THE OPTINA LIBRARY
St. Ambrose of Optina: Letters to Spiritual Children in the World
Amazon links open in a new tab. Purchase and delivery are handled by Amazon. Check the retailer for current price and availability.
Read monastic counsel addressed to life in the world.
Saint Ambrose’s letters bring the Optina tradition into the circumstances of people living beyond the monastery. Their value lies partly in that personal setting: a question is answered, a difficulty weighed, a particular person encouraged or corrected. This English volume gives readers direct access to the correspondence rather than a selection of detached sayings, inviting careful attention to how spiritual counsel meets a life as it is being lived.
Inside this book
- Letters to spiritual children living in the world
- The personal form of Orthodox eldership
- Counsel read in the circumstances of its recipients
Choose this as an approachable entry into the Optina letters. Read a few at a time, then explore Macarius for another elder’s voice.
Edition details
- Author
- Saint Ambrose of Optina
- Format
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- Length
- 264 pages
- Trim size
- 6 × 9 inches
- ISBN
- 9798184943343
- Publication date
- June 30, 2026
Explore Saint Ambrose of Optina and related books →
Discover the setting of these writings in Optina Monastery and its elders, or compare books in our Optina reading guide.