This book is about a unique phenomenon of Russian spiritual culture: Orthodox eldership. It includes brief biographies of the elders, their statements, teachings and advice, prayers to them, as well as information from previously inaccessible archives. The publication presents not only already well-known elders, whose biographies have been described more than once in Orthodox literature, but also those whose activities have so far remained less well known. Each of the elders has their own destiny and their own character, but they are all united by love for God and their spiritual children. And although little is known about many of them, some fragments of their biographies are still shrouded in mystery, but their deeds remain, the memories of their spiritual children who remember their mentors with love and warmth. And if many of us had such mentors in our time, perhaps there would be more goodness and light in the world.