The book includes articles about the life of the Church in society, about how “this world” accepts or drives away the gospel of Christ, and why this happens, as well as about what will happen to the Orthodox faith, who will be its bearer and custodian, and how much this issue worries us today. Andrei Desnitsky’s ability to conduct a calm conversation on troubling topics - this is how the style of this collection can be defined - was appreciated by listeners of the program “Religious Encyclopedia” from the series of radio shows “World. Human. Slovo", which have been broadcast weekly on Radio Russia for several years now. Recommended for publication by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church