Elder Arsenie (Papacioc) of Romania (1914–2011) was a witness of the eternal truth of Christ, given by God to contemporary man. A man of deep prayer, he also possessed experiential knowledge of the ways of the world. Before going to the monastery, he had been a gifted athlete, a talented sculptor, a soldier, a mayor, and a prisoner of the Romanian Communist regime. Prison became a spiritual academy for him, and after his release he dedicated his life to God as a monastic. For the next six decades he would labor as a monk—in prison and out of prison. He became a beloved spiritual father, counseling the nuns of the Techirghiol Monastery and the multitude of faithful who flocked to his monastic cell. Drawing on his knowledge of the spiritual life and the workings of the world, he was able to guide people to a life in Christ, marked by activity, not philosophizing and speculation.

Every endeavor of his life was characterized by an intensity of purpose and an uncompromising confession of the truth: a knowledge that within each moment we make our choice for eternity. During his long years in prison, he had profound experiences of grace, which helped him realize the power of suffering and sacrifice for Christ. As he himself said, “We must sacrifice not what we have, but what we are.”

This comprehensive biography, compiled from the elder’s own words, the recollections of his spiritual children, and the 3,500 pages of files kept by the Romanian secret police, includes many of Fr. Arsenie’s counsels and spiritual maxims.

288 pages, paperback, illustrated.

Every Sigh Can Be a Prayer is a compilation of teachings on the spiritual life by the Romanian elder Fr. Arsenie Papacioc. A confessor, man of prayer, and preacher of the Faith who lived up to our times, Fr. Arsenie well understood the trials and complexities of contemporary life. His answer to our weakness and instability is a positive asceticism, based on a “state of awareness of God’s continuous presence.” Fr. Arsenie calls us to a life of watchfulness, of continuous attention: “We must be grateful or present in a state of awareness. That’s why I say that every moment is a taste of eternity and every sigh can be a prayer. This provides much greater benefit than many prayers or prostrations done mechanically.”

Few people live life as fully as did Fr. Arsenie. Before his entry into monasticism at the age of thirty-two, he had been an athlete, artist, chemist, mayor, soldier, and political prisoner. Leaving behind all his worldly success, Fr. Arsenie dedicated himself to Christ as a monk and priest for over sixty years. He spent a total of fourteen years in the infamous Romanian prisons, being arrested over forty times in his life. Prison was a spiritual academy for him, a place where he learned of the intricacies and depths of man’s soul, of the intrigues of the demons, and of God’s presence in the intense suffering he experienced. After his release from prison, he spent a decade in various parishes and monasteries around Romania, bringing people back to the Church and feeding the faithful with his God-inspired wisdom. This book gathers his teachings—the fruits of a long life of prayer, watchfulness, and suffering for Christ—from interviews, talks, and letters. His words are a vigorous call, waking us from our sleep, to a deep engagement in all that we do in our life in Christ.

176 pages, paperback, illustrated.

Contains full length, unabridged lives of the saints for each day of the month, including: Ioannicius the Great; the Synaxis of Archangel Michael; John the Merciful; and the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple. 686 pages.

The Elders of Optina Monastery have had a tremendous impact on Russian society, calling forth a nationwide blossoming of sanctity. During the course of a century, their prophecy and God-illumined counsel attracted spiritual seekers from far and wide.

One of the last Optina Elders was Elder Anatole (Potapov) (1855–1922), a disciple of the great Elder Ambrose and a contemporary of Elder Nektary. After his period of discipleship in the Optina Skete, he spent his years of eldership at the Church of the Vladimir Icon in Optina Monastery. There he confessed and gave counsel mostly to the crowds of lay pilgrims who flocked to Optina in order to unburden their souls and find resolutions to their problems. He was known as “the Consoler.” In the words of Archpriest Sergius Chetverikov, “His brisk, joyfully loving, and humble way of addressing the people reminded one of St. Seraphim of Sarov. One could clearly sense in him the spirit and power of the first great Optina Elders.”

Elder Anatole lived to see the advance of godlessness that overtook Russia during the revolutionary period; and, through his clairvoyant insight, he was able to help believers survive spiritually during those calamitous times.

Elder Anatole the Younger of Optina is the eighth volume in the series of Lives of the Optina Elders published by the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

208 pages, illustrated, paperback, $14.00
ISBN 978-0-938635-63-5