Spiritual Fatherhood (Geronta/Starets)

The guidance of a soul by an elder, a geron in Greek and a starets in Russian, which is as old as the desert, where a young monk came to an abba and said, give me a word. The disciple reveals his thoughts, even the ones he is ashamed of, and obeys; the elder prays for him and gives him the word he needs rather than the one he wants. What makes an elder is not an office but a gift, discernment, and some have been given more: St Seraphim of Sarov and St Paisios of the Holy Mountain were remembered for answering questions before they were asked. An elder need not be a priest, since many were simple monks, though absolution in confession belongs to the priest. The tradition came back to Russia through the disciples of St Paisius Velichkovsky and reached its height at Optina, where St Ambrose received visitors from the whole of Russia, and where Dostoevsky found much of his Elder Zosima.