Also known as John Litovkin · Elder Joseph of Optina
A disciple of St Ambrose of Optina and himself one of the Optina elders, who carried on the eldership with deep humility and gentle, discerning counsel; he reposed in 1911.
Feast Day
May 9
Draft
Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.
Venerable Joseph of Optina (1837–1911), born John Litovkin, was a Russian monastic of the Optina Hermitage who served as cell-attendant to the Elder Ambrose for fifty years and, after Ambrose's repose, carried on the tradition of Optina eldership. He was numbered among the Optina Elders, the line of spiritual fathers whose discerning counsel drew pilgrims from across nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russia.
Remembered for his marked humility and economy of speech, he frequently deferred to the words of his own elder rather than speaking on his own authority. He directed the nearby Shamordino convent established by Ambrose and led the Optina skete as its superior until ill health led him to retire. He reposed in 1911 and was glorified, together with the other Optina Elders, by the Moscow Patriarchate in 2000.
Timeline 7 moments
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November 2, 1837Birth in Kharkov provinceBorn John Litovkin in the village of Gorodishcha, Kharkov province, the second of three sons of Euthymius and Maria, who are described as simple and pious people. He was a sickly child, nearsighted and hard of hearing in one ear. His father died when he was four, and his mother died in an 1848 cholera outbreak when he was eleven.
March 1, 1861Arrival at OptinaHe came to the Optina Hermitage, having been counseled to seek out the Optina elders rather than continue on toward Kiev. When he asked the Elder Ambrose for a blessing to travel onward, Ambrose directed him instead to remain.
June 1861Cell-attendant to Elder AmbroseAt the request of the skete's superior, Fr. Paphnutius, he became the cell-attendant of the Elder Ambrose, a service he would continue for fifty years.
1872Monastic tonsureHe was tonsured a rassophore on April 15, 1872, and tonsured a monk with the name Joseph on June 16, 1872. He was later ordained deacon and, on October 1, 1884, ordained priest; he was tonsured to the great schema on February 14, 1886.
1891Succeeds Elder AmbroseAfter Elder Ambrose reposed on October 10, 1891, monks and nuns increasingly sought Joseph's spiritual direction. He was appointed confessor near the end of 1893 and elected superior of the skete on January 25, 1894.
1905Retirement as superiorFeeling his strength failing, he requested release from the office of superior in May 1905, while continuing his work as a spiritual father.
May 9, 1911ReposeAfter developing a fever during the Paschal season and being diagnosed with malaria, he reposed on May 9, 1911. He was buried at the feet of his elder Ambrose in the monastery church of Saint Mary of Egypt.
Contributions & Legacy
2 contributions
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Eldership and Shamordino
The Shamordino convent, founded by Elder Ambrose roughly eight miles from Optina, came under Joseph's care as its spiritual director and confessor; he is recorded as visiting twice yearly during the Apostles' and Dormition Fasts.
As an elder he was noted for humility and sparse speech, often citing the counsel of Father Ambrose rather than speaking on his own authority. Sources describe him as devoted to the unceasing prayer of the heart and grounded in the Philokalia and patristic writings.
Glorification
The Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13, 1996, and glorified them for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.
Joseph is commemorated on May 9 and, together with the other Optina Elders, in the Synaxis of the Optina Elders on October 11.
