In the sixth century, a monk named John wrote a book outlining the stages of the spiritual life. He based his entire work on the image of a ladder of thirty rungs, streching from earth to heaven. Each rung described a step in the pursuit of virtue and the spiritual life. Since it was first written, The Ladder of Divine Ascent has been an essential part of the formation of Orthodox monastics, and a mainstay of Orthodox ascetic spirituality. But it is not just for monks and nuns.

This book is written to help those in a nonmonastic setting understand how to apply The Ladder of Divine Ascent to their lives. Each chapter contains many direct quotes from St. John's writings, in addition to commontary on St. John's words. This book, therefore, should be used as a primer to the Ladder- as a helpful tool for ascending the spiritual heights.