Brief description of the TV show
About great artists
Biblical story - a program about works of art in which biblical motifs are observed. During the Renaissance, most of the paintings were devoted to the Holy Scriptures, history and characters of the Eternal Book. Choosing a certain fragment, the artist wanted not only to show his vision of the plot, but also to understand it deeper, to study himself and the essence of man. Therefore, in the paintings of different masters, the same piece of history may look different. Nevertheless, it is from their canvases that we know the faces of many saints.
Parts of a whole
In the Bible story, each issue is dedicated to a certain person. The host Dmitry Mendeleev talks about the artist and his canvases, analyzes not only the aesthetic side of the work, but also its essence. We will learn about the fate of those who created the paintings hundreds of years ago, and about the works themselves that gained fame. One of the heroes of the program was Filippo Lippi. This Italian worked in the early Renaissance, in many ways contributed to the development of naturalism in Italian art. His “Madonna and Child with Two Angels” is well known.
Always up to date
Biblical motifs can be found in the work of masters of any era, from the Renaissance to the present. Everyone knows the story of the return of the prodigal son. Valery Bryusov, a Russian artist of the mid-19th century, also used it for his painting. He is considered the founder of symbolism in the visual arts. From the online Bible story program, we learn about his life and about the famous painting. There is something amazing in the fate of every creator.
In this article, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the most famous biblical stories. It is known that biblical stories became the basis of many works of culture. Learning about Bible stories does more than just teach us wisdom, tolerance, and faith. Bible stories help us better understand the culture and ourselves.
In this material we offer you biblical stories of the Old and New Testaments. The greatest prophets, kings of the Ancient World, apostles and Christ himself - these are the heroes of epic biblical stories.
World creation.
The biblical story about the creation of the world is described in the Book of Genesis (1st chapter). This biblical story is fundamental to the entire Bible. He not only tells how it all began, he also sets out the basic teachings about who God is and who we are in relationship with God.
Creation of man.
Man was created on the sixth day of creation. From this biblical story, we learn that man is the pinnacle of the universe, created in the image of God. This is the source of human dignity, and that is why we follow spiritual growth, so we will be more like him. Having created the first people, the Lord bequeathed them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and rule over animals.
Adam and Eve - the story of love and the fall
The story of the creation of the first people Adam and Eve and how Satan, disguised as a serpent, tempted Eve to sin and eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of good and evil. Chapter 3 of Genesis describes the story of the fall and expulsion from Eden of the first people. Adam and his wife Eve are in the Bible the first people on Earth, created by God and the progenitors of the human race.
Cain and Abel - the story of the first murder.
Cain and Abel are brothers, sons of the first people - Adam and Eve. Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. The plot of Cain and Abel is the plot of the first murder on the young Earth. Abel was a cattle breeder, and Cain was a farmer. The conflict began with a sacrifice to God made by both brothers. Abel sacrificed the firstborn heads of his flock, and God accepted his sacrifice, while Cain's sacrifice - the fruits of the earth - was rejected due to the fact that it was not offered with a pure heart.
Longevity of the first people.
We have been asked many times in the comments to the chapters of Genesis why people in those days lived so long. We will try to present all possible interpretations of this fact.
Great Flood.
Chapters 6-9 of Genesis tell the story of the Great Flood. God was angry at the sins of mankind and sent rains to the earth, which caused the Flood. The only people who managed to escape were Noah and his family. God bequeathed to Noah to build an ark, which became a shelter for him and his family, as well as for animals and birds, which Noah took with him to the ark.
Babel
After the Great Flood, mankind was a single people and spoke the same language. The tribes that came from the east decided to build a city of Babylon and a tower to heaven. The construction of the tower was interrupted by God, who created new languages, because of which people stopped understanding each other and could not continue construction.
Abraham's covenant with the Lord
In the Book of Genesis, several chapters are devoted to the post-Flood patriarch Abraham. Abraham was the first person with whom the Lord God made a Covenant, according to which Abraham would become the father of many nations.
Sacrifice of Isaac.
The Book of Genesis describes the story of the failed sacrifice of Isaac by his father, Abraham. According to Genesis, God called Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a “burnt offering.” Abraham obeyed without hesitation, but the Lord spared Isaac, convinced of Abraham's devotion.
Isaac and Rebekah
The story of Abraham's son Isaac and his wife Rebekah. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel and the granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor (Abraham, who lived in Canaan, decided to find a wife for Isaac in his homeland, in Harran).
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah are two famous biblical cities that, according to the Book of Genesis, were destroyed by God for the sinfulness and depravity of their inhabitants. The only ones who managed to survive were Abraham's son Lot and his daughters.
