Foreign stars who profess Orthodoxy. “The Da Vinci Code” as an easy way to renounce Christ or suffer for Christ Actors who converted to the Orthodox faith
Under anathema
The Da Vinci Code star Tom Hanks can expect a fee of $25 million for the film.
( Entertainment Weekly )
« For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?»
(Mark 8:36)
We live in a time when the consciousness of millions of citizens is determined by the tastes of actors, musicians, and show business people in general. With the air of experts, they tell us about how to dress, what to eat (and how to cook it), where to go, how and with whom to communicate. And, of course, they teach us how to live. Thousands of journalists around the world track every step of movie stars, telling in detail about the intricacies of their personal lives, the number of marriages, how many children and from whom they gave birth, with whom they started their next affair.
Against this unhealthy background, American actor Tom Hanks looked decent for a long time: no scandals, no frankly shocking antics. An exemplary family man, Hanks attracted millions of people with his truly excellent acting, sweet and calm face, and charming manners.
The film “Forrest Gump” with his participation deserves special mention. The main character of this film is a clumsy fool, endlessly devoted to his mother and friends, faithful to the grave to his childhood friend. Forrest does not seek his own benefit in anything, he helps everyone, empathizes with everyone, does not rise above anyone, and does not try to do so. And the Lord visibly blesses his deeds and actions, He Himself exalts Forrest, giving him all visible material benefits, true friends and a family hearth. In many Orthodox families, which are very critical of modern cinema, Forrest Gump has entered the golden fund of family cinema. In the fool from the American outback, many saw a close-to-heart image of a Russian half-freak, stupid from the point of view of worldly people and wise in his evangelical attitude towards his neighbor. And, as often happens, many began to identify actor Tom Hanks with his hero – Forrest Gump.
When reports began to appear in the press that Tom Hanks was going to convert to Orthodoxy under the influence of his second wife Rita Wilson, Orthodox Christians around the world took this to heart. It seemed natural to us just such a continuation of the Forrest Gump story.
And the conversion to Orthodoxy took place in the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sofia, Los Angeles. In order to dispel doubts about the very fact of Tom Hanks's conversion to Orthodoxy, we will give several references to the contributions of the married couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to the parish fund of the Cathedral of St. Sofia:
As we see, Tom Hanks took his new confession quite seriously and became involved in the life of the Greek parish.
It would be appropriate to mention here the Gospel saying that “ when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly"(Matt. 6:3-4). But the modern world has forgotten the Gospel. We, like pagans or heretics who doubt their faith, strive to boast about those whom we managed to “win” to our side, especially when it comes to famous people of this world. As if we don't have enough our St. Nicholas, Rev. Sergius and Seraphim, Optina elders, St. John of Kronstadt, close in time to St. Nektarios and Luke, the dear departed righteous now known to the whole world - Paisius, Porphyry, Nicholas, Paul, John...
But let's get back to Tom Hanks. Interestingly, in October 2005 (just when flowers were donated to them to decorate the temple’s soleya), Hanks was already filming “The Da Vinci Code” with all his might. Of course, his Greek parish could not help but know about this, but, apparently, the money received by the parish and the fame of the actor outweighed the very fact of the undoubted blasphemy of the picture. Let us recall in this regard the statement of St. Seraphim that “ Not all money pleases God».
The actor finally defined his attitude towards religion in an interview with The Guardian magazine on May 18, 2006. When asked whether his Orthodox wife Rita Wilson was worried about her husband’s participation in the film, Tom replied that he and his wife [at baptism] sins were taken away, but not reason .
I’m afraid that God has taken away the mind of the famous actor after all. Whoever the Lord wants to punish, first takes away his reason. St. Anthony the Great said that " not those who are smart who have studied the sayings and writings of the ancient sages, but those whose souls are smart, who can judge what is good and what is evil; They run away from the evil and the harmful to the soul, but they rationally care about the good and the beneficial to the soul and do this with great gratitude to God. These alone should truly be called intelligent people". And indeed, " What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?"(Mark 8:36)
On the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the Holy Church of Christ anathematizes precisely those false teachings that mortally harm the soul of the Christian who professes them. The main anathematization applies to those who do not consider Jesus Christ to be God: “ those who dare to assert that the Son of God is not consubstantial and not equal to the Father, neither is the Holy Spirit; those who do not confess that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God: anathema". This anathema extends not only to those who invent obviously nonsense tales about the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to those who “merely” do not believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ, extending in particular to the (nominally) Orthodox Tom Hanks and all those , Who " sees nothing wrong with the idea of the film».
The 45th Apostolic Canon reads: “ If anyone, taking the name of a Christian, insults Christ; there is no benefit to such a name» .
Who condoned blasphemy?
According to statistics from the website InOut.ru, on May 24, 2006 (at the time of writing this article), 68 Moscow cinemas screened the blasphemous film. I would like to ask: what, Among the managers of these cinemas there is not a single baptized person? Let's ask in more detail:
- Who sold tickets at the box office?
- Who put up posters around the city?
- Who designed the posters?
- Who made the Russian-language website for the film?
- Who translated the script into Russian?
- Who praised the film in reviews?
- Who voiced the Russian version of the film?
- Who negotiated the rental?
Was there not a single baptized person among these people? Are they really all Jews and Gnostics (the true authors of the blasphemous idea used by Dan Brown)? I think no. And if so, then all those of them who, being baptized, organized shows, sold tickets, replicated discs, etc. and so on - accomplices in blasphemy, no matter how small their position. " Test what is pleasing to God, and do not participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but also reprove"(Eph. 5:10-11).
The Gospel says that “ it is impossible for temptations not to come, but woe to the one through whom they come; It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown into the sea, than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble."(Luke 17:1-2).
