About the book: 1915 / There lived in the village of Zimogory a priest named Father Andronik, an elderly man, but still strong and vigorous, who knew illnesses only by their name, despite its sixty years. His family consisted of twelve souls, of all genders and ages, so that the ancient and vast priest's house was always filled with cheerful animation, laughter, argument, and a din of voices. Often there were heard the sounds of a guitar, which was played by the eldest daughter, the widow, the screams of children playing, and in the yard the bells of couples and triplets of visiting guests tinkled. Fr. himself Andronik was a cheerful, very sociable man, in previous years he drank a fair amount, but for all that, he was modest in appearance, polite in his manner with everyone, regardless of their faces and titles, and his disposition was so gentle, kind and at the same time to the point of intransigence fair that the parishioners valued him highly and did not want to let him go when he several times intended, due to his large family, to transfer to a richer parish. Zimogory is a small and poor village, lost in the depths of the forests, which could provide food for a priest only a beginner and not burdened with children. The wife of Fr. Andronika did not take this important circumstance into account at all and in the very first years of their marriage she blessed him with twins twice in a row, and then carefully gave birth to one member of the household every year. But from this Fr. Andronik only became more cheerful.