on. the windswept journey to villa can be an act of penance in itself. doesn't all for excitement or adventure get many come here for months at a time some never leave it all they say that the same system. this is one of the holiest sites of the russian orthodox church home to a thriving ministry the lay community that works with it and groups of volunteers

that come and go throughout the year for the faithful this is a journey for the soul the pilgrimage. this is the plays that has been consecrated to god for almost a thousand of years. people came here twenty some years ago and so stablish the mastic life on this island. they do and believing that. christ is their only source of true joy and happiness in the life. that understanding penetrated into everything that surrounds us in the monastery and.

people i suppose feel that you all the love of christ working. girls will divide into groups now so we need about. how many people do you need seven seven people who really choose one two three four five. six seven seven people good the rest will split into two one hundred four go to follow the other to the op a girl who's already been to the upper garden we bring you that we're. going to go to the upper garden i'm allergic to any mother can go to the farm and enemy will go to the farm cows. but comes of along with a group of volunteers men and women of all ages who are here to give something back to god and in this case it means hard work this is the middle of the busy tourist

season and there's plenty to do down on the farm. i mean coming into the chicken coop like into the lion's den. thank you so much i. like your careful careful household she doesn't know you're careful but i this came on the you're not on your hand she'll sit on your hand. of state it's a bit stressful for them. but i'm sure in the next week like this ok so we. finally like having that what'll start this one has gone. far away from there try this. so. there we go mother what's that like this on the wall i'm the sanctified on vellum and they're very kind to me to see how kind they are you

do do do do do do go good go through. a lot special eggs. see what the fuss is all about. the most one two three. whether it's the save me atmosphere or something in their feed they send me fantastic layers to gigantic chickens here and then. you very much one and. that's if one two three or four to. one set. only another seven hundred seventy five to go. the volunteers come from a huge variety of different backgrounds svetlana is a model for moscow but she's not afraid of getting a hamster well it's probably not normal that

a girl like me came here instead of going to turkey or enjoying summer in a beach town where but here i am living with mom's and waiting someone else's garden there is the bit there are other people that look at themselves and at life in a completely different way and they're not held back really you know we're all here . little answer for me is a place of strong spiritual power i've wanted to come here for a long time now there is a possibility i can become a volunteer. here and work for the glory of god and how priests or this place. there are common threads that bind many of the people here together and the group also becomes like a surrogate family. mostly these out worth of people who came here to find. brotherhood but of course there is some percentage that. here looking for their way in life. than by taking them for

a walk in the woods. try to know what i where i come from help them find the answer . many people simply come for the islands outstanding natural beauty. edged by rugged shorelines and covered with lush greenery this is truly a tranquil get away but there are some visitors to the long term who have no families to return to his trip to the island is a welcome break from a difficult life. leaker's ill as new york runs a camp for children from local orphanages who also have learning difficulties for many it's the first time they've spent nights away from the city. because it the first time we came here with disabled children for many years before we used to take the kids on trips which did that because we understood that nature does children a world of good and that you were decided to try working with children with the

help of violence nature in this place turned out to be totally unique and it's not just the nature here that works. here you should bear in mind that these children are from a correctional orphanage they are believed to be unable to go to an ordinary school because of some mental disability and in fact this isn't true they are not mentally retarded whatsoever. that these are the first kids that just sit on the shore of ladder got there and watch the storms the splashing water and they say thank you for choosing such a beautiful place. it was simply amazing. if they feel it they can feel the beauty. apparently they don't have good feelings in their lives. hardly any. fifteen year old denise is just one of the youngsters reaping the benefits this is his second time on the island and he says

it's changed his life but it's. rocky road that's brought him here. i can't say that i had a good childhood. my dad was an alcoholic my mom was too mom ended up in prison that's how i ended up in an orphanage. everything changes as time goes by. at the moment i have no grudge against anyone my life has become so much better. when i forgotten my past it's no good remembering it. and he's ahem the moon to have a room when you catch something to. pull it into the sure. who.

