SAINT AMBROSE OF OPTINA

The plot of Umberto Eco’s novel The Name of the Rose is based on the story of how a monk librarian used a deadly poison to prevent other, less experienced monks from accessing a book that contains the answer to the question of whether Christ laughed. Saint Ambrose is known to have been constantly ill, to have spoken in allegories and to have used much irony in his teachings. He is considered tom have had a great influence on Dostoevsky’s work, but he never quite reached the heart of Leo Tolstoy.

1 On October 23, the day of his passing, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saint Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891). He is considered the pinnacle of the tradition of elderhood at the Optina Monastery. His influence on Russian literature, religious thought, and popular piety is enormous. Some of St. Ambrose’s aphorisms have become part of the Russian language.

2 Ambrose was born in 1812, when Russia had defeated Napoleon, and passed away in 1891, when the Russian Empire was stronger than ever. At the same time, Lenin (1870-1924), four years after his brother’s execution in 1887, was already becoming a professional revolutionary. Stalin was 11 years old at the time. His very pious mother planned a career as a priest for him.

3 At a time when European rationality dominated the whole world, including Russia, and Christianity was perceived as a variety of culture, the ascetics of this generally quite provincial Russian monastery possessed special spiritual authority and prophetic power: the gift of discerning spirits (cf. 1 John 4:1), the gift of strengthening and counsel (Isaiah 11:2). It was as if, in the words of the Gospel, one of the ancient prophets had risen from the dead (Luke 9:8).

4 It is believed that the phenomenon of elderhood in Optina lasted for about 200 years. From Leo (1768-1841) to Isaac (1865-1938), a total of 14 elders, the Lord revealed His sovereign Kingdom, Power, Glory in the Optina “Desert,” as the name of the monastery is literally translated from Russian, unknown to the powerful of this world. It is amazing that this prophetic power was passed down from generation to generation of ascetics It was as if the Lord’s words that He would not abandon the Church until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) were once again coming true, two thousand years after the Gospel promise, approximately fifteen hundred years after the Golden Age of the Church Fathers. And this was happening in the Russian Empire on the eve of incredible, apocalyptic, and very tragic revolutionary upheavals.

5 Throughout his life, Ambrose was constantly ill. The dates of his life coincide in some ways with the great milestones of Russian history. But in Ambrose’s own fate, it was just one illness after another. From complex diseases to hemorrhages, from colds to fatal medical errors. In 1845, during a trip to Kaluga, just 75 km from Optina, for ordination as a priest, Ambrose caught a cold, suffered numerous complications, and was unable to serve regularly. In 1862, Ambrose dislocated his arm and was never able to celebrate again.

6 Ambrose was confined to his bed, receiving visitors and giving them advice while lying down. It is difficult to imagine how strange, how difficult to understand, this must have seemed to those who lived in those days of the official, powerful, imperial Church. The Elder gave advice from a position of extreme weakness. But this humble weakness became… a reflection of the humble reclining of the beloved disciple of Jesus at the Last Supper. (John 13:23). In Ambrose’s kenotic and painful reclining, it becomes clear that this is how he listened to what the Lord Himself said. Ambrose is considered the apogee of Optina Eldership.

7 The Lord Jesus is the Lord of Uniqueness. There is a certain special detail, particularity and trait in every saint. What was unique about Saint Ambrose was his ability to laugh. In every parable, in every sermon, he smiled. He spoke with irony. “Sins are like walnuts — you just have to crack the shell…” With his irony and his unique, inimitable laughter, Ambrose stands out from all other saints. And isn’t he himself the answer to the age-old question: did Christ laugh?