Prayer 1
O great elder and servant of God, reverend our father Ambrose, praise to the Optina and all Rus' teacher of piety! We glorify your humble life in Christ, by which God exalted your name while you were still on earth, especially crowning you with heavenly honor upon your departure to the palace of eternal glory. Accept now the prayer of us, your unworthy children, who honor you and call on your holy name. Deliver us by your intercession before the throne of God from all sorrowful circumstances, mental and physical ailments, evil misfortunes, pernicious and evil temptations. From the Greatly Gifted God, send down peace, silence and prosperity to our fatherland. Be the immutable patron of this holy monastery, in which you yourself labored in prosperity and pleased our glorified God with everyone in the Trinity. To Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayers of St. Anthony of Optina
about family
“In the hands of great mercy, O my God, I entrust: my soul and much-painful body, the husband given to me from You, and all my beloved children. Thou shalt be our Helper and Patron throughout our life, in our exodus and at death, in joy and sorrow, in happiness and misfortune, in illness and health, in life and death, in everything may Thy holy will be with us, as on heaven and earth. Amen."
about the beginning of every business
“God, come to my help, Lord, strive for my help. Rule, Lord, everything I do, read and write, everything I think, speak and understand, for the glory of Your Holy Name, so that all my work may begin from You and end in You. Grant to me, O God, that I may anger Thee, my Creator, neither by word, nor by deed, nor by thought, but may all my deeds, advice and thoughts be for the glory of Thy Most Holy Name. God, come to my help, Lord, strive for my help.”
for enemies
“Forgive those who hate and offend us, Thy servants (names), O Lord, Lover of Mankind: for they do not know what they are doing, and warm their hearts to love us, the unworthy.”
Prayer 2
O venerable and God-bearing Father Ambrose! Desiring to work for the Lord, you settled here, and you labored untiringly in labor, vigils, prayers and fasting, and you were a mentor to monastics, and a zealous teacher to all people. Now, after your departure from the earthly, standing before the Heavenly King, pray to His goodness to show mercy to the place of your settlement, this holy monastery, where you continually abide in the spirit of your love, and to all your people, who with faith fall to the race of your relics, for the good petition fulfill them. Ask our merciful Lord to grant us an abundance of heavenly and earthly blessings, even more so for the benefit of our souls, and may he grant us the opportunity to end this temporary life in repentance, and on the day of judgment may he be worthy of standing and enjoying His Kingdom forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer of the Optina elders at the beginning of the day
(morning prayer for every day)
“Lord, let me meet with peace of mind everything that the coming day will bring me. Let me completely surrender to Your holy will. For every hour of this day, instruct and support me in everything. Whatever news I receive during the day, teach me to accept it with a calm soul and a firm conviction that everything is Your holy will.
In all my words and deeds, guide my thoughts and feelings. In all unforeseen cases, do not let me forget that everything was sent down by You. Teach me to act directly and wisely with each member of my family, without confusing or upsetting anyone.
Lord, give me strength to endure the fatigue of the coming day and all the events during the day. Guide my will and teach me to pray, believe, hope, endure, forgive and love. Amen."