ducks. yeah. oh it is. this eerie city. yes it love. some other thing you. did you did you. know i was staying in the volunteers dormitory normally men and women are kept segregates it's both the old get together is allowed especially for a meet and greet session. everyone says where they're from where they've come to

belong and then name. then all you've got to do is remember seeing here year. you. want to vomit up ok let's have a good. amount of volunteer in the. cynics saying you know. alexander let the message game out here oh do you know. it only because of homicidal. sin. i'm going you said he wouldn't be able to do it you know and sometimes sometimes it works. sometimes. work at

the mall a street takes is all around the only lint along roads that people have travelled here for more than one hundred fifty years. although most of the brothers live in the center of the ministry a small selection choose to isolate themselves from the rest of the community retiring to hermitages where only men are allowed to enter the grounds. the russians call these places. and they're among the holiest centers of the law. each one is way off the beaten track and for some of the volunteers. the journey to gold has been anything but straight forward to. the book i used to be an atheist and believed in nothing but science logic and facts i was looking for truth everywhere i followed all the popular fashions of people write books and make films about them but to use it only after twenty years of searching did i become an orthodox christian off the printing of the coffin of a famous russian saint i discovered that many things have changed because first of all the pain in my leg that i'd suffered for ages had disappeared and last but not

least i discovered the ability to read in the old church slavonic even though i'd never learned how to do that. those who've been here more than once say you have to put the time and to understand it fully that living and working here is the only way to really tap into its energy the job is to live but none of the volunteers complain everyone is confident of a spiritual rewards and happy that they're working to reestablish a face that was so persecuted joining the soviet union. is the only branch that has managed to keep the tradition alive that's not changed since the time of the apostles but maybe that's why it was preserved the bread of life the jesus christ spoke of the living would that's why russia is experiencing a spiritual rise now. over

time if you. did you know the price is the only industry specifically mention in the constitution and. that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy back allmers. in fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is the corporate takeover of our government and out crass static. we've been hijacked why a handful of transnational corporations that will profit by destroying what our founding fathers one still just my job market and on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually going on in the world we go beyond identifying the problem try rational debate and real discussion critical issues facing and if i ever feel ready to join the movement then welcome to it.

i know c.n.n. the m s n b c news have taken some not slightly but the fact is i admire their commitment to cover all sides of the story just in case one of them happens to be accurate. that was funny but it's close in for the truth and might think. it's because one whole attention and the mainstream media works side by side the joke is actually on here because the people . at our teenagers we have a different pretty. good though because the news of the world just is not this funny i'm not laughing dammit i'm not how. you guys talk to the jokes i will hand over the stuff that i've got to.

blonds pride and joy is its transfiguration of the savior cathedral and the sound of its bells st tourists pilgrims and volunteers to worship or to work. ok let's work for the glory of god. all the skilled workers cuts hammer and replace the volunteers keep supplies coming and clean up the mess it's a massive job the cathedral is seventy six meters high and in some areas they're having to remove more than one hundred twenty years of it. when they came here last year it was sin approximately the same condition. here

it's a long process this is serious work and it's very expensive and requires a high degree of professionalism with what i was surprised when they invited volunteers to work here at best their trusted with work like this. is it enough or do we need more you know what if i think it's enough. you'll have to carry it let's go. to his or heavy. i'll take it. to waste has to go somewhere and. are responsible for getting it off the scaffolding as quickly as possible we need to take the direct route. the bucket it's probably a transport system but it would. for

a career for forty years it had no proper roof it wasn't looked after properly and still it enjoyed all these conditions that any means that the cathedral was made really very well it was built with a huge margin for safety that was up by cathedral will stand like this for many years to come like right now we're trying to save what's been preserved this work should be done and it should be preserved this is truly part of the national heritage. so. we can then.

the board. or. board. the leaker into a team of volunteers want their children to leave alone with a new perspective also the work they do here fosters a spirit of cooperation and they can see the efforts developing before their eyes. so real here it's hard to explain everything is so natural this is the way people should live i guess. you know what. we wanted to show these children that there is a place where they can ask for help in case something really bad happens to them they had to stand completely that bad things will happen to them in the future. they're perfectly aware of what life has in store for them and they know that there

will be a lot of drug dealers and alcohol and then the stand how hard it is to resist those things so it's very important for them to know that there is a place where they're always welcome that they should know how to find the way to this place. around stepping back into a different age and it's easy to see why so many regard it as a sanctuary away from the real world. it seems to have a physical and emotional energy which the monks say is a manifestation of god's grace. it's had such a profound effect on so many that there's even a syndrome named after it's. the compulsion trip turned to the island again and again and it's not just adults who experience it. my mom first brought