Many of us live our lives forgetting God's commandments when it comes to personal gain. But sooner or later times come when you need to support your faith with deeds. And for many of us, that time has come. Everyone must conscientiously perform his work, but only to the extent that it does not contradict his Christian conscience. This is the case when, like the Apostles, we must firmly say to our superiors: “ Is it right before God to listen to you more than to listen to God?"(Acts 4:19) And, if necessary, suffer for Christ.
« Blessed are you when people hate you and when they excommunicate you and revile you and call your name dishonorable because of the Son of Man"(Luke 6:22).
Why should we protest?
As a child, my favorite writer was Bulgakov. I knew his books practically by heart, especially “The Master and Margarita.” And it was precisely because of this book (due to its supposed reliability) that I did not open the Gospel for many years. And why was it necessary to do this, because the novel is so convincing? When I opened the Holy Scriptures, I was shocked that my once favorite novel was thoroughly saturated with disgusting lies and slander against the Savior of the world, against His holy Apostles.
Therefore, when I hear that I have to wait, that everything will, they say, be forgotten by itself, that there is no point in clearing out this stinking pile, I want to say: “think about people like me”! Imagine that many Never in my life they will not open the Gospels, much less books on Church History. Think about the lost souls of these people. Think about the fact that, due to our lukewarmness, this film will eventually be shown on television, and it will be watched by those who are deprived of the opportunity to go to the cinema, by those for whom the “box” is the ultimate truth.
Some will say that the extra hype around the film will only increase its audience. So be it. But this is the devilish plan of its producers, that the film must present us, Christians, with a choice - to remain silent in the face of the humiliation of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, or to be outraged in spirit and protest. And the first path is tantamount to apostasy.
In recent years, a whole “Pepsi generation” has grown up in our country. People of this generation, brought up by television, are not able to string together a couple of words and write one sentence without errors. They are proud - after all, they were taught that “they are individuals and have the right.” They have an answer to all thoughtful passages: “ don't teach us how to live!“This generation has only learned to read instructions for cell phones. Objective criticism of the film will not reach them, they will not be interested in the witty reflections of Deacon Andrei Kuraev and even the famous former detective.
It is enough to go to any movie website to get an average impression of those who watched the film. The vast majority will say that " the movie is bad because... the book was poorly filmed" Someone will say that " everything is great, and Hanks is cute" But if someone suddenly timidly says that the film is blasphemy, then most of them will pounce on him and peck: “we , they say, the believers themselves, so what’s wrong with the fact that Christ had children?»
B O the majority of these people are baptized and, therefore, the very fact of watching a blasphemous film already sins. In the list of sins related to the passion of pride, there is a mention of “ reading heretical, depraved and vain books". There is no doubt that this also includes watching heretical, depraved and vain films.
Many of those who watched the film stated that “ don't take the events of the film seriously", what, they say, " This film will not affect their worldview in any way." What naivety and fantastic arrogance! If it doesn't affect you now, it will affect you in ten years. How many more films will it take for liars and crooks to make to change this precious average “worldview”?! There's already Life of Brian, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Da Vinci Code. Before our eyes, blasphemers are trying to create their own “tradition,” which is radically different from the Church’s true Tradition. If we remain silent, accepting this lie calmly, then our children will take it seriously.
And then what the ever-memorable Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets wrote about will become relevant:
« They show these blasphemous films to ridicule Christ. They do this in order to say: "Look, this is what Christ was like! The Messiah is coming now!" - and then reveal your “messiah”» .
What may God deliver us from! And I believe that it will save us if each of us, in our own place, makes every effort to stop this infection.
1. Jennifer Aniston
The religious upbringing of the famous actress was greatly influenced by her father Yanis Anasakis, an Orthodox Christian from Greek Crete. Jennifer often attends church and makes donations to the Transfiguration Church, which belongs to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
2. Tom Hanks
Oscar-winner Tom Hanks, a Catholic by birth, left the Catholic Church and converted to the Orthodox faith. The decision to be baptized into Orthodoxy stems from his second marriage, when Hanks married actress Rita Wilson, who has Bulgarian-Greek roots and is Orthodox.
“When you come to the decision in your life that you need to get married and have children, it is important at this stage to decide on the spiritual heritage of your future family,” says the actor, adding that his heritage is Greek Orthodoxy. “I got married in the same church where my wife was baptized. My children were baptized in the same font as my wife. This makes our family part of the larger universal Church,” emphasizes Tom Hanks, noting that he is aware of “how important and wonderful it is to be able to go to church and reflect on the important questions that Orthodoxy asks you, and on the answers, which it offers"
3. Bob Marley
The legendary Bob Marley, a year before his death, on May 4, 1980, was baptized in the Orthodox Church in Kingston and took the name Berhane Sellasie (in Amharic; Light of the Holy Trinity).
4. James Belushi
Celebrity comedian James Belushi is an Orthodox Christian who regularly attends the Serbian Orthodox Church parish in Los Angeles but is an outspoken supporter of Kosovo's independence.
5. David Gahan
The leader of the cult group Depeche Mode, David Gahan, has been Orthodox since he connected his life with the Greek Jennifer Skliaz.
6. Emir Kusturica
In 2005, the famous director Emir Kusturica converted to Orthodoxy under the name Nemanja. He claims that his distant ancestors were Orthodox Serbs, and thus his adoption of Christianity was an act of returning to his roots. According to Emir, a Christian should try to make the world more harmonious, and this is precisely the goal that Kusturica pursues in his films.