Prayer 3
O all-honorable elder of the glorious and wondrous Optina Hermitage, venerable and God-bearing Father Ambrose, a good adornment to our Church and a gracious lamp, illuminating everyone with heavenly light, the red and spiritual fruit of Russia and all the sunflowers, abundantly delighting and delighting the souls of the faithful! Now, with faith and trembling, we fall before the celibate reliquary of your holy relics, which you have mercifully granted for comfort and help to the suffering, we humbly pray to you with our hearts and lips, holy father, as an all-Russian mentor and teacher of piety, shepherd and doctor of our mental and physical ailments: look against your children who sin greatly in words and deeds and visit us with your much and holy love, with which you gloriously succeeded even in the days of earth, and especially after your righteous death, instructing the saints and God-enlightened fathers in the rules, admonishing us in the commandments of Christ, in them You were kindly jealous until the last hour of your difficult monastic life; ask us, weak in soul and in distress in sorrow, a favorable and saving time for repentance, true correction and renewal of our life, in which we, sinners, have become vain in mind and heart, having given ourselves over to indecent and cruel passion, vice and lawlessness, of which there is no number; accept therefore, protect and cover us with the shelter of your many mercies, send us a blessing from the Lord, so that we may bear the good yoke of Christ in long-suffering until the end of our days, looking forward to the future life and the Kingdom, where there is no sorrow or sighing, but life and endless joy, abundantly flowing from the One, All-Holy and Blessed Source of immortality in the Trinity of the worshiped God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Optina Elder Hieroschemamonk Ambrose
PREFACE
The first and main motivation for compiling the proposed biography of the Optina Elder, Father Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, was the sacred duty of the Optina monastery to preserve the grateful memory of its own dear elder and great benefactor, who poured out his mercies not only on the fathers and brothers who cohabited with him, but also on others very many people who lived far from him. Secondly, I wanted to compile a biography of the elder as complete as possible, collecting various information about him that appeared in print at different times and in various spiritual magazines, as well as in manuscripts, and oral stories about him from people close to him. Finally, thirdly, I wanted to present information about the life of the elder, carefully verified, since in all the biographies of him that have been published so far, errors have been noticed.
The sources for compiling the biography of Elder Ambrose are as follows:
1. Oral and written stories of the Optina monks who lived close to Elder Ambrose, as well as the nuns of the Shamordino community and other women’s monasteries and some lay persons who were devoted to him with all their souls.
2. The skete chronicle in manuscript, stored in the skete library.
3. Some information about Elder Ambrose, extracted from the archives of the Optina Monastery and the Tambov and Kaluga spiritual consistories.
4. Letters of the Optina Elder Hieroschemamonk Fr. Ambrose, published in the journal “Soulful Reading”.
5. The legend about the life of the Optina Elder, the father of Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, published in “Soulful Reading” 1892-1894. Archimandrite Gregory (Borisoglebsky).
6. Villager E
. Father Ambrose // “Soulful Reading”, 1892.
7. A brief story about the life of the Optina elder hieroschemamonk Fr. Ambrose with an appendix of selected teachings. Brochure. Publication of Optina Pustyn. Moscow, 1893.
8. Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, elder of Optina Hermitage. Publication of the Shamorda Kazan Women's Community. Moscow, 1892.
9. Bereavement. (Elder Ambrose of Optina.) F. P. Ch-na. Brochure published in favor of the Shamorda women's community. Moscow, 1892.
10. Small articles about the Optina Elder Ambrose, published at different times and in different magazines.
Due to the inaccuracy of some information about Elder Ambrose in the named biographies of him, it was necessary to use them when compiling the proposed biography with great caution.
The book now being published contains two parts. In the first, I wanted, so to speak, to paint a portrait of Elder Ambrose, i.e. show how he, little by little ascending from strength to strength in spiritual life, finally achieved a perfect man
,
to the measure of the full stature of Christ
(Eph. 4:13). In the second part, if possible, reveal his special merit, which made him so glorious in our weak, unfaithful, to say the least, time, i.e. his “old age,” or guidance to the salvation of souls seeking salvation, ending with his last days.
In this difficult work entrusted to him for the author’s incapacity, he calls for help the prayers of the described elder Ambrose, who died in the Lord, and together, through his prayers, the blessing of God.
Archimandrite Agapit
PART I
I. BIRTH AND UPBRINGING OF ALEXANDER MIKHAILOVICH GRENKOV, SUBSEQUENTLY ELDER HIEROSCHEMONA AMVROSY
Mal beh in my brethren
,
and... the Lord Himself... anointed me with His anointing oil.
