Video: Russia's Floating Church

Title: A Ship of God

This trailer presents the first 10 minutes of the CRTN - documentary "A Ship of God"

Production Date: 1998
Duration: 24' 50''

Copyright : CRTN
Language: English, Hungarian, German, French, Russian
Executive Producer: Mark Riedemann
Director: Agnieszka Dzieduszycka

The documentary recounts the first efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church, following communism, to reach out to those villages in the Russian steppe where there are no priests and no churches. It focuses on a very exceptional Orthodox church building in Russia, a floating church on the river Volga in the region of Volgograd, the former city "Stalingrad" known for its cruel siege in World War II. The documentary is based on personal testimonies of Russians, some of which are confronted with the church - the Orthodox Church - for the first time in their lives.


Two priests, Fr. Sergey and Fr. Genadiy, spend most of their time on the ship, the center of which is a large room functioning as a an Orthodox Church. The boat is floating along the river eight months out of the year. Four months the river is frozen so that it is impossible to navigate. Through this churchboat it is possible for the priests to reach out to people living in villages along the river that have no church buildings. The priests teach, baptize and hold ceremonies, liturgies and weddings, bless young and old and "preach the Gospel to every creature".

See also a video feature of the floating church from the Discovery Chanel here.

Read also: Russian Church To Float Down Siberian Rivers