“Mysteries of the Jesus
Prayer” is a sympathetic documentary about Orthodox spirituality.
Unfortunately, I've only seen the shorter TV version. The opening segment on St
Anthony's Monastery in the Sinai (including a visit to Anthony's cave and an
interview with a hesychast) was interesting, even fascinating. The rest felt
more like a travel diary, as the team visits Greece, Romania, the Ukraine and
Russia in rapid succession. We learn very little about the actual Jesus Prayer.
Instead, we get pretty footage of hills, forests, rivers and surprisingly
Baroque-looking art (rather than icons) in a Romanian monastery. The whole
thing feels like a 101 companion to, say, “The Orthodox Church” by Timothy
Ware. However, since I haven't seen the longer version, it feels uncharitable
to completely reject this project, so I will give it three stars.
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