Ambrose Optinsky

Beginning of the life path

Unless otherwise indicated, dates are in the old style.

It is now generally accepted that Alexander Mikhailovich Grenkov was born on November 23 ( December 5 ), 1812 . Although the sources, directly and indirectly, indicated a different date: November 21, 1812 ^[1] and 1814 (in the certificate of a student of the Tambov Theological Seminary Alexander Grenkov of July 15, 1836 it was stated: "... having a family of 22 years ...") ^{[2 ]}

He was born in the house of his grandfather-priest, in the village of Bolshaya Lipovitsa, Tambov province, in the family of the sexton Mikhail Fedorovich and Martha Nikolaevna Grenkov; was the sixth of eight children. Father died early and Alexander lived in a large family with his grandfather's mother.

At the age of twelve, he was sent to the Tambov Theological School for semi-indicated maintenance. In July 1830, he, as one of the best graduates, was sent to the Tambov Theological Seminary ^[3] . While studying at the seminary, he became seriously ill and vowed to get a haircut as a monk. However, at the end of the seminary in 1836 (in the first category), he entered as a home teacher for the children of a wealthy landowner. Then, from March 7, 1838 ^[3] , he was a teacher of Greek at the Lipetsk Theological College.

After a secondary illness ^[4] , having visited with his friend and colleague Pavel Stepanovich Pokrovsky ^{[5] [6]} , the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the elder Hilarion (Fokin) from the village of Troekurov , in the autumn of 1839 he secretly left everyone at Optina’s monastery indicated by the elder The desert .

Optic Desert Service

October 8, 1839, Alexander Grenkov arrived at Optina deserts ^[7] . Elder Leo blessed him to live in a hotel and to rewrite the translation of the work of the Greek monk Agapius Land “Sinful salvation” ^[3] . In January 1840, Alexander moved to the monastery, and on April 2, 1840, after resolving the situation with his disappearance from the Lipetsk school, he was accepted as a novice among the brethren of the monastery; he was a cell attendant and a reader with the elder Leo, he worked in the bakery. In November 1840 he was transferred to a monastery, where he worked in the kitchen for a year.

Even before the death of Elder Leo, from 1841 he began to obey the elder Fr. Macarius . Obeying his will, in the summer of 1841 he was tonsured in a Riasophore , and on November 29, 1842, in a mantle , with a name in honor of St. Ambrose of Mediolansky ; On February 4, 1843 ^{[8] he was} ordained a hierodeacon , and on December 9, 1845 he was ordained a hieromonk in Kaluga , and during the trip he caught a cold and became seriously ill, having received a complication in his internal organs, so that he could hardly serve due to his illness.

At his visit, on August 23, 1846, to Optina Desert, Bishop Nikolai , at the request of the Father Superior ^[9] and the confessor of the monastery ^[10] , Hieromonk Ambrose was appointed assistant to Fr. Macarius "in the clergy." By the spring of 1848, the young monk who had embarked on the path of old age became so threatening that, probably, at that time he was tonsured to the great schema without changing his name ^[11] , removed from the staff and was listed as a dependent monastery. After that, his health recovered somewhat.

After the death of the elder Fr. Macarius September 7, 1860 Ambrose took upon himself the work of the elders.

Elder Ambrose constantly had some kind of ailment: “his gastritis intensified, then vomiting opened, then there was a nervous pain, then a cold with febrile chills and just a cruel fever” ^[12] . In 1862, Elder Ambrose received a dislocation of his hands, the unsuccessful treatment of which weakened his health even more, so that he could no longer attend church services, and in winter he could not leave the premises at all ^[13] . In August 1868, he dangerously fell ill with hemorrhoidal bleeding . Hegumen Isaac sent a monk to the village with a request to bring the Kaluga icon of the Mother of God to Optina deserts. The miraculous icon was delivered to the monastery. After a prayer service with the Akathist to the Theotokos in the cell of the elder and prayers, Ambrose received relief in a disease that visited him periodically until his death.

In 1870 he received a rare award at that time - a golden pectoral cross ^[14] .

The device of the Shamordinsky female monastery was connected with the name of the old man Ambrose. He blessed his spiritual child, the nun Sofia, to create, not far from Optina, with the village of Shamordino, a female community, which was later transformed into a monastery ^[15] . The day of the creation of the monastery is October 1 (14), 1884 , when the first church was consecrated, arranged by the labors and prayers of Ambrose.

The Superior Mother of God set up by him for four years of her abbot arranged the monastic life of the monastery. After her death, the elder Ambrose blessed another spiritual daughter - the nun Euphrosyne , who at the end of her life did not bless to retire, despite her illness ^[16] .

In the Shamordinsky monastery founded with his blessing, he died on October 10, 1891. The words of the Apostle Paul are engraved on his marble tombstone:

“By the weak, how weak, but I gain weak. All of them all, but I will save every one ” ( 1 Cor. 9:22 ).

Evgeny Pogozhev (Poselyanin) said:

V.V. Rozanov wrote:

Expressions of Ambrose Optinsky

To live is not to bother, not to condemn anyone, not to annoy anyone, and all my respect.
Go - where they will lead, look - that they will show, and all say: Thy will be done!
The righteous are led to the kingdom of God by the apostle Peter, and the Queen of Heaven herself leads the sinful.
Read “Our Father”, but do not lie: “... leave us our debts, just as we leave ...”
Why is a person bad? Because he forgets that God is above him.
The church should not speak. This is an evil habit. Sorrows are sent for this.
The ancient Christians were tempted by the enemy with torment, and the present - with illnesses and thoughts.

• The answer is supportive of the Latin Church
• Fear of God
• Fatherland. Christian marriage
• Tips for spouses and parents

• Ambrose, hieroschimonach // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• A brief legend about the life of the Optinsky elder Jeroskhimonakh Fr. Ambrose. / Comp. E. V. [Vytropsky Erast Kuzmich]. - M .: Printing house of M. Volchaninov, 1893.
• Chronicle of the monastery ... at the Kozelsky Vvedensky Optina desert. - M. , 2008. - T. 1-2. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5–9831–7295–6 (v. 1); 5-9831-7296-4 (v.2).
• Biography of the Optina Elder Jeroskhimonakh Ambrosius / Comp. Agapit (Belovidov), a schiarchim. - M.: Publishing. Vvedensky Optina Desert, 1900 (2nd ed. - Moscow: Publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery, 2011 .-- 440 p. - 10,000 copies - ISBN 978-5-7533-0614-2 )
• Ambrose // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2001. - T. II. - S. 135-137. - 752 s. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-007-2 .
• Between Fear and Hope: Rev. Ambrose of Optina: Life, Instructions / Comp. V. Katkova. - M .: The Orthodox parish of the Church of the Holy Spirit of Descent at the Lazarevsky Cemetery of the Mountains. Moscow, Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2012 .-- 224 p. - 4000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-98891-615-4 .
• Correspondence of Konstantin Zederholm with the old man Makari Optinsky (1857-1859) . - M.: Publishing House of PSTGU, 2013 .-- 383 p. - ISBN 978-5-7429-0717-6 .

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ambrose Optinsky
• Life, letters, photographs Ambrose Optinsky on the official website of Optina Desert
• The Life of St. Ambrose the Elder of Optina
• October 23 - the memory of the Monk Ambrose of Optina on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate
• Rev. Ambrose Optinsky on the ABC of Faith website
• Amvrosiy Optinsky (Grenkov Alexander Mikhailovich) in the project “Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Anthology of life and creativity "