The Optina Pustyn Monastery: reviews, history, where it is, how to get there

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

"Lamp of Russia" - that was how Optina Pustyn was called at the end of the 19th century. This is where the Russian eldership originated. What it is - we will learn about it later.

Now most monasteries and temples have an icon "Cathedral of the Optina Elders". Many people know about the three resident brothers who were killed on Easter 1993. Pilgrimages to the monastery are made regularly. Reviews about Optina Pustyn are the most enthusiastic. And we, in turn, will tell you about the monastery in more detail.

History of the monastery

There are three versions of the emergence of this abode of God. According to the first, in the 14th century, the ferocious and formidable robber Opta lived in the Kaluga forests. He was the leader of the robber "brotherhood". He attacked merchant carts, robbed them, and brutally killed people.

History is silent about what happened to the mighty Opta, why he suddenly reconsidered his life. I looked at her from the other side andhorrified. Immediately left the band of robbers. The path of the repentant sinner to God began. Opta was tonsured with the name Macarius and became the founder of Optina Hermitage in the impenetrable forests near Kozelsk.

According to the second version, everything is much simpler. The date of foundation of the monastery is unknown. Why is it called Optina? Because it used to be mixed, that is, for monks and nuns. And such ascetics were called optins.

And the third version tells that the monastery was founded by unknown ascetics. They went away from human eyes, into impenetrable forests. The forests near Kozelsk, across the Zhizdra River, are the very place where you can hide from prying eyes. The land here is unsuitable for arable farming, which means that no one will encroach on it.

One way or another, but St. Optina Hermitage is one of the oldest monasteries in modern Russia.

1625-1796

According to reviews, Optina Pustyn is the place where the soul exhausted by bustle gratefully rests. And so it was from the moment the monastery was formed.

What do we know about her first "steps"? It is known that in 1630, instead of a luxurious monastery, there was only a wooden church. The picture was completed by several cells. And the brethren numbered only 12 people. Not much, compared to later years.

Nevertheless, the monastery existed. Under the leadership of Hieromonk Theodore, the brethren carried out their obedience. The then tsar, Mikhail Fedorovich, gave the monastery land for vegetable gardens, presented a mill. And in 1689, the Vvedensky Cathedral was built on the territory of the monastery. Lifeslowly getting better in the monastery.

Alas, but in 1704 the mill was taken away, and the Zhizdra River was forbidden to be used for fishing. It became very difficult for the inhabitants, but with God's help they continued their lives. The monastery became poor, its economy fell into decay. Yes, and Peter I tried, issued a decree according to which the monastery had to pay rent to the state treasury. Naturally, this "tribute" to his own king was beyond the power of the impoverished monastery. But Peter doesn’t care: he needs money for the war with the Swedes, so he collected from everyone.

In 1724, poverty was such that Optina Pustyn was abolished. And now she departed to the Belevsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. Why did they do it? Firstly, due to the fact that there were very few inhabitants in Optina. Only 12 people. The monastery was considered "little brothers". And secondly, there was an unaffordable dues.

True, this unification with the Belevsky Monastery lasted two years. In 1726 the monastery was restored as an independent one. By decree of Catherine I, by the way. But during these two years, the wooden buildings of the monastery fell apart, fell into complete disrepair.

A year later, in 1727, Optina Pustyn got back its mill - a gift from Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich - and access to fishing.

The monastery was slowly rising. So, in 1741 they began to build a bell tower. And in 1750 - the temple of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos. Construction took almost 10 years.

But again reforms. This time, Catherine II wanted to intervene in the life of the monastery. The Empress thought for a moment. With her light hand, andIt was thanks to the reform that Optina Pustyn became a provincial monastery of the Krutitsy diocese. It happened in 1764.

It's been 9 years. The monastery managed to rebuild the cathedral church. Generous benefactors helped. But inside the monastery everything was very sad. In 1773, only 2 monks remained in it. And those are old people.

It is not known how things would have ended, but in 1795 Metropolitan Platon of Kaluga and Moscow visited the monastery. He liked the marvelous place so much that the metropolitan ordered to send a very experienced monk to the monastery. Hieromonk Abraham became its rector.

