Synopses & Reviews
While walking on the beach with his Labrador, poet and literature professor Scott Cairns ran headlong into his midlife crisis. Cairns realized that his spiritual life was moving at a snail's pace and time was running out. This crisis launched Cairns on a search for what it means to have a "prayer life,leading him to set out on a spiritual journey to the mystical Greek peninsula of Mount Athos.
With a humorous yet humble voice and a poet's exquisite prose, Cairns immerses his readers in the history and power of the holy mountain and the faith of the monks who worship there. For centuries this ancient and austere place has been the spiritual center of the Orthodox Church. Only monks live there and only male pilgrims are allowed to visit its twenty monasteries and numerous "sketes.Cairns candidly shares the physical and spiritual realities of his pilgrimage, from his conversations with monastic leaders to mealtime conventions, never losing sight of his search for a prayer father in his quest to discover the true prayer life. The harsh beauty of Mount Athos and the devoted lives of its people are more than simply a backdrop for this remarkable story of spiritual growth; they are an integral part of Cairns's experience as a modern pilgrim.
Review
"While highly personal, this book provides at the same time a revealing insight into the meaning of Mount Athos." Kallistos Ware, Bishop of Diokleia, author of The Orthodox Way
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"This is a gem of a book, a lovely, funny, touching account of a poet's search for wisdom..." " Philip Zaleski, coauthor of Prayer: A History and editor of The Best American Spiritual Writing series
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"[Cairns] opens his heart and ours to the holy mysteries of his Orthodox faith." Rodger Kamenetz, Professor of English and Religious Studies, Louisiana State University and author of The Jew in the Lotus
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"Scott Cairns is the ideal guide -- relaxed, invitingly conversational [...] but always evoking the awe that these mysteries deserve." Frederica Mathewes-Green, author of Facing East
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"A skilled poet on an arduous prayer pilgrimage..." Eugene Peterson, author of The Message
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"Enlivening, intelligent, occasionally rich in irony but never cynical..." Pam Houston, author of Sight Hound
Synopsis
Traces the midlife spiritual crisis that prompted the author to journey to Greece's Mt. Athos, where he sought the counsel of local monks on how to discover the "true prayer life," a quest during which he forged relationships with a series of religious mentors and fellow pilgrims.
Synopsis
While walking on the beach with his Labrador, poet and literature professor Scott Cairns ran headlong into his midlife crisis. A fairly common experience among men nearing the age of fifty, midlife crises are usually manifested in the form of sports cars and younger women; not so for this Baptist turned Eastern Orthodox. Cairns had a realization that as the advancement of his spiritual life was moving at a snail's pace, time was running out, and his crisis emerged in the form of a desperate need to seek out prayer.
Told with wit and exquisite prose, Slow Pilgrim is the story of Scott's spiritual journey to the mystical island of Mt. Athos. With twenty monasteries and thirteen sketes scattered across its sloping terrain, the Holy Mountain was the perfect place for Scott to seek out a prayer father and to discover the stillness of the true prayer life. His narrative takes the reader from a beach in Virginia to the most holy Orthodox monasteries in the world to a monastery in Arizona and back again as Scott struggles to find his prayer path. His story includes accounts of the relationships he forges with several different monks and priests along the way, as well as life–long friendships he makes with other pilgrims.
About the Author
Scott Cairns teaches modern and contemporary American literature and creative writing at the University of Missouri. He is an accomplished poet whose writing has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, The New Republic, Books &Culture, and Image. He was recently named a Guggenheim Fellow.