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Elder Ioasaph and His Disciples

Both according to written sources and oral tradition, the first hermit who settled in the Bryansk forests was Ioasaph, abbot (he was called "builder") of the Ploschansky Monastery.
He was born in Moscow, his father who came from the gentry of the town of Eletz and his brothers served Prince Urusov. He entered a monastery when young and took the vows at the age of 24. Nine years later he was appointed abbot of the Belye Berega Monastery and then of the Ploschansky Hermitage.
He restored many buildings here and put up new ones yet his main concern was spiritual perfection. The brothers of the hermitage imitated him in his ascetic labours - fasting, prayers and solitude and sought his counsel. Soon he became popular among local Christians but as he hated the glory of this world, he left the monastery to live in forests as hermit, which he did for 20 years. Many monks were eager to follow him and lead an angelic life of chastity. He accepted and tonsured them allowing some to stay with him and sending others away to monasteries. The Satan disliked what he was doing. He was slandered and arrested. On his way to Sevsk he was taken to the Ploschansky Monastery. The bishop of Sevsk and Bryansk happened to be here. Seeing the exhausted elder in chains, he was deeply moved and ordered to dismiss Ioasaph.

The latter chose to stay in the monastery, yet lived here not long. Due to his sufferings and severe life his health was weak. He died at the age of 73 in 1766 and was buried here in the Ploschansky Hermitage. Well-known among his disciples were hieromonks Paphnutius and Serapion and monk Andronicus. Paphnutius led the brotherhood of the monastery in 1746-1758 and Serapion in 1777-1807.

Elder Hieromonk Adrian and His Disciples

Another God-beloved hermit, hieromonk Adrian, also was from the Ploschansky brotherhood.
He was born in the Permsk province in the family of a pious nobleman. When he grew up, he became an officer and served in the army for 24 years. Then he resigned and entered the Ploschansky Monastery.
Some years later he took the vows and was granted the abbot's blessing to lead a life of solitude in the Bryansk forests. It took him and his disciples long to find a suitable place which was located in an impenetrable forest, with a spring of pure water nearby.
The life there was very hard. They had no right to take anything from the outer world. The devil tried to prevent them from leading such an ascetic God-pleasing life. When they were celebrating Christmas, one Christian woman sent them eggs, butter and cheese. The disciples of Adrian were tempted to take all the food and asked for his permission, but he didn't give it. He urged them to remember holy martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity and ascetics practicing strict self-denial and to look at Jesus Christ crucified.
They prayed a lot. The Psalter was their favourite reading, they read it at nights when nature seemed to praise the Lord together with them.
The elder had many gifts of the Holy Spirit and even wild animals obeyed him. Once he and his disciples met a she-bear with its cubs. And she-bears are very dangerous and aggressive, as they defend their cubs. That she-bear was approaching them fast snarling. The elder prayed and a made a sign of cross. Then the bear turned round and disappeared.
The elder never wore shoes, even in winter, though it was extremely cold. Eight years later peasants began to fell trees nearby and the elder had to move to another place. Soon robbers came to Adrian and wanted to get money from him. The elder never took any, but they didn't believe it and beat him cruelly.
After recovering Adrian and his pupils lived in the Smolensk forests, then he was the abbot of the Konevsky Monastery on an island in Lake Ladoga and died in the Simonov Monastery of Moscow in 1812.

Disciples and Followers of St Paisius Velichkovsky

St Paisius Velichkovsky inspired the great monastic revival of the 19th century. He translated the Philokalia, defended the practice of Jesus prayer, redirected the attention of Orthodox Christians to the
sources of Holy Orthodoxy - the Holy Scripture and writings of the Holy Fathers and taught them to concentrate on their inner life.
His disciples came from Moldavia and Athos to Russia and settled mostly in its southern monasteries, one of them being the Ploschansky Hermitage.

Schemamonk Athanasius was an officer. At the age of 30 he entered the brotherhood of the Niametsky Monastery in Moldavia where he was tonsured by Paisius. He spent there 7 years, then went to Russia and was unable to return. Athanasius changed several monasteries in Russia and finally came to the Ploschansky Hermitage in 1815. He lived here 10 years and was loved by the brothers. He was simple, humble and merciful. He often gave his last piece of bread to beggars and had mercy not only on people but animals. Thus he took special care to feed birds in winter. He attracted many spiritual seekers from far and near and used to tell them about Paisius Velichkovsky and his teaching. Athanasius died in 1825.

St Macarius of Optina (1788-1860) began his monastic life in the Ploschansky Hermitage. He lived here for about 24 years, was a disciple of Athanasius who taught him to read and follow the Holy Fathers. He moved to Optina in 1834.
A disciple and co-laborer of elder Leonid, elder Macarius was instrumental in the publication of patristic literature by Optina Monastery. He was himself an embodiment of patristic wisdom - an ancient Church Father come forth in modern times. Meek, gentle, loving and noble, he was imbued with the power of humility that strengthens the infirm, chastens the proud-minded and exorcises evil spirits. In him were the words of Christ fulfilled: Be ye therefore perfect (Matt. 5:48). As one contemporary wrote after meeting elder Macarius: "How difficult it is to see perfection. I had thought that a man is not capable of attaining perfection.… It was shock to see a living example of such a man." For more information about Macarius you may read books on the Optina elders.

St Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807-1867) was a prominent Orthodox spiritual writer of 19th-century Russia. Born of a noble family, he completed an education in engineering in St. Petersburg under the patronage of Emperor Nicholas I and was destined for a brilliant worldly career. Later, as an officer, he chose instead to follow the spiritual yearning of his soul and receive the monastic tonsure, as a disciple of the famous elder Leonid of Optina Hermitage. Well grounded in the ascetic writings of the Holy Fathers, Bishop Ignatius captured the spirit of the ancient patristic and monastic traditions of the Orthodox Church in his own works, written in the most eloquent language of the time. He is most popular ascetic writer in contemporary Russia.
In 1828 novice Dimitry (future bishop Ignatius) came to the Ploschansky Hermitage with his elder Leonid. Soon his friend and former fellow student Mikhail Chikhachev joined him here. The young men were accommodated in a cell house in the monastery garden. Dimitry wrote his essay "Garden in the Wintertime" here. He describes the garden in winter and says that if there were anyone who had never seen spring he would never believe that the "dead" trees could return to life and have green leaves. The same could be probably said about the resurrection of the dead. Seemingly unbelievable it may be quite real. Dimitry and his friend liked the monastery very much. Services here were very good, long and inspired, they confessed to their elder every day and enjoyed peace and solitude. Yet they spent here only several months and followed elder Leonid who had to go to Optina. Later bishop Ignatius wrote about the Ploschansky Hermitage as one of the best Russian monasteries.
Some of his books have been translated into English.