St. Isaac (in the world, Ivan Ivanovich Antimonov) was born in Kursk on May 31, 1810, into a patriarchal merchant family, who enjoyed the unwavering respect of the townspeople for his impeccable honesty and strict Christian lifestyle, mercy to the poor and beautification of the city church.
The future Great Optina elder grew up in an environment of love, obedience to his parents, and strict observance of church rules and moral rigor. The boy was modest and kind, silent and reserved, but not sullen, he was no stranger to jokes, witty and easy to communicate.
For many years, the idea of going to a monastery had been maturing in the soul of a pious young man who was forced to help his father in business matters. By the age of thirty-six, she had completely grown stronger. This was also facilitated by the entry into monasticism of his elder brother Mikhail.
And so in 1847, as a mature man, having made a firm decision, he left his father's house and entered as a novice into the hermitage of the Vvedenskaya Optina Desert, famous even then for its elders, in whose way the spiritual care of each elder brother was adopted. And the novice John was entrusted to the Optina elder, St. Macarius, whose name was known far beyond the monastery. Under his spiritual guidance, years of obedience passed: first in the apiary, then in the bakery and as a cook in the monastery refectory, he sang in the choir, in private – with the blessing of Elder Macarius; Brother John was also a bookbinder. He strictly followed the rule laid down for every novice in the cell, and subsequently, after receiving the cassock in 1851 and taking the veil in 1854, he became more and more zealous for improving his inner spiritual world, without giving himself any indulgences in anything: he was strict in forcing himself to do smart work, attend monastic services, and he limited himself to eating and relaxing.
Avoiding ambitious thoughts and therefore avoiding any exaltation, solely for obedience to his spiritual father, Elder Macarius, he was ordained a hierodeacon in 1855, and then, in 1858, a hieromonk. After taking holy orders, St. Isaac remains as humble, sincere and open in his dealings with the brethren as he was before, but even more strict and demanding of himself, relying in everything on the spiritual instructions of the elder.
Perhaps, in the fulfillment of obedience, monastic rules, observance of the church charter, in spiritual perfection and gradual ascent "from strength to strength," his whole life would have passed in the monastery. But God wanted something else.
In 1860, already seriously ill, the Venerable Elder Macarius, anticipating the near end, bequeathed to his spiritual son, the Venerable Isaac, to come under the guidance of the great Optina Elder Ambrose, a disciple of the blessed Elder Macarius. Two years later, in 1862, after the death of the rector of Optina Hermitage, Elder Moses, the Monk Isaac became his successor.
For more than thirty years, he has been leading the monastery, continuing the construction begun by St. Moses, which was considerable at that time. Through his efforts, the Church of All Saints is being completed in a new cemetery, a new iconostasis is being built in Kazan Cathedral and the old one in Vvedenskoye is being rebuilt, new wall paintings are being painted, a monastery hospital with a pharmacy for free use is being built, with a church attached to it in the name of St. Hilarion the Great, a bookstore, a two-story building of a crumbling, a water supply system is being completed, a new building is being erected. hotels and many rooms are being restored, redone, renovated and built again.
Under his wise management, Optina acquires forest plots – this is how the fuel problem is solved. He also purchases meadow lands at the Bolkhovskaya mill, opens a candle factory, and encourages the cultivation of monastery gardens and vegetable gardens. Thus, Optina Pustyn became one of the most prosperous monasteries in Russia in the second half of the 19th century.
But the abbot's activities were not limited to economic concerns only. The main thing for him was fatherly strict care for the fulfillment of monastic obedience and the rule by the brethren, while making no exception for himself.
Already being abbot, and later, in 1885, Archimandrite, the monk did not perform any monastic activities without the elder's blessing and taught this to the brethren. "Fathers and brothers! You need to go to the elder to clear your conscience," he often repeated. So, reverently, almost to the point of belittling himself, he stood with everyone in line to his confessor, the Venerable Elder Ambrose, and talked with him on his knees, like a simple novice.
In the last years of the abbot's life, many sorrows fell to his lot. He suffered especially hard from the departure of Elder Ambrose to the Shamordin community. "I spent twenty–nine years as abbot of the elder and did not see any sorrows, but now it must have pleased the Lord to visit me, a sinner, with sorrows," he said.
His health began to weaken noticeably, and he secretly took vows in the schema. Soon the great elder, St. Ambrose, departed to the Lord, and the abbot, St. Isaac, was followed by secret denunciations of his inability, due to his advanced age and illness, to manage the monastery. And although the brethren unanimously stood up for their abbot, his strength was already fading. He died quietly, surrounded by his weeping children, to whom he gave a final admonition: "Love God and your neighbors, love the Church of God, in church service, in prayer seek the benefits not of earthly, but of heavenly; Here, in this holy monastery, where you began your monastic life, and end your days." Our Venerable Father Isaac reposed in the Lord on August 22/September 4, 1894.
He was a true follower of the tradition of eldership, which distinguished the way of life of Optina Pustyn from other monasteries in Russia, the strict obedience of the entire brotherhood to the elders-confessors, regardless of rank and hierarchical rank.
His whole life became a worthy continuation of the spiritual feat begun by his predecessor, the Monk Moses, and other great Optina elders.