The book is dedicated to the great elder of the 19th century, the Monk Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891). Rich material about his life, 30-year-old senile feat, spiritual gifts and instructions to people was collected by Schiarchimandrite Agapit (Belovidov), who himself began a monastic path in the Optina Desert. The uniqueness of this biography of St. Ambrose is that it is the life of a shepherd written by another shepherd, the life of an old man written by another old man.