This beautiful edition will introduce you to the history, the modern life and beauty of the ancient monastic establish­ments of Russia. May it become a window on the world of Orthodox spirituality, helping to enlighten souls and prepare them to ingest the eternal Christian values. Monasteries and convents were ever the strongholds of Orthodoxy - the inner spiritual life of the Russian people took nourishment from those living wells. That is why the holy places, which were the inspiration and glory of the Russian land, were mercilessly destroyed under the antithe-istic regime. By the end of the 1980s only nineteen monas­teries remained in the whole territory of the Soviet Union. To date there are more than six hundred and fifty. However important the restoration of the ruins inherited from the atheist decades might be, it is more important to restore monasteries as the centres of spiritual life. The main task of the Church is to attend to the revival and well-being of souls. Monasteries and convents ought to be living wells to all entering them, soothing troubled souls. Leaving the monastery every pilgrim should go forth radiant and changed, spiritually strengthened. Alexy II Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia May the Lord bless the revival of holy places and let them spread far and wide in our land. Let them be the lights of Orthodoxy and assist our people in rediscovering their faith