To all those who have given us the letters of Fr. Hegumen Anthony that they have in their possession, we offer our sincere gratitude; And we, for our part, ask our readers to cover with Christian indulgence all the errors and shortcomings that will be found in this edition.

Optina Hermitage, March 9, 1868

1. Glory to God for everything

I bring you my congratulations on the upcoming feast of the Nativity of Christ, which God grant you to greet and see off with a joyful heart; and then vouchsafe you to begin the New Year in the renewal of the spirit. The current year has been little gratifying for you, and the new one is not yet known what it will be; About him, as about a newborn baby, it is impossible to say definitively whether he will be pleasant or not! This, only as it grows, can be judged. However, whatever it may be, we must endure everything with childlike obedience, both pleasant and unpleasant, and glorify the good God for everything, that is, if any sorrow or illness has come upon us, let us say: Glory to Thee, O Lord! Have sorrows and sicknesses multiplied, again: Glory to Thee, O Lord! Joyless sorrows and illnesses have intensified and lead to the grave, again: Glory to Thee, O Lord! for after death we shall live forever and rejoice in the brightness of the Saints. And therefore, no matter what happens to us, let us thank God for everything and say: Glory to Thee, O Lord!

December 19, 1853

2. Peace and love in the home are the joy of the Angels, and the enemy is a sharp knife

You inform me that you and E.G. have remained in the inherited house as full owners, of which thank God! For the master is in the house, as Adam is in paradise. May God grant that this joy of yours may continue longer and longer. But it is remarkable that in which house peace and love are preserved with each other, it is like a sharp knife in the throat of the devil. And therefore he is already trying to shake you well through N. He, the devil, set up your peasants at the very beginning to resist the new owners and not to pay the former tribute. Wherefore ye pray earnestly unto the Lord God, and humbly beseech Him, saying, Our Father, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For it is Thine, that Thou hast mercy on us and saved us from all His wiles.

April 20, 1854

3. Both joys and sorrows are allowed to us by the Lord

Beloved and much pained Sufferers of Christ!

Your notification of the grievous temptation that has befallen you again – the bruise and breaking of both legs of the innocent infant Paphnutius D., your beloved and dearest son, has saddened me to tears and to the depths of my soul. If, according to the words of Christ the Saviour, even the head of our head does not fall away without the will of the Heavenly Father, then such a terrible contrition of an innocent infant did not happen without the permission of God, whose depth of fate is incomprehensible even to His Angels — why did it happen so much more so to us? Grant God, that the words of Christ, "Neither this one shall sin, nor his parents, but that the works of God may be manifested in him" (John 9:3) may be referred to your present severe trial, that is, that the Lord, through the prayers of the great Wonderworker Paphnutius, grant speedy healing to the suffering infant Paphnutios, and thus grant you consolation. To the Holy Elder Father Ar. G. must fully believe that if E. G. and her children had gone to the Venerable, there would not have been such a bitter temptation, which I also believe. But in one church story it is mentioned that a certain pious man, who lived in Kiev, with his wife and having a small child, went on May 1 for pilgrimage to the feast of Sts. Boris and Gleb, and rode by boat across the great Dnieper River.

And therefore, whenever they rode, the baby would not fall into the water. But the Lord God, through this incident, glorified His saint, showed salvation to the infant, and thereby rejoiced the weeping parents. And if God is wondrous in His saints, then He, according to the command of His mercy, can be wondrous in us, sinners, when we humble ourselves before Him and weep. And therefore let us fervently pray to Him and humble ourselves before Him so much that in our humility the Lord will remember us and turn our tears into joy. However, forgive me for Christ's sake. Your present sorrow is so great and heavy that I have no words worthy of your consolation. Only the Lord God, through the prayers of His saint St. Paphnutius the Wonderworker, is able to alleviate the suffering of your soul, and to grant perfect healing to the suffering infant.

After this, I inform you about myself that I, by the mercy of God, through the prayers of the Saints, am still alive; but after the former vigil of Passion Week I suffered with my feet until May 1, and on the feast of the Monk Paphnutius my first appearance was in the holy church for the service; therefore, your sad premonition of that day should be attributed to you not to me, but to the grief that has befallen you with a blow for your most beloved son. And I wrote to you something else, that the devil is trying to bring you a temptation, but he has not corrected it, but the most difficult thing has befallen you. And therefore let us fervently pray to the Lord God: Our Father, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil!

With all my heart I earnestly wish you mercy and consolation from the Lord God and healing to the suffering infant Paphnutios, and I will forever remain, with my high reverence for you and with my condolences for you, your benevolent worshiper and most humble servant – the unworthy John Anthony.