Staritsa: The Spiritual Motherhood of Catherine Doherty

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

The present book is the first work to highlight Catherine Doherty’s vocation to spiritual motherhood. Drawing upon primary archival sources, the author traces Catherine’s development as a staritsa, or spiritual mother in the Russian-Eastern tradition. Of particular interest are the chapters dealing with Catherine’s exercise of spiritual motherhood for priests and laity alike. Previously unpublished letters of spiritual direction between Catherine and her major spiritual directors offer the reader a privileged glimpse into the soul of this servant of God and her spiritual children, as she grows in her vocation as staritsa. For example, in one striking letter, Catherine describes how she guided a disillusioned young priest who was struggling with a drinking problem and temptations involving young women, and was bordering on despair: With clenched teeth I sailed into him, first gently, almost caressingly calling him back to Christ he once loved, then more sternly, then quietly… . He left full of thanks and some hope … .