Video on

First watching and listening

Read the following questions, then watch the video and answer them. Share your answers with a partner:

1. What national saint do the Russians share with theEnglish?

2. Who did the last Russian Emperor Nikolay II look like?

3. How did the English King Edward die?

4. Why did the cult of Edward grow to such a size soon after his death that the abbey became an important pilgrimage site and Shaftsbury was often called Edwardtown?

5. Why was the English King Edward canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church?

6. When did Archimandrite Alexis become Orthodox?

7. Why did Archimandrite Alexis spend almost 7 years in the USA?

8. What is from his point of view a very odd trait of the English character?

Listening and watching for details

1. Before watching sequence 7 read the statements below, then determine whether they are true or false; if the state­ments are false, correct them:

1. There was not anything unusual in the story of canonisation of the English King Edward.

2. King Edward was killed during the war that's why he was called the martyr king.

3. Soon after Edward's death Shaftsbury abbey became a pilgrimage site.

4. During the reign of Henry VIII, the monasteries were dissolved and the saint's remains disappeared.

5. The saint's remains were found in the 20th century by on of the priests on the territory of the monastery when he was digging beds.

6. The Anglican church refused to canonise King Edward because his remains belonged to the Catholic monastery.

2. Before watching sequence 8 read the questions, then watch the sequence and answer them:

1.How did Archimandrite Alex become the custodian of the church for St Edward's relics?

2. What church did he belong to when he was a young teenager?

3. When do people usually go through the so called confirmation in the Church of England?

4. What book did he find in the 50s?

5. Why did this book play such an important role in his life?

6. Had he been in an Orthodox Church before he read the book?

7. What steps did he take to become an Orthodox monk? Put the statements in the correct order:

8. Why was he sent back to England to serve in the Russian church in London?

3. Before watching sequence 9, read the following statements. Watch the sequence and say what statement is false:

1. When he came back from America he understood that

A. English people are the hardest people in the world to get on with;

B. English people are the most open and friendly nation in the world;

С. English people never speak their mind.

2. A lady in the Orthodox church once shocked him because

A. she said what she felt;

B. she was very cross;

C. she asked forgiveness.

3. A peculiar feature of the English character from the point of view of Archimandrite Alexis is that

A. the English are terribly polite;

B. they are very reserved;

С. they avoid showing their emotions.

4. According to his opinion Russians

A. are a bit more demonstrative;

B. are willing to express themselves;

C. have the best sense of humour.