Lot and his daughters.
In the tragedy of Sodom and Gomorrah, God spared only Lot and his daughters, since Lot was the only righteous man in Sodom. After fleeing from Sodom, Lot settled in the city of Segor, but soon left there and settled with his daughters in a cave in the mountains.
The story of Joseph and his brothers
The biblical story of Joseph and his brothers is told in Genesis. This is the story of God's faithfulness to the promises made to Abraham, His omnipotence, omnipotence and omniscience. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, but the Lord directed their destinies in such a way that they themselves accomplished what they so sought to prevent - the exaltation of Joseph.
Egyptian executions
According to the book of Exodus, Moses, in the name of the Lord, demanded that Pharaoh free the enslaved sons of Israel. Pharaoh did not agree and 10 Egyptian plagues were brought down on Egypt - ten disasters.
Wanderings of Moses
The story of the forty-year exodus of the Jews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. After forty years of wandering, the Israelites rounded Moab and reached the banks of the Jordan at Mount Nebo. Here Moses died, appointing Joshua as his successor.
Manna from heaven
According to the Bible, manna from heaven is the food that God fed the people of Israel during the 40-year wanderings in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. Manna looked like white grains. The collection of manna took place in the morning.
Tencommandments
According to the book of Exodus, the Lord gave Moses ten commandments about how to live and treat God and each other.
Battle for Jericho
The biblical story tells how the successor of Moses, Joshua, asked the Lord to help him take the city of Jericho, whose inhabitants were afraid of the Israelites and did not want to open the gates of the city.
Samson and Delilah
The story of Samson and Delilah is described in the Book of Judges. Delilah is a woman who betrayed Samson, repaying her love and devotion by revealing the secret of Samson's strength to his worst enemies - the Philistines.
History of Ruth
Ruth is the great-grandmother of King David. Ruth was known for her righteousness and beauty. The story of Ruth represents a righteous entry into the Jewish people.
David and Goliath
A biblical story about a young man who, guided by faith, defeated a great warrior. Young David is the future God-chosen king of Judah and Israel.
Ark of the Covenant of God
The Ark of the Covenant is the greatest shrine of the Jewish people, in which the stone Tablets of the Covenant were kept, as well as a vessel with manna and Aaron's staff.
Wisdom of King Solomon.
King Solomon is the son of David and the third Jewish king. His reign is described as wise and just. Solomon was considered the personification of wisdom.
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
A biblical story about how the legendary Arabian ruler, the Queen of Sheba, paid a visit to King Solomon, known for his wisdom.
Golden idol of Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar, who saw in a dream a golden idol, could not get rid of the desire to make himself a similar statue of huge size and of the purest gold.
Queen Esther
Esther was a beautiful, quiet, modest, but energetic and passionately devoted woman to her people and her religion. She is the protector of the Jewish people.
Job the long-suffering
Biblical stories of the New Testament.
Birth of John the Baptist
The Old Testament ends with the hope that God will send Elijah to prepare the people for the coming of the Savior, the Messiah. Such a person turns out to be John the Baptist, who prepares people for the coming of the Messiah, telling them about repentance.
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The biblical story about the announcement by the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary about the future birth of Jesus Christ in the flesh from her. An angel came to the Mother of God and uttered the words that She was chosen by God and found grace from God.
Birth of Jesus
Even in the Book of Genesis there are prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. There are more than 300 of them in the Old Testament. These prophecies come true in the birth of Jesus Christ.
Gifts of the Magi.
Three Wise Men bring gifts to baby Jesus at Christmas. In the Bible, the Magi are kings or magicians who came from the East to worship the baby Jesus. The Magi learned about the birth of Jesus by the appearance of a miraculous star.
Massacre of the innocents
The Massacre of the Innocents is a New Testament biblical tradition, described in the Gospel of Matthew. Tradition speaks of the massacre of infants in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus. The murdered babies are venerated by a number of Christian churches as holy martyrs.
Baptism of Jesus
Jesus Christ came to John the Baptist, who was at the Jordan River in Bethabara, in order to be baptized. John said, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" To this, Jesus replied that "it behooves us to fulfill all righteousness" and was baptized by John.
Temptation of Christ
After being baptized, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast for forty days. In the desert, the devil tempted Jesus. In Christianity, the temptation of Christ by the devil is interpreted as one of the proofs of the dual nature of Jesus, and the wounding of the Devil by Him is an example of the struggle against evil and the blessed result of baptism.
Jesus walks on water
The walking of Jesus on the water is one of the miracles performed by Christ to assure the disciples of His divinity. Walking on water is described in three gospels. This is a well-known biblical story that was used for Christian icons, mosaics, etc.
