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An Inner Step Toward God: Writings and Teachings on Prayer by Father Alexander Men

Edited and Introduced by April French
Translated by Christa Belyaeva
 
According to Father Alexander Men (1935-1990), the Russian Orthodox priest and popular spiritual teacher who was tragically murdered in 1990, prayer is “the flight of the heart toward God.” This work, available for the first time in English, is a collection of his writings, lectures, and sermons on prayer. You will discover both ancient and modern wisdom, and you will see how one Eastern Orthodox priest taught his parishioners to pray.

Endorsements

An Inner Step Toward God is an absorbing, inspirational guide to Father Alexander Men’s teachings about a prayerful life. But, even more than that, it offers insight into many of the deepest and most profound aspects of Russian Orthodox theology, elements that reach much beyond Russia, past and present. Skillfully translated and presented, with instructive notes and a glossary of terms unfamiliar to a non-Orthodox audience, the book gives access to the inner recesses of the mind and heart, providing a bridge across an abyss that is often described as unbridgeable.
Dr. Wallace Daniel, Department of History, Mercer University

A timely and universally useful spiritual primer. Fr. Men has so much to tell us, whatever our spiritual journey. On every page we sense his rootedness in his own deeply reliable tradition. But those deep roots permit a complete freedom from all sectarianism, pettiness, and attachment – a freedom that may surprise and refresh us. Reading this brief but rich book of well chosen and thoughtfully translated gems, we are invited into that groundedness and that freedom, invited to take an inner step toward God.

Peter C. Bouteneff, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary

 

More than 20 years after his untimely death, there seems to be no end to the treasures still being unlocked from Fr Alexander Men’s spiritual cornucopia. The introduction to his work by the editor, April French, is a jewel and her selection of his writing on prayer puts him in the same category as Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, who is frequently quoted. The comparison is the highest recommendation for the Western Christian who wants to become closer to the Eastern teaching on prayer.

Canon Dr. Michael Bourdeaux, Founder of Keston Institute

 

Prayer is the great mystery in our relationship with God. In An Inner Step Toward God, Fr. Alexander Men helps us to fashion our unique key to unlock this mystery and enter the kingdom of the heart. Not only does he discuss the need and workings of prayers, but he also sets us on a path by giving practical suggestions how to begin and live in the world of prayer. This book will be of benefit for all to deepen their understanding and personhood in Christ.

Father Silouan, Superior of Monastery of St. Michael, New Mexico

 

Seventy years ago, when I was privileged to become both friend and housemate of Nicholas Zernov at Oxford, it changed my life as a Christian. Father Men’s wonderful book on prayer may hopefully change the prayer life of many Evangelicals like myself, for we need wider vision to appreciate the prayerful lives of martyrs like Father Men. I commend this as a wonderful enrichment of our Western Christianity. Enlarge your vision of the life of prayer by a richer appreciation of the communion of Nicene Christians, like the saintly Father Men.

James M. Houston, Founding Principal of Regent College, Vancouver

 

Fr. Alexander Men's intensely practical guidance on prayer has that absolute authenticity which comes from a life which was itself a lived prayer. This most universal of Christian teachers does not seek to convert to some system or method or set of ideas, but rather shows the way to friendship with God. It is that rare book which can be life changing. I welcome its appearance with great gratitude.

Bishop Seraphim Sigrist, Author of A Life Together: Wisdom of Community from the Christian East

 

Reviews

See readers' reviews of the book on Amazon.
                                                                    
Initial response from poet Scott Cairns
 
Fr. Alexander Men's simple but profound teaching on the absolute necessity of a prayer life could change the world.
                                                                      

Excerpt from a review by The Very Rev. Dr. Donald P. Richmond, Obl. OSB.
Father Alexander Men was a priest, martyr, and master of prayer. Lacking time, and under a great deal of pressure, Men provided perceptive insights into both the philosophy (in the best sense of the word) and practices of prayer. Knowing its primacy in Christian formation, Men articulated an accessible appreciation for prayer - apprehended and applied. ... More than a manual on prayer, An Inner Step Toward God provides sound and structured spiritual direction for those who want to convert liturgy into life.

"Prayer and Great Lent" is my favorite section in this book. I was most pleased that I received the text during this Season of the Church Year. Beginning with a meditation on the Prayer of Saint Ephrem of Syria, so very central to Orthodoxy, Men then gives guidelines for the "Observance of the Great Lent." Most useful in this regard were Men's words on the focus for each of these weeks - providing an excellent framework for spiritual focus and formation.
                                                                      

Excerpt from a review by Michael Plekon, Baruch College, City University of New York 
This is a most welcome collection ... for an ecumenical readership, because Fr. Alexander was himself radically ecumenical and able to put not only the scriptures but church history and teachings as well as the sacraments into very accessible language. ... The collection is full of what is typical for Fr. Men – direct, uncomplicated language about prayer and honest, humane reflections on difficulties, distractions, the fickleness of our emotions, our wandering minds and attention. ... One is able to listen to the "voice" of Fr. Men in a number of different registers or keys given the diversity of texts translated and included in the volume. ... And running through all the texts is Fr. Men's emphasis on a relationship with Christ that is joyful, that shows itself in love and forgiveness, and peace rather than agitation or judgment of others. By now a number of selections of Fr. Alexander Men's sermons, talks and writings have been published. Some have become difficult, even impossible, to access. This new collection reminds us of the gifts of this modern teacher, pastor and martyr and makes me hope that there will be more awareness of his lucid vision of how the Gospel is to be put into practice in everyday life.
                                                                       

Excerpt from a review by Xenia Dennen in Church Times
Alexander Man, a 20th-century Russian Orthodox priest, murdered in 1990 not long before the collapse of the Soviet Union, deserves to be better known in the West. He was a remarkable thinker and spiritual guide in an environment where it was difficult and dangerous to be a committed Christian; and yet only a tiny fraction of his writings has so far been translated into English.

