From Staretz to Staretz (Hermit to Hermit)

One of the best known examples of the desire for unceasing prayer is the nineteenth-century Russian peasant who wanted so much to be obedient to Paul’s call for uninterrupted prayer that he went from staretz to staretz (hermit to hermit) looking for an answer until he finally found a holy man who taught him the Jesus Prayer.

He told the peasant to say thousands of times each day, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” In this way the Jesus prayer slowly became united with his breathing and heartbeat so that he could travel through Russia carrying his knapsack with the Bible, the Philokalia (an anthology of Eastern Christian Mystical writings), and some bread and salt, living a life of unceasing prayer.