7. Jonathan Jackson
Hollywood actor Jonathan Jackson was born into an Adventist family, but a few years ago he converted to Orthodoxy with his family. According to the actor, “he wanted to be with those who don’t say a lot of words, but give priority to prayer.”
8. Murray Abraham
The famous American serial actor Murray Abraham also professes Orthodoxy. The actor’s father and grandfather were Orthodox. The latter, by the way, was a famous singer in Syria.
9. Christian Bale
According to a number of sources, Christian Bale converted to Orthodoxy more than ten years ago, after marrying Sandra Blazic, who is from Serbia.
10. Max Cavalera
The legendary Brazilian musician, founder of the groups Sepultura, Nailbomb, Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy, Max Cavalera was baptized in the Vatican at the age of 9 years. In a 2009 interview, he admitted that he believes in God, although he is not a devout Catholic. In his opinion, the Orthodox Church is “more real”, and he himself is interested in the Serbian, Russian and Greek Orthodox churches. Max's wife Gloria and their children are Orthodox; Gloria has Russian roots - her grandmother left Russia after the revolution. Later it became known that the musician had finally made up his mind and converted to Orthodoxy.
We have collected testimonies of people who have found answers to eternal questions. These are commanders and scientists, writers and philosophers, artists and astronauts. They talk about God, about their faith.
Nikolay Drozdov
Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences, traveler, popular TV presenter
Nikolai Drozdov is the cousin-great-great-grandson of Metropolitan Philaret. Few people know that this famous scientist, the permanent host of the TV show “In the Animal World,” is the great-grandson of St. Philaret (Drozdov). Anyone who has read the Bible in Russian at least once has read it in St. Philaret’s translation.
“In everyday life, I strive to do what I can and what I have time for, something good and useful for those around me - family, friends, and, if possible, for all people. And I try not to regret what didn’t work out, which means it wasn’t the will of the Lord. And what happened well - I thank our Lord Jesus Christ for allowing me to do a good deed. I don’t know how much I succeed in life, but I think – as much as He pleases.
In difficult, unforeseen circumstances, I often tell everyone: “Let’s pray, and the Lord will arrange everything.”
Ekaterina Vasilyeva
“You know, many people before, when Russia was a country of believers, answered the question: “Who are you?” - "I am Orthodox Christian". This is the essence of man and super value. If we take this account, then the question “Who am I?” I will answer: “The priest’s mother.” This is the peak in my biographical family, and not my merit, but the grace bestowed by the Lord. Now, approaching the end of my life, I understand that a free person is only a believer. Freedom is the result of a person becoming independent from secular habits and conventions. Man is free in God, in Christ."
Irina Muravyova
Theater and film actress, People's Artist of Russia
“At the very beginning, one incident happened to me, which I remember very much. Back then I only went to church sometimes. An ancient temple with ancient icons, it has never been closed. Its rector at that time was Father Vasily, an elder of high spiritual life, who foresaw a lot. I remember when I came to Father Vasily for confession. I’m walking and still thinking: “He’s very old, he doesn’t hear anything.” And now it’s my turn, I’m standing quite far away, and suddenly he says to the whole church: “Finally you have come, my dear!” I think he probably recognized me as an artist, what a horror. Then these words of his confused me, because he could recognize me as an artist. Now I understand that, of course, he said them for a different reason. The Lord laid it on his heart so much that he took it and said these words to me.”
Vladimir Khotinenko
Actor and film director, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation
“What was amazing was that my conversion to God happened completely suddenly, as if out of nowhere, against the backdrop of an outwardly stable and prosperous life: no one pushed or agitated me towards this. I didn’t have any crisis or feeling of impasse: I studied at the highest directing courses, and there were no external signs of internal loss or hopelessness of existence. Like most people who grew up in the Soviet state, I was not particularly religious. I was just simply educated, and one fine day I suddenly realized the absolute need to be baptized.”
Fedor Emelianenko
Judoka and sambo wrestler, multiple world and Russian champion, and, of course, an Orthodox Christian
A trip to the monastery helped him become a truly religious person. Now the most important thing for him is not sports and competitions, but faith and family. Fedor Emelianenko:
“Hurry to the temples of God, hurry to do good. Help each other, treat each other with love, understanding and patience. This is probably why I perform.”
Evgeniy Mironov
“An important stage for me was the first trip in my life to Optina Pustyn. I was thirty-three years old then. They say that at this age something is always changing in life. But I understood that I had to change this “something” myself, and I went to Optina Pustyn to talk with Father Eli. It was a moment of some kind of general crisis: both creative and spiritual - I clearly realized that I needed a meeting with him. But they didn’t let me see him for a long time; I had to climb over the fence and secretly make my way to the house where the elder’s cell was. This meeting changed me. He spoke as if he were a thousand times more sinful than me, as if he doubted a thousand times more than me. I was simply shocked by everything that was happening: for the first time I communicated with a priest who worries about the whole world and prays for the whole world. During these half an hour I felt something extraordinary. In form, of course, it was not a confession, but in terms of importance and depth, this conversation became something very significant for me.”
Natalya Varley
Natalya Varley, theater and film actress, Honored Actress of the RSFSR
“I walked towards faith in God for a very long time. After the film “Viy” everything in my life began to fall apart - betrayals and betrayals began. Although before that everything was going great. What could be more sinful than playing evil spirits in a temple? After the film I felt very bad, my soul was heavy. After baptism it became a little easier. And only then I realized that baptism is only the first step towards God. I have a wonderful confessor. When he was still working as a pediatrician in the world, he saved my youngest son from death. I once told him: “What a pity that you left the hospital!” And he answered me: “The salvation of the human soul is no less important.”
