The Way of a Pilgrim / The Pilgrim Continues His Way
by Anonymous, Reginald Michael French (Translator)
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Description
This classic of world spiritual literature is the firsthand account of a pilgrim's journey as he endeavors to live out Saint Paul's instruction to "pray without ceasing." The narrator, an unnamed nineteenth-century peasant, sets out on his pilgrimage with nothing but a Bible, a rosary, and some dried bread. As he walks, he recites the Jesus prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me")-a prayer that is said to quiet anxiety and fill the heart with love for all creation. With this prayer show more constantly on his lips, the pilgrim undergoes a profound spiritual education. This edition includes the sequel to The Way of a Pilgrim, entitled A Pilgrim Continues His Way, which contains a lengthy appendix reviewing the teachings of the Holy Fathers on the Jesus prayer. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
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, 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 show more 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
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, 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 show more 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
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.
While it has been some time since I read this, I remember it fondly. I am not a traditionally religious person, but this book struck a chord with me. Though I am in desperate need of weeding my collection, this is one that I cannot bring myself to part with.
This was given to us eons ago by my brother-in-law, who was spiritually swept away by the book. It is an English translation from the Russian (19th century). At times it was believed to be a hoax, but I think the hoax theory has been rebuked, and it's now felt to be either the recounting of a pilgrim's journey, or a way of teaching meditation and prayer. The pilgrim travels practicing what is known as ceaseless inner praying of the Jesus prayer:
Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
I haven't read many 'spiritual journey' books, but I love this one. All editions are translated because I think the original was in Russian. The story follows a simple monk on his journey to find out just how to 'Pray without ceasing.' With practice, the monk learns how and with the inspiring result that he (all of us) can commune with 'God' automatically. But more importantly, unceasing prayer brings the awareness of that something bigger, better than ourselves to our daily life. We wake up to truth. Compassion, enlightenment, reality is brought into our hearts. So Christian orthodoxy has unceasing prayer, buddhism has meditation. Both paths lead to the same destination.
Not at all the "heavy" volume that I expected, this account of one man's adoption of the prayer of the heart as a means to "pray without ceasing" has a humble charm that makes it accessible to anyone interested in learning more about prayer and its practice.
One of the most important prayers to engage in for the love of God is what is called the Jesus Prayer. In The Way of a Pilgrim we encounter what the prayer is and why it is important. An anonymous pilgrim describes his efforts to understand what St Paul advised us in his epistle to “pray ceaselessly”. This book describes the pilgrims wanderings and how his expereinces bring him to the wisdom of asking God simply and humbly for mercy. I could not put this book down once I started and it brought great joy to my heart.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Way of a Pilgrim / The Pilgrim Continues His Way
- Original publication date
- 1884
- Important places
- Russia
- First words
- 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 with some dried bread in it on my... (show all) back, and in my breastpocket a Bible. And that is all.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will,working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- Original language
- Russian
- Disambiguation notice
- The Way of the Pilgrim, ISBN 0385468148, is actually The Way of the Pilgrim AND The Pilgrim Continues His Way and should be left combined with this work.
Moscow Theological Academy professor Aleksey Pentkovsky identifi... (show all)ed this unknown pilgrim, as Arseny Troyepolsky, a Ukrainian priest-monk who moved around various Ukrainian and then Russian monasteries.
Classifications
- Genres
- Religion & Spirituality, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 248.4819 — Religion Christian practice & observance Christian experience, practice, life Christian Living By Denomination Orthodox
- LCC
- BX382 .O8513 — Philosophy, Psychology and Religion Christian Denominations Christian Denominations Orthodox Eastern Church General
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 2,209
- Popularity
- 9,102
- Reviews
- 21
- Rating
- (4.16)
- Languages
- English, Russian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 22
- ASINs
- 31
