Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer: Experiencing the Mysteries of God and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of an Ancient Spirituality

By Norris Chumley

“Norris Chumley traverses a spiritual landscape unfamiliar to most Westerners. . . . Take this book and read. Even better, read this book and accept its invitation to pray.” —Diana Butler Bass, author of A People's History of Christianity 

Norris Chumley presents a lavishly illustrated companion to the PBS documentary Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer. Readers can follow Chumley on a pilgrimage through the holiest sites of the early Christian world as he searches for modern-day practitioners of the ancient Eastern mystical tradition and its most sacred prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This beautifully illustrated volume includes black-and-white and full-color images of the author's travels through Eastern Europe, including rare pictures from visits to holy sites where photographers are only rarely granted access.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9780062041708

Reviews for Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer

[kblinn_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Norris Chumley has undertaken a mission to familiarize western Christians with the Jesus prayer, which goes "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" in its long form. The short form is "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me." The prayer is quite common in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and those who pray it have experienced great blessings. Chumley travels to monasteries and churches in Egypt, Mount Athos, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia to talk with those who regularly pray the prayer. The book is a combination theological piece and travelogue. A companion DVD has been released, and I look forward to seeing what was described in the book. I found this to be a very uplifting book.

[khiemstra631 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Norris Chumley has undertaken a mission to familiarize western Christians with the Jesus prayer, which goes "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" in its long form. The short form is "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me." The prayer is quite common in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and those who pray it have experienced great blessings. Chumley travels to monasteries and churches in Egypt, Mount Athos, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia to talk with those who regularly pray the prayer. The book is a combination theological piece and travelogue. A companion DVD has been released, and I look forward to seeing what was described in the book. I found this to be a very uplifting book.

[dunyazade_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is a companion to a film project, which I haven't seen. It's more travelogue than prayer manual and gets repetitive at times, both in the text and the photos, some of which are very touching in their depictions of monks who were interviewed. A quick and interesting read, but for a real understanding of the value of the Jesus Prayer, I'd reach for the anonymous classic "The Way of the Pilgrim".