The Calling

They left ordinary life wife kids work and entered to a monastery In its portraits of three monks Erik Prauss documentary captures the inimitable spiritual ambiance and mysticism of Pochayiv Lavra an Eastern Orthodox monastery on a hill above the town of Pochayiv in western Ukraines Ternopil Oblast Fathers Gabriel Vicilentius and Nazarij have left their past traumas behind finding peace balance and their lives meaning at the monastery Their stories are allegories of spiritualization and purification from human passions against the backdrop of the turbulent Ukrainian reality Motivated by material need and spiritual desperation the faithful flock to this place of pilgrimage in search of new strength and forgiveness The film respectfully observes the monks everyday lives while also noticing the opulent splendour of their surroundings The road to faith is not a privilege of the chosen few it is open to all who hear its calling