Life and Sayings of St. Joseph of Optina
“I believe that all who visit Optina Hermitage in their deepest need will find solace, by God's mercy and the prayers of our great fathers, Leonid, Macarius, and Ambrose." —St. Joseph of Optina
May 9/22—Today the Holy Church remembers our Venerable Father Joseph of Optina.
St. Joseph was born Ivan Yefimovich Litovkin, in a small village in the province of Kharkov. His father, Yefim Yemelyanovich was head of the village council and known for his humility.
His mother, Maria Vasilievna, the saint described as strict but fair, bestowing upon her six children the treasure of heartfelt prayer. Both parents were known for their secret charity, hiding it even from each other.
Ivan turned out gentle beyond his years. Both his father and the parish priest who guided the family would remark, “This boy will come to something special.”
When Vanya turned eight, he once changed in the blink of an eye while playing with friends — his face shone, and he looked up, arms reaching for heaven, only to collapse at once, unconscious. Back at home, as he came to, he answered his parents’ worried questions: he had seen the Queen of Heaven.
Asked how he knew it was her, he replied, “She wore a crown with a little cross.” “But why did you fall?” the grown-ups pressed. With shy eyes cast down, he softly said, “There was such a sun beside her… I don’t know, I don’t know how to say it!” His words tumbled out, and tears followed.
At the age of four, his father died; before his twelfth birthday, his mother passed, and the future saint found himself bearing the heavy yoke of orphanhood. Yet he remained pure of heart, untouched by bitterness or evil.
Working for a merchant in Taganrog, he seemed destined for a worldly life until an unexpected letter from his elder sister, Nun Leonida, redirected his path. She urged him to visit Optina Hermitage, known for its holy elders. Her words awakened in him the desire to leave the world.
On his way to Optina, Ivan was offered a ride by nuns from Belyov. Upon their arrival, Elder Ambrose of Optina, hearing of Ivan’s arrival, remarked prophetically, “This Ivan will be of use both to you and to us.”
In 1864, Ivan received the rassophore habit. He was tonsured into the mantle in 1872, taking the name Joseph, and ordained hieromonk in 1884. By then, he served as Elder Ambrose’s chief cell attendant. When gravely ill in 1888, he was tonsured as a schemamonk and miraculously consoled by a vision of the Mother of God, who comforted him with the words: “Endure a little longer, My beloved.”
After Elder Ambrose’s repose in 1890, Father Joseph was naturally sought for spiritual guidance. By 1893, he became head of the skete and spiritual father to the sisters of Shamordino, alongside Elder Anatoly.
As a leader, he combined firm instruction with deep humility and fatherly love. His quiet authority won hearts: “What our Father does not achieve by command, he completes with humility.” Though self-effacing, he brought peace and transformation wherever he went. His words were few, but filled with light. To his sister he once wrote, “The main thing is to keep watch over oneself... the brethren — thanks be to God — are all at peace.”
Select counsels from the letters of St. Joseph to his spiritual children
- Guard your thoughts; deeds follow close behind.
- If you could only begin to understand what good the soul gains from wrongs done to it, and from all trials, you would surely rejoice, not grieve or complain. Patience through everything and giving thanks to the Lord for it outweigh mercy and fellow-feeling.
- Without sharp lessons a person drifts towards pride.
- Conscience is like an alarm. Rise the moment it rings and you will always hear it. Ignore it, telling yourself, “I’ll lie a while,” and soon its call will never wake you.
- Perhaps through this illness, the Lord is building your salvation. When you are ill, sorrow is needed too. So it turns out, your life is not in vain after all. Look within yourself — you will find no good in a single corner; in our heart there is much room for all manner of creeping things — pride, vanity, self-opinion — yet nowhere for the Sweetest Jesus to lay His head. And so He, the Merciful Knower of hearts, does not wish His creation to be lost, though we are sinful. He sends illness and sorrows, and so every Christian soul is cleansed from sin — yet only if one gives thanks to God for pain, truly repents, and patiently accepts the will of God.
- A zeal that seeks to eradicate all evil becomes a great evil itself.
- The strongest force within us is contradiction. We may tackle something hard, if we set our mind to it, but ask us to do something easy, and at once we will lose heart. Yet, obey we must.
- Thinking about the soul always brings benefit; it is fitting even during Easter. If perfect joy is missing, it clearly indicates that sins still stand in the way.
- Sometimes, good is tested through evil.
Venerable Father Joseph of Optina, pray to God for us!
More information on the life and counsels of St. Joseph of Optina can be found on obitel-minsk.org
