Matthew Olshansky

Matthew Olshansky was a Russian schemamonk of St Panteleimon Monastery, born on 5 November 1840 at Kupiansk, Kharkov province, a librarian and scholar. He reposed in the night of 3 September 1911. He is venerated by the faithful, without a synodal canonization.

Named Michael Pavlovich in the world, he was a merchant's son and at nineteen went to the skete of Optina, where he stayed almost three years. The death of the elder Macarius in 1860 made him think more and more of Athos, and at twenty-⁠two he entered St Panteleimon Monastery. He was sent to learn Greek at the school in Karyes and in 1865 was tonsured a monk with the name Matthew. Two years later he was sent to the embassy church at Constantinople. He loved singing: at Optina he sang in the choir, and on Athos, even as an elder, he sometimes opened his music and sang the dogmatika alone in his cell. In 1873 he was called to the monastery as assistant to the librarian Azarias, in 1874-1875 he was at Constantinople for the Greek-⁠Russian lawsuit, and in 1878 he took over as chief librarian and grammarian of the monastery. He put the library in exemplary order, enriched it with valuable Greek and South Slavic manuscripts, and had the building restored and enlarged. From 1896 he collaborated with the Russian Archaeological Institute at Constantinople, and in 1902 the Academy in Paris made him a member. In mid-⁠August 1911 he fell ill; in the night towards 3 September he received Communion for the last time and reposed in peace, surrounded by the love of all.