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On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim
Thousands have fallen in love with the anonymously authored book The Way of a Pilgrim —the account of an ordinary man's encounter with the Eastern Orthodox Christian practice of the Jesus Prayer, which consists of the constant repetition of the short phrase, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me." Here is the perfect introduction to this life-changing practice, as it was taught by one of the great spiritual lights of Russia. Bishop Ignatius Brianchaniov (1807–1867) provides wise instruction and advice covering all aspects of the practice, from how to get started, to approaching difficulties that arise, to dealing with friends and family who don't get what you're doing, to making this prayer (also called the Prayer of the Heart) the foundation of your life.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
116 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Ignatius Brianchaninov
40 books27 followersSaint Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807–1867) is a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born Demetrius Alexandrovich Brianchaninov, to a wealthy landowning family. He was educated at Pioneer Military School in St. Petersburg. Although successful in his studies he was deeply dissatisfied with the lay life and turned to a life of prayer.
In 1827 he fell seriously ill and left the army on this ground. He began pursuing a monastic vocation and in 1831 took monastic vows and received the monastic name of Ignatius. Soon after he was ordained a priest. He rose rapidly to the rank of archimandrite and at the age of 26 was appointed superior of the Maritime Monastery of St. Sergius in St. Petersburg.
In 1857, he was consecrated Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, but he retired only four years later to devote himself to spiritual writing.
He wrote a large amount of material, mostly about the spiritual life and prayer. Only a small portion of his writing has been translated into English. Although his writing was intended primarily for monks, his works are highly recommended for lay Christians by leading Orthodox figures such as Father Thomas Hopko.
He was glorified (canonized) as a saint by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of 1988. His relics are preserved at the Tolga Monastery, near Yaroslavl.
In 1827 he fell seriously ill and left the army on this ground. He began pursuing a monastic vocation and in 1831 took monastic vows and received the monastic name of Ignatius. Soon after he was ordained a priest. He rose rapidly to the rank of archimandrite and at the age of 26 was appointed superior of the Maritime Monastery of St. Sergius in St. Petersburg.
In 1857, he was consecrated Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, but he retired only four years later to devote himself to spiritual writing.
He wrote a large amount of material, mostly about the spiritual life and prayer. Only a small portion of his writing has been translated into English. Although his writing was intended primarily for monks, his works are highly recommended for lay Christians by leading Orthodox figures such as Father Thomas Hopko.
He was glorified (canonized) as a saint by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of 1988. His relics are preserved at the Tolga Monastery, near Yaroslavl.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 17, 2024
My most-recent toothbrush book, this book is a gentle reminder to not bite off more than you can chew and to always, always, always be under the guidance of a Spiritual Father.
October 4, 2015
This book is pitched as something you can read if you want to learn how to do hesychastic prayer or the Jesus Prayer. However, despite being referred to on the actual cover as "an ideal guide to the practice of the Jesus Prayer," you quickly learn that this book is mostly a lot of rambling and very little actual advice. Of the advice given, a good portion essentially tells normal lay people, who are not in monasteries, that they should not attempt such prayer, beyond the most basic levels. Skip this book.
February 3, 2018
This book is the most secure introduction to Hesychasm for beginners. Bishop Ignatius speak from personal experience, knowing all the most common mistakes and the deceitful beliefs that can leak into the mind of the inexperienced.
He quote the best of most sources like St. John Climacus or the philokalia while avoiding the confusing parts.
The only thing I didn't like is a few points where he characterizes the error of Roman Catholic prayer in an uniformed and simplistic way, this is because of the biased russian sources Bishop Ignatius had and not a fault of his own.
He quote the best of most sources like St. John Climacus or the philokalia while avoiding the confusing parts.
The only thing I didn't like is a few points where he characterizes the error of Roman Catholic prayer in an uniformed and simplistic way, this is because of the biased russian sources Bishop Ignatius had and not a fault of his own.
July 29, 2019
Good sourcebook and a nice window into how the Jesus Prayer was understood during St. Ignatius's time. Although I felt the information inside was more oriented towards a monastic audience.
February 24, 2016
Written in the mid-nineteenth century, this is not a typical 20th- or 21st-century "spiritual self-help" kind of book, although the subtitle is "The classic guide to the practice of unceasing prayer as found in The Way of a Pilgrim."
Very repetitive, this is nonetheless a valuable book for anyone interested in getting into more theological and practical detail about the Jesus Prayer. Idefinitely would recommend The Way of a Pilgrim as a first stop, and if that doesn't interest and inspire a reader, then I wouldn't think this would be of much use. Brianchaninov at one point suggests that pursuit of the Jesus Prayer is more a call than one among many options; whether that's accurate or not, this would seem to be slightly more advanced material.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book was, for me, reading it after Irina Tweedie's Daughter of Fire and seeing some very interesting comparisons with her discussions of kundalini energy, vibrations, and the Sufi la illallah practice (repeating the name of God devotionally, I think), and this book's descriptions of possible responses to a deep and intense practice of the Jesus Prayer. That bears more detailed reading, but nevertheless, although I'm sure Brianchaninov would be horrified at the idea, there are many aspects that are quite congruent with mystical paths of other traditions. After all, the person practicing is seeking union with Christ, for which pure attention and presence are required.
