Actress Juliette Binoche Acclaims Saint Paisios the Athonite and Byzantine Iconography In Award Speech

The 65th Thessaloniki Film Festival welcomed two of the most prolific stars of contemporary cinema, Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, on Friday, November 1st 2024, at the Olympion theater. The two renowned actors received the Festival’s honorary Golden Alexander award prior to the screening of the monumental film The English Patient (1996), which marked their second collaboration (their first was in 1992's Wuthering Heights) and garnered Juliette Binoche an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Ralph Fiennes a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

The thank you speech of Juliette Binoche was particularly interesting for Greek Orthodox Christians, because she opened with the following words:

"Your skies and seas are an inspiration in my life - in our lives. Your words and thoughts through Sophocles, Homer, the great philosophers and the saints, especially Saint Paisios, are feeding my path and heart. Thank you for what you give to the world (applause). I had the most amazing day today in Thessaloniki (applause). Visiting your monasteries, walking in your streets, feeling your stones and trees and eating your bread, fish and vegetables and admiring your Byzantine Treasures, like icons. What a beautiful journey!"

 

A few years ago in Greece a former MP Petros Tatsopoulos caused a major uproar when he publicly mocked a Greek tv series based on the life of Saint Paisios the Athonite as a work of fiction, since it portrays him working miracles and having visions, which he does not believe in, and he criticized such depictions as keeping Greeks in the Middle Ages. Now, just a few days ago, a renowned foreign actress from France received a prestigious award in Greece, and not only acclaimed Saint Paisios, but put him and other Orthodox Christian saints in succession with Sophocles and Homer, and with them spoke of her admiration for the monasteries of Thessaloniki and the treasures of Byzantium, especially its iconography. Essentially she sees the ancient Greek spirit and Orthodox Christianity are an unbroken historical continuity that proclaims the greatness of Greece to the world. And this isn't just an ordinary actress saying this, but Juliette Binoche is the first actress to win the European "Best Actress Triple Crown" (winning the Best Actress awards at the Berlin, Cannes & Venice film festivals), as well as the previously mentioned Academy Award, among many others.

Chet Hanks, Son of Tom Hanks, Talks About Converting from Atheism After Being "Touched by God"

Actor and musician Chester Hanks, better known as Chet and the son of Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, described his conversion from atheism after being touched by the hand of God.

Hanks, who has starred in recurring roles on TV shows such as “Empire,” made an appearance on the “IMPAULSIVE Clips” podcast, where he opened up about a time in his teens that his famous parents sent him away to a wilderness camp because of his bad behavior.

English Author Paul Kingsnorth Baptized in the Romanian Orthodox Church

 

A few weeks ago I was sent a link to the OAQ page on author Paul Kingsnorth's website, where he writes the following:

I have never been a scientific materialist. My suspicion that there is more to the world than modernity will allow for has informed my sensibility since I was a child, and was the backdrop to all my environmental activism and writing.

Over the last decade, I have been on an increasing determined search for Truth which – as for so many lost Western people – has taken me to all quarters. For five years I studied and practiced Zen Buddhism; I’m still grateful for the insights that accorded me, but there was something missing. In search of what that something might be, I explored Daoism, mythology, Sufism, traditionalism, Alexandrian Wicca and all sorts of other bits and pieces. They all taught me something, but not enough.

Then, in 2020, as the world was turned upside down, so was I. Unexpectedly, and initially against my will, I found myself being pulled determinedly towards Christianity. It’s a long story, which I might tell one day. Suffice it to say that I started the year as an eclectic eco-pagan with a long-held, unformed ache in my heart, and ended it a practicing Christian, the ache gone and replaced by the thing that, all along, I turned out to have been looking for. In January 2021 I was baptised and received into the Eastern Orthodox Church. I don’t know where the path leads from here, but at last I know how to walk it.

French Actor Gerard Depardieu Sort of Converts to Orthodox Christianity

Famous French actor Gerard Depardieu, who has had multiple religious conversions in his life, has now been baptized an Orthodox Christian.

The 71-year-old star was baptized in a ceremony last Friday, 4 September, at the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris. There were 30 people present at the ceremony. Media reports also state that he became godparent of a girl baptized on the same day as himself.

“Under the solemn chants of the choir and the prayers of the officiants, Gerard Depardieu had his body and head sprayed abundantly with water, failing however to be fully submerged, as is the custom,” Valeurs Actuelles reported. From photos taken during the ceremony, it looks like the actor had to sit for most of the service.

Legendary Lebanese Singer Fairuz Seen as a Symbol of Unity in the Aftermath of the Beirut Disaster

On September 1st French President Emmanuel Macron met the legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz on his second visit to Lebanon after the devastating explosion at the Beirut port last month.

