A Short Film About the Life of St Sophrony of Essex
Made for the Sunday School of the
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Manchester
St Sophrony was born in Moscow in 1896. He had a big family with many siblings. He loved painting from a very young age. He started painting before he could say mum and dad. As a boy, he was watching his parents praying.
His nanny was taking him to the church. There, she spent hours praying while he sat next to her. This is how he started praying since he was a child. Prayer was a natural part of his life.
As he was growing up, his love for painting was growing too. He studied fine arts and began a career as an artist. During this period, he started having doubts about God and he tried to find the truth in other eastern religions. The warm prayers of his mother and nanny helped him return to Orthodoxy. He repented deeply for this period of turning away from God in all his life.
