemed to him renewed.
Elderly has become the hallmark of Optina Pustyn. The fame of this monastery and its elders spread throughout Russia and beyond.
First
The first elder in Optina Hermitage was the Monk Lev of Optina (L. D. Nagolkin), a man of large build, with a loud voice and a shock of thick hair. Sharp and impetuous. Instead of long persuasion, the elder sometimes knocked the soil out from under the feet of the visitor with one word, forcing him to realize that he was wrong and to repent. He, as a psychologist, knew how to achieve his goal.
The Monk Leo of Optina not only healed the soul, but also healed. He saved many who were weak from death. Elder Leo also successfully treated the demon-possessed (demon-possessed). Towards the end of his life, he predicted that Russia would endure a lot of grief and upheaval. The holy relics of the Monk Leo are in the Vladimir Church of the monastery.
Elder Macarius
Hieroschemamonk Macarius (M. Ivanov) - disciple of the Monk Leo of Optina. He was huge, with an ugly face, beaten by smallpox, tongue-tied. He possessed the gift of clairvoyance. Seeing a person for the first time, he could immediately call him by name. I answered letters earlier than I received them.
He wrote letters from morning to evening. They contain advice and answers to numerous spiritual questions. They are still useful and interesting today.
The Monk Macarius at the monastery created and headed a group of scholars and writers (monks and lay people). They translated ancient spiritual scriptures. Under the influence of Elder Macarius, a school of publishers and translators of spiritual literature arose in Russia. The writers Tolstoy and Gogol came to him for confession.
The people followed this old man in droves, people dreamed of seeing him at least through the window. He gave everyone his love. Tired and sick, the Monk Macarius received pilgrims until his death.
Venerable Illarion of Optina
Hieroschemamonk Hilarion (R. N. Ponomarev) perfectly recognized and cured mental illnesses by repentance. People went to him for advice in difficult life situations. The wisdom of the elder was simply amazing: he spoke very little, but his words had great power.
Once the brother of a merchant turned to the Monk Hilarion of Optina. The young merchant was a widower and asked to bless him for a second marriage. The elder advised to postpone the wedding for a year and said that the merchant would soon come to Optina Pustyn himself. The merchant did not obey. His new wife died three weeks later. After a while, he himself came to the monastery and became a monk.
And Elder Hilarion also loved to work in the garden: he planted trees, planted flowers. Monks and newcomers admired and admired the beautiful flower beds of the Optina Pustyn, grown by the works of one person.
Optina Pustyn became the only place in Russia where the society of people has reached the highest degree of spirituality. Not every monk, but the whole fraternity. There were many saints in the monasteries of Rus, but the holy brotherhood under the leadership of the monastic elders - only in this monastery.
The Optina elders are famous for miracles of healing from bodily and mental illnesses, an all-consuming love for people, humility and forgiveness.