Alexey Batalov
Alexey Batalov, film actor, People's Artist of the USSR
“The path to faith began for me with vivid childhood impressions - the earliest. Grandmother was a truly believing person - easy-going, kind. That’s why we had church holidays, even if they were at home, even if they were closed. Easter is not celebrated in all homes, but in our country, no matter how poor it may have been at different times, it was always celebrated. Luckily, the church opposite us was open. Therefore, for the holiday, my mother will go there to stand, and I will be nearby. So everything went little by little. I try to believe in God. This is the only thing that does not “rebuild”, remains constant.”
Alexey Petrenko
People's Artist of Russia
“I think about God, that people should live united. I think about Orthodoxy. I am learning Church Slavonic. Otherwise, a person will come to another world, they will ask him to read a prayer there, but he does not know how to do it. As much as I have the strength, I think about my loved ones. And so that when I go there, I won’t leave anything shameful behind me.”
Valentina Tolkunova
Singer, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1946-2010)
“Spiritual revival will happen when each person works on his soul. Learn spirituality. And he will understand that we should not be like Europe, America, that we must love our land, we must save it. Do not allow it to be torn into different pieces. Don't think that everything is in the hands of politicians and governments only. If someone sweeps the streets - when he sweeps them especially clean, how good it will be for everyone! People will admire how clean it is on the street today!.. Every person in his place must raise his Motherland from his knees. And then Russia will recover and become the happiest, most spiritual and strongest country in the world.”
Alexander Mikhailov
Theater and film actor, People's Artist of Russia
“My maternal grandfather was for the “whites,” and my paternal grandfather was “for the reds.” So, “white” gave me a lot as a child. Dying, he said: “Grandson, remember: you must give your life for Russia, the Fatherland. You have to give your heart to your mother. Soul - to the Lord God. But keep the honor to yourself and don’t give it to anyone.” These words have remained with me forever."
Vyacheslav Klykov
(1939-2006), sculptor, People's Artist of Russia
“Any simple person, if he was born in Russia, if he happened to be born Russian, first of all needs God. Without God, life is generally meaningless. A person without God is like a leaf on an autumn day: wherever the wind blows, that’s where it will fly. A people without God is simply a controlled crowd.”
Georgy Grechko
“Why do I believe? Because during a war, not even at the front, but in the rear or in the occupation, as happened to me, a person has no other hope except in God. Almost everyone was a believer back then. And boy, I believed. And he fasted before Easter, and at Christmas he went from house to house to glorify Christ.”
Innokenty Smoktunovsky
Theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR (1925-1994)
“I may be alive only because I believe in the Lord. I went through all the hardships of the war, when only death did not happen to me, it just happened to pass by. He probably saved me for some of my small achievements - Myshkin, Hamlet, Tchaikovsky, Detochkin, Tsar Fedor.
Before the war, I lived with my aunt, I was six years old, on some holiday she gave me thirty rubles: “Go to church, give it to the temple.” Thirty rubles! I remember they were so long and red. I didn’t know then that there were thirty pieces of silver, and my aunt, although a believer, didn’t know this; then you couldn’t hold the Bible, you were punished for it. And the ice cream that I loved so much cost twenty kopecks. With this money you can eat ice cream for a year and a half! No, I won’t give thirty rubles to some aunts and uncles in the church. And with a clenched fist I found myself near the church. I went inside, it was so beautiful there, I stood completely exhausted, and then easily approached the servant and said: “Take it to the temple, take it, please.”
Without faith, a person would not come out of the forest, he would grunt, howl... A pig is good, but still it has no reason, but in addition to reason, we also have a soul.”
Arkady Mamontov
Special correspondent of the Rossiya TV channel, TV presenter
“I myself am an Orthodox person and, of course, I proceed from the moral foundations of my religion. Faith allows a person to control himself and lead his own line. And faith, as the basis of a worldview, certainly shapes my author’s attitude to a particular problem.”
Dmitry Dyuzhev
Film actor
“I remember my great-grandmother very well; she had an icon hanging in her village house and a lamp was always burning. This was very unusual against the backdrop of our entire Soviet life and seemed then something mysterious. I guess my faith started somewhere there. And then... The need just arose to go to the temple. I went in... and stayed. Faith came, I realized that there was truth here.”
Andris Liepa
Andris (baptized Andrey) Liepa, dancer, Honored Artist of the RSFSR
“An icon is a miracle that affects a person regardless of his faith. For me, this began to open up after thirty-three years. At the age of twenty-nine I returned from America and soon received an interesting invitation from the Kirov Theater and went to work in St. Petersburg. At the very first performance, they gave me an icon of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg and said that she would keep me in this city. She not only kept me safe: from that moment on, everything in my soul began to develop completely differently. From Lutheranism I converted to Orthodoxy. Blessed Ksenia brought us together with Katyusha, my wife, and we got married. Our daughter was named Ksenia. Now we live in Moscow and every year we try to go to St. Petersburg on February 6, the day of memory of Blessed Xenia.”
Ilze Liepa
Ilze (baptized Elizaveta) Liepa, ballerina, actress, People's Artist of Russia
“Andris, my brother, like my father, was baptized in the Lutheran Church. And as an adult, he himself, quite consciously, converted to Orthodoxy. He influenced me very much in this regard, although I was baptized on my own, also as an adult. Before that, I searched a lot, tried to find some meaning in everything. At one time, I read books about Buddhism, and it seemed to me that I found a lot of truth there that was in tune with my thoughts. I read and understood in my head that this was all wonderful, true, wonderful, but my soul never stopped there. But when my brother gave me a small, simple, seemingly primitive book about Orthodoxy to read, I responded to it with all my soul.”