Fairuz, born Nouhad Haddad, is one of the most celebrated singers in the Middle East, and a devout Greek Orthodox Christian.

Many see the 85-year-old artist as a symbol of unity, amidst the disastrous aftermath of the 4 August port blast which claimed the lives of at least 190 people and left over 300,000 displaced.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and His Orthodox Christian Faith

Much has been written about Giannis Antetokounmpo, the so-called "Greek Freak," from his humble beginnings in Greece to his enormous success as a professional basketball player in the United States. Little if anything however has been reported about the Orthodox Christian faith of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Though I cannot speak for his faith now, as it seems to not be reported on, though there are positive rumors (ex. he and his brother became godfathers in June 2018), below is some information from his background.

 

Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo are the parents of Giannis, who migrated to Greece from Nigeria in search of better opportunities for their family. Settling in Athens, they gave their children Greek names, a Greek education and raised them as Greek Orthodox Christians.

 

Sepolia is a neighborhood north of the center of Athens, Greece. There is located the Church of Saint Meletios, with an older church now in ruins on one side of the street and a newer church on the other side of the street, both bearing the same name. It was in the newer church where Giannis Antetokounmpo first started playing basketball, and it was here where his spiritual father, Fr. Evangelos Ghanas, served as parish priest. It was also here where Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brother Alexandros were baptized Orthodox Christians on 28 October 2012, when Giannis was 18 years old, after attending weekly catechism classes.

 

Fr. Evangelos Ghanas

According to Fr. Evangelos, Giannis chose the date for his baptism on the 28th of October on purpose, because it is also a national holiday in Greece known as Ohi Day. He also says that it was Giannis who kept his family attached to the parish, because it was here that he attended catechism classes that shaped his character.

Fr. Evangelos says that many of the children in the neighborhood, because they grew up poor, also grew up very angry, but Giannis was different: "I never remember him having a grumble or a sense of being wronged by life and being aggressive towards society. I have also distinguished this in his mother, a woman with a good soul. What I cannot forget was John's gaze. I find it difficult to describe it. There was an innocence but also a hope. No fear and no resentment. His mother wanted him to be present in the parish, not as a man seeking help to overcome economic problems but as a person who feels he is a living member of an equal community."

Church of St. Meletios in Sepolia

Giannis fondly remembers his catechism class, and how it helped shape his character, as he stated in an interview: "There was a man at my Catechism school, who helped my household a lot. I cannot tell you how much he helped us, and he knew that when you give, you should not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. This is why I help people. This cannot be taught in a class."

Giannis with his catechism class

He also has and maintains a great love and respect for Greece, as is well known. One particular example of this was shown one day when some Greek-Americans presented to him a Greek flag and asked for his autograph on it, to which he responded: "Not on the flag, kids!"

Greek Pop Singer and Eurovision Contestant Baptized Orthodox

Josephine Wendel, better known as simply Josephine, is a Greek pop singer. She is mostly known for her participation in the Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Dancing Night" where she got the 4th place.

Wendel was born on 22 August 1990 in Athens. Her mother is the Greek singer Margarita Venti, who is of Lebanese origin, and her father is German. She spent the first years of her life in the United States. Later, she moved for a while to Germany and then returned to Greece with her family. When she settled in Greece, she went to American-Greek School. While studying Marketing-Management at Deree College, she would upload on Facebook cover songs of famous artists, which helped her be discovered in 2013.

Jonathan Jackson Offers his Emmy Award to Mount Athos Monastery

Popular Hollywood star Jonathan Jackson visited Holy Mount Athos together with his 8-year-old-son on Tuesday 28 August 2018, to offer one of his Emmy Awards.

During his five day visit to Mount Athos, Jackson spent most of his time at the Vatopaidi Monastery to celebrate the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, but also visited the Xenophontos and Simonopetra Monasteries.

The Conversion of French Photographer Frère Jean (Gérard Gascuel) to Orthodoxy

March 22, 2011
Interfax

Photographer Gérard Gascuel who worked with Marcel Marceau and Salvador Dali and now is Hieromonk Gerasimos says he decided to become a monk after hearing an Athonite monk singing.

"I was 33 when the editor in chief of an influential Japanese magazine sent me to Greece to make a report about the life of Athonite monks," Father Gerasimos was quoted as saying by the Rossijskaya Gazeta daily on Tuesday.

