Actor Gérard Depardieu is baptized into Orthodoxy

Academy Award-nominated French actor Gérard Depardieu was received into the Orthodox Church by the Sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation on Friday, September 4.

The service was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan John of Dubna, the head of the Russian Church’s Archdiocese of Russian Churches in Western Europe, at the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Paris, reports mk.ru.

There were about 30 people in attendance. Reports also indicate that Depardieu, 71, became the Godfather to a girl who was baptized the same day.

According to the French outlet Valeurs, Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship in 2013, cited his fondness for the Orthodox Divine Liturgy and his close contacts with Orthodox clergy as his reasons for converting. He reportedly also claimed His Eminence Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov as his spiritual father.

Source: Orthodoxtimes.com