Peter Mamonov
Poet, actor, musician
“I began to think about why I should live at all, why I have these seventy or whatever years of life I have been given. And my great-great-grandfather was the archpriest of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. Let me think I’ll buy a prayer book and see what they’re praying for. At first I read it with horror and some surprise. I started going to church. This was the beginning, but the real meeting with God happened not so long ago. I couldn't get out of one sin. There was no way I could. On the morning of Candlemas I got up and suddenly felt that the Lord had filled my heart with love and disarmed me. Faith suddenly came - like a bolt. The meaning appeared: eternal life and happiness always. The “box” was thrown out the window. I read the works of the holy fathers, the Bible, and try to live according to God’s laws.”
Nikita Mikhalkov
Film artist, director, People's Artist of the RSFSR
“You can burn out faith with a hot iron, you can put people in prison, kill priests, blow up churches. But the history of our Motherland shows that Orthodoxy, as the basis of the moral foundations and life of Russia - like grass through concrete - will still sprout. When you have an inner feeling that you are under the shadow of faith, which has been the fundamental force of life and spirit for hundreds of generations living and who have lived on this earth, it should give you energy. And I firmly believe that any person, trying to understand who he is and where he comes from, will inevitably come to faith. After all, to the question: “How to live?” you can only get the answer by asking yourself the question: “Why?” Not earlier. Therefore, the sprout of faith will still break through.”
Oksana Fedorova
TV presenter
“The first time I came to church on my own was during my student years, when things weren’t going well for me in my first year at university and there was no help from anywhere. After my first appeals to God, things seemed to go uphill - I finished the school year more than well. A lot has changed in me since then. I realized that church is a place where you can get help. Talk frankly with yourself. And if you sincerely wish to help yourself and other people, then this will miraculously come true. You just need to believe in God, yourself and people. We also need to believe in those good deeds that fill our lives with meaning. Now I know that work, career, and any other material goal that I can set for myself is far from the main thing. The highest meaning of a person’s life is to live honestly, according to conscience.”
Sergey Bezrukov
Theater and film actor. Honored Artist of Russia
“I have considered myself an Orthodox person since childhood. I was baptized six or seven months old in the small church of St. Nicholas in the village of Petrovskoye, Moscow region. In the village of Lyskovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, where my relatives live, there is a convent. I communicate with his abbess, we talk about different things. For example, not so long ago we were talking about my disc “Passion for Emelyan”. I perform songs based on the poems of Hieromonk Roman (Matyushin). The abbess said that it is possible and necessary to record such songs, that this is a good, spiritual thing worthy of respect. Emelyan’s main trait is the ability to forgive. This is the strength of his spirit, the strength of the Russian peasant. I am learning this skill myself. It's extremely difficult."
Yuri Shevchuk
Poet, performer, leader of the group "DDT"
“I am an Orthodox person, but I don’t want to talk about this in vain. Without the Church, without the Orthodox faith, my life does not exist. Man is a spiritual being. Now the idea is being circulated that a person is only a body, these are reflexes, these are hands created in order to grab everything. It’s sad, but this point of view is now being propagated everywhere. I think that a very difficult period is going on, and I want to appeal to those people who hear me: now there is a “war between heaven and earth,” as Tsoi sang. There is a struggle on a spiritual level, there is a spiritual war for the souls of people. I really feel it. And you yourself know which side I’m on.”
Olga Gobzeva
Former film actress, currently nun Olga
“To say that I had some kind of tragedy or bad luck would be untrue. I really filmed a lot, I have about eighty films. And although not all films were famous, my creative destiny was very successful. The reason for my leaving lies very deep, perhaps in my family. My grandmother's sister was the abbess. And her second sister is a nun. On my father's side there was a church warden. My father was a believer, and in no time - neither when we were dispossessed in the twenties, nor in the forties - did the lamp in our house go out. And therefore, to say that I left the world, gave up something, came to something new, this is not true. I came to my house."
Olga Kormukhina
“Despite all my wanderings in the dark - drinking, partying, two awkward marriages, passion for Buddhism, fortune-telling on a silver platter - it seems to me that I have always lived with God in my soul. I grew up listening to the sounds of my grandmother's prayer. And once, already in adulthood, I read the diary of Hieroschemamonk Sampson, and it was as if everything in me had turned upside down. His words penetrated into the very heart and settled there as a thorn. If you hold your broken leg in a stretched position, pain is felt with every movement to the left or right. So I tried more and more often to get away from the passions of life, trying to find a quiet haven. And when I found it, harmony reigned inside me..."
Alexey Belov
Musician, composer, leader of the rock group “Gorky Park”
“At one time, I received in abundance everything that a person can dream of: fame, crazy money, all the pleasures of the world. I went through a bunch of affairs, smoked weed, drank. So what's the result? Devastation! When at one fine moment I realized all this horror, I asked my friends to take me to confession to the priest. In breaks between performances, while traveling between cities, I began to read a prayer book. One day they told me about Elder Nicholas who lived on the island of Zalit. I dreamed of going to him, but things didn’t work out for a long time. As a result, it turned out that it was Olya (Kormukhina, who, with the blessing of Father Nikolai, became Alexei’s wife) who took me to the island.”
Vyacheslav Butusov
Musician, founder of the group “Nautilus Pompilius”
“The spiritual meaning must be seen in everything. For a long time I treated my own song “I want to be with you” purely as a consumer, and after I became a believer, I stopped receiving satisfaction from performing it. But suddenly this composition acquired a religious, biblical meaning in my mind. The same thing happened with some of my other songs. I have traveled to many countries, I have been amazed by many things, but I feel that Orthodoxy is a religion with the help of which I personally can be saved. In addition, Orthodoxy has that rigor and asceticism that I personally often lack. It seems to me that all the basic truths in Orthodoxy are clearly formulated and understandable.”
