The Russian eldership as the service of the supra-normative love of Christ
The article presents the analysis of the phenomenon of the eldership in the Orthodox spiritual tradition interpreting this phenomenon as an anthropological mechanism of the translation of spiritual experience. Historical evolution of the eldership is reconstructed which leads to its expansion beyond the limits of the monastic and then also ecclesiastic medium. The main attention is paid to the last stage of the evolution, the Russian eldership of the 19-20th cc. The essence of this phenomenon is qualified as the supra-normative love of Christ, the perfect manifestation of which is the Redemption and the Sacrifice on the Cross of Christ. It is shown that the Russian eldership creates an original ethical formation, main principles of which are kenosis, humility and the absolute acceptance of the Other.