Olga Savin

A narrative of the geographical wanderings and spiritual search of a crippled Russian peasant provides insight into mid-nineteenth-century Eastern Christianity

The Way of a Pilgrim

Donald

The perfect book to read alongside Brothers Karamazov – a prayer/travel memoir of a 19th C. itinerant Russian mystic. Some of the feats of prayer described here are extraordinary.

The anonymous author wanders around rural Russia with his well-worn copies of the Philokalia (see: The Philokalia, Volume 1: The Complete Text) and the Bible. He says the Jesus prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner") continuously, except when he's interrupted by some calamity or the well-meaning distraction of someone who takes him in. Many of the people he meets say the Jesus prayer a lot too.

It's easy to imagine the author spending an evening with Elder Zosima or Alyosha.

The Way of a Pilgrim

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