Fr. Alexey Young

“The Life and Ascetic Labors of Our Father, Elder Paisius, Archimandrite of the Holy Moldavian Monasteries of Niamets and Sekoul”; Optina Version, by Schema-monk Metrophanes; St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1976;

When, in 1976, the Brotherhood of St Herman of Alaska brought forth its monumental study, Blessed Pasius Ve1ichokovsky, dedicated “To the Orthodox Monks of the Last Times,” a truly great spiritual treasure was made available to English speaking Orthodox Christians every where. The life of Elder Pa is i us is one of great suffering and struggle in the pursuit of truth, “of special value to us because it is the life of a Holy Father of modern times, one who lived like the ancients almost in our own days.”

This volume has more than passing interest today, not only because the hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad have now begun to prepare for the glorification of Blessed Paisius, but also because one of those hierarchs is the spiritual child of the last Elder of Optina Monastery which, because of Elder Paisius, possessed a line of grace-filled and clairvoyant Elders, “a whole choir of whom ,” the Bishop writes in the Preface, “was produced by the wondrous Optina Monastery.” Bishop Nektary continues:

“In our frightful times of almost total apostasy from Christ and His Holy Church, the times preceding the coming of Antichrist, there is special value in the publication of a book describing the holy life of Elder Paisius, who having the gift of discernment and other grace-given virtues, in his person is an expression of the true Orthodox spirit.

“And if at least someone reading this book will become inflamed with the desire to follow the example and the instructions of the Spirit- bearing Elder Paisius, leading a spiritual life and conducting the unseen warfare against his own passions and infirmities of soul-then the aims of the publication of this most soul-profiting hook will he attained.”

This profusely illustrated book is more than hagiography. Written by the disciples of Blessed Paisius and first published in 1847 by Optina Monastery, the book “gives not only the facts of the Elder’s life, but more importantly the very savor of his struggles.” Additionally, numerous passages-particularly the words of the Elder himself, have been added from other sources, together with new information on the “legacy” of Blessed Paisius, divine services composed in his honor, an extensive bibliography, and an interesting appendix: “St, Herman and the Paisian Traces in America.”

Special mention should be made of the Introduction which is an important guide to the correct understanding and appreciation of the book In this age of spiritual insecurity, it warns against taking the example of Blessed Paisius too liter ally, too “enthusiastically.” We must accept the fact that there are no more elders like Blessed Paisius today; “Our times, above all, call for humble and quiet labors, with love and sympathy for other strugglers on the path of the Orthodox spiritual life and a deep resolve that does not become discouraged because the atmosphere is unfavorable…. Perhaps the chief function of the Life of Blessed Paisius for us today is to give us courage to endure the frightful anti-spiritual climate of our times, for as our Saviour has warned us ., even in the last times when “the love of many shall grow cold, he that endureth to the end shall be saved (Matt. 24:13).”

In Blessed Pasius the reader will discover in depth how to approach the writings of the Holy Fathers, how to avoid over-emphasis on the for mal, outward sides of Church life, and how to humble oneself by means of self-knowledge. As the Introduction concludes, “It is itself a patristic text capable of guiding and inspiring the Orthodox believer today.”

No seeker of spiritual truth, nor anyone striving on the path of Christian perfection, should be without this valuable book.

Note: Recently a translation has been published of another biography of Blessed Paisius written by Archpriest Sergei Chetverikov and printed in 1938, While some of the material is taken from manuscripts written by Paisius him self,its approach is basically that of a worldly 20th century and it fails to convey the spiritual message which is the treasured legacy of Blessed Paisius to us today.