Lives of the Saints.

A stylishly designed gift edition with three-sided gold edges and a silk ribbon. The fabric silk binding of the book is decorated with gold stamping.

The writings of His Grace Philaret have always been characterized by simplicity and clarity of exposition, edification, and correctness of language; this work is no exception. The author describes the lives, feats, and miracles of Russian saints and ascetics, drawing the reader's attention to the most significant and instructive events for them. Like an experienced psychologist and talented artist, he portrays living people with their joys and sorrows, hopes, and corrections. In other words, any reader, even the youngest and most inexperienced, will encounter nothing incomprehensible in the book and will be able to understand everything being narrated without needing explanations or clarifications.

There is also another additional value of our book that deserves a moment of attention. "The visual aspect is inseparable from the evangelical narrative and, conversely, the evangelical narrative from the visual aspect. What the word conveys through hearing, painting shows silently through imagery." Following these words, spoken in 787 at the VII Ecumenical Council, we illustrated the writings of His Grace Philaret with drawings depicting all the saints and feasts discussed in the text.

The drawings were created by the outstanding Russian graphic artist Fyodor Grigorievich Sontsov, known for his excellent technique and knowledge of artistic monuments of Russian antiquity. According to critics, he "is one of those best and few who taught us all to appreciate and love true native Rus." Some drawings included in the book are transferred from ancient masterpieces, which testifies to their special value; others have been newly created with strict adherence to the ancient Byzantine-Russian style. Thus, regardless of the general interest, this book can benefit both contemporary icon painters, who often, unfortunately, differ with unbridled imagination and complete unfamiliarity with ancient iconographic traditions.

This book of biographies of all Russian saints and ascetics can be considered a guide for nurturing the soul. No matter how difficult their earthly path was, they walked it in an evangelical manner, which means such a path is accessible to all who wish to walk it, aligning with the unchanging Evangelical Commandments that do not change with time or circumstances. We can only encourage: may those who live righteously "multiply their righteousness, and the sinners begin to live in truth, not giving in to despair when recalling the past".