Pyotr Tolstoy
Editor-in-chief of the television company "Moskovia - Channel 3", TV presenter
“You often hear: “You Orthodox Christians have agreed on everything: you sinned, you confessed, and everything is in order!” I think only those who perceive faith as something external, ritual can say this. It is impossible to come to an agreement with God - we can only make an effort on ourselves in order to get at least a little closer to Him. Unfortunately, not many are ready to do such inner work. Naturally, the point of confession is not to repent of your sins and do the same next week, but to find the strength to overcome sin forever. This is a struggle that a person wages throughout his life.”
Vladislav Tretiak
Hockey player, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs
“I am especially close to the image of the founder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, abbot of the Russian Land, St. Sergius of Radonezh, to whom I often turn in prayer. When going out on the ice, I always tried to cross myself, or rather, secretly, with a symbolic movement of my hand in the goalkeeper’s glove, I made the sign of the cross as far as possible in front of the television cameras.”
Alexey Leonov
Pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union
“Faith helps, without it it is difficult. I also really regret that I don’t know a lot. I saw the Bible for the first time in America in 1973, where I was training for the Apollo Soyuz program. Now, thank God, we are returning to our roots. I admire the fact that we managed to revive the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which was incredibly difficult. I travel a lot around the country and everywhere I see churches being revived. It makes me very happy".
Yuri Gagarin
Colonel Valentin Petrov, friend of Yuri Gagarin, - about the first cosmonaut
“Yuri Alekseevich, like all Russian people, was a baptized man and, as far as I can know, a believer. For me, our joint trip to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in 1964, just when Gagarin turned thirty, remains unforgettable.
Father Vicar invited us to examine the church-archaeological office at the Moscow Theological Academy. There was an incident that shocked me. When we approached the model of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Yura looked inside and said to me: “Valentin, look what beauty they have destroyed!” He looked at him for a very long time then.
And some time after our trip, Yuri Gagarin, speaking at a meeting of the Central Committee plenum on the education of youth, openly proposed to restore the Cathedral of Christ the Savior as a monument to military glory, as an outstanding work of Orthodoxy. Gagarin's motive was simple: you cannot raise patriotism without knowing your roots. Since the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is a monument to military glory, people who go to defend their homeland should know this.”
Pavel Popovich
Pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union
Yura Gagarin, during his first flight, when the fairings covering the windows fell off, saw the Earth and screamed:
“Oh, how beautiful she is!” The land is truly incredibly beautiful. It’s as if covered with a blue veil – the atmosphere. And now you look out the window, stars and planets float past on a black background. And you can’t help but think: Someone created all this, that it all moves, Someone controls it all. We say that all this moves according to the laws of celestial mechanics. But someone came up with these laws! And the thought of God appears. I believe in God, I was baptized as a child, so for me there is no question who created all this. And He preserves everything and controls everything.”
Maria Zhukova, member of the Russian Writers' Union, - about Marshal Georgy Zhukov
“In the pre-revolutionary years, my father graduated with honors from a parochial school, went to services in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and loved church singing. Having absorbed the truths of the Gospel from childhood, he carried them in his heart until the end of his days. Once upon a time, his mother, an 11-year-old boy, accompanied him from the village to Moscow to study with the words: “With God!” And with the same words he began any important business, especially during the war. Shortly before his death, he told me, a girl left without a mother: “From the other world I will watch over you and will come to you in difficult times.” What does this mean? That he believed in the immortality of the soul. He passed this faith on to me.”
Lyudmila Zykina
“For more than fifty years I have been singing. There is no way I can go on stage without crossing myself and asking the Lord God for help and strength, because I remember from childhood that my grandmother did this. Mom taught me to pray to Nikolai Ugodnichka. No matter how I look at it, she prays to him.
I was baptized when I was about fifty years old. God always helps me when I ask. He puts me on the right path. He brought me to people with whom I needed to communicate, and took me away from those with whom I did not need to meet. As long as the Lord lets go, I will praise Him and Russia in song.”
Sofia Rotaru
Singer, People's Artist of the USSR
“There are six children in our family, and we are all baptized; we were baptized in infancy. During my childhood, believers had a hard time. Back then it was even scary to wear crosses on your body, let alone visit churches. But my parents found an opportunity to pass on their knowledge to us, the children. Every Sunday we went to services in a small rural church in our home village of Marshintsy. And when I was in elementary school, I even sang in the church choir.
When I was already popular, my family celebrated Christmas. And for this my father was immediately expelled from the party. The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine called me and said: “Sonya, you will have problems.” And I left for Yalta. But this whole story had absolutely no impact on my faith. I feel the protection and mercy of God present in my life. I know that everything that has happened in my life and will happen again is in the hands of the Almighty. Every day I read “Our Father”, I always turn to God and am grateful to Him for every day I live. My grandchildren wear crosses, go to church, know the story of God, and know how to pray. When they ask me questions on religious topics, I always answer them in detail. I want them and their children to grow up as believers. Hope should always live in a person. And when the last of your strength leaves, raise your eyes to the sky and ask: “God, help!” I myself have to do this sometimes. And relief really comes.”
