With the blessing of Metropolitan VLADIMIR of St. Petersburg and Ladoga

Recommended for publication by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox ChurchThe goal of every Christian’s earthly life is salvation. But how to achieve it? Pray, work, fast, do good deeds, etc.? Yes, of course, but is it enough? What else is needed in the matter of salvation? What is spiritual life? What difficulties await a Christian when he tries to walk the narrow path? This is stated in the books of Holy Scripture, this was taught by the holy fathers and teachers of the Church. Today, all these invaluable sources of spiritual knowledge are available to us, but, unfortunately, most of us are beyond our strength and understanding. “Rus is baptized, but not enlightened,” Leskov said in the nineteenth century. The same can be said today. True, today not all of Rus' has been baptized. Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) took upon himself the work of processing and presenting the patristic heritage in a form accessible to his contemporaries, thus creating a kind of guide to correct spiritual life. The book offered to your attention is is an encyclopedic reference book compiled from the works and letters of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). The book is based on the practical encyclopedia “Fundamentals of correct spiritual life according to the works of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)” (from Satis, 2003, compiled by S. Molotkov), the text of which has been significantly revised. This encyclopedia includes fragments from the works of Russian devotees of piety, Saint Theophan, the hermit of Vyshensky and George, the hermit of Zadonsk, whom Saint Ignatius especially valued, and which he often mentioned in letters to his spiritual children, strongly advising them to read. At the end of most sections in parentheses The names of other sections are indicated, which contain additional information on this topic. The numbers in the sections indicate the numbers of sources used for citing and, after the dot, the pages of the source.ISBN 978-5-7868-0058© Compiled by A. R. Petrov, 2012 © Satis Publishing House, 2012