The collection offered to the reader contains letters from St. Theophan the Recluse, written by him to Schemagumen Herman (Gomzin) and to the Valaam schemamonk Agapius (Molodyashin), as well as letters from Fr. Agapia to Fr. Herman and instructions on the Jesus Prayer, verbally, intelligently and heartily performed, compiled by schemamonk Agapius and his associates, reviewed and corrected by St. Theophan, the recluse Vyshensky. The second part of the book contains S. N. Bolshakov's conversations with monks and laity about spiritual life and the Jesus Prayer. The correspondence of St. Theophan the Recluse with Fathers Herman and Agapius, as well as the conversations of S. N. Bolshakov with the doers of the Jesus Prayer of the 20th century, are of lasting importance for the modern reader. They capture the invaluable spiritual experience of the great ascetics of Orthodoxy, which, protecting from mistakes and a false understanding of spiritual life, guides on the true, narrow path of salvation.