Valaam Monastery is one of the most famous monastic settlements in Russia. It’s a place of beauty and spiritual retreat.
In this documentary from RT, a British reporter takes a trip to the island, interviewing monks and pilgrims alike about why they live in or visit this remote monastic settlement.
You’ll see some of the sights, get a sense for the communal life, and even hear from a former atheist who embraced Orthodox Christianity after he was miraculously healed of a pain in his leg and found that he could somehow read Old Church Slavonic, even though he had never studied it before.
Let us know if you’ve visited Valaam — or if you would like to!
Posted by the Orthodox Christian Network. You can find the Orthodox Christian Network on Google+.
Seraphim Danckaert is Director of Mission Advancement at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary. He holds an M.Div. from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and is a Ph.D. candidate in theology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
