Introduction

St. Theophan the Recluse (1815–1894) was a Russian Orthodox bishop and, from 1872, a recluse at the Vysha hermitage, where he gave himself to prayer, to a vast pastoral correspondence, and to translating the Philokalia into Russian. The Russian Church canonized him in 1988.

How to Learn to Pray is a thematic anthology drawn from Theophan’s writings and letters, gathering his practical counsel on prayer into one continuous course. It moves from what prayer is and why it is the heart of the Christian life, through the reading of Scripture and the holy books, the church services, the keeping of a prayer rule and the making of prostrations, on to praying in one’s own words, the Jesus Prayer, and the warming of the heart in unceasing prayer.

Throughout, Theophan writes for ordinary Christians, not only for monastics, and insists that attentive, heartfelt prayer is within the reach of anyone willing to labor at it patiently. He is candid about the obstacles — distraction, dryness, and the cooling of zeal — and concrete about the remedies.