"The Spiritual Elevator": Ritual Efficacy in Russian Orthodox Prayer
Anthropological Quarterly June 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1353/anq.2026.a1000661 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Jesus Prayer |
| Key findings | Argues that the efficacy of the embodied, psychosomatic Jesus Prayer comes through felt intimacy with God, aided by sincerity and embodying the word, and that repetition and formalization do not diminish language, contrary to earlier implications. The practice's permeability across ritual, everyday socialization, and hesychastic isolation makes it a compelling ethnographic case. |
Abstract
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 word"; "sincerity" comes about through the pointedness of the intentionality conveyed by the words. As a public-private practice, the Jesus Prayer keeps crossing boundaries between ritual, everyday socialization, and hesychastic isolation. It is this permeability which makes it such a compelling ethnographic study. Such research clarifies the relationship between repetitive, conventionalized acts of piety and its effects on the supplicant because it shows that language is not diminished by formalization or repetition as has previously been implied.