Abbot Tikhon's book tells in a fascinating way about the origin and life of monasticism, the historical mission of Orthodox monasteries, their role in the formation of domestic spiritual culture. The book reflects the way of monastic life, history, shrines, architectural decoration and sights of many monasteries. In front of the readers is a gallery of portraits of prominent ascetics of the Russian Church: Sergius of Radonezh, Savva Storozhevsky, Seraphim of Sarov and others.