poustinia

English

Etymology

From the Russian пусты́ня (pustýnja, “desert”).

Noun

poustinia (plural poustinias)

1. In Christian spirituality, a small sparsely furnished cabin or room where a person goes to fast and pray, but which is less austere than a hermitage.
   • 1975, Catherine Doherty, Poustinia:

     Yes, that "doing something more" can be the poustinia: an entry into the desert, a lonely place, a silent place, where one can lift the two arms of prayer and penance to God in atonement, intercession, reparation for one's sins and those of one's brothers.... To go into the poustinia means to listen to God. It means entering into kenosis—the emptying of oneself.

Derived terms

• poustinik