The elder who preceded Zosima, the Elder at the monastery. He is rumored to have beaten with a stick the visiting women who hoped for miracles. The little monk who escorts Pyotr Miusov and the Karamazovs into the monastery acknowledges that Varsonofy was a fool, but he dispels rumors that the elder ever beat anyone. After Zosima dies, his enemies use Varsonofy to discount faith in Zosima’s extraordinary holiness, claiming that Varsonofy’s body did not stink but emitted a pleasant scent, indicating that the former elder was holier than Zosima and more miraculous.