The first edition of this book about modern monasticism in Russia was anonymous. Even when everyone found out, after seeing the cover of the second edition, who the author of “The Cry of the Third Bird” was, the passions did not subside. The book was written by the abbess of an active monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, who knows so much about monasticism that she always has something to say with irony or pain, and something to remain silent about. This is an honest, meaningful, piercing and frank book about monks and monasteries, written from the inside by a person who experienced the revival of monasticism in Russia. The strength of Abbess Theophila’s testimony lies in her constant turning to the prayer center, to the spiritual heights and hidden beauty of true monasticism. The third edition is supplemented by a foreword by Olesya Nikolaeva and a section with practical recommendations for those who have gathered to visit the monastery for various purposes.