The expulsion of merchants from the temple
A biblical story describing an episode of the earthly life of the Messiah. At the feast of Passover in Jerusalem, the Jews rounded up sacrificial cattle and set up shops in the temple. After entering Jerusalem, Christ went to the temple, saw the merchants and drove them out.
The Last Supper
The Last Supper is the last meal of Jesus Christ with His twelve disciples, during which He established the sacrament of the Eucharist and predicted the betrayal of one of the disciples.
Prayer for a cup
The Prayer for the Chalice or the Gethsemane Prayer is the prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. The prayer for the cup is an expression that Jesus had two wills: divine and human.
Kiss of Judas
Biblical story found in the three Gospels. Judas kissed Christ at night in the Garden of Gethsemane after praying for a cup. The kiss was a sign for the arrest of the Messiah.
Pilate's Judgment
The Judgment of Pilate is the trial of the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, over Jesus Christ, described in the four Gospels. The Judgment of Pilate is one of the Passion of Christ.
Renunciation of the Apostle Peter
The denial of Peter is a New Testament story that tells how the apostle Peter denied Jesus after his arrest. Renunciation was foretold by Jesus at the Last Supper.
way of the cross
The way of the cross or the bearing of the cross is a biblical story, an integral part of the Suffering of Jesus, representing the path made by Christ under the weight of the cross, on which he was later crucified.
crucifixion of christ
The execution of Jesus took place at Golgotha. The execution of Christ through crucifixion is the final episode of the Passion of Christ, which precedes the burial and Resurrection of Christ. Jesus suffered on the cross alongside the thieves.
Resurrection.
On the third day after his death, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. His body has changed. He emerged from the tomb without breaking the Sanhedrin seal and invisible to the guards.
In many Orthodox families, television is a non grata item. You can understand these people: nowadays you don’t often see something useful for the soul on the screen, satellite Orthodox channels are not available to everyone, and you can watch Christian-themed central programs only on Easter or Christmas.
However, there are happy exceptions to this rule, and one of them is the Bible Story program, which airs on the Kultura TV channel. About how to create an interesting program about the spiritual life and what is good for a Christian on modern television, tells the author and presenter of the program Dmitry Mendeleev.
- Your program is long-lived. How old is she?
The program "Bible Story" has been on the screens for nine years. In September, we begin the tenth anniversary season.
Ten years ago, religious topics were not yet as popular in the media as they are now. Why did you come up with the idea of making a program about Christianity?
The initiator of the appearance of this program was the TV channel "Culture". We all know works of art, world masterpieces related to Christianity, written on biblical subjects, but we have a poor idea of the very fundamental principle of this or that work. Therefore, the idea arose to make some kind of educational program that would explain what Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Pushkin, Lermontov, Pasternak, Tarkovsky wanted to tell us. That's how this program was born.
- Is your program still religious or secular?
The program is designed for the widest audience. You can, of course, say that it is for secular people, but after all, church people just as well did not have the opportunity to receive information about the life of the great masters of the past. For 70 years of the absence of religious education in Russia, we have forgotten all the most elementary things, without which it is impossible to understand true works of art. But all the artists saw as their main goal the comprehension of the secrets of the world, the search for the true meaning of existence - that is, they were looking for God. This is an essential feature of true art. In addition, all truly great works that leave a mark in history, in the life of the peoples of the whole world, are created by the Holy Spirit.
I disagree that it didn't. For example, the program "The Shepherd's Word" was aired, hosted by Patriarch Kirill, then Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. On Channel 2 there was a program called "Orthodox Calendar", then there was "Canon" on Channel 6. Then the "Orthodox Encyclopedia" appeared on TVC. Almost every channel had its own Orthodox program. So I can not say that we appeared out of the blue.
I do not think that anything has changed significantly in ten years from the point of view of Orthodox television. Perhaps only that there are more programs - but this is a pleasant trend.
There are about the same number of high-quality, interesting programs left - after all, they occupy a niche that the TV format allows them to occupy.
Nevertheless, one can often hear the opinion that there are few spiritual and moral programs, including Christian ones, on television, while the number of entertainment programs exceeds all reasonable limits. How can you comment on this?
The management of channels where there is advertising naturally cares about the rating: the higher it is, the more expensive the commercial space is. As a result, almost all channels follow the audience. And it should be the other way around, of course: television should educate the audience and not forget about those people - attentive, thoughtful, sympathetic, who need a serious interlocutor. This audience, albeit small, but very expensive. Of course, the rating of the "Bible story" does not compare with the rating of the popular series, but we have our loyal viewers, and there are quite a lot of them.
