We can always come to a better understanding of historical periods and their meaning through that quality of individual Christian life which we call holiness. It is precisely this quality of spiritual life of "holiness" that has proved so indestructible in the Russian Orthodox Church, continuing to bear fruit after seventy years of suppression. These collected writings of Sergei Fudel (1901-1977) allow us to take a look at the thoughts and inner life of one humble, little-known saintly man who lived and died in the Russia of today. A son of the Church, though never ordained nor theologically educated, Fudel was strongly influenced by the "elders" of Optino Monastery and the Church "intelligentsia." He spent the greater part of his life in prisons, labor camps and in exile, a total of some twenty-five years. The most striking aspect of his writing is his frankness in facing the evil that exists in the world and his childlike faith in the manifestations of divine power in daily life. This inspiring little book will appeal not only to those interested in Orthodox spirituality but to all those seeking to find the power of Christian faith in the contemporary world.
