Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer

Wonderful spiritual journey
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." These are the simple words of the Jesus prayer, used since the earliest Christian times as a means of quieting the mind, stilling the body, and opening the heart to God. This ancient prayer is now the subject of a new two-hour documentary, eight years in the making, by priest-historian Very Rev. John McGuckin and author-filmmaker Dr. Norris Chumley. "Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer" traces the steps of the two men as they visit hermitages, monasteries, and churches in five Orthodox countries, seeking spiritual insights from the monastics who have practiced the prayer for many decades.

The film opens in the Egyptian desert and shows us the tiny cave of St. Anthony, the third-century monk considered the father of Christian monasticism, and the oldest practicing monastery in the world named for him. It continues to the spectacular St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai and journeys to Greece, Romania, Ukraine, and the...

Documentary worth watching again and again
After watching the the 60-minute special that aired on PBS, I decided to buy the director's version. Longer in length of course, and worth every penny.

The DVD gives regular everyday people a chance to hear from some of the holiest people, and see some of the holiest places on earth.

Most of us will never get a chance to travel to even half of these monasteries, much less get the amazing opportunity to hear from people whose lives are fully, completely, dedicated to God. They have within them such peace, such joy, such love for mankind. It's really something worth seeing.

Thank you to the producers for all the effort put into this production.

Monasticism more than the Jesus Prayer
I am very grateful for this movie and wish to support it so that there may be others. It is a very interesting travelogue visiting many of the traditional Orthodox prayer centers. There are helpful interviews with women and men monastics about monasticism and the Jesus Prayer.

In my impression, there was something a little odd about the movie. For instance, there seemed to be an insistence by mostly Fr. John that the Jesus prayer is about "secret knowledge". The way it kept being brought up seemed almost like a marketing angle to appeal to seekers.

The other odd thing was Mount Athos. The segment on the Holy Mountain was surprisingly brief given the importance of Athos for hesychasm and the accessibility of English speaking monks like Professor Nick Constas aka Fr. Maximos. Fr. John must have known him prior to his becoming a monk. It was so brief and superficial that it was distracting and it seemed like there was an untold back story.

Lastly, while...

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