In Praise of Sergius

The novel “In Praise of Sergius” is dedicated to the grand figure of the reverend Sergius of Radonezh—an ascetic, miracle worker, already venerated on par with saints during his lifetime, as well as a historical figure who blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy for the battle at the Kulikovo Field. The writer and historian Dmitry Mikhailovich Balashov, author of the famous historical cycle “Moscow Rulers,” repeatedly addressed the personality of Father Sergius—significant both for the spiritual and for secular, political history of the Russian state.

In “In Praise of Sergius,” the author creates a large, vivid image of the world of the 14th century, against the backdrop of which Sergius of Radonezh’s spiritual feats took place and were accomplished—on the one hand, an extraordinarily outstanding man, and on the other, flesh and blood of that difficult and heroic era.