Archbishop Averky addresses head on the question, What is asceticism? He counters the many false understandings that exist and shows that the practice of authentic asceticism is integral to the spiritual life and the path to blessed communion with God."

Writing in the tradition of biblical exegetes, such as St John Chrysostom and Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, the work of Archbishop Averky (Taushev) provides a commentary that is firmly grounded in the teaching of the Church, manifested in its liturgical hymnography and the works of the Holy Fathers. Analyzing all four Gospels chronologically and simultaneously, he allows readers to see the life of Christ as an unfolding narrative in accessible, direct language. Using the best of prerevolutionary Russian sources, these writings also remained abreast of developments in Western biblical...