The things that made it tiresome at times for me were (1) the claim that the Jesus Prayer is for all Christians, not just monks, alternating with the assumption that the reader is a monk living in a monastery or even hermit dwelling, and warning of the dangers of unsupervised practice -- then claiming that there are really no great spiritual directors left, so you're never going to find one anyway; and (2) the repetition and repetition and repetition over and over and over again. I read a lot of spiritual classics and I think I could say that most of them are repetitive and rely on frequent use of scriptural quote within sentences (in this book, there were 10 in the first 9 pages), and I usually enjoy that, but perhaps Brianchaninov's writing isn't particularly compelling to me.
The notes and bibliography (all provided by translator and editor, I'd guess) are particularly good; they reference other sources I'd like to follow up on. Interestingly, they mostly point to Greek Orthodox sources (the Philokalia and other writings) rather than the Russian Orthodox literature (such as the Little Russian Philokalia) volumes, even though Brianchaninov is Russian. The exception being, of course,The Way of a Pilgrim, which is also published in a very good critical edition put out by the Classics of Western Spirituality series (although this is clearly Eastern spirituality, not to nitpick) called The Pilgrim's Tale (which sounds very Chaucerian, doesn't it? and in fact there's an old anti-monastic poem, middle-English, I think, that is entitled "The Pilgrim's Tale.").
Very repetitive, this is nonetheless a valuable book for anyone interested in getting into more theological and practical detail about the Jesus Prayer. Idefinitely would recommend The Way of a Pilgrim as a first stop, and if that doesn't interest and inspire a reader, then I wouldn't think this would be of much use. Brianchaninov at one point suggests that pursuit of the Jesus Prayer is more a call than one among many options; whether that's accurate or not, this would seem to be slightly more advanced material.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book was, for me, reading it after Irina Tweedie's Daughter of Fire and seeing some very interesting comparisons with her discussions of kundalini energy, vibrations, and the Sufi la illallah practice (repeating the name of God devotionally, I think), and this book's descriptions of possible responses to a deep and intense practice of the Jesus Prayer. That bears more detailed reading, but nevertheless, although I'm sure Brianchaninov would be horrified at the idea, there are many aspects that are quite congruent with mystical paths of other traditions. After all, the person practicing is seeking union with Christ, for which pure attention and presence are required.
The things that made it tiresome at times for me were (1) the claim that the Jesus Prayer is for all Christians, not just monks, alternating with the assumption that the reader is a monk living in a monastery or even hermit dwelling, and warning of the dangers of unsupervised practice -- then claiming that there are really no great spiritual directors left, so you're never going to find one anyway; and (2) the repetition and repetition and repetition over and over and over again. I read a lot of spiritual classics and I think I could say that most of them are repetitive and rely on frequent use of scriptural quote within sentences (in this book, there were 10 in the first 9 pages), and I usually enjoy that, but perhaps Brianchaninov's writing isn't particularly compelling to me.
The notes and bibliography (all provided by translator and editor, I'd guess) are particularly good; they reference other sources I'd like to follow up on. Interestingly, they mostly point to Greek Orthodox sources (the Philokalia and other writings) rather than the Russian Orthodox literature (such as the Little Russian Philokalia) volumes, even though Brianchaninov is Russian. The exception being, of course,The Way of a Pilgrim, which is also published in a very good critical edition put out by the Classics of Western Spirituality series (although this is clearly Eastern spirituality, not to nitpick) called The Pilgrim's Tale (which sounds very Chaucerian, doesn't it? and in fact there's an old anti-monastic poem, middle-English, I think, that is entitled "The Pilgrim's Tale.").
March 30, 2021
An introduction to the historical, Orthodox method of using the Jesus Prayer. The end goal is “mental prayer”, wherein you let God direct your mind into your heart and fill you with the grace of his name. But to begin you speak out the prayer slowly, with great intention and attention. Brianchaninov makes great use of various Church Fathers and monks to explain this method of prayer, the beauty of it, but also the great danger of trying to do it without guidance. This can lead to delusion, frustration, pride and even blasphemy.
December 12, 2009
Very helpful book. The first half is better than the second half.
January 4, 2021
This book deepened my understanding of a key hermeneutic - Christ's incarnation gave us a Sword, the name "Jesus Christ". The name is a proper name of God, not a relative name. Father and Son are relative, Son of God is relative to God, Son of man relative to human nature in the incarnation, united in one hypostasis. But that hypostasis, this person, is the second person of the Trinity, and on the 8th day after the incarnation of Immanuel, "God with us", the Theotokos named Him, "Jesus", that He may be "Immanuel Jesus Christ", "God with us, the Redeemer, the Messiah." This gives expanded meaning to Matthew 10:34.
Not only this, but we learn from St Ignatius Brianchaninov the power of this name, as reported in the gospels, and reported in the saints.
Not only this, but we learn from St Ignatius Brianchaninov the power of this name, as reported in the gospels, and reported in the saints.
