Maria of Olonets

The Monastic ideal involves complete renunciation of the world and that struggle against oneself which is necessary for the soul’s ascent towards God.  Those who, in every age, have been most faithful to this ideal have been the “desert dwellers”- hermits laboring in prayer and asceticism, hidden far away not only from the seductive tumult of the world, but even far away from their monastic brothers and sisters. In this way, men and women called to this path have worked out their salvation from the very beginning of Christianity even until modern times.
Within the pages of this book one enters into the world of several pf these God-pleasing righteous ones: Maria of Olonets, Anastasia of Padan, Elder Isaiah and others. Having lived in Russia about one hundred years ago, their holy example can still inspire the hearts of the 20th century readers.

Part I
Desert Dwellers of the Northern Forests
Maria of Peredino Village
The St. Nicephorus Hermitage on Vazhe Lake
Maria Leaves the North
The Beginning of Desert Life
The Persecuted Hermitess of Vazhe Lake
The Journey to the South
A Desert Refuge in the Caucasus
A Final Hermitage in the North
Part II
Elder Isaiah-Ignatius of St. Nicephorus Hermitage
1Anastasia of Padan
1Righteous Farmer Peter
1The Desert Dwellers of Olonets
Part III
1Women of God