Anthony Bloom (1914-2003) was a medical doctor who became a Russian Orthodox priest. His childhood in Russia taught him “that life was violent, brutal, heartless” and all people were “adversaries.” Only the people closest to him could be trusted. His family emigrated to Paris in his teens, and he was sent to a boarding school. A priest spoke to his class at a time when Bloom had little use for Christ. He returned to his room after the lecture and started reading Mark’s Gospel, primarily to debunk what he had just heard. Then it happened. Anthony described it this way, “While I was reading the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, before I reached the third chapter, I suddenly became aware that on the other side of my desk, there was a Presence, and the certainty was so strong that it was Christ standing there that it has never left me.” He went on, “I met Christ as Person at a moment when I needed him in order to live, and at a moment when I was not in search of him. I was found; I did not find him.”
In the early days of television, Anthony Bloom often appeared on BBC TV in his role as an archbishop in England. He spoke on prayer in a program titled “Prayer for Beginners.” While he directed his remarks to newbies, his instructions are relevant for any who might think we are further along the way. Thomas Merton said, “We are all beginners when it comes to prayer.” Bloom wrote six books on prayer, including Prayer for Beginners. The following is an excerpt from one of his television programs. I invite you to utilize these five prayers as a guide to prayer: