that would exclude it and groups of volunteers that come and go throughout the year for the space folks this is a journey for the soul a pilgrimage. this is the place that has been consecrated to god for almost a thousand of years. people came here twenty some years ago it's. the master of life on this island. they believing that. christ is the 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 fuel the love of christ working. girls will divide into groups now so we need about. how many people do you need seven seven people to choose one two three four five. six seven seven people good the rest will split into two one hopeful go to the front of the other to the up a god who is already being to the up a god and you know that we're. going to go to the upper garden i'm allergic to any most can go to the farm and me 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 catherine household she doesn't know you are careful but i this. that and the you're not on your hand she'll sit on your hand. most that it's a bit stressful for them. but i'm sure on the neck like this ok so it would. finally be like having that wattle straight this one's gone that. far away from me or try this. so. what's that like this in the well i'm the same to find on vellum and they're very kind to me to see how kind they are you do do do do do do you know joe could go through.

a long special eggs. see what the fuss is all about. almost one two three. whether it's the saintly atmosphere or something in their feed that's certainly fantastic layers two gigantic seconds here it's. ok very much one and. that's if one two three four five. one set done. 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 moms and awaiting 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 where 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 who works 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 outward next people who came here to find. brotherhood but of course there is some percentage that come here looking for their way in life. than i take them for

a walk in the woods. tried to know what they were accounts for help them find their 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. visit the first time we came here with disabled children for many years before we used to take the kids on trips who 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 all arms nature in this place turned out to be totally unique and it's not

just the nature here that works. him 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 they just sit on the shore of lot agoglia and watch the storms the splashing water and they say thank you for choosing that you beautiful place. it was simply amazing. 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. but i've forgotten my past it's no good remembering it. and he's a humvee meant to have a room when you catch something to. pull it into the sure. be. who.

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

law and then name. then all you've got to do is remember seeing yeah yeah. you. sure you. want to vomit up ok let's have a good. amount of volunteer you know. cynics saying you know. i live. in the midst of a game out here oh girl you know. you're on a case of homicidal. sin. when you said he wouldn't be able to do it you know and sometimes sometimes it works and. sometimes. work at the mall a street takes is all around the island 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 hermitage is where only men are allowed to enter the grounds. the russians call these places. and there are among the holiest centers of. 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 tough and repetitive 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 but 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. it's

. very hard to take that. once again. by adding that fact that there. plenty . of.

what defines a country's success. faceless figures of economic growth. for a factual standard of living. right on the scene. first rate. and i think the church. on a record twitter. and instagram. to

be in the know. on my. 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. while the skilled workers cuts 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 to it. when i came here last year it was seen approximately the same condition. here

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

for forty years it had no proper roof it wasn't looked after properly and still it enjoyed all these conditions means that the cathedral was made really very well it was built with a huge margin for safety because the angel will stand like this for many years to come and 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. don't. you. know. so there are. so us law for going to. and then in the.

form. of the board. or the board. room. leak or 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 effets developing before their eyes. so it's so real here it's hard to explain everything is so natural this is the way people should live i guess. you know what it was because adults 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 i need sippin 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 when they know that there will be a lot of drug dealers and alcohol and then to 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 they should know how to find the way to this place. walking around the lawn is like 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 true turn to the island again and again

and it's not just adults who experience it. my mom first brought me here before i started going to scone i liked it very much and it has become my third place now why is it your favorite place i like it 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 they're not you know what you want to do when you grow up to be a monk what you want to be a monk why it's just what's in my heart i can't explain why i feel this way. and there and live here yes i want to live on what he actually wants at this point is not to be among but here once he wants a purpose here once something pure something which dignified him. something which speaks of him as a as a man as

a human being people became knights and soldiers for the same reason i would certainly encourage him. for the use its journey to the brotherhood here was more unusual than most after tending university in st petersburg he spent fifteen years living in ministering in the us before retiring to villa he says each monk must end his place in the monastery. special pastor so the monster will decide the whether you're prepared to become a novice and you'll become officially a novice on the part of the brotherhood then spend some time that way and a few years or so or maybe months later if you still do decide to embrace this kind of wife and people see you. as a benefits to the community here you'll be time church and perhaps even are they

and so the priest of. the monastic community 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 whom 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 who died for the faith and for the mother. even if the life of 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 the lomas 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 can he lead 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. this an archipelago of small islands just waiting to be explored and the landscape always provides some great photos. but many of them secrets are only revealed in the churches themselves. bell ringing here is a real and the company ologists trained 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 the lambs proud musical tradition displayed in its full glory during the solemn services.

themselves and others the board i think we should fill our lives with as many rich and diverse impressions as possible today i might well up in two months i'll be working somewhere else in such a way your worldview builds up on different things or you can develop yourself and create your personality. that presumed 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're a me and phone my laws then you'll go to heaven what if if you don't then you'll go to how.

we have to move on in this life here you get some kind of luggage that you will later you take with here into the city. we have to move on and make plans both families and realizing your family what you've learned here there will. the wool over. the moving back to real life is easier to some than for others but 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 here that these are the same kids that arrived on the island just a few weeks ago that at least for a while belong this way to its magic and brought a little joy into their lives. to come make this moment any less painful. perhaps the monks of old settled here because they felt there was something otherworldly about. that it was always a place with special energy and a from nature or from something more divine. for the pilgrims and volunteers who journey here one visit is rarely enough and many will return to the. place with the power to heal the spirits.

war is probably the most complex and difficult human activity. of all. locked up. in the phenomenon of friendly fire probably extends back to the invention of gunpowder. kill a bunch of people who don't know what they're up their families there are of us people. reading. this summer shoots my brother in the leg not intentional because of it because it was ny times

four in the morning even the best even the mesh shoulders. are going to make mistakes does this whole idea of brotherhood an author and camaraderie in this sense it was in this context it has absolutely no place. choose your language. we could only say still sometimes. choose that it's the consensus to. choose the opinions that you think are great to . choose the stories that impact the life choose access to often. this are the poorest. of the big corporations it's.

leaders who are big corporations. have to. develop social programs goes to pay back debts. and so every year they would borrow money. and they would use that same amount of money to pay back. money. is on a. one hundred twenty three days. through two hundred. fourteen thousand people or sixty five thousand. in a record setting trip. on

our. current. economic.

a scandal in scandinavia. to be in on the spying game helping the n.s.a. snoop on the russian leadership. religious officials played for action to protect syria's christians where a group of nuns is still being held by rebel forces plus. the no doubt where the united states stands on all of this. america weighs in on ukraine's ongoing crisis supporting the opposition those protesters give president an ultimatum. i.