The Priest (film)

The Priest (Russian: Поп) is a 2009 Russian drama film directed by Vladimir Khotinenko.

Plot

The film begins in June 1941 in the backwater village of Tikhoe in Latvia. Priest Alexander carries out the duties of his ministry, helped by his wife, Alevtina. Two days later the Nazi invaders enter the village. The Nazi invaders are keen to reopen the Orthodox churches closed by the Soviet power. Alexander is offered a mission to Pskov oblast. An orthodox church building, confiscated and turned into a hall for film showings and the like, is restored to its former use, the church bell rescued from the lake etc. However life under the Nazis is ambiguous and the priest must walk a tightrope (metaphorically) between faithful Christian service and loyalty to his country and people. A poignant scene is the Easter service, celebrated along with POWs surrounded by German guards. Alexander and Alevtina also harbour Jewish orphans. Alevtina falls ill from contact with the POWs and puts the children first by losing herself in a snowstorm lest she infect the orphans. The plot concludes with the Soviet authorities back in power and the priest imprisoned by the NKVD. The epilogue shows the priest decades later, visited by the orphans he saved many years before.

Priest (disambiguation)

A priest is a person who holds an office in a religion, for example an Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic priest, Hindu priest, an Imam in Islam, or a Kohen in Judaism.

Priest may also refer to:

The Priest (mountain)

The Priest is a mountain in Nelson County, Virginia. The peak of the mountain is the highest point in the county. The mountain is on a spur off the main Blue Ridge Mountains, about 3.5 miles (5.5 km) east of Maintop Mountain, located in the Priest Wilderness of the George Washington National Forest.

The Priest stands within the watershed of the Tye River, which drains into the James River. The north side of The Priest drains into Coxs Creek, thence into the Tye River. The south side of The Priest drains into Rocky Run, thence into the Tye. The west side of The Priest drains into Shoe Creek, thence into the Piney River and the Tye River.

The Appalachian Trail, a 2,170-mile (3,500-km) National Scenic Trail from Georgia to Maine, runs across the summit of The Priest. The summit is reachable via the Appalachian Trail from a trail head along Virginia State Route 56. The hike gains 3000 vertical feet from base to summit.

Crabtree Falls flows down the Priest's northwest slope. The Crabtree Falls trail and Forest Development Road 826 can be used for access to the Appalachian Trail and the Priest's summit.

The Passionate Heart

The Passionate Heart (French: Léon Morin, prêtre) is a 1952 novel by Béatrix Beck, which won the Prix Goncourt. It was published in the UK as The Priest (1953) and in the US as The Passionate Heart (1953).

A movie version was made in 1961 called Léon Morin, Priest (French: Léon Morin, prêtre), directed and scripted by Jean-Pierre Melville, and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Emmanuelle Riva. Belmondo was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor.

Plot

In a small French town during the Occupation, Barny is a young, wayward, sexually frustrated widow, living with her little girl. She is also a communist militant who long ago decided that the easiest way was the best. One day she enters a church, randomly chooses a priest and starts criticizing the religion. But the priest is Leon Morin, who is young, handsome, clever and altruistic. He believes that any sin can be expunged by a good dose of faith, and does not offer her the reaction she was expecting. She is disturbed. She starts frequenting Morin, impressed by his moral strength, while he makes it his mission to steer her onto the right path.