He impressed the villagers with religious comments and revelations, made interesting with half-understood pieces of religion he had picked up from the monks. Although the monks influenced him, Rasputin himself was not a monk, but actually married. He had 3 children - a boy Dimitri, who was disabled and two girls - Varvara and Maria. .
One day, while working in the fields, Rasputin claimed to see a vision of the Virgin Mary. According to him, she told him to become a pilgrim. He bid his family farewell and set off on a journey (on foot!) to the monastery at Mount Ethos in Greece - 2000 miles away. When he returned to the village, his religious aura seemed even more impressive. He attracted large crowds when he preached, although his version of the Gospel was particularly un-Orthodox. Rasputin also began to practice what he preached, sleeping with as many of his female disciples as he could. According to Rasputin this was simply a way to salvation - which is a contradiction to his "holy" image. He was never able to reconcile his physical desires with his spiritual goals. Shortly after 1900, Rasputin left Pokrovskoe on another pilgrimage to St. Petersburg. Here he attracted much attention among the local Orthodox hierarchy for his seemingly genuine desire for salvation together with his undoubted gift for speaking and persuasion. He left the Imperial capital, before returning in 1905. This time he met Tsar and Tsarina, setting his image in Russian history.
Rasputin was introduced to Nicholas and Alexandra by Grand Duchess Militza on 31 October 1905. Militza was a daughter of the King of Montenegro who had married into the Russian Imperial Family. She was renowned for her interest in spiritualism and the newest holy men who came to St. Petersburg. "Today we met a man of God, Gregory, from Tobolsk Province," the Emperor recorded in his diary. He had no way of knowing how fateful the meeting would be.