Lyubov Sokolova
(1921-2001), film actress, People's Artist of the USSR
“I remember how in July 1941 (I was then living in Leningrad), on my birthday, my mother-in-law and I went out of town on business. We got out of the carriage, walked down the street, and suddenly a stately, bearded old man approached me. He stopped me very gently. He looked into his eyes and said: “My name is Nikolai. You will eat a little at a time. But you will survive." (And we couldn’t even imagine a hunger blockade back then). And he also said: “Learn the prayers “Our Father” and “Mother of God, help me.” Having said this, the old man walked away from us and disappeared behind the fence, and my mother-in-law, coming to her senses, said: “This is St. Nicholas the Wonderworker! Catch up with him! I rushed behind the fence, and there was a huge wasteland there, and no one was there. A person could not disappear anywhere so quickly here. We immediately went to church, and there, looking at the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, I immediately recognized that old man. During the years of the Leningrad blockade, hunger killed all my loved ones, including my mother-in-law. But I survived - and it was a miracle! I read the prayers commanded by the saint every morning.”
Lyudmila Zaitseva
Film actress, People's Artist of Russia
“There are no sinless people, but I have always tried to live according to the laws of God, my parents instilled this in me, for which I am grateful to them without limits. In our village, where I grew up, there was no church at all. And the people were illiterate, probably didn’t even read the Bible. But they knew the prayers by heart and lived like Orthodox Christians. Since childhood, I knew that you can’t lie – it’s a sin. You can’t take someone else’s property – it’s a sin. Taking someone else's husband away and destroying a family is a terrible sin. It is impossible not to work, “for the worker is worthy of his food” (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 10, verse 10). We must admit that the old people kept our faith in us. And if they did not teach their grandchildren according to the Law of God, then they taught them faith with their righteous lives and prayed for them! You can quote the Gospel every day, but not live by it. But Russian people live according to the Gospel.”
Lyudmila Zaitseva about Vasily Shukshin:
“Someone once said: “If Shukshin was a communist, it means he did not believe in God, because the Communist party is atheistic, anti-God.” But I just can’t wrap my head around it. Shukshin, with his subtle nature, with his ability to penetrate deeply into the souls of people, the ability to sympathize, with a categorical rejection of falsehood in any form - and does not believe in God?! This can't be true!
And soon I received confirmation of my thoughts. One of his acquaintances recalled that once on Easter Shukshin stopped in front of the temple, fell to his knees and... began to cry. Words flowed from his lips that no one had heard from him before: “I am a sinner... I am a sinner... Lord! Forgive me..." They also say that in one of his letters to his sister, he asked to be buried in Russian - with a funeral service."
Konstantin Kinchev
Leader of the group "Alice"
“Before making my choice, I delved into esotericism quite a bit, and tinkered with magic, shoveled through the Koran, and visited a Buddhist monastery several times. It was all wrong. In 1992, when I was already thirty-two years old, Stas Namin called and said that Jerusalem was hosting friendship days for its sister cities and there was a cultural program. Let's go. And right there in Jerusalem I realized that I needed to be baptized. I just met a nun in a monastery. She told me: “You will return home and be baptized.” Then this nun came to the city to talk with me, and at night I accompanied her to the monastery, which was located above the Garden of Gethsemane. It was well after midnight, I was walking alone, and jumped over the fence. I looked at the sky and imagined what was happening here. And one thought: now I wish I could die here, and that’s it, I don’t need anything else - it would be happiness. With this feeling I returned to Moscow. I felt in my heart that the Orthodox Church is a place where my soul feels good, and the words of St. Theophan the Recluse: “I don’t know about anyone, but I can’t be saved without Orthodoxy,” only strengthened me in the feeling of the right choice. The belief that Christianity is passive is erroneous. Humility cultivates the will and gives strength to resist evil.”
For Orthodox Easter, Life-Star has prepared a selection of foreign film and music stars who profess the Orthodox faith.
The religious upbringing of the famous actress was greatly influenced by her father Yanis Anasakis, an Orthodox Christian from Greek Crete. Jennifer often attends church and makes donations to the Transfiguration Church, which belongs to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Oscar-winner Tom Hanks, a Catholic by birth, left the Catholic Church and converted to the Orthodox faith. The decision to be baptized into Orthodoxy stems from his second marriage, when Hanks married actress Rita Wilson, who has Bulgarian-Greek roots and is Orthodox.
“When you come to the decision in your life that you need to get married and have children, it is important at this stage to decide on the spiritual heritage of your future family,” says the actor, adding that his heritage is Greek Orthodoxy. “I got married in the same church where my wife was baptized. My children were baptized in the same font as my wife. This makes our family part of the larger universal Church,” Tom Hanks emphasizes, noting that he is aware of “how important and wonderful it is to be able to go to church and reflect on the important questions that Orthodoxy asks you, and on the answers, which it offers."
The leader of the cult group Depeche Mode, David Gahan, has been Orthodox since he connected his life with the Greek Jennifer Skliaz.
Celebrity comedian James Belushi is an Orthodox Albanian who regularly attends a Serbian Orthodox Church parish in Los Angeles, but is an outspoken supporter of Kosovo's independence and recently received Albanian citizenship.
In 2005, the famous director Emir Kusturica converted to Orthodoxy under the name Nemanja. He claims that his distant ancestors were Orthodox Serbs, and thus his adoption of Christianity was an act of returning to his roots. According to Emir, a Christian should try to make the world more harmonious, and this is precisely the goal that Kusturica pursues in his films.
Hollywood actor Jonathan Jackson was born into an Adventist family, but a few years ago. According to the actor, “he wanted to be with those who don’t say a lot of words, but give priority to prayer.”
The famous American serial actor Murray Abraham also professes Orthodoxy. The actor’s father and grandfather were Orthodox. The latter, by the way, was a famous singer in Syria.
The legendary Bob Marley, a year before his death, on May 4, 1980, was baptized in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston and took the name Berhane Sellasie (in Amharic - Light of the Holy Trinity).
On the occasion of the Nativity of Christ, we decided to tell several stories of famous people for whom faith is not an empty phrase.
