The first thing I noticed while watching this film was the nun who was being filmed throughout the DVD seemed entirely dependent on the man who I am assuming would be called the priest. I know that female subservience is valued in Christianity but I thought it was strange that such a religious woman would be asking a man permission to leave the convent for her son's concert when I feel like she should have been asking God. The nuns seemed to worship the priest as if he were an apostle when he really had no more of a connection to God than they did. I also thought it was strange that a group of religious women never mentioned praying or worshipping the Virgin Mary.
My favorite part of the video was when she discussed the inner conflict she had with herself while in the process of becoming a nun and how she did not want to appear orthodox to the rest of society and tried to dress up to show off her beauty. I thought this part was particularly thought provoking when she explained that this was a natural progression in accepting becoming a nun and that God understands this. This is because I have never previously heard of someone describing their conversion to a more monastic life by saying they avoided showing off their religion in public. Her admission of this demonstrated that ever for those who have the comfort of faith in God acknowledge that it is a difficult transition.
Challenging our own life is never easy nor without doubts.
RispondiEliminaJust a comment on what you wrote: bw Catholic and Orthodox, nuns as monks and priests themselves are all submitted to the authority which is above them, for nuns is the priest which is their spiritual reference, so it's for monks, and priest refers to the bishop, as the bishop themselves refers to the pope.
If you were following what she asked to the priest - and I admit was not an easy task to do, due to the fact that they spoke Russian ad English was only in the subtitles - what she asked for permission had to do with her doubt not to be misunderstood by the viewer of the movie, in doing things that might have been interpreted as a 'doubtful' or 'ambiguos' behaviour for a nun: the answer of the priest was very calm: "do what you feel is right to do, and do that without feeling ashamed"... something to think about, isn't it? :-)