Happy feast of Saint Nicholas to you new calendarites out there!

A few days ago, Russia Today published a documentary in English about Valaam by British journalist James Brown: “Valaam: Soul journey.” I recommend it. I have posted about Valaam before, but this video will make you want to spend some time at Russia’s famous northern monastery. If it were not so close to the arctic, I could happily live there—a pristine lake, gardens, forests, wildlife, pilgrims, beautiful temples, Russian bells, superb singing—and sanctified chickens! I bet that they have holy goats, too! My ideal place—if it weren’t so cold in the winter. The video also displays contemporary Anglophone expertise in media emotionalism; the treatment of the orphans’ visit to Valaam is quite touching. I wish those kids well.

Note that a few RT news segments interrupt the documentary in the middle (from 12:44 until 15:21). Just skip over those parts (which are news items typically done by disaffected Brits and Americans), and make sure to watch the rest of the video.

As of now, I cannot figure out how to embed the video. Should Russia Today post it on their YouTube channel, or if Mr. Brown makes it available on his MyDocumentaryChannel, I may embed it here.

Update: I found the video in two parts on PressValaam:

Have a good weekend.

Posted by Joseph on Friday, December 6, A.D. 2013
Religion | Orthodoxy • Permalink