Praying the Jesus Prayer Together

This simple saying derived from Scripture has long been used by Christians in the East as a form of contemplative prayer. In recent decades, understanding and use of the Jesus Prayer has spread from the Eastern Orthodox tradition and into the lives and spirituality of many Western Christians.

Both Brother Ramon, an Anglican Franciscan monk, and Bishop Simon Barrington-Ward, a former Anglican bishop, practiced, taught, and wrote about the Jesus Prayer for over twenty years. Then, stirred by a sense that the Holy Spirit was guiding them, they came together for a shared week of prayer at Glasshampton Monastery in England.

Praying the Jesus Prayer Together shares what they learned in an experience they describe as a "week of glory," and a week marked by Brother Ramon’s physical suffering. Although Brother Ramon’s cancer ultimately disrupted their collaboration, they nevertheless discovered how profoundly it enriched and enhanced their communion as they prayed the Jesus Prayer together.