Epistolary Pilgrimage and Eldership in G.E.H. Palmer’s Correspondence with Fr. Nikon Strandtman

Abstract

Abstract Between the years 1948 and 1963, British spiritual seeker Gerald Palmer, who edited the English Philokalia, carried on a written correspondence with the Russian hieromonk and Athonite elder Fr. Nikon Strandtman. Through a regular exchange of letters, these men were able to build a bridge between their disparate worlds and establish a close lifelong relationship. Their letters functioned devotionally to extended the practices of pilgrimage and spiritual direction and supplement their face-to-face encounters with virtual interactions, which allowed Palmer to maintain a continuous link to the place of Athos and the person of Fr. Nikon.