An Inner Step Toward God includes not only Fr Men’s A Practical Guide to Prayer, which circulated first in samizdat and was then published in 1991, but also further talks and writings on prayer, which were added into a second edition of the Practical Guide published in 1995. This latter edition has been expertly edited by April French for a Western readership, and translated by Christa Belyaeva, with helpful footnotes and brief introductions to the texts, as well as useful glossaries on terminology and important figures mentioned. ...

Fr Men writes with quiet authority about matters he understands from his own experience: he was a man of deep prayer, and a great pastor, who affected the lives of many hundreds. Although under constant surveillance by the secret police, he managed to continue his ministry during the rule of five Communist Party leaders, the last of whom, Mikhail Gorbachev, at last relaxed the oppression imposed on religious believers for seventy years.

By many Fr Men is revered as a martyr. There is evidence that he sensed his impending death and felt an urgency about his ministry, speaking wherever possible about the Christian faith during the early years of perestroika. The day before he was murdered, he gave a lecture in which he spoke of Christ as a bridge over the abyss that lies between the Creator and creation; St Paul, he said, understood this, and “internally united himself” with this bridge: “He was bound to Christ with endless love in such a way that he felt as if he carried Christ’s wounds on himself and that he had died with Christ on the cross and was resurrected with Him.”

In retrospect, these words sound prophetic: Fr Men, like St Paul, has also become a bridge across the abyss.
                                                                      

Excerpt from a review by James Matichuk
Alexander Men was a popular Russian Orthodox priest during the final decades of the USSR. Through much of his ministry career, his writings were suppressed. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when the nation had a new experience of religious freedom, Men was vocal in his proclamation of the gospel. Before the Soviet Union’s ultimate collapse, Men was murdered. Many regard him as a martyr.

During his lifetime, his books were circulated in a clandestine manner, published under pseudonyms and passed out as carbon-copied manuscripts (or published abroad and smuggled back into the country). But because Men wrote in Russian, much of his writings remain unknown in the English speaking world. Editor April French and translator Christa Belyaeva have compiled many of Men’s works into a slim volume, An Inner Step Toward God. Readers will be treated to Men’s practical insights on the nature of prayer and its practice in the Russian Orthodox tradition.

A Protestant, I often turn to the writings of the Christian East and find wells of deep insight. ... Men is a devout and insightful Orthodox author and I am grateful for discovering him through this gem of a book. ...

This book provided strategies for deepening my personal prayer life and introduced me to voice of someone outside of my own tradition. I am grateful for Men’s life and witness and to April French and Paraclete Press for introducing me to him!
                                                                      

Excerpt from a review by Gerald Munk
Reading An Inner Step Toward God was like sitting down for a few hours with a beloved spiritual father. ... This book ... is rooted in love: love for Jesus Christ, love for all who follow Him (whatever their tradition), and love for those who have yet to know Him. I highly recommend this book for Christians (Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christians) who want to take a step closer to God.
                                                                       

Excerpt from a review by Vassilios Papavassiliou
This collection of talks, writings and prayers, translated from Russian by Christa Belyaeva, and edited by April French, who also wrote the book's worthwhile introduction, presents clear and simple advice for practitioners of prayer, which Christians of all levels and numerous creeds will find helpful and inspiring. 

Men's words, while simple, are peppered with profound insights, biblical exegesis, and quotes from Church Fathers and other theologians and authors. His writings are imbued with a sense of inner peace, love and sincerity. At times, his practical advice on prayer, aimed at the average layman and beginner, is reminiscent of another great Russian teacher of prayer, St Theophan the Recluse. 

My only quibble is that at times Men's thoughts can seem disjointed, and he goes off on tangents now and again, but I cannot deny that there are some great insights even in those tangents. But this small imperfection does not take away from the beauty, simplicity and profundity of the book, which is a highly approachable introduction to prayer for all Christians, with plenty of practical tips for those who wish to deepen their private devotions.
                                                                      

Excerpt from a review by Erich Lippman in East-West Church & Ministry Report 22, no. 4 (2014), 13-14.
 The current volume has much to offer Western Christians looking for an accessible Orthodox guide to prayer from one of Soviet Russia's most acclaimed religious figures, and [to] those with a scholarly interest in Soviet religious history. Christa Belyaeva provides a direct but approachable translation of Men's words. ... This volume gives a valuable glimpse into the mind of a figure whose importance continues unabated in contemporary Russia. 
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