Anonymous Pilgrim

By the grace of God I am a Christian man, by my actions a great sinner, and by calling a homeless wanderer of the humblest birth who roams from place to place. My worldly goods are a knapsack and some dried bread in it, and a Bible in my breast pocket. And that is all.

So begins this russian pilgrim his tale of spiritual search. He walks from place to place seeking advice on mysticism and the prayer life. He acquires The Philokalia, a collection of writings by eastern orthodox church fathers, show more and in it he finds a lot of wisdom on prayer.

But the charm of the book is his account of the people he meets who also tell their story. He finds shelter and friends but also some people who exploit him. He's always searching for a place where he can meditate in silence and solitude but the outer world seem always to interrupt and make demands of him.

Some spiritual classics are too heavy on mysticism for my liking - but this was different because it was more a biography. A soul on a spiritual journey - but along the way a lot of wisdom is found. show less

Absolutely beautiful and worthwhile, for me, this was a paradigm shifting book. From the Eastern Orthodox tradition, this late 19th century text follows an anonymous holy fool in his wanderings around Russia (a second book, arguably by the same author, follows him on a journey to Jerusalem). In his time, he reflects on the importance of unceasing prayer, as recommended by St. Paul in the Bible. Using a combination of spiritual advice from his Director, or Starets, reading from the show more Philokalia, and meditation, he attains ever higher sanctification and helps others on their journey to unceasing prayer. show less

Two books in one, likely by different authors, I only finished The Way of a Pilgrim, but deeply enjoyed this Eastern devotional work, one of my favorites of this year. The pilgrim meditates on what it means to "pray unceasingly" and to live a Christian life. It is memorable and worth it's short length.

An unnamed pilgrim travels around Russia and Siberia, seeking wisdom. He finds inner peace and strength through repeating the Jesus prayer, a uniquely Eastern Christian combination of prayer and mantra.

Any receptive reader will appreciate this combination of well-told story and easy-to-understand guide to prayer and meditation.