"The Spiritual Elevator": Ritual Efficacy in Russian Orthodox Prayer
Anthropological Quarterly June 1, 2026 Stephen Pax Leonard
ABSTRACT: This article explores the tension between mystical prayer and immutable, ritual speech. The tension derives from the fact that mysticism resists linguistic formulation. In the context of embodied, psychosomatic prayer, long-term fieldwork shows what brings about the efficacy of such petition. "Felt" intimacy with God is a slow process and is aided by "sincerity" and "embodying the...