The spiritual image of Elder Sebastian (1884 -1966) is that of a longsuffering, quiet bearer of the vision of the Optina monastic tradition destined to preserve Optina eldership through decades of communist persecution of the Church. After the closure of Optina Monastery in 1923, Fr. Sebastian a disciple of both Elder Joseph and Elder Nektary matured rapidly into a truly compassionate pastor. He suffered arrest and imprisonment by the communists in 1933, and was sentenced to ten years in the Karaganda concentration camps of Kazakhstan.

Elder Sebastian had a constant concern for instilling deep peace in people s souls, and a constant sense of service through his labor and love to those surrounding him. He was exacting in everything, but first of all toward himself. He had the gift of great and profound discernment, and exercised moderation in everything.

*Paperback, 496 pp.