04 — The Later Elders
The generation of elders formed under St. Ambrose who carried the Optina eldership into the last decades before the Revolution: St. Anatoly “the Elder” (Zertsalov) and St. Hilarion; St. Joseph (Litovkin) and St. Barsanuphius (Plikhankov), the former officer.
Tradition: Russian Orthodox (Optina synaxis glorified 1996 local / 2000 general)
By the later nineteenth century the Optina eldership was in its fourth generation, and the elders were now almost all disciples of Ambrose. The first file treats St. Hilarion, the skete superior who succeeded to Macarius’s cell, and St. Anatoly (Zertsalov), “the Elder,” a gifted director and the spiritual father of Shamordino. The second treats St. Joseph (Litovkin), Ambrose’s own cell-attendant and successor, and St. Barsanuphius (Plikhankov), the former army officer whose late conversion made him one of the most remarkable of all the elders and the last skete superior before the storm.
Navigation
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| saint-anatoly-the-elder-and-saint-hilarion.md | St. Anatoly “the Elder” (Zertsalov, d. 1894) and St. Hilarion (d. 1873) |
| saint-joseph-and-saint-barsanuphius.md | St. Joseph (Litovkin, d. 1911) and St. Barsanuphius (Plikhankov, the former officer, d. 1913) |
See Also
- St. Ambrose in the Line of Optina — the elder who formed this generation
- The Last Elders — the final generation, formed in turn by these
- The Hieromartyrs of Optina — St. Nikon, the disciple of Barsanuphius