Ps. 150
Elder Hieroschemamonk Ambrose was born on November 23, 1812 in the village. Bolshaya Lipovitsa, Tambov province and the same district from the sexton Mikhail Fedorovich and his wife Marfa Nikolaevna Grenkov. The newborn was named Alexander in holy baptism, in honor of the blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, whose memory fell on the very day of the baby’s birth. And since the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky was the namesake spiritual patron of the sovereign Emperor Alexander Pavlovich, and shortly before that the proud Napoleon with his insanely destructive hordes was expelled from Russian borders, there is reason to think that long-suffering Rus', freed from its shackles, was now celebrating the day of the saint , namesake of his blessed king, with special triumph. This alone, it seems, can explain that on the birthday of baby Alexander, as the elder himself said, among the peasants of the village. Lipovitsa noticed, as we will now see, some special festive movement.
return 1
Elder Ambrose himself did not know for sure the day of his birth, and therefore, when talking about this, he repeated in bewilderment: “There was some kind of holiday here.” And since the closest to his birthday was the great feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God, celebrated by the entire Holy Church, the elder thought that it was on this holiday that he was born. But according to the certificate, it turned out the following: according to the “Clear Gazette” of the village of Bolshaya Lipovitsy, Tambov district, “sexton Mikhail Fedorov in 1812 November 23rd day under number 17 is listed as having a son, Alexander. Recipients: priest John Semenov and soldier’s wife Anna Matveeva” (in the archives of the Tambov Spiritual Consistory).
return 2
The very name day of Emperor Alexander I was August 30.
Prayer of St. Anatoly of Optina (Potapov)
from the Antichrist
“Deliver me, O Lord, from the seduction of the god-hating, evil, cunning Antichrist of the coming, and hide me from his snares in the hidden desert of Your salvation. Grant me, Lord, the strength and courage to firmly confess Your Holy Name, so that I will not retreat from fear for the sake of the devil, and may not deny You, my Savior and Redeemer, from Your holy Church. But grant me, O Lord, day and night weeping and tears for my sins and have mercy on me, O Lord, at the hour of Your Last Judgment. Amen."
How and when to read the prayer of the elders of Optina
Saint Ambrose recommended starting the soul-satiating petition in the very morning, immediately after awakening, before the mind is filled with vain thoughts, so that the appeals bear fruit.
Just two prayers of the elders, read in the morning, can ensure balance, calm and vigor for the whole day.
The words of the proclamation given by the elders should be read with desire, joy and reverence for the Creator, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Before or after the Optina Epistle, you should read the Jesus Prayer “Our Father.”
Prayer of St. Nektarios of Optina
from the Antichrist, short
“Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who comes to judge the living and the dead, have mercy on us sinners, forgive the fall of our entire lives and through their own destinies hide us from the face of the Antichrist in the hidden desert of Your salvation. Amen."
from the Antichrist, complete
“O Reverend and Blessed Father Nektarios, Ever-Bright Lamp of the Eldership of Optina! He rises up to foolishness and denounces the madness of the world, has valiantly endured the misfortunes of those who fight against God and has tasted the bliss of those who were exiled for the sake of the Lord Jesus. Look down now from heaven and come to us from the Garden of Eden.
Raise our wisdom from earthly concerns and teach us to think about heavenly life. As if you have adorned yourself with divine virtues and tasted the fruits of Paradise sweets incessantly, from the agitation of passions and the bitter fruits of the love of sin, snatch us away with your abundant intercession. In the Orthodox Faith until our last breath we are confirmed to stand both in the footsteps of our fathers and in the tradition of St. The apostle made us wise to walk.
Pray to the Lord and God, God-wise Father, to deliver us from the coming Antichrist and from his insidious snares and to inhabit us in the hidden desert of salvation. May we end a quiet, peaceful and pious life in this world and, through your prayers, be worthy of inheriting the Paradise villages.
Where together with you and with the elders of Optina we will sing and glorify the Beginningless and Indivisible and Consubstantial Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen."
