Spiritual Continuity in Nunneries St. Petersburg Diocese of the 19th — early 20th Centuries

In the process of transforming women’s monasteries from special to cenobitic ones, the influence of the elders-ascetics of the men’s monasteries was significant. The adoption of communal principles for the organization of monastic life affected all St. Petersburg convents, both previously existing and newly formed. The article reveals the topic of spiritual continuity, showing the personal mentoring of the elders who did the unceasing Jesus Prayer, who taught the nuns of convents the practice of revelation of thoughts, the virtue of obedience and church piety. The topic is explored using the example of the personalities of the abbess of convents located in the 19th — early 20th centuries on the territory of the modern St. Petersburg diocese, and their spiritual fathers. The ascetic views of the elders and the main forms of care of the elders for women’s monasteries are indicated. Conclusions are drawn about the unified spiritual space of Russian monasticism in the 19th — early 20th centuries, created through personal communication between bearers of the original Russian tradition of monasticism, enriched by the patristic teaching on eldership.