Valaam: Step to the Skies

The Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior is a monastery located on Valaam island, in the far northwestern corner of Russia on Lake Ladoga.

The movie “Step to the Skies,” which is available in seven parts on YouTube, chronicles the lives of monks living at Valaam.  The movie is in Russian, but with (occasional) English subtitles; the subtitles do not appear to catch all of the text, but enough of it to get a fair idea of what is being said.

Each of these seven parts is linked below.

Part 1 of 7:

Part 2 of 7:

Part 3 of 7:

Part 4 of 7:

Part 5 of 7:

Part 6 of 7:

Part 7 of 7:

Image credit: Pauk