Optina deserts can be called anything you like: a symbol of Orthodoxy, a prayed place, the holy land - everything will correspond to reality. Its very location: proximity to Kozelsk, the city of Russian glory, which held up to the last resident a 7-week defense against the troops of the Golden Horde - suggests the presence of a special spirit on this earth.
The emergence of the desert
The Zhizdra River, which enclosed the edge of the forest, made this corner an ideal place for the followers of John the Baptist, who was also famous for being the first desert herder, that is, a hermit. Neither the date nor the history of the Optina Desert are known. But its names (the second - Makaryinskaya) testify in favor of the version of the dashing man Opt, who hunted robbery in the XIV century. Hiding from his pursuers, he simply wanted to sit out in a quiet place, but grace descending on him turned his whole robber life upside down. He became the first hermit of Macarius. It can be assumed that the prayer of the Optina Elders for every day has its roots precisely at this time.
For a long time Optina deserts was subjected to raids, captures, devastations by the forces of external and internal enemies of Russia. And only in 1796, through the efforts of Metropolitan Plato, Father Abraham became rector of the monastery, at which the revival of the monastery and the appearance of the first elders, people who reached certain heights of spiritual perfection, began.
The Rise of Optina Desert
All-Russian fame, like the real heyday of the monastery, began in the 20s of the XIX century, when Archimandrite Moses, a holy man and a wonderful business executive, took over as the rector. Under him, Father Leo officially founded senility in 1829. The reverend elders settled in a small monastery, which was built in 1821. Companions of the founder of Optina Desert were the holy fathers Cleopas and Theodore. The prayer book was not yet complicated, and the prayer of the Optina Elders for every day was an aid to them in their writings. The significance of Optina Desert in the spiritual life of Russia is very great. Dostoevsky and Soloviev lived in it for a long time, gaining mental strength, Lev and Alexei Tolstoy visited it. "Father Sergius" was written under the impression of Optina Desert.
The
Optina Elders Cathedral is a unique phenomenon, a special form of holiness that has flourished for over 100 years in the Optina Desert. Something similar takes place except on Mount Athos.
Cathedral of the Rev. Optina Elders
The first elders were only 6, who appeared here in 1829 as a hieroskhimon (the title of monk-schemnik, who has the church rank) Leo brought to the monastery all-Russian glory, which did not fade until 1917. There were 14 reverend elders in total, each of them added the greatness of Optina Desert. All of them, possessing a special spirit, had the gift of insight, prophecy and miracles. Much of what they predicted came true.
The legacy of the elders includes books, tips, letters, prayers. The prayer of the Optina Elders for every day is also part of this heritage. Isaac II (after him there were no old men) and a number of his associates, inhabitants of the Optina Desert, were shot in 1937. The abbot of the monastery, Nectarius, died in 1928 in his cell, warning his arrest for one day.
The most difficult years of Orthodoxy in Russia
The fate of hundreds of clergy in the 30s of the XX century was tragic. Therefore, the prayer of the last Optina elders contains only a prayer to the Lord for humility, for a calm and dignified acceptance of the challenges of reality, treating them as a manifestation of his will, a prayer for the sending of spiritual strength, lack of doubt and the ability to overcome fatigue at the end of the day. Without such a prayer (it is now included in all Orthodox prayers), it was probably difficult to maintain faith. One specialist called the prayer non-confessional and psychotherapeutic. Of course, repeating it all the time, like a spell, one could somehow wake up and fall asleep in the conditions of repressions of the 37th year. (We are talking about those people who were doomed to this fate, specifically - the clergy).
Unique prayers of the elders
When addressing the Lord, the Optina elders advised to avoid verbosity, to be concise and specific, therefore their prayers are clear and loved by many Orthodox. So, an example is the prayer of the Optina Elder Leo. She is known as the cell prayer for suicides. Short and concise, she turned to the Lord with the only request - to accept and, if possible, forgive the soul of the suicide, and the person asking for this should not be punished. After all, church canons were forbidden to remember in the church and to bury in the cemetery suicides who died in a duel and robbery, drowned. Wise elders understood that intolerable life circumstances could bring a person to suicide. They allowed secretly, bypassing the official church, to pray for the reassurance of the soul of a man who laid hands on himself.
Morning prayer as a spell of happiness
Two more prayers deserve special attention, one of them is the morning prayer of the Optina Elders. Having become acquainted with them for the first time, it is impossible not to note their dissimilarity to prayers in general. In them, both in the morning and in the evening, there is so much expression and passion that, indeed, they can fulfill the role of affirmation (a short phrase, with repeated repetition of which the necessary image or attitude can be strengthened in the human subconscious). Installation for happiness, joy, life in harmony with everyone. This prayer is more like a hymn and a spell at the same time. Repeated declaration of love to the Lord sounds like an unshakable faith in reciprocity. The person who makes this prayer sincerely believes that it is difficult not to respond to such a sincere request for help in matters of only light and kind, for a declaration of love for everything and everyone. A stream of grateful gratitude, repeated “Amen” can lead to a state of joy and good attitude towards the whole world.
The Originality of the Prayers of the Optina Elders
The evening prayer of the Optina Elders is also capable of causing both a sense of surprise and a desire to read it again and again. The effect is reinforced by repeated, repeated appeals and enthusiasm, emphasized by exclamation marks. It remains a feeling that these two prayers imply a friendly disposition of the Lord to the prayer. Of course, they are pertinent on the lips of a person who is cheerful, joyful and lucky, convinced that tomorrow will be as wonderful as today. In the evening he reports to God about a happy day. He joyfully thanks him for his help, forgives everything and everyone (including himself) for the committed flaws, has no doubt that the Lord will do the same.
Good prayers, clear, close - this is probably the great wisdom of the reverend elders.
In fact, the prayer of the Optina Elders for every day is any a prayer taken from a prayer book and appropriate to a particular case. The role of the daily can be performed by both morning, evening, and akathist and the service of the icon of the Mother of God, called the "Wheeler".