me here started going to school i liked it very much and it's become my third place now is it your favorite place i like and because of its weather because of the monastery it feels so good in here they've got a farm it's nice to leave people are very kind and you know what you want to do when you grow up to be among you want to be a monk why it's just what's in my heart i can't explain why i feel this way. then live hit yes i want to live on balaam what he actually wants at this point is not to be a monk but here once he wants a purpose he once something pure something which dignifies him. something which speaks of him as a man as a human being people became knights and soldiers for the same reason. i would

certainly encourage him. for the use it's just an it's of the brotherhood hair was more unusual than most altar tending university in st petersburg he spent fifteen years living in ministering in the us before retiring to villa he says each monk must earn his place in the monastery. spiritual pastors of the monitor will just say the word or you're prepared to become a novice and you'll become officially a novice on the part of the brotherhood and spend some time that way and the few years or maybe months later if you still decide to embrace this kind of flight and people see your. as a benefit to the community you'll be time sure and perhaps of on earth things to the priests for. the monastic community here has been rebuilt in the last twenty

years period during the soviet union when the area served as a mental asylum now there are around a hundred brothers living here permanently but before the russian revolution of nine hundred seventeen there were more than a thousand some of them left a legacy down the ages. this quiet scene is called the smolensk skeet and it's famous in particular because of one monk efraim he took it upon himself to pray for the souls of dead soldiers and he took his work so seriously that he dug his own grave and every night he would lie in his own coffin. and ever since then the chapel has been dedicated for the souls of those died for the faith and for the mother. even if the life for the extreme self-sacrifice doesn't appeal it is at least possible to follow in the footsteps of some of these old

saints and one of the most popular pilgrimages is to billow ms most famous. for this is the cave where saint alexander of spear lived. this is the place where alexander of spirit spent hours praying in solitude here he would make a fire is real the stones got warm and gave heat back so he could spend winters here or come he led such a righteous life that he was granted a vision of the holy trinity came to him in the form of three angels. and ordered him to go to the river spear and found a monastery there it is still functional. excursions like these

opponents of the joy of. prison archipelago of small islands just waiting to be explored and the landscape always provides some great photos. but many of the loam secrets are only revealed in the churches themselves. bell ringing here is a real and the company ologists train for years to master the difficult rhythms they need to control up to a dozen bells at once and make it look effortless. it's part of a lens proud musical tradition displayed in its full glory during the solemn services.

desert of us the border i think we should fill our lives with as many rich and diverse impressions as possible today i'm a developer in two months i'll be working somewhere else in such a way your worldview builds up on different things you can develop yourself and create your personality. the place soon this earth is like a hotel that we're only here temporarily. to hell or to have on god tests us on the earth if you me and phone my laws then you'll go to heaven what if you don't then you'll go to how.

we have to move on and there's life here and you get some kind of luggage that you will a jury take with hearing to the cd that we have to move on and make plans both families and realizing your family what you've learned here there will. the pull over. but moving back to real life is easy if the some things are others the children from lekas all finished camp have reached the end of their stay and it was time to see them off for the docks. but. it's clear to leak air that these are the same kids that arrived on the island just

a few weeks ago that at least for a while blown this way to its magic and brought a little joy into their lives. but it coming this moment any less painful. perhaps the monks of old settled here because they felt there was something otherworldly about. it it was always a place with special energy by the from nature or from something more divine. for the pilgrims and volunteers who journey here one a visit is rarely enough and many will return to the. place with the power to heal the spirits.

i'm. a society that i'm big corporation kind of can consume can do i'm the bank i take all that all about money and i'm a family pick for a politician write the laws and regulations to attack bankers coming up. here just to pledge pratt is a society. that. i would rather ask questions to people in positions of power instead of speaking on

their behalf and that's why you can find my show larry king now right here on our t.v. question for. i've got a quote for you. it's pretty tough. to wait substory. let's get this guy like you would smear about guns instead of working for the people both issues the mainstream media were pretty much on the dry bones vision. of a good run. but

i think. over by the if you go did you know the price is the only industry specifically mentioning the constitution sometimes that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy correct albus. then i go i'm sorry and on this show we would feel the picture of what's actually going on if we go beyond identifying the trunks rational debate a real discussion critical issues facing our family member go ready and join the movement then welcome to. the launch of our own washington d.c. and here's what's coming up tonight on the.