July 2, 2021
This is a wonderful book about The Jesus Prayer, its use and practice. I gave the book four stars instead of five, not because the book is not excellent, but because the authors target audience was first, monastics. Otherwise, it is an excellent primer on the Jesus Prayer. I found chapters one and two, five, six, fifteen and seventeen especially helpful, and will re-read chapter seventeen periodically as a reminder of the place obedience to Jesus's commands play in effective prayer.
February 20, 2022
This is very much a nineteenth-century Russian book and will probably not appeal to many modern readers. The book is mostly oriented toward history and theology rather than practice. Brianchaninov does provide a fairly good overview of relevant writings in the Philokalia. Kallistos Ware's foreword is probably the best part of this edition.
February 28, 2023
I do not know what to think or do with this book. Probably too soon to have read it.
It does seem that the Jesus Prayer or some version of it has been in use since the time of the Apostles.
As far as the direction this book was supposed to give it was exceedingly convoluted and I am infinitely more confused now then I was to begin with.
It does seem that the Jesus Prayer or some version of it has been in use since the time of the Apostles.
As far as the direction this book was supposed to give it was exceedingly convoluted and I am infinitely more confused now then I was to begin with.
September 1, 2018
A two star rating for lay people and probably a five star for monastics. The last five pages were practical and helpful, and there were some golden nuggets scattered throughout, but I did not find the rest of the book a tool I can use.
November 21, 2022
Very practical, but worth reading at a slower pace instead of in audio format (which was how I "read" it). A lot of gems in this one regarding humility, the necessity of obedience (instead of being purely self-directed), self-delusion, and the prayer of Jesus.
June 8, 2020
An interesting look at the history of the Jesus Prayer with warnings to not take this prayer lightly. One must use caution and embrace humility honestly to avoid falling into the trap of pride.
Read
June 24, 2021Good, informative book, with some good practical advice on the Jesus Prayer.
September 9, 2022
An occasionally insightful, but often dour presentation of the Jesus prayer. Maybe it's because I'm not a Russian monastic.
November 30, 2024
essential
For anyone who wants to practice Jesus’ Prayer
You do not need to be Orthodox to read and enjoy this book
I am Catholic
For anyone who wants to practice Jesus’ Prayer
You do not need to be Orthodox to read and enjoy this book
I am Catholic
August 3, 2025
Excellent. Both theoretical and practical. I look forward to reading more from St. Ignatius, if not all of his work.
January 10, 2023
As an American Protestant Christian, it can be difficult to read the writings of Orthodox Monks. Especially, when I consider my time spent in the Philokalia. The differences in belief and practices can almost feel grievous at times. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that the fathers have some of the best teaching on prayer. Thus, I find myself trying to push through the differences and figure it out on the way.
This book, I find, is modern enough to commentate on our circumstances and, unlike many works in the Philokalia, it is written for the beginner, who does not have someone to help give a proper introduction to the dessert fathers and great monks. I found it answering my questions and giving very practical advise about how to work with the fathers. I understand my “grievous” feelings were me learning teachings made for masters, when I’m obviously an apprentice. While this is still ultimately written for a monastic context, St. Ignatius helps rookies make sense of real challenges and points them in the right direction.
According to Ignatius it’s all too common for people to begin learning the prayer of the heart (and ultimately Theosis) by diving into the most masterful texts, like the Philokalia or The Ladder of Divine Ascent. These are simply too complex and teach things what is inappropriate for a beginner to begin consider practicing. Instead, begin by simply searching New Testament scripture and carefully discern which Patristic works are made for your level of experience. Ignatius wants the beginner to thrive by grounding them in the principle of moderation. Furthermore, he can help a modern, American reader acquire the taste to appreciate Patristic teaching on prayer and Theosis (acquiring Christ-likeness).
(However, Theophan the Recluse will always be the best place for a layman to start!)
This book, I find, is modern enough to commentate on our circumstances and, unlike many works in the Philokalia, it is written for the beginner, who does not have someone to help give a proper introduction to the dessert fathers and great monks. I found it answering my questions and giving very practical advise about how to work with the fathers. I understand my “grievous” feelings were me learning teachings made for masters, when I’m obviously an apprentice. While this is still ultimately written for a monastic context, St. Ignatius helps rookies make sense of real challenges and points them in the right direction.
According to Ignatius it’s all too common for people to begin learning the prayer of the heart (and ultimately Theosis) by diving into the most masterful texts, like the Philokalia or The Ladder of Divine Ascent. These are simply too complex and teach things what is inappropriate for a beginner to begin consider practicing. Instead, begin by simply searching New Testament scripture and carefully discern which Patristic works are made for your level of experience. Ignatius wants the beginner to thrive by grounding them in the principle of moderation. Furthermore, he can help a modern, American reader acquire the taste to appreciate Patristic teaching on prayer and Theosis (acquiring Christ-likeness).
(However, Theophan the Recluse will always be the best place for a layman to start!)
February 13, 2013
Incredibly boring. Repeats itself over and over.
December 11, 2014
Highly recommended for those sincerely seeking to understand and practice the Jesus Prayer.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews