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Russian Mystics
A panorama of Russian Christian spirituality, richly illustrated with passages from formative works.
334 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 5, 2017
This book is a fascinating glimpse into the world of Russian Orthodox mysticism. At the root of it is the Jesus Prayer, which many readers in the West first learned about from J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey.
However, there is so much more to it than this! Mysticism is not about mere repetition of words and rituals. It is about repentance, renunciation of worldly attachments, unceasing prayer, purification of the soul, elevation of the mind and heart, and seeking union with God--preferably under the spiritual direction of a staretz or elder who is experienced in watching over the progress of his followers.
This book tells many stories of saints who have attained these mystical goals. The most interesting passages for me were those on St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov and St Theophan the Recluse.
One thing I did not like about this book is that it suffers from a lot of annoying little typos and errors, which may be the result of slip-ups in translation or editing.
Also, the statistics of the officially recorded numbers of monasteries, convents and religious were at times tedious to wade through, even though the information served an important purpose, i.e showing the fluctuations in population of the various religious institutions. This might have been accomplished just as easily with a series of graphs.
However, on the whole, this was a very informative and illuminating read!
However, there is so much more to it than this! Mysticism is not about mere repetition of words and rituals. It is about repentance, renunciation of worldly attachments, unceasing prayer, purification of the soul, elevation of the mind and heart, and seeking union with God--preferably under the spiritual direction of a staretz or elder who is experienced in watching over the progress of his followers.
This book tells many stories of saints who have attained these mystical goals. The most interesting passages for me were those on St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov and St Theophan the Recluse.
One thing I did not like about this book is that it suffers from a lot of annoying little typos and errors, which may be the result of slip-ups in translation or editing.
Also, the statistics of the officially recorded numbers of monasteries, convents and religious were at times tedious to wade through, even though the information served an important purpose, i.e showing the fluctuations in population of the various religious institutions. This might have been accomplished just as easily with a series of graphs.
However, on the whole, this was a very informative and illuminating read!
November 13, 2025
This book was a slog. It has a one mystic after another character to it that seems endless, but I found it fascinating. It's not for everyone, but for those of us who are interested in the subject matter, it is a must read.
I have read The Way of the Pilgrim, the Philokalia, the life of Avvakum and a lot of Russian literature populated by mystical monks, hermits and holy fools, so I had some decent background in the Russian side of the subject matter. I have also read Catholic mystical literature from St. John of the Cross to the Imitation of Christ to Meister Eckhart. I have put my toe into the mystical waters of the East. But there are some things that are special about the Russians. The most notable thing is how their mystics were mainstream. They may have been more than a little eccentric, but these men were respected leaders in the regular Russian Orthodox Church. Yes, there were also sects like the Old Believers, the Skoptsy and the Dukhobors who had their mystics, but they are not included in this book. Second, the Russians surprisingly seem to be less into suffering than the Catholics as the path to enlightenment. It's true that many of them yearned for solitary lives as hermits, sleeping on the floor and surviving on crusts of bread, but this was more about simplicity, humility and solitude than about mortification of the flesh. I was surprised to read how monks who went too far in the path of suffering were chastised by their community leaders. And only the spiritually advanced monks with years of practice and a high level of spiritual development were allowed to retire to the solitary life of contemplation as hermits. Finally, there is the matter of unceasing prayer as a necessary part of the path. It's mostly constant repetition of the Jesus prayer made famous in The Way of the Pilgrim, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." But it can be done with other prayers, and it has to be done with the proper union of mind, body and heart. Plus you need to be mentally and spiritually prepared in your other practices and attitudes for it to be effective. It's a technique similar in some ways to mantras, koans and Eastern traditions of meditation, but it has a unique flavor in the way that it is practiced in Orthodox Christianity.
Some of the people whose lives are described here were certainly special. Anyone with the tiniest spiritual inclination from any religious background could have learned and been uplifted by them. My favorite was St. Seraphim of Sarov. The stories recounted by his disciple Motovilov were unique beautiful and inspiring.
I have read The Way of the Pilgrim, the Philokalia, the life of Avvakum and a lot of Russian literature populated by mystical monks, hermits and holy fools, so I had some decent background in the Russian side of the subject matter. I have also read Catholic mystical literature from St. John of the Cross to the Imitation of Christ to Meister Eckhart. I have put my toe into the mystical waters of the East. But there are some things that are special about the Russians. The most notable thing is how their mystics were mainstream. They may have been more than a little eccentric, but these men were respected leaders in the regular Russian Orthodox Church. Yes, there were also sects like the Old Believers, the Skoptsy and the Dukhobors who had their mystics, but they are not included in this book. Second, the Russians surprisingly seem to be less into suffering than the Catholics as the path to enlightenment. It's true that many of them yearned for solitary lives as hermits, sleeping on the floor and surviving on crusts of bread, but this was more about simplicity, humility and solitude than about mortification of the flesh. I was surprised to read how monks who went too far in the path of suffering were chastised by their community leaders. And only the spiritually advanced monks with years of practice and a high level of spiritual development were allowed to retire to the solitary life of contemplation as hermits. Finally, there is the matter of unceasing prayer as a necessary part of the path. It's mostly constant repetition of the Jesus prayer made famous in The Way of the Pilgrim, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." But it can be done with other prayers, and it has to be done with the proper union of mind, body and heart. Plus you need to be mentally and spiritually prepared in your other practices and attitudes for it to be effective. It's a technique similar in some ways to mantras, koans and Eastern traditions of meditation, but it has a unique flavor in the way that it is practiced in Orthodox Christianity.
Some of the people whose lives are described here were certainly special. Anyone with the tiniest spiritual inclination from any religious background could have learned and been uplifted by them. My favorite was St. Seraphim of Sarov. The stories recounted by his disciple Motovilov were unique beautiful and inspiring.
February 8, 2019
At points hard to follow, this book brings you through the monastic life of the Russian Church, highlighting some of the more influential mystics. Sergius' use of primary source quotations is exemplary and I will be coming back to this book in the future.
March 24, 2023
An excellent book but mine has a different cover. Mine was published in 1976 with a 1980 date printed on the frontispiece. Several biographies and teachings of different Russian Orthodox Elders & Staretz'.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews