The following convents enjoyed the spiritual guidance of Elder Macarius: the monasteries of Velikolutsk, Vyazma, Kursk, Serpukhov, Sevsk, Kaluga, Yeletsk, Bryansk, Kazan, Ostashkov, Smolensk, and others. Thus, under his leadership were: the Borisov Hermitage, the Kashira Monastery, the Belevsky Monastery and the Volkhov Monastery; with his blessing, the Akhtyrka Gusev Monastery of the Saratov Diocese, the Kozelytsan Monastery of the Poltava Diocese, the Pyatnitskaya Women's Community, the Forerunner Hermitage of the Oryol Diocese, the Nikolo-Tikhvin Community of the Voronezh Diocese, and, finally, the Kazan Shamordin Hermitage of the Kaluga Diocese arose and were established.

Speaking of the spiritual influence of the Optina Hermitage, one cannot remain silent about its influence on the Russian intelligentsia. We have already mentioned I. V. Kireevsky, Father Clement Zederholm and K. N. Leontiev. Let us also mention: N. V. Gogol, who had correspondence with Elder Macarius and Archimandrite Moses; professors of Moscow University Shevyrev and Yurkevich, and who visited Elder Ambrose F. M. Dostoevsky, V. S. Solovyov, Count A. K. Tolstoy, V. K. Konstantin Konstantinovich and Gr. Leo Tolstoy, who even in the last fateful days of his life was drawn first of all to the Optina Hermitage, to its elders. In Shamordin lived Leo Tolstoy's sister, Maria Nikolaevna, about whom the elder Lev said in her childhood: "This Masha will be ours." In general, it should be said about Shamordin that there, under the wing of Elder Ambrose, hundreds of Russian educated women found refuge, whose names are impossible to enumerate.

It remains for us to consider the southern branch of the Russian eldership, which originates from Elder Paisius. Of the direct disciples of Elder Paisius in the south of Russia, the following are known: the monk Gerasim, tonsured by Elder Paisius, who after leaving for Russia lived in the Sophroniev Hermitage, Kursk Province; in the Ekaterinoslav diocese asceticized Hieroschemamonk Liverius, who died at a very old age in 1824. He had as his student the inspector of the Ekaterinoslav Theological Seminary, the learned monk Macarius, who later became the famous head of the Altai Mission. The most widespread influence in the south of Russia was undoubtedly the famous Hieroschemamonk Vasily (Kishkin). He came from the nobility of the Kursk province, traveled a lot and lived for a long time on Athos and in Moldavia with the elder Paisius. Returning to Russia, he was the builder of the Beloberezhskaya Hermitage, then lived in the Kremenets Monastery, in the Sarov Hermitage, in the Kursk, Glinsk, Sophronieva and Borisov Hermitages of the Kursk Diocese, in the Rykhlov Monastery of the Chernigov Diocese, in the Ustmedveditsky Monastery of the Don Diocese, in the Sevsky Monastery and in the Ploshchansk Hermitage of the Oryol Diocese. In all these monasteries he left numerous disciples and died in 1831. He had the good fortune to listen to the talks of Tikhon of Zadonsk and was a friend of Anthony, Archbishop of Voronezh. He was a remarkable ascetic, distinguished from his youth by chastity, humility, patience and love for those who offended him. Of his disciples, the following are known: the Optina Elder Lev, who was under his leadership in the White Shores; Seraphim, former abbot of the Beloberezhskaya hermitage; Arsenius, who asceticized in the Roslavl forests; Schema-Hierodeacon Melchizedek; Schema-monk Macarius of the Beloberezhskaya hermitage and other ascetics of this monastery, of which it must be said that it was also a remarkable center of the Paisius movement. Further, the disciples of Elder Basil were: Athanasius, schema-monk of Athos, Hierodeacon Anastassy, who asceticized in the Svensk monastery and in the Roslavl forests; Archimandrite Melchizedek of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow, Archimandrite Moses of Optina, Abbess Augusta of the Ustmedveditsky Monastery.

His disciple, and at the same time a disciple of the elder Archimandrite Theodosius from Moldavia, was the famous ascetic of the Glinsk hermitage Philaret, from whom the Glinsk line of Russian asceticism originates. Let us name the most famous ascetics of this line: the monk-elder Theodotus, a clairvoyant; Macarius, a hieroschemamonk, a clairvoyant elder who attained high spiritual perfection; Martyrius, a great faster, who did not eat food for a week and loved solitude and silence; Schema-monk Evfimy, Father Philaret's cell-attendant; Panteleimon, a hermit hieroschemamonk, buried in a skete, built by his care at the place of the appearance of the miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Mother of God; Hieromonk Anthony, assistant to the brother's spiritual father, silent; Hierodeacon Serapion, who saw his guardian angel and after his death went through his rosary for three hours; the monk Dositheus, who possessed the gift of insight and healing, who was vouchsafed to hear angelic singing at the death of the elder Theodotus; Schema-Archimandrite Iliodor, who for eight years was the abbot of the Rykhlov Monastery and the abbot of the Peter and Paul Monastery of the Chernigov Diocese; Schema-monk Lavrenty, a disciple of Archimandrite Heliodor and his successor in eldership; Archimandrite Innokenty, a disciple of many elders, and chiefly of Elder Macarius, who possessed a loving heart and the gift of healing; Hieroschemamonk Iliodor, a man of prayer, who predicted his death a year in advance; Schema-monk Archippus, who possessed the gift of insight and prayer, the leader of the spiritual life of schemamonks; the ascetic-clairvoyant Luke, and many others.

Of the individuals who did not belong to the brethren of the Glinsk hermitage, but who used its spiritual guidance, we know: Philaret - abbess of the Ufa Annunciation Monastery, a student of Philaret Glinsky; Macarius, Archimandrite of the Altai Mission, later abbot of the Bolkhov Trinity Monastery, Bible translator, clairvoyant; Theodosius, spiritual father of the Svyatogorsk hermitage of the Kharkov diocese, a disciple of Filaret; Hieroschemamonk John, a hermit of the Svyatogorsk hermitage, a disciple of Father Philaret; Ioannikii, spiritual father of the Svyatogorsk hermitage, healer of the possessed; Archimandrite Paisius, abbot of the Vysokogorsk Nikolaevskaya hermitage, a disciple of Father Philaret, Venerable Seraphim of Sarov predicted for him the leadership of monks 24 years in advance; Macaria, clairvoyant schema-nun of the Gamaleevsky Monastery of the Chernigov Diocese, spiritual daughter of the Elder Anatoly of the Glinsk Hermitage; Cleopatra, Abbess of the Sevsky Monastery; the elder of the Glinsk hermitage Anatoly blessed her to go to the monastery and predicted to her that she would be abbess.

To the short list of disciples of Elder Paisius (which is far from complete), we consider it necessary to add a list of lavras, monasteries, hermitages, sketes and communities that received their rules from him or his disciples, their elders or abbots, or who had his disciples and followers among their brotherhood. We make a reservation that this list of ours is far from complete.

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1. The Athos Elijah Skete and other Athonite monasteries and sketes that were under the influence of Elder Paisius and his disciples.

2. Dragomir Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Moldavia.

3. Sekulsky Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Moldavia.

4. Neamt Holy Ascension Monastery in Moldavia.

5. Novo-Neamt Monastery in Bessarabia.

6. The Tisman Monastery in Moldavia and other Moldavian monasteries and sketes that were under the influence of Elder Paisius.

7. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.