19th century

This is the heyday of the monastery. The beginning of the century was marked by the construction of a new bell tower, the Kazan Monastery, and a hospital church. The population of the monastery has expanded to 30 people. Abraham was a wonderful leader. He arranged an internal routine, strictly followed the external flowering of the Optina Hermitage. He was a governor, and a builder, and an architect.

At the same time, a skete was arranged at the monastery. Those who wanted a silent life settled here. People from all sides were drawn to the monastery. The monastery lived not only on donations from benefactors. Emperor Pavel Petrovich drew attention to this monastery near Kaluga. Optina was presented with a flour mill and allocated 300 rubles annually.

In the 19th century, eldership in the monastery began to flourish.

Starship

The elders of Optina Hermitage, according to reviews, help with lightning speed. All of them are glorified as saints.

How did eldership begin? From Metropolitan Filaret. When he came to power, in every possible waysupported the revival of eldership in Optina Hermitage. He himself was very fond of silence, often visited the monastery, sometimes staying there for several weeks. It is Filaret who invites two hermits, Moses and Anthony, to the monastery. As you might guess, they became the first Optina elders. The Monk Moses of Optina and the Monk Anthony of Optina were students of those who studied with Paisius Velichkovsky. This elder saw the need for the revival and continuation of elderhood as a salvation for human souls.

And the Monk Ambrose of Optina? Great saint, canonized in 1988. Through his prayers, miracles are being performed today. In total, 12 Optina Elders are known.

Alas, but now there is no such flourishing of eldership. Not in Optina, not anywhere else. These were the last "lamps" in Russia.

XX century

Reviews of Optina Pustyn are the best. People come there to enjoy the beauty of the monastery, to pray at the relics of the elders, to visit the graves of the new martyrs. Everyone rides with his own, and there is comfort for everyone.

Alas, the 20th century left its mark on the history of the monastery. First, the beautiful Optina was turned into a rest home. According to the story of a local resident, she was still just a child when the monastery was closed. I remembered how the bells were thrown off. And so, the new government decided to make a rest house in the monastery. Its director gathered the local children and gave them gifts. Dali and scrapers to scrape the faces of God's saints.

The desecrated monastery was a terrible sight. The holiday home did not last long. Soon, right in the temple of Our Lady of Kazan, they began to keep agricultural machinery.

The Temple of Our Lady of Vladimir was completely destroyed. The same fate befell the Church of All Saints. Next to it was a fraternal cemetery. Dachas were built on it. They say that from marble tombstones they made supports for the floor. And somewhere now there are houses whose owners walk on the floor, the basis for which was a tombstone and a cemetery cross…

Rebirth

It all started in 1987. It is easy to imagine in what form the monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. And what the monks who came here to restore it saw. On November 17, 1987, the Soviet authorities returned the devastated monastery to the monks. And already in June 1988, the first liturgies began to be served in the Vvedensky Cathedral.

In 1988, St. Ambrose of Optina was canonized. In 2000, the Cathedral of the Optina Elders was glorified for general veneration.

Today Optina Pustyn is one of the most beautiful monasteries where many pilgrims come every day.

Easter Red

This is the title of a book about the Optina monks killed on Easter 1993: Hieromonk Vasily, Monk Trofim, Monk Ferapont. And speaking of the monastery, it is impossible not to talk about it.

What happened 25 years ago, April 18th? The monks were killed. They were treacherously killed, stabbed in the back. Or rather, a homemade sword. Simply because they are monks.

The story below is described in the book Red Easter. Here it is in summary form. Certificatereal.

Easter, as you know, is one of the most important Christian holidays. The post is behind. After the night service, people break their fast. And April 18, 1993 was no exception. They broke the fast at home and glorified the Resurrection of Christ.

But there was no ringing of bells. Optina was silent. And after calling the monastery, it became clear why the air is not torn from the blagovest. There was a murder of ringers, and there was no one to ring the bells.

Murder

It was made by a certain Nikolai Averin. It is known that the ringers were pierced with a sword. They beat me in the back and with such force that the internal organs were cut. It happened at 6 o'clock in the morning.

Hieromonk Vasily was also killed by a stab in the back. He didn't die right away. Lived for about an hour.

