Táto séria zachytáva pútavý životný príbeh muža, ktorý sa stal duchovným vodcom a symbolom nádeje v ťažkých časoch. Sleduje jeho cestu od raných rokov, cez formovanie jeho viery a poslania až po jeho neskoršie roky, kedy sa stal inšpiráciou pre mnohých. Ide o hlboko ľudský a duchovný portrét, ktorý skúma silu viery, odvahy a oddanosti tvárou v tvár nepriazni osudu. Príbeh ponúka pohľad na život v Rusku v turbulentnom 20. storočí.
Father Arseny became prisoner no. 18376 in the brutal special sector of the Soviet prison camp system. This narrative, compiled from the accounts of his spiritual children and others whom he brought to God, gives glimpses of his life in prison camp and after his release.
The second volume, A Cloud of Witnesses, contains 16 additional first-person contributions, material that became available following publication of the first collection. These are statements and recordings by priests, poets, a psychiatrist, a secret service agent, and "ordinary" people who experienced Father Arseny’s transformational and inspirational influence on their lives. Well-known academic psychiatrist Dmitri Melikov was deeply moved by Father Arseny’s insightful compassion, perspicacity, and feel for humanity. Melikov regularly returned to him for consultation. These accounts of Father Arseny’s life, career, and death complement and substantiate the stories in the first volume.