A Place of Healing for the Soul: Patmos

Here is the best of two genres, travel memoir and spiritual confession (in the tradition of Augustine), with some elements of pilgrimage thrown in. Similar to Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence but with a conversion, from agnosticism to Greek Orthodoxy. France quotes a local saint who stated “Those who go off in search of wisdom in desert places should return to pass on whatever they have discovered to others.” This is what France has done, but Patmos proves much nicer than the wilderness. While reading this I was also reading The Story of Monasticism by Greg Peters which helps inform the back-story of the Patmos monastery. France describes the heart-felt singing and iconography as instructive, so much so that the illiterate could gain some substantive theology by being observant. You get a feel for the pace of the island, the people, the food, the ruggedness. You get to share France’s experience and learn about the place where most provocative book of the Bible was written.

Former BBC reporter, Peter France, intersperses his dream of a simpler life with a quest for spiritual awakening. For years he has studied and reported on different religions, yet he skeptically remains an agnostic. When his wife, Felicia becomes an Orthodox Christian, sparks are lit within him to at least intelligently inquire about this tradition that has set his wife on spiritual fire.The couple ends up on Patmos, a Greek Isle of the Dodecannese grouping, the island where John the Evangelist wrote his famous gospel and had his frightening visions which led to the prophesies in the Book of Revelations. Through his wife, France becomes aquainted with nuns and priests of Orthodox Christianity who patiently recognize his need and are happily willing to help nudge him subtly on his journey.For this is what France discovers while he and his wife plod through the normal (and not so normal) procedures necessary to move their lives from England to Greece---that spirituality is a journey--not an arrival. Religion opens a portal that will lead to greater understanding and oneness with the infinite. It is this 'Revelation' that brings the beginning of peace to Peter France's life.The procedural part of the narrative--the complicated 'purchase' of their home, their frustrating difficulties with the electricity, the comprehension of what time means in terms of promised appointments by workmen, their decision to move out of town and into an isolated farmhouse and their subsequent battle with the field animals and vermin that ruled there in the absence of human beings are all charmingly told and woven with tales of the island's history and France's discoveries about Orthodoxy's relevancy to his life.A very pleasant sojourn -- I wish Mr. France tranquility and greater understanding---God willing!

This proved to be a very enjoyable book. If you have no interest in things spiritual, then you may not like it, but rest assured that the author does not preach and does not claim that what he found on Patmos is "the only answer." I know Greece and am fascinated with Eastern Orthodoxy, but have never been to Patmos. The author's experiences ring true for the nearby Aegean islands that I do know well, and his sensitivity to cultural differences, added to his sense of humor, creates a book worth reading.

Having recently visited Patmos and wanting to know more, I fell upon Peter France's book with eagerness. I read it with an open mind. He begins by telling the story of his conversion to the local Orthodox religion. I learned a few basics about Eastern vs Western Christianity. I learned about life on Patmos and life as an expatriate (he is British) on Patmos. He has some amusing anecdotes to tell but, frankly, not that many. I wonder how fully he really engages with the locals, especially after moving to a more remote location on the island. Still, I found it a nice enough way in which to while away the time --- until I came to the final few chapters. There, Mr France falls into an often typical and disappointing --- perhaps smug --- discourse on the state of the world today. He veers into lecture mode on the wrongs of society at large and the rightousness of his Patmian lifestyle. You get the picture. Now, we can't all move to Patmos to see the light, but after reading this book I don't think I'd really want to. His attitude has taken on the "Old Hands" he looks down on. He has become one of them.

New condition - Super Price! An Orthodox priest monk suggested this book to me! Highly recommended for anyone wishing to gain a keen insight to Orthodox spirituality!

Excellent book about Patmos, the Orthodoxy and the process of becoming an Orthodox.A great way to enter into the world of this holy island...

They were P but it worked out well for them

I heartily recommend this book to anybody seeking spiritual balm and enlightenment. The author, a well-known TV religious programme presenter in the 80s & 90s, seems to have found his haven at last.

Lovely book. Arrived quickly