All of the experts seem to agree that St. Patrick wrote two things: a Confession (when he was an old man responding to charges made against him by British priests), and the Letter Against Coroticus (also polemical, written earlier). These are the only reliable witnesses to the facts about Patrick's life and work. According to most historians, this is what we can know for certain about his life:

Patrick played the most pivotal role in bringing faith to the Emerald Isle, but he wasn't the first to do it. He followed in the footsteps of others. Still, we remember Patrick for the three very important things that he did do. He organized the Christianity which already existed. He converted kingdoms which were still pagan, especially in the more barren and craggy west. And he brought Ireland into connection with the Church of the Roman Empire, making Ireland formally part of universal Christendom.

Patrick didn't introduce Christianity so much as he secured its permanence, shaped its course, and made it a power in the land. His achievements as organizer of the Irish Church and as a missionary made Christianity a living force in Ireland never to be extinguished. After Patrick, Christianity became the religion of Ireland, although paganism didn't completely disappear-which is why we have all of those great stories of Patrick fighting with the Druids! Periona.

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The protagonist discovers the Jesus Prayer on his quest across 19th-century Russia to learn to pray continually. He shows us a way of praying that saturates our lives without taking time away from our routine activities.

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