Venerable
Venerable Macarius of Optina
1788 — 1860
Venerable Macarius of Optina (1788–1860) — successor to St. Leo of Optina, organizer of patristic text publishing, spiritual father to Gogol and Dostoevsky.
Venerable Macarius of Optina (secular name Mikhail Nikolayevich Ivanov) was born November 20, 1788, in Oryol Province. In 1810 he entered the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage under Elder Athanasius (Zakharov). In 1834 he transferred to Optina Hermitage, becoming the closest disciple and successor of Venerable Leo (Nagolkin). After Leo's repose in 1841 he took up eldership, guiding many laypeople including Gogol, Kireyevsky, and Dostoevsky. With Ivan Kireyevsky he organized publishing of patristic works, reviving the patristic tradition in 19th-century Russia. He reposed September 7, 1860; his relics rest in the Vladimir Church of Optina. Feast: September 7/20; Synaxis of Optina Elders October 11/24.