Spiritually Beneficial Teachings of St. Macarius of Optina

FROM THE EDITORS

This edition was compiled according to the "Collection of Letters of the Optina Elder Macarius of Blessed Memory", in six volumes, by the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite John (Zakharchenko). It bit by bit absorbed all the most valuable, the most important contained in the letters of the elder, and will help every Christian to lay the foundation for the active fulfillment of the instructions and commandments of the Monk Macarius, for "the writings of the fathers are read by acts."

The sermons of the Monk Elder Macarius are given in alphabetical order by subject, and each ends with an indication of the volume, the number of the letter and the page of the Collected Letters, and the numbering of the volumes is as follows:

Volume 1 — Letters to lay persons;

Volume 2 — letters to monks, including two articles compiled by the elder on the basis of the word of God and the writings of the Holy Fathers, and his own extracts on humility;

Volumes 3-6 are letters to nuns.

Like the previous publishers, the editors of this book considered it expedient to preserve as much as possible the living style of the Monk Macarius. The orthography as a whole is close to the present day, excluding words with the prefix "without", the spelling of proper names and some other cases that give us an idea of the living language of the elder. Quotations from the Holy Scriptures in the letters of the Monk Elder Macarius are not brought into conformity with the Scriptures, but are given in the exposition of the Elder. We also tried to preserve the author's punctuation, even in cases that do not correspond to modern rules, since this serves a better understanding of the teachings of the venerable elder.

Taking into account the peculiarities of this edition, some of the compiler's explanations are given in angle brackets. To improve the perception of the text by the modern reader, some abbreviations are revealed.

In some volumes of the Collected Letters of Elder Macarius of 1862-1863, to which reference is given in the text, the numbering of letters is broken (in particular, in volumes 4 and 5). In this edition, they are given in accordance with the correct numbering.

And

Abraham

Abraham. to him who offers his son as a sacrifice to God, parents are likened to those who release their children into monasticism

You know when God demanded of the patriarch Abraham to sacrifice his only-begotten son, and he did not hesitate in the least to fulfill it; For this he received a great reward, both here and in the life to come, and was called the Father of believers. You, though you have offered not an only-begotten, but a beloved son to serve Him, you will not be deprived of God's recompense (I, 136, 282-283).