Penza, 19 May 2016. PenzaNews. Nikita Mikhalkov, People’s Artist of the RSFSR, chairman of the Russian Cinematographists Union, compared a good priest with an EMERCOM rescuer.

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During the art meeting held on Thursday, May 19, at the Penza State University, one of the students told the filmmaker about his personal encounter with an Orthodox priest – after the young man asked him about the reason behind using the incense burner, the former replied: “It simply smells good.”

After describing the encounter, the student asked Nikita Mikhalkov about the latter’s opinion about “that business machine.”

“I think poorly of this business machine. […] A good priest is not just a robe and a cross on your chest. […] He is a man who not simply hears you, but listens to you. […] He is a man who, during confessions, takes inside an amount of information that is very difficult to take in,” the filmmaker said, explaining this as his main point of comparison between priests and EMERCOM rescuers.

“They always encounter somebody else’s blood and misfortune. […] A true priest puts its all through himself,” Nikita Mikhalkov added.

According to him, a good priest is be able to help even if he says he has nothing to help you with.

Also, the filmmaker stressed that “a priest is an incredible master of soul direction, in that he takes responsibility for you upon himself.”