'''Optina Pustyn''' , officially '''Svyato-Vvedenskaya Optinakaya Pustyn'''<ref>A. Osipova, "Optina Pustyn", ''Russian Life'', Vol. 51, No. 2, ISSN 1066-999X #523</ref>, is a male [[monastery]] near Kozelsk which was the most important spiritual center of the [[Church of Russia]] in the nineteenth century. The monastery was famous for the [[monasticism|monastic]] renewal movement in Russia based on the [[hesychasticismhesychasm|hesychastic]] tradition that had been largely lost in the Russian monastic experience in the eighteenth century.

In addition to counseling, the monastery, through the initiative of Elder Macarius, began publishing patristic texts, an activity in the Church that had been seriously curtailed by Peter I’s reforms. Hieroschema monk Macarius also began editing manuscripts of the translations by Paisius Velichkovsky and his followers of Greek versions of patristic works. Thus, began an effort by the monks of Optina that resulted in production of some 125 books with over 225,000 copies of works by St. [[Isaac the Syrian]], St. [[Symeon the New Theologian]], St. [[Nils Nilus of Sora]], and others that were distributed throughout Russia and was a counter to the secular press that was publishing translations of mystical-philosophical works from the West.

*[[Moses of Optina|Moses]]: Elder Moses reposed in 1862.*[[Anthonyof Optina|Anthony]]: Elder Anthony reposed in 1865.*[[‎Leonid of Optina|Leonid ]] (Lev or Leo): Elder Leo reposed in 1841. *[[Macariusof Optina|Macarius]]: Elder Macarius reposed in 1860.*[[Hilarion of Optina|Hilarion]]: Elder Hilarion reposed in 1873.*[[Ambrose of Optina|Ambrose]]: Elder Ambrose was said to have been the prototype for Dostoyevsky's character Father Zosima in Dostoyevsky’s the novel ''The Brothers Karamazov''is mostly Dostoyevsky's invention, but draws inspiration from Elder Ambrose. He reposed in 1891.*[[Anatolius I of Optina|Anatolius]]: Elder Anatolius reposed in 1894. *[[IsaacI of Optina |Isaac]]: Elder Isaac reposed in 1894.*[[Joseph (Litovkin) of Optina|Joseph]]: Elder Joseph reposed in 1911.*[[Barsanuphius of Optina|Barsanuphius]]: Elder Barsanuphius reposed in 1913.*[[Anatolius II of Optina|Anatolius the Younger]]: Elder Anatolius the Younger reposed in 1922.*[[Nectarius of Optina|Nectarius]]: Elder Nectarius reposed in 1928.*[[Nikon of Optina|Nikon the Confessor]]: Elder Nikon the Confessor reposed in 1931.*Hieromonk [[Isaac II of Optina|Isaac the Younger]]: Hieromartyr Isaac was executed by the Bolsheviks on [[December 26]], 1937, in Tula.

The [[Synaxis]] of these [[Saint]]s of Optina is commemorated on [[October 1110]]. == New Hiero-Confessor==*[[Raphael of Optina|Raphael]]: Elder Raphael reposed in 1957. ==References==<references/>

*[http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/los/October/11-SaintsofOptina05.htm Saints of Optina]