Bruce Chatwin and His Discovery of Orthodoxy

By Petros Panayiotopoulos

One of the most enigmatic and contradictory personalities of the last century, the writer Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989), came to have a close relationship with the truth of Orthodoxy, mainly through the attraction he experienced towards the life of the monks of the Holy Mountain. A constant traveler, a nomad student of nomads, he found in Eastern Christianity many of the answers to issues which troubled him throughout his life, and especially in its last stages when he suffered from AIDS.

Japanese-American Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is Baptized Orthodox Christian

November 12, 2015

Russian Times

The soul of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, best known for the part of evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat movies, has been captured by Russia – he has apparently decided to be baptized into the Orthodox Church.

Tagawa, an American actor of Japanese descent, who took part in a new Russian film called The Priest-San, decided to abandon his faith and become a true follower of Jesus Christ’s Orthodox teachings, Interfax reports.

The news was spread via Facebook by one of his colleagues, Ivan Okhlobystin, an actor and prominent Russian religious figure. He shared a photo of Tagawa taken with a giant cross, probably snapped during filming not far from Moscow.

“I’m happy to say that… after deep and thorough consideration Cary Tagawa, who played the part of the Japanese Orthodox priest in our new film The Priest-San, will take the Sacrament of Holy Baptism,” his post goes.

“I can identify with the spirituality of Ivan (Okhlobystin) and Pyotr (Mamonov), I am deeply religious myself. You cannot just grasp the essence of the Russian Orthodox Church with its centuries of history. Getting to know it takes time, and it's a job for the heart rather than the mind. When I had first come to Russia I had very little time to get into the character. So I visited a number of Russian cathedrals in Yaroslavl and Rostov. Simply being inside had a very powerful effect on me,” Tagawa said in an interview to Kinopoisk.ru in 2013 when the shooting in Russia was done.

Tagawa also expressed his intention to become a Russian citizen at a press conference, according to Orthodox news website pravmir.ru.

“I’m not following the new trend,” he said, most likely alluding to American boxer Roy Jones Jr and French actor Gerard Depardieu. “I follow my heart. There are no easy decisions either in America, or anywhere else in the world. This will be a new challenge for me.”

The film, soon to hit screens in Russia, tells the story of a Japanese priest, who leaves Japan due to Yakuza wars and heads for a small Russian town to help its locals fight rampant corruption. The movie is the latest project from the "Orthodox" producing studio.

(He was baptized by Metropolitan Hilarion in the Cathedral of the Joy of All Who Sorrow. His baptismal name is Panteleimon.)

The Orthodoxy of Tom Hanks

An interesting article recently appeared regarding Tom Hanks and his happiness in being Greek Orthodox (see article below). But how Orthodox is Tom Hanks? Though he is not very vocal about his Orthodox faith, we can get a few glimpses of his Orthodoxy through his interviews and many successful films.

Tom Hanks was an adherent of a number of different Christian denominations while growing up, including Catholic, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), Nazarene, and a Fundamentalist Christian group. His jump from one faith to another mainly was due to the various relationships his divorced parents got into that left him with a very troubled and confused childhood. From an interview published in George magazine, April 1998:

Musicians Who Are Converts to Orthodox Christianity

I am fairly often asked about certain famous people who are Orthodox Christians, and for most there is obscure information on the internet. There are many musicians who are Orthodox, in one form or another, especially those who were born into the Faith (one list is here). Questions usually revolve around converts however, and alleged converts. Here is some info I have come up with, to answer some of those questions.

Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode A Convert to Orthodoxy

I remember years ago reading somewhere that Dave Gahan, lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the famous Alternative Rock and New Wave band Depeche Mode, converted to Orthodoxy. This surprised me, as I've been a big fan of the band for many years, but also because the band is well-known for being controversial, especially when it comes to issues of religion. For example, 'Blasphemous Rumours' (see here) is a dark yet wry look at the misery in the world and what part religion plays in this. Also, probably their biggest hit, listed at #368 by Rolling Stone magazine in their 2006 list of "500 Greatest Songs Ever", is the catchy song 'Personal Jesus' (see here) about how in love relationships we can become Jesus figures to our partners.

Biography of the Hermit and Former Actor Jozef Van den Berg

Jozef [Joseph] Van den Berg (Beers, 22 August 1949 ) is a Dutch puppeteer, playwright and actor, who nowadays lives as a hermit.

Famous Dutch Actor Turned Orthodox Hermit

The Dutchman actor and puppeteer Jozef van den Berg was born on 22 August 1949, and at the height of his fame he abandoned all (family, friends, money, fame and career) and he became an Orthodox hermit in a hut in the village Neerijnen in the Netherlands. This was after he met Elder Sophrony in Essex, Elder Porphyrios in Athens and Elder Paisios on Mount Athos in the years 1989 and 1990.