So, you managed to make a serious, but at the same time popular program with viewers. What is your secret? How to make an interesting program about Orthodoxy?
When we started this program, my fellow workers and I were just taking our first steps in the Church. I was a neophyte - that, by the way, is the name of our television studio. We were all neophytes. It helped us a lot, because neophyteism is such an exalted state, like first love. Of course, a neophyte may look crazy in the eyes of others, but he concentrates inside himself, he has some kind of colossal strength, energy, enthusiasm, joy of life. We have all this fuse was directed to the creation of transmission. It helped a lot. At that time, my worldview was influenced by the books of two wonderful people: Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh and Father Alexander Men. I would like to quote the thought of Father Alexander: you can draw the Madonna, and it will be a shame to look at her; and you can write a bird in the sky, but so that it screams about the beauty of God's universe, about the love of God for people, people for God.
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Once my good friend, Abbess Theodora from the monastery of St. Nina in Bodbe (Georgia), said that everything that is done with love is an Orthodox thing. These words are very memorable to me. Indeed, the point is not to show a lamp, a candle; the main thing is to make the transfer with love.
Well, if we judge know-how from a professional point of view, then we must remember that a journalist is the person who notices what others do not notice. To do this, all the time you need to engage in self-education, read, delve into the topic that the journalist has chosen for himself. This applies not only to Orthodoxy, you need to constantly study your topic, whether it be politics, economics or sports. You can't stop.
By the way, television people still do not like to show lamps and candles - they consider this hackneyed and "unformatted". You can’t even watch a divine service without constant explanations on TV ...
Fortunately, in the “Bible Story” they give me the opportunity to work freely. Our video series is not subject to censorship, but the Kultura channel, it must be admitted, is special. In the process of working on the program, we managed to create the necessary microclimate, when me and my colleagues were not driven into uncomfortable frames - that's why we got something.
You also "had a hand" in the creation of the well-known cycle of documentaries "Holy Places of Christendom". What kind of project was it, and will the continuation of the series be filmed?
This cycle tells about the shrines: about the Shroud of Turin, the Cross of the Lord, the Holy Sepulcher, the crown of thorns, Noah's Ark, about the gifts of the Magi ... The fact that they have come down to us as, one might say, witnesses of the greatest events of sacred history is amazing. But they also help to comprehend the Bible and the Gospel more deeply.
We are currently filming the sequel. In the new films, we want to talk about the House of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is located in Italian Loreto - from where, by the way, the miraculous image “Increasing the Mind” known to every Orthodox student originates; about the robe of Christ kept in ancient German Trier; about the cross of the Apostle Andrew, about the relics of the Apostle Thomas and St. Nicholas.
- Has the creation of Orthodox programs helped your personal churching?
Undoubtedly! And not only mine, but also my colleagues and friends! I am infinitely grateful to God for the Bible Story program, because by doing it, we all grow in faith. When we study the material from which the program is to be made, we receive an infinite amount of new knowledge, new sources for reflection, doubt and discovery. And this is a very interesting and exciting process. And it's endless. Studying the spiritual path of the artist, I immediately discover several more interesting personalities and themes. That is why we are unlikely to run out of ideas for programs in the near future. There are many more than we can cover. I hope that the spiritual search of the artists, which we are talking about, can inspire our viewers to some kind of moral effort.
- You mentioned people who influenced your worldview. Do you have programs about these people?
There is. And about Vladyka Anthony, and about Father Alexander. The main thing we wanted to tell in them is their love for God and neighbors. They were amazing people, and after all, they are almost our contemporaries, they managed to be Christians in a world that is so familiar to us and which, due to our laziness, it sometimes seems to us, is absolutely not conducive to any revelations of the spirit.
I am amazed at their preaching and selfless service, they burned like that candle, about which the Gospel says: “No one, having lit a candle, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a candlestick so that those who enter see the light.” That's how they shone for all of us, and we basked in this warmth.
- And what other church figures have you interested in as heroes for programs?
We had programs about the Fathers of the Church, and about the Old Testament prophets: Moses, King David, King Solomon, Isaiah and others. We also talked about the Monk John of Damascus, Saints Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and Blessed Augustine.
It is difficult for a person to burn constantly. Were there any difficulties in your work when you wanted to quit everything and close the program?
Of course, there were such difficulties. My biggest enemy is myself. It is very important for Christian journalism to draw living water from the never-ending source, which is God. “Sowing the reasonable, the good, the eternal” is simply impossible if you yourself do not try to live according to the Gospel. The topic itself imposes very big obligations on a person, and because we do not comply with them, real problems appear. But work saves, does not let perish.
