19. Becoming a Holy Wanderer
In 1897, Rasputin left home for a pilgrimage to the St. Nicholas Monastery at Verkhotyure, leaving behind an infant son and a pregnant wife heavy with another child. He stayed at the monastery for months, during which he learned basic literacy. During that period, he also met and was strongly influenced by a local starets – a Russian Orthodox Church elder, venerated as a religious teacher and advisor. Later, Rasputin criticized monastic life as too strict, and complained of rampant homosexuality between the monks. Be that as it may, by the time he returned home, Rasputin had changed. He stopped drinking and turned teetotaler, became a vegetarian, and engaged in passionate displays of religiosity such as fervent praying and singing. He also took on the disheveled appearance of a strannik – a Russian holy wanderer.
