Book: Elder Anatoly of Optina

The best way to learn how to discern false elders is to get to know true elders. 

 Elder Anatoly (Zertsalov) of Optina born 1824 in Moscow

not to be confused with Elder Anatole (Potapov) the Younger of Optina born 1855 in Kaluga

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Letters of St. Anatoly to Nuns

    first published in Russian by the Kozelsk Optina Hermitage of the Entry of the Theotokos,Holy Trinity – St. Sergius Lavra Press, 1910

   translated by Holy Nativity Convent, Boston Massachusetts 1991

2nd printing 2003 by Jordanville

   The book includes a life of St. Anatoly provided by St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos in 1908, a glossary, an index, black-white portrait-photograph of Elder Anatoly.  300 pages.

More information here.

Order book here:

https://www.holytrinitypublications.com/a-collection-of-letters-to-nuns

https://bookstore.jordanville.org/9780884650539

A few pages from the book — from the life provided by St. Panteleimon Monastery:

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. . .If someone caused him grief or trouble and he could see that that person had done it from inexperience or without thinking, and sincerely regretted it, he would forgive him and never remember the incident again.  However, when under the pretense of devotion to him, someone would take advantage of his trustfulness and candor to do him an injury, and on discovering that Father Anatoly knew of it would ask his forgiveness, Batiushka would forgive him, but would no longer trust him as before.  And events would in fact show afterwards that this person had only a superficial attachment to him. . . 

 This observation sticks out to me.  There is a lot of confusion about "forgiveness."  It is too similar to the confusion about judgement, and now this shows how the confusion about forgiveness and the confusion about judgment are not only similar, but also connected.  We can forgive somebody who does not deserve to be forgiven, even if the offender has not asked for forgiveness.  In fact we have to forgive them even if we don't want to, because God commands it.  But we can not trust them again.   Not if we are going to be truthful.  And here, with this little bit of information about the very sober elder Anatoly, now I know I do not have to feel that I have not accomplished complete forgiveness unless I also restore (pretend) trust.   This allows me to instead trust my own discernment in a sober way, not in a self-willed way — in fact my own will could dearly want to trust the offender with the same trust I had before his trespass against me.  Think of the battered wife who goes back to her abusive husband because she believes him when he promises not to hit her again....  she is just believing what she wants to believe.  How sober is that? 

Another thing the elder said in this book:  truth is what matters.

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