Striving Toward God 978-0-88465-413-1 cover image

Striving Toward God

Spiritual Advice for Daily Living

By Arsenia (Sebriakova)Translated by Mary Naumenko,

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Description

“Only when our life is wholly directed towards
God do we become capable of seeing God in all and begin to do so by faith—not
only in all the significant happenings of life but even in the insignificant
ones—and to submit entirely to His holy will.”
The 19th century saw a renaissance of Russian spirituality in the writings of St
Ignatius (Brianchaninov) and St Theophan the Recluse, many of whose works have
become well-known throughout the world. This book brings to an English-speaking
audience the spiritual counsels of another Russian monastic of the same period.
Born into a patrician family in the Don region, Anna Mikhailovna Sebriakova
forsake the world at the age of seventeen and joined the Ust’-Medveditskii
convent, where she was tonsured a nun with the name Arsenia. She subsequently
served as abbess of this same monastery for 41 years. Heavily influenced by the
writings of St ignatius, she took up correspondence with his brother P.A.
Brianchaninov and became his spiritual mentor. Her letters to Peter
Alexandrovich form the bulk of this book. Also offered are a selection of her
personal notes and letters to other individuals. Abbess Arsenia’s counsels are
steeped in Holy Scripture and in the inspiration that she draws from the
services of the Orthodox Church. Throughout, she emphasizes the need to humble
oneself, discern the will of God, and fulfill it through every moment of our
life.

Additional information

Author Name

Arsenia (Sebriakova)
Format

ED
Publication Date

20160201
Imprint

Publisher

Translator

Mary Naumenko
Language

English
Book Dimensions

0
Format Detail

eBook

Author Biography

Abbess Arsenia (born
Anna Mikhailovna Sebriakova) was the long-tenured superior of the
Transfiuguration Monastery, serving for over 45 years in that position during
the second half of the 19th century. Well known in her native Don region, she
corresponded with luminaries of her time, including P.A. Brianchaninov, brother
of St. Ignatius of the Caucasus. Her notes and letters are steeped in the
traditions of Holy Scripture, in the inspiration of the Orthodox divine
services, and in the deep current of monastic spirituality from which she drew
her strength.

Mary Naumenko is the wife of an Orthodox
priest and has been involved in parish ministry for several decades. She
recently earned an M.A. in Arts and Humanities from Faulkner University
(Montgomery, AL). Her dissertation was on the patristic concept of the nous in
the writings of Dostoevsky.

Contents

Introduction

A Short Biography

Part 1 The Notes of Abbess Arsenia

Part 2 The Letters to Peter Alexandrovich Brianchaninov

Part 3 Letters to Other Individuals

          To Agrathena Mihailovna
Merzhanova

          To Schema-nun Pafnutia

          To Lydia P.V.

          To V.I.I.

          To M.S.

          To A.S.

          To V.P.G.

Acknowledgements

End Notes

Index

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