Basta
A year ago, an entertaining photograph appeared on the Internet: three boys standing in a church, one of whom was identified as Vasily Vakulenko, now known as the rapper Basta. It turns out that the musician served as a sexton in a church as a child - he helped the priest during divine services, rang bells, and sang in the church choir.Advertisement hidden. It is not surprising that Basta is well versed in religious issues, which he vividly discussed with the winner of the fourth season of the TV show “The Voice,” Hieromonk Photius.
Vakulenko was born into a military family, and in Soviet times, attending services and talking about the church was, to put it mildly, not encouraged. But now Vasya regularly goes to church, where he participates in liturgies. Fans of the rapper spent a long time discussing the recent photos of Basta in the vestments of a subdeacon. It turns out that he was invited to serve the Divine Liturgy at the St. Paul Cathedral by his childhood friend, Bishop Mitrofan, who was just celebrating his birthday.
Nikolay Valuev
For most of his life, boxer and State Duma deputy Nikolai Valuev regularly visits the temple. Nikolai’s great-grandfather was also involved in gilding church utensils and temple domes, and the father of the future athlete was secretly baptized in Soviet times. Nicholas himself underwent the sacrament after reading a large number of historical books about Russia.
“It is Orthodoxy that our country should be grateful for its structure and borders,” argues Valuev. “I realized: this is the real thing, everything has been invented a long time ago.” Probably, subconsciously my soul searched for the truth and found it. It's like with a sports career: you are not born a champion, but acquire skills over many years. It’s the same with faith: it grows stronger as you get to know it better.
Ten years ago Valuev married his wife Galina, and now he happily takes his children to Sunday school.
Sergey Zverev
The “king of glamor” Sergei Zverev also treats faith with special trepidation. He is often seen at evening services in the monastery, which is next to the stylist’s house. And recently, Sergei even took on the mission of restoring an ancient church in Buryatia.
“I try to always find time for prayer,” Zverev admits. - And God helps me. There was such a story. My uncle became seriously ill: he had cancer. And so I went to church every day, prayed for him, ordered a sorokoust - this is when a prayer service is read for 40 days. Believe it or not, the prayers helped, because after that my uncle recovered. A real miracle! In the Buryat village of Guzhiry, only the walls remain of a beautiful church, once shining with golden domes... But, thank God, at least they have been preserved. Thanks to this, I am sure we will be able to restore the temple.
Nikita Mikhalkov
The famous actor and director often emphasizes that he completely agrees with the wise Russian philosopher Vasily Rozanov, who said: “I am not interested in a person without faith at all.”The master has been restoring churches for many years and helping in the publication of Orthodox literature. An important point in his program when traveling around the country is always a visit to the local temple. But most often Mikhalkov visits the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Aksinino, which is literally a couple of kilometers from his estate on Nikolina Gora.
According to parishioners, the director comes to this church every year for the night Christmas service. And then he leads the festive breaking of the fast on the parish territory. In the church itself there is even a special Mikhalkov place where an eminent parishioner stands during services.
Mikhalkov regularly comes to Diveevo. This summer I attended a liturgy there in honor of the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov. The service was led by Patriarch Kirill. After the service, Nikita Sergeevich said that he asked God for people to remember the mistakes of the past and not make them in the future.
“I firmly believe that any person, trying to understand who he is and where he comes from, will inevitably come to faith,” says Nikita Sergeevich.
Alexander Mikhailov
“My grandfather, an officer of the White Guard, exiled to Transbaikalia, raised me until I was six years old,” the famous actor told Express Gazeta. - Before his death, he told me his parting words: “Remember, Shurka! Love Russia and, if necessary, give your life for it. Give your heart to people. Soul - to the Lord God. Save your honor!” I didn’t understand my grandfather’s words then, I broke free and ran away. But years passed, and I remembered this commandment. Without it you will not be human. I live according to Orthodox canons: I have never cut down a single tree in my life, I have not kicked a single mongrel. In general, I really love this rootless breed of dogs. You need to be a strong person. This is exactly what my friend and spiritual brother Igor Talkov was like. Even after his tragic death, I very often visited his mother, Aunt Olya.
Alexander Yakovlevich goes to church with his family
Andrey Merzlikin
The star of the film “Boomer” began his journey to faith ten years ago. The actor suddenly felt that he could no longer keep to himself everything that he had to endure during the years of his stormy youth. But I couldn’t pour out my soul to my family and friends - I was afraid of condemnation. A solution was found unexpectedly: one of her acquaintances once told Merzlikin about her spiritual father. The actor decided to go to the temple:- I went to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Shaking on the train, standing in a long line for confession - and finally approached the monk, Andrei spoke about his first church experience. - He started to say something spontaneously. And he suddenly interrupts me: “First time at confession?” - "Yes". I still remember how passionately he began to scold me. I stood there, I didn’t understand anything, and he literally kicked me out of the temple with a scream.
Patriarch KIRILL greeted the actor at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior at a reception on the occasion of the holiday of Slavic literature and culture (2015). Photo: vk.com/a.merzlikin73
Offended by the priest’s rudeness, the actor decided that he would no longer set foot in this place. But on Christmas day he again found himself in church with his mother. This time everything was different:
“During the service, I saw an elderly priest making a sign to me with his hand: they say, come,” recalls Merzlikin. - It turned out that I was invited to confession. Father turned out to be experienced and began to speak for me himself. I could barely hold back my tears and realized with relief that the burden that had been hanging on my soul for so long had suddenly disappeared.
Since then, Andrei began to often attend services and, whenever possible, participate in church sacraments. The actor found himself a confessor, who later married him to his wife Anna and baptized their four children. Now Merzlikin himself serves as an altar server in his free time.
