Blessed Athanasia and the Desert Ideal

This is the story of the spiritual daughter of St. Seraphim of Sarov, perhaps the most beloved of the 19th century Russian saints. At an early age she turned to God and resolved to live alone in the forested vastness of Northern Russia. Blessed Athanasia radiated the same Paschal joy and undisturbed cheerfulness as did St. Seraphim, and her life can give us today a close and inspiring glimpse of true Christian struggle. This edition also includes an essay on otherworldly Christianity, "The Desert Ideal", by the nuns of St. Xenia Skete, as well as extremely moving reminiscences of Athanasia's spiritual daughter which appear here in English for the first time.