In Russian, старец (starets), from старый, "old" (our translation), is the experienced monk to whom the novice entrusts his soul and will; the plural is старцы (startsy) and the institution is старчество (starchestvo). The narrator explains that it is recent in Russian monasteries, brought from the East, and Zosima is the last of the third generation of startsy in his monastery. The opponents of the starchestvo, such as Father Ferapont, take it for a harmful novelty.
Where It Appears
Quotes
That is why I am a buffoon, a buffoon of shame, great elder, of shame. It is only out of touchiness that I make a scene.
Book II: An untimely meeting, Fyodor Pavlovich to Elder Zosima, in the cell