According to the pilgrims who stood at the bus stop and waited for the first bus to Kozelsk, at the hour of the murder, a strange red glow appeared in the sky over Optina. Like blood spurted out. But then they didn’t even think about blood, they were just surprised at the unusual phenomenon.

The killer was arrested a week later. He took his punishment.

Reckoning on impunity

How to get from Moscow to the Optina Pustyn monastery? We will talk about this a little below. Now I would like to answer the question of what the killer was counting on.

Father Vasily in his past life was a master of sports. He played in the water polo team, was the captain. In the world his name was Igor Roslyakov. An athlete in the past, he could effortlessly stop the killer. But whydid not do this? We will not know the answer to this question. One can only say that going to kill the monks, the criminal understood that they would not give him a rebuff here.

The remaining entries in the diaries testify to Father Vasily as a man of amazing spirituality. And even though this monk did not interpret the Holy Scriptures in Optina Hermitage, he compiled an akathist of the monastery. He wrote wonderful poems, and his reasoning sometimes leads to a dead end.

And now back to our days. And find out the address of Optina Pustyn.

Where is the monastery?

In the Kaluga region, not far from Kozelsk. Pilgrims must call in advance to book a hotel room.

Write down the address of the Optina Hermitage: Kaluga region, the city of Kozelsk, the monastery of Optina Pustyn.

A more detailed address can be found by calling the excursion service of the monastery (indicated on the official website).

Moscow Compound

There is a courtyard of Optina Pustyn in Moscow. This is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which is located in Yasenevo. Its exact address: Novoyasenevsky prospect, house 40 building 7.

Compound in St. Petersburg

Metochion of the Optina Hermitage in the city of St. Petersburg - the Assumption Church, which is located on Vasilyevsky Island. A more precise address for those who want to touch the Russian pearl: Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, 27/2.

A brief about Father Viceroy

Bishop Leonid - Viceroy of Optina Hermitage. According to the account - 35th. He was born in 1975year, in the world bore the name Denis Vladimirovich Tolmachev. Place of birth - the capital of Russia. He studied at school in the city of Odintsovo. Graduated from the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.

He has lived in Optina Pustyn since 2002. In 2003 he was tonsured a monk. Received higher education, graduated from the Perervinskaya Theological Seminary.

Shrines of the monastery

Optina Pustyn: what icons are there? It is worth starting with the fact that the relics of its elders rest in the monastery. The slain New Martyrs, whom we spoke about above, also rest on the territory of the monastery. A chapel has been built over their graves.

The most revered icons in the monastery include the Kazan Mother of God. It is located in the Vvedensky Cathedral.

Choir of the monastery

The Choir of Optina Pustyn was created a little over 20 years ago. During all this time, there were no changes in the composition. The regent, Alexander Semyonov, has not changed either.

For the entire time of its existence, the choir has traveled on tour in more than 30 cities of our country. They also performed abroad: Germany, Belgium, Estonia, Czech Republic, Italy. The choir has almost 20 countries on its account. Both European and formerly part of the Soviet Union.

He is not in the monastery, but in the St. Petersburg courtyard.

How to get there and reviews

What do those who happened to visit Kozelsk and visit the legendary monastery say? First of all, they tell you how to get from Moscow to the monastery of Optina Pustyn. If pilgrims travel by train, they first have to get to Moscow. Then - to the Kyiv railway station. You have to take the subway and take it toKyiv station.

And already from the station there is an electric train to Kaluga. Buses to Kozelsk run regularly from the Kaluga bus station.

By the way, for those who do not want such difficulties, there is an option to travel to Kozelsk directly from Moscow. From the metro station "Teply Stan" there are buses. The first one goes at 7:30, the last one at 18:40. Travel time is just over 5 hours.

And, of course, people celebrate the extraordinary grace of the place. Even the air is different there, and simple food has a completely different taste.

And even if the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures cannot be found in Optina Hermitage, its services are no less solemn and majestic. Want to make sure? Visit the monastery. Live, if possible, there, labor in obedience. You will understand everything yourself.

Conclusion

So we told about the Russian pearl - Optina Hermitage (the address of the monastery is indicated above): why is it famous, whose relics and graves are located there. They told about the monastery from the time of its foundation to modern history.