Elder Macarius of Optina was canonized by the Russian Church Abroad in 1990, together with the other Elders of Optina. St. Macarius' views were, in the words of Helen Kontzevitch, "Optina Views". As such, his letters can very much be read as part of the spiritual legacy of Optina Monastery.
Optina was in many ways the spiritual center of Holy Russia in its last years. Pilgrims travelled from across the empire to receive counsel from the revered Elders of Optina, who in their simple humility and deep spiritual insight echoed the wisdom of the desert fathers of centuries past. In reading their writings, we are drinking from the same font of spiritual wisdom as has nourished Christians for centuries.
The recently departed Fr. Nektary of Jerusalem, of blessed memory, saw a special need for Christians of our time to study the teachings of the Elders of Optina. The humble and sober spiritual instructions contained in the letters of Elder Macarius would seem to be of particular help to us, who are so easily inclined to delusions of grandeur.
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