From 'Orthodoxy and the World' www.pravmir.com
Fyodor Konyukhov, the world famous traveller and explorer - ordained as deacon of the Russian Orthodox Church
By
May 23, 2010, 15:23
Fyodor Konyukhov, the world famous traveller and
explorer ordained as deacon in his native Zaporozhye on May, 23, 2010.
"I have given served my country a lot as a traveller, now it's time to serve God and the Orthodox Church", - Fyodor said.
The world-famous Russian traveller Fyodor Konyukhov was born and grew up
on the Azov Sea. Finishing school he sailed on fishing trawlers, swam
in the cool winter sea, slept on nails, made 100-kilometre runs a day,
drank seawater and crossed the Azov Sea in a rowing boat.
Entering a
seminary in St. Petersburg Fyodor never finished his studies.
One day
the rector called him into his office and said, “You love life too much.
Go, live with the people…” He made four circumnavigations and crossed
the Atlantic fourteen times. Fyodor is the first and so far the only
person in the world to have reached the five extreme Poles of the
planet. His name was entered into the encyclopedia “Chronicle of
Mankind”.
Blessing of the boat
By the age of fifty he had made more than forty unique trips
and climbs expressing his vision of the world in paintings and books. As
a religious man, Fyodor Konyukhov agrees that the meaning of life of an
Orthodox believer is to seek God’s grace, to learn what God has in
store for one and to live one’s life in keeping with God’s commandments,
preparing for eternity. But when asked why risking life was so often?
Fyodor says: “Because suffering is the only way you can see the Lord.”
Konyukhov has recently filed an application with Patriarch Kirill of
Moscow and All Russia for taking orders as deacon. In April, Patriarch
approved such application granting him the right to choose a diocese of
ordination.
"As an adult man, I understand that there is no solitude in this world.
There are whales and dolphins accompanying you in the ocean, birds
flying in the sky, and bears and seals meeting you on your way to the
Pole. I know for sure that God and Saints are always around when you
pray. Nobody is available for help in the huge ocean, except them,"
Konyukhov believes.
Fyodor tells about one of his journeys.
With his wife Irene and son Nikolay
Based on the RT and the Interfax-religion articles
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