Today there are several satellite Orthodox channels, more and more often there is talk about the creation of a federal church channel. Do you think this is real?
Hard to say. Previously, I was convinced that such a channel was not needed. There were talks about its creation five and seven years ago. Someone should maintain such a channel. But if the state, then the question will arise: why the Orthodox channel? Then there should be both a Muslim channel and a Jewish one. In addition, to make such a channel, creative people were needed, and then there were not enough of them. There was not such a large number of high-quality Orthodox programs for content. It seemed to me that it was much more important that Orthodox programs be present on federal channels - after all, everyone should watch them, and not a limited number of church-going people. After all, you can make Orthodox television using the resources of large channels. This is, in fact, how it is done.
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But now, I think, maybe such a channel is needed, because there are more literate church people, there are more church journalists who would like to work on it. In addition to journalists, there are cameramen, and make-up artists, and artists, and directors who are not alien to Orthodoxy and could work on such a TV channel. Many creative people are stuffy on the programs they are forced to work on. I myself would gladly take part in the creation of an Orthodox TV channel.
But for now, the big question for me is what kind of channel it will be, who should finance it, whether there will be patrons. Maybe it will be a board of trustees, or a foundation, or something else… Why am I talking about this in the first place? Because journalists should be given more freedom. This cannot be amateur performance, at the level of “something good needs to be done”. If done, then professionally, otherwise they will not watch it, and many will even turn away from Orthodoxy when they see such a “home video”. That is, if we want to speak to a wide audience, then we must meet the modern requirements of television, and this is a lot of money, and people must work constantly and professionally and receive good salaries so that they can feed their families. And when it comes to funding, then there is the question of control. The relationship between author and producer is very important. If a journalist is under endless pressure, nothing good will come of it.
- Do you yourself watch Orthodox programs on TV?
Sometimes I watch such programs on public channels, although, of course, in my free time I’m more interested not in television, since this is my job, but in picking mushrooms, for example. And I don’t have a satellite dish, so I don’t watch Orthodox channels.
I like the program "Word of the Shepherd" with the participation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. This lively conversation that the patriarch has with the viewer is always very interesting, and for me personally, this dialogue helped me several times to resolve internal issues that concerned spiritual life. The fact that the patriarch remained a TV presenter can be considered a unique phenomenon. And the fact that he directly addresses the audience is just wonderful.
- And what do you miss on our television?
In my opinion, there are many untapped resources for preaching. For example, it would be possible to create an excellent program like the "Club of Travelers" - but not to show the beaches and tourist services, but the beauty of God's world, temples and monasteries, pilgrimage routes. You can make films and programs about church history, about people's lives.
Now a living person has practically left the screen, and this is a real disaster. From program to program we see the same faces. Do you remember the program "Interlinear" was recently released, where P. Lungin's mother talked about her life? There were no modern television technologies there, but the country did not tear itself away from the screens, because a living person is always interesting.
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I know that there is a large interview in the archives, for example, with the already mentioned Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh. If you launch it in the evening, on the same channel "Russia", I give a guarantee that everyone will watch it.
In Soviet times, there were people on the screen, and there was a discovery of real personalities. Our people are hungry for such television, and I personally miss it too. It is a pity that the main functions of television - education and communication of people - are forgotten.
- What's new awaits us in the anniversary season of "Bible Story"?
We will continue to talk about artists, writers, poets and musicians. As for the upcoming programs, Heinrich Heine and other great masters will become their heroes. At the end of his life, Heinrich Heine, when he became seriously ill, published wonderful books of penitential poems - we will tell this story.
Another program will be dedicated to Samuel Morse, the inventor of the famous alphabet. For many years he was tormented by spiritual quests. Not everyone knows that he was an artist and at one time even headed the American Creative Union. But then he gave up everything, began to study physics and believed that this was his calling. And when he sent his first telegram, it was the words: "How marvelous and great are your deeds, Lord."
- Who else would you like to see as the hero of your program?
Maximus the Confessor. This is a great philosopher, and he has an amazing biography; he single-handedly opposed not only the entire state headed by the emperor, but also the Church: the patriarch and all the bishops in Constantinople declared him a heretic, and the Lord told him that he was right. He was actually killed, because he did not survive the exile into which he was sent, cutting off his tongue so that he would not preach, and cutting off his hand so that he would not write. But after his death, the Council met, and everything that he said about Christ, about the union of His two natures, Divine and human, - all this became the property of the Church and all mankind.
In addition, I would like to see the light of a film from a large four-hour interview with Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh as soon as possible. Once upon a time, only a small 20-minute program was shown on the Kultura channel. I rewrote it many times for friends, because it aroused great interest at that time.