Movie Review: "Man of God" (2021) - Reviewed by Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria

As you may know from the 26th of August there began to be screened in the cinemas of Greece and Cyprus the film "Man of God", which is a film dedicated to Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis the Wonderworker.

Saint Nektarios is one of my beloved Saints and lived within the environment of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. I would like to convey my thoughts, those that were created by watching the film, because I believe that this film can give a lot of consolation and strength to the faithful in these difficult days that humanity is going through.

The film is directed by the Serbian in origin Yelena Popovic who also wrote the script. Many internationally renowned actors participated. I think that for the first time a film is presented to the Greek community that extols a Saint of the Church with equivalent seriousness and professionalism.

Movie Review: "Man of God" (2021) - Reviewed by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

I watched with interest the film "Man of God" which refers to Saint Nektarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis, founder of the Sacred Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Aegina, the production of which the Sacred Monastery of Vatopaidi from the Holy Mountain took part.

The life and conduct of Saint Nektarios, but also the miraculous charisma given to him by God, are wonderful, as well as his theological patristic training is also wonderful. His texts show the meeting of theology and pastoral care.

Watching this particular movie, the first thought that came to my mind is that our director and producers are not engaged in the projection and presentation of the elements of Orthodox tradition, but are content with presenting the various diseased elements of everyday men, with their various passions, love affairs, rivalries, violence, divorces, murders. A Serbian director, Yelena Popovic, had to come to show us that the people need to follow the healthy models which can be found in the Orthodox ecclesiastical environment.

Mikis Theodorakis on Hellenism, Orthodoxy and Modern Progressivism

On 30 March 2007 Mikis Theodorakis, who passed away today at the age of 96, presented in the Cathedral of Athens the musical composition of the Funeral Service of Saint John of Damascus.

In the press conference held the day before, Mikis Theodorakis had referred to Orthodoxy and his own faith, while he had also sharply criticized those who nowadays identify themselves as progressive by devaluing our history and our origins.

"I was a resistance fighter, a communist and at the same time a Christian, a man who believed in Orthodoxy," he had said characteristically.

Mikis Theodorakis, however, had also referred to current issues:

The First Movie About Saint Nektarios from 1969

 

On August 26th, Yelena Popovic's popular film The Man of God, which refers to Saint Nektarios, opened in cinemas in Greece. This film is primarily in English.

This brings to mind another film about the Saint from 1969, filmed in Greek, titled Saint Nektarios - The Protector of the Poor, produced by James Paris. A social drama directed by the great Grigoris Grigoriou and written by Kiki Segditsa and Antonis David, the script moves between two time periods, the modern era with flashbacks to the life of Saint Nektarios.

A Famous Greek Actor and Director Talks About His Miraculous Birth Through the Intervention of Saint Irene Chrysovalantou

On the Thursday 15 April 2021 episode of the Greek late night talk show The 2nite Show, the well-known in Greece actor and film director Renos Haralambidis talked about how his miraculous birth took place through the intervention of Saint Irene Chrysovalantou. His real first and middle name is Irenaios Chrysovalantis, which testifies to the miracle.

While his parents were Greek villagers who went to find work in Germany, they tried through various means to have a child, going to the best hospitals, and this effort lasted fourteen years. It came to the point where his mother said to his father to leave her so he can marry someone else who would be able to give him a child. He did not leave her. The truth is that she had an issue that prevented her from having a child and it was irreversible.