Father Sergius

Father Sergius (Russian: Отец Сергий, translit. Otets Sergiy) is a 1918 Soviet Russian silent film directed by Yakov Protazanov and Alexandre Volkoff. It is based on the 1911 posthumously published story of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. This was the first film version of the story, as the depiction of priests was not permitted in the film industry of the Russian Empire until after the October Revolution in 1917. Ivan Mosjoukine plays the title role. Father Sergius was screened in the United Kingdom in 1920 and 1927. The film is set during the reign of Russian Tsar Nicholas I, where Prince Kasatsky discovers that his fiancée has an affair with the Tsar. He decides to break his engagement and retires to a convent where he tries to reach holiness.