THE WRITINGS OF NIL SORSKY IN THE LIBRARY OF THE OPTINA PUSTYN MONASTERY

Abstract

This study analyzes the writings of the elder Nil Sorsky and texts about Nil in the library of the Optina Pustyn Monastery. The Optina Pustyn Monastery maintained close ties with the Nil Sorsky Hermitage and the Moldavian monasteries of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky and Elder Vasily Polyanomerulsky. In the 18th century, these monasteries became major centers where Nil Sorsky’s works were copied and studied. By 1849, the Optina monks had accumulated numerous copies of Nil’s writings and works about him. In that year, they published the first edition of his works. The present study discusses copies of Nil’s Predanie (Tradition) and of his monastic charter that date back to Sorsk protographers and others that came from the Ploshchanskaya Pustyn or from the Moldovian monasteries. The author of the article reveals new copies of rare hagiographic and hymnographic texts dedicated to Nil Sorsky: his Life, Miracles, and Services in his memory. The article is accompanied by the publication of a historical work about Nil and his monastery, which was most likely compiled in 1805 or 1806.