9 foreign celebrities who consciously converted to Orthodoxy

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On September 4, 2020, the famous French actor Gerard Depardieu converted to Orthodoxy. This is not the first time that foreign celebrities have converted to the Orthodox faith. Some do it under the influence of a loved one, others have been studying the foundations of Orthodoxy for many years and find it in the church and the liturgy to calm their souls. In our today's review - foreign stars who, already in a mature, conscious age, decided to become Orthodox Christians.

Gerard Depardieu

The French actor has been in a spiritual search for a long time. Back in the 1960s, he converted to Islam, later announced his conversion to Buddhism, then professed Hinduism. Gerard Depardieu has repeatedly expressed sympathy for the head of the Roman Catholic Church, but at the same time said that he did not like the liturgy in Catholic churches too much. But he justified the decision to accept Orthodoxy by a special connection with the priests of the Orthodox Church, calling Metropolitan of Pskov and Prokhorov Tikhon (Shevkunov) his confessor.

Kari-Hiroyuki Tagawa

The Japanese American actor has starred in many films, including Hachiko, Planet of the Apes, Memoirs of a Geisha, Rescuers Malibu, Mortal Kombat. Tagawa decided to convert to Orthodoxy after working on the Russian painting "Priest-san". In November 2015, the actor was baptized in the Moscow church of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow". According to Carey-Hiroyuki, he made the decision to be baptized two years before the ceremony itself, and Orthodoxy gave him the opportunity to become closer to God, confess and purify himself, relieving him of a heavy burden of guilt.

Bob Marley

The Jamaican musician, like his entire family, professed Rastafarianism. But a year before his death, the "father of reggae", as Bob Marley is still called, was baptized in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, receiving the name Berhane Selassie, which in Amharic means the Light of the Holy Trinity.

Tom Hanks

The two-time Oscar winner for Best Actor came to Orthodoxy shortly before his marriage to his wife, Rita Wilson. To perform the sacrament, Tom Hanks chose the same church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, where his wife was once baptized. It was a serious decision for the actor, which he made consciously, trying to determine the future spiritual heritage of himself and his family. He baptized his children in the same church.

Emir Kusturica

The famous director's parents were non-practicing Muslims, and Emir Kusturica himself converted to Orthodoxy in 2005. He repeatedly mentioned in his interviews that he did it at the behest of his heart, since his distant ancestors were Orthodox, and he, having gone through the rite of baptism, simply returned to his origins.

Jennifer Aniston

The performer of one of the main roles in the cult American TV series Friends converted to Orthodoxy in adulthood under the influence of her father, an actor of Greek descent. Despite the divorce of the parents of the future star, the actress's dad had a huge impact on the spiritual education of her daughter. Today, the actress is an active parishioner of the Transfiguration Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Los Angeles.

Dave Gahan

Depeche Mode's vocalist and frontman converted to Orthodoxy in 1999, before marrying Jennifer Skliaz, an Orthodox Greek woman. Although the performer can hardly be called an active parishioner, he still tries to live by faith.

Christian Bale

The American actor, who became famous for his filming in "Batman", won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the film "The Fighter", converted to Orthodoxy shortly before his marriage to Sandra "Sibi" Blazic, an Orthodox Serb. True, the actor himself refers to the "weakly church-going" Christians, because at present he pays much more attention to creativity than to communication with God.

Max Cavalera

The founder of the Sepultura group was born and raised in a Catholic family, and even his marriage to the granddaughter of a Russian emigrant, Orthodox Christian Gloria, did not immediately force the musician to convert to Orthodoxy. The couple had lived together for more than a quarter of a century, when the musician nevertheless decided to be baptized. Moreover, all four children of Max Cavalier were originally baptized in the Orthodox Church. And the musician himself admitted: he does not visit the church too often, very rarely receives the sacraments, but he tries not to sin.

Today, when Orthodoxy has revived, churches are being restored and restored, not everyone can boast that they consciously go to church, not to mention the observance of all the canons. It is especially surprising when representatives of the creative bohemia become truly believers, whose words do not differ from their deeds. Some stars have become priests or tonsured as nuns.