“I Had Everything… Except God—Until I Walked Into a orthodox Monastery.”!!

本站添加: 2026-04-29

[00:00:01]Hi, this is America goes Orthodox. Today we are here with Anatoly from Tucson, Arizona. Anatoly, how are you doing?

[00:00:07]Good. Good. Thank you.

[00:00:08]>> Please, tell us a little bit how was your life before you became Christian Orthodox.

[00:00:14]Uh I was born in the Soviet Union and my family was not religious.

[00:00:20]And that's how I grew up. I studied there and um when I was uh about uh 27 years old I uh moved to US uh and up in Tucson.

[00:00:35]And um I am was young, ambitious. I have I had a wife, didn't have any kids.

[00:00:44]And uh I uh understood that I need to achieve something in my life, right? So, I wanted to pursue this American dream.

[00:00:54]Which includes uh the worldly things like the house, the car, some some other things.

[00:01:03]And I I started to work for it and um in a few years I achieved everything that I wanted to.

[00:01:13]I had a house, I had good cars.

[00:01:16]Um I had my family, I had kids.

[00:01:20]Uh you know, I I achieved everything >> [clears throat] >> the the the the the world have to offer.

[00:01:27]However, I didn't achieve happiness. The happiness was missing from from my life. There was emptiness.

[00:01:36]Uh and I I realized I've been thinking about it and I realized that only thing that I can achieve this way, the way I lived, the only thing that I can achieve more is bigger house, more cars, more kids, more pleasures.

[00:01:56]But adding to the empty is not fulfilling the empty. So, I started looking for for satisfaction or or the happiness or the fulfillment of this void. Anatoly, was there something a specific moment when you say this is enough, I need I need God in my life? Do you remember?

[00:02:17]Um well, first of all, I went through all sorts of things like Buddhism and uh some other teachings. I I was looking for the truth. I was looking to to fulfill myself.

[00:02:28]And uh I even started doing drugs and and things like that and some other, you know, filthy things that people do to satisfy themselves.

[00:02:41]Uh you know, in in in a sense of like pleasures.

[00:02:47]Uh and I was not satisfied. Whatever I would do, I would not be satisfied. So, finally, at some point a friend told me that there's this place in in you know, not far from where where we live in Florence, there's this monastery. It's Greek monastery.

[00:03:07]And um the the friend actually went to Mount Athos and the monks in at Mount Athos told told him that, "Oh, you're from Arizona. So, we have this elder here."

[00:03:18]And uh he told it uh he told me that there's a monastery and uh monks living here and I was curious and I went there. It was Pascha the first time I went here.

[00:03:31]And I saw the eyes of the monks here and I realized that this is what I was missing all the time. Because they were happy. They had nothing.

[00:03:41]They had no possessions.

[00:03:43]They lived very hard life, a lot of work and and absolutely poor, just bare minimum. And yet they were happy not only for themselves, they also were happy to see me.

[00:03:56]They had so much love in them that they could share it and they they they would be happy to say everyone.

[00:04:02]And uh that that was the moment for me. I I I I wanted to to know what they know or what they have, what what I didn't have.

[00:04:13]Anatoly, uh when you first time step in the Orthodox church, what make you to believe this is the original Jesus Christ church he's made?

[00:04:22]Well, because well, my first inspiration was that it brings happiness.

[00:04:31]It brings this uh you know, foundation that people can build upon and and they are happy in their life, whatever they do, in in whatever circumstances.

[00:04:46]But then I I start I start started to pray and I started to study Orthodoxy.

[00:04:52]And in in a very short time I realized that all the questions uh I had for life, existential questions like why, who am I, why am I here, what are these people, why why people suffer, why people die, you know, the the questions that like bothered me a lot.

[00:05:12]I found the the answers in Orthodoxy.

[00:05:17]The Orthodoxy was was the truth because it answered all the questions that I had in a very positive and very solid way. There's no hesitation in my heart now.

[00:05:29]I I know that Christ is the truth, the way, the truth, the bread of life.

[00:05:36]And uh you know, I I found happiness. I I'm I'm now I I maybe having less in my worldly life than I used to have, but I'm much happier.

[00:05:48]Anatoly, how the Orthodoxy help you in your family, your life, in your daily activities?

[00:05:54]Uh well, it's it's amazing. All my family became became Orthodox after after I became Orthodox. I didn't push anyone. I just prayed and lived my life as as I as as it goes.

[00:06:09]However, my wife followed me and my two kids followed me and they they grew up and um I see that they are struggling like like we all are, but they have this um foundation, the the platform on which it's unshakable.

[00:06:29]They they know why they're struggling.

[00:06:32]Even though they're struggling, they know why. It's it's not um it's not a desperate situation. It's it's a hopeful situation. There's hope.

[00:06:42]And uh hope brings strength and hope brings happiness. So, I'm happy I'm happy for my uh family and for my kids um to obtain this treasure as well. That's very beautiful. Anatoly, I want to ask you a question for you. There is a lot of people right now they seeking for truth and for real God. What you have to say to them?

[00:07:08]I know that the true faith is a gift from God.

[00:07:15]You cannot obtain uh you cannot become a Christian without God first giving you the gift of faith.

[00:07:25]So, if you are thinking about Christianity, that means God already gave you this gift.

[00:07:33]And you need to use the gift. You cannot You cannot just neglect what what what This this is your way out.

[00:07:43]This is your way out. The world will be more and more crazy.

[00:07:47]But this is your This is an a door that opens in front of you. So, if you're thinking about it, that means the door is open. You just need to enter it.

[00:07:57]That's very beautiful. Anatoly, if you have if you the Jesus Christ was here in front of you right now, yeah, what do you want to tell him?

[00:08:05]I will cry and I will not tell tell tell him anything because he's the creator of the universe.

[00:08:16]I'm I'm less than a molecule in this world.

[00:08:21]You know, I I'm I'm not worthy first of all for him to appear in front of me.

[00:08:26]But if if he decided to appear, I would be probably near death.

[00:08:31]Anatoly, thank you very much to share this with us.

[00:08:34]Uh may God bless you. This is America goes Orthodox for St. Anthony's Monastery.