Sincere stories from a Russian pilgrim
The book “ Sincere Tales of a Russian Pilgrim ” by an unknown author tells of a pilgrim in Russia in the middle of the 19th century who tried to realize the Bible phrase “Pray without ceasing!” ( 1st Letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verse 17). It contributed significantly to the worldwide spread of the Jesus prayer .
Emergence
The book is divided into two parts. The first printed version of the first part appeared in Kazan (Russia) in 1870 under the title “Sincere stories of a pilgrim communicated to his spiritual father”, after manuscripts had already been distributed. The basis for the first print was a copy made by Abbot Paissij Welitschowski (1722–1794) of the Kazan Michaelskloster on Mount Athos . The second edition appeared in 1881 and the third edition in 1884, on which today's edition is based.
The second part of the book was published in Moscow in 1911 . The author is also unknown.
content
The first part is a first-person report by a Russian pilgrim whose name is not mentioned, probably from the period between 1853 and 1861. When attending a church service , the pilgrim hears the Bible word “Pray without ceasing!”. He wonders how he can make this warning a reality. On his trip, he met an elder who teaches him to the Jesus Prayer and the Philokalia points. He then reads that book frequently and reports that, thanks to the constant prayer, the content becomes clearer and more understandable to him over time. In the further course of the first part, the pilgrim tells of his own experiences with this prayer and encounters with other people with whom he speaks about the Jesus prayer.
The second part is a doctrine of prayer written in dialogue form.
The Jesus prayer
The Jesus prayer is limited to the sentence "Lord Jesus, Christ, have mercy on me." During the first teaching, he learns to pray this on every bead on a rosary . At first he is only allowed to "pray through" the rosary a few times, over time more often, until he is finally given permission to pray the prayer at any time in thoughts or words. Over time, this will become his constant companion and will not leave him while eating or talking to others.
History of impact and reception
The Jesus prayer and the hesychastic renewal were at the center of the Imjaslavie ( worship of the name of God) movement in Russian Orthodoxy at the beginning of the 20th century, which also dealt intensively with this scripture from this point of view.
The orthodox saint Ignati Bryantschaninow , who came to faith through the, sharply criticized the "Righteous Stories" because he recognized great deficits in them and said that the Jesus prayer is presented here as a simple way to salvation, whereby conversion and penance are neglected.
In JD Salinger's work Franny and Zooey , work plays an important role.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. The teaching on the Jesus prayer according to the Holy Hierarch Ignatius (Brjantschaninow) ( Memento of the original from February 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
literature
- Emmanuel Jungclaussen (Ed.): Sincere stories from a Russian pilgrim. Herder, Freiburg i.Br. 2000, ISBN 3-451-04947-3 .
- Walter Nigg : The Pilgrim's Return, Three Variations on a Theme. Diogenes, Zurich 1992, ISBN 3-257-22499-0 .