The Synaxis of the Optina Elders

On October 23 (Oct. 10 o.s.), the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) celebrates the Synaxis of the Elders of Optina. These are fourteen holy elders who lived and prayed at the Optina Hermitage, dedicated to the great feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple. They are Leo, Macarius, Moses, Anthony, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatolius the Elder, Isaac I, Joseph, Barsanuphius, Anatolius the Younger, Nectarius, Nicon, and Isaac II. All are hieromonks or archimandrites.

The date of this commemoration is an interesting one. ROCOR was the first to glorify the Optina Elders corporately; the glorification took place at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Montreal on May 13, 1990. The date for their feast was set on October 10/23, the repose of St. Ambrose (+1891), the most renowned of the holy elders. The Moscow Patriarchate had glorified St. Ambrose two years earlier, in 1988.