The book by Pavel Evdokimov, a representative of the “second wave” of Russian foreign Orthodox theology, professor at the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris, first published in 1964 in French, is an excellent introduction to the ascetic and mystical tradition of Orthodoxy. Considering the stages (“ ages") of the spiritual life of every person in the light of the stages of spiritual growth of all humanity and, especially, the problems of our time, turning to the heritage of the great spiritual movements of Christianity in Byzantium, Syria, Egypt and Russia, the author tries to outline and offer modern man a certain spiritual method - asceticism, which would be both traditional and in tune with our time. The book is addressed to a wide range of readers, both those interested in the spiritual tradition of ancient and modern Christianity, and those wishing to establish themselves in their spiritual path.