Moscow, August 26, 2021
Telegram
The Russian theater and film actress Ekaterina Vasileva, who rose to fame in the 1970s with films such as the Straw Hat and Bumbarash, is leading a much quieter life now.
Having earlier spent time as a monastic novice in the 1990s, Vasileva, now 76, has taken monastic vows.
The news was announced by the actress Maria Shukshina on her Telegram channel:
Actress Ekaterina Vasileva has been tonsured, her son is a priest in the Church of St. Nicholas On the Three Hills [in Moscow—OC]. My sincere congratulations!
Vasileva in a scene from her 1974 film the Straw Hat. Photo: 24smi.org
Vasileva has more than 200 film credits under her belt and was named People’s Artist of the Soviet Union in 1986—an award given to those who made an outstanding contribution to the national artistic culture and received wide public recognition.
After many years of acting, she became a novice at the Tolga Monastery in the Yaroslavl Diocese in 1993. Later, having left the monastery, she served as treasurer at a Moscow parish. In 1996, she returned to the screen, but was more selective about what roles she took, with her spiritual father’s blessing.
Last September, Academy Award-nominated French actor Gérard Depardieu was received into the Orthodox Church in Paris.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!