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New Valamo

Coordinates: 62°33′47″N 028°47′26″E / 62.56306°N 28.79056°E / 62.56306; 28.79056
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New Valaam was also the name of a hermitage on Spruce Island, Alaska.
New Valamo
Kristuksen kirkastumisen luostari
Uusi Valamo
New Valamo monastery main church
Monastery information
Full nameNew Valamo Monastery of Transfiguration of Christ
OrderByzantine monasticism
DenominationOrthodox Church of Finland
Established12th Century
Reestablished1717
Dedicated toTransfiguration of Christ
DioceseDiocese of Kuopio and Karelia
Controlled churchesChurch of Transfiguration of Christ
Church of All Saints of Valaam
Church of sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam
People
Founder(s)Sergius and Herman of Valaam
AbbotArchimandrite Mikael (Nummela)
ArchbishopLeo Makkonen
Bishopmetropolitan Arseni (Heikkinen)
Important associated figuresJohn of Valamo
Architecture
StatusActive
StyleNorth Russian
Site
LocationHeinävesi, North Karelia
CountryFinland
Public accessyes
WebsiteOfficial website
Inside the main church at New Valamo with the old iconostasis

New Valamo or New Valaam (Finnish: Valamon luostari, or more informally, especially in the postal address: Uusi-Valamo, Swedish: Valamo nya kloster, Russian: Ново-Валаамский) is an Orthodox monastery in Heinävesi, Finland. The monastery was established in its present location in 1940. However, the tradition of the Valamo monastery dates back to 1717. The monastery was then originally established on Valaam (also known historically by the Finnish name Valamo) which is an archipelago in the northern portion of Lake Ladoga, lying within the Republic of Karelia in the Russian Federation.

The New Valamo Monastery is now an active centre of the Orthodox religious life and culture in Finland and welcomes visitors throughout the year.

History

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In 1939, during the Winter War, some 190 monks from the Valamo Monastery in Karelia were evacuated from their old abode on a group of islands in Lake Ladoga in the Viipuri Province to present Eastern Finland. The old Valamo Monastery was occupied by the armed forces of the Soviet Union quite soon after the outbreak of the Winter War.

After a temporary dwelling place the monks decided to settle down in Heinävesi in Eastern Finland. The choice fell on a mansion in Papinniemi, Heinävesi, after the monks had found there, quite surprisingly, an icon of St. Sergius and St. Herman of Valaam, the founders of the monastery in the 12th century. The monks considered this to be a sign from God.[1][2] Having received evacuees from the Konevsky (Konevitsa) and Pechenga (Petsamo) monasteries, it is now the only monastery for men of the Finnish Orthodox Church.[3]

In 1977, in connection with the celebration of the 800th anniversary of Orthodoxy in Finland, the stone Transfiguration Cathedral was built in the monastery according to the design of the architect Ivan Kudrjavzev.

2012 Fire

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Deanery after the fire

In March 2012, there was a fire in the old main building of Papinniemi estate, which also served as the first main building of the monastery. The building had been built in 1840. The attic of the building was destroyed in the fire. It had been used as a storage space, and there were no valuables in it. All the valuable artifacts from the lower floors had been successfully removed during the fire, with the exception of the furniture.[4] The furnaces of the building has been in poor condition, and their use had been prohibited for several years. However, one of the furnaces had been used for heating, and in a police investigation it was found that the fire had started from the cracks of the chimney. A couple of foreign extraction, who had been living in the building, were prosecuted in the Southern Savo Local Court. The court did not find sufficient evidence to back the claim that the furnace had been used for heating. The case was tried in December 2012.

The damages of the monastery amounted up to 1,6 million Euros. The State of Finland was ordered to pay some of the expenses of the man who had been accused of causing the fire.[5][6]

The miracle-working icons in Valamo

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The best-known miracle-working icons at Valamo are those of the Mother of God of Konevitsa and the Mother of God of Valamo, both located in the main church.[citation needed]

Monastery activities and economy

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Economy

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The monks of the New Valamo Monastery live a communal life of spirituality founded in the Ascetic tradition of the Orthodox Church. According to the ancient tradition, the monastery should support itself fully. At present, the main source of livelihood for the New Valamo Monastery is tourism: over 160,000 people visit the monastery each year, and all of the revenue goes directly to wards the maintenance and development of the premises.

As a result of the financial crises 2008 the monastery too has had to face some financial challenges. This has led to for example co-determination procedures. During 2003-2013 the financial reports of the monastery have shown a surplus in two years. 2012 the result was positive mainly because 2012 the monastery received insurance reimbursements due to the fire incident in its main building.[7]

2013 the monastery had debts of one million euros, and annual turnover reaching approximately 2,5m euro. The distillery operations of Valamo have shown healthy results every year, for example 2014 a surplus of 89.000 euros.[8]

Monastery's distillery

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The Christian faith is linked by tradition to wine and other alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverage making skills have been preserved and passed down within monastery wall for centuries. This tradition continues at the New Valamo Monastery.

The annual capacity of the Valamo distillery is 120,000 litres, and it is the biggest distillery in Finland. During 2014 and 2015 the operative distillery company Viiniherman Ltd has made additional investments of 1 million euros into the distillery. Viiniherman Ltd is owned by majority by the monastery and the distillery is located at the monastery's' premises.[9][10]

They built a modern 500 square metre warehouse to Ilomantsi, Finland. So they will ship all of the whisky distillates from Valamo to Ilomantsi warehouse for maturation. Some of their whisky will have a church wine cask maturation, while some will be matured in bourbon casks. Valamo will produce peated and unpeated malt whisky. The capacity of the new warehouse is 450,000 liters and their current pot for whisky making is 1,000 liters, which allows for an annual production of 40,000 liters.[11]

2016–2017 art sales

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Main article: Valamo Monastery art sales scandal

In 2016–2017, an art sale exhibition was organized at the Valamo Monastery in Heinävesi, curated by the then Bishop of Joensuu, Arseni.[12]

The owner of the works was stated to be an “Eastern Finnish family”, represented by a certain Jussi Savolainen. According to Helsingin Sanomat, Savolainen and his wife had acquired the key works in the exhibition in the 2000s. In the business records, the owner is Savolainen’s wife’s company. The monastery and the Philanthropy Association, which has been reported to be channeling the proceeds to the victims of the Syrian war, received a commission from the sales. The honorary chairman of the Philanthropy is Archbishop Leo.[12] According to Turun Sanomat, the “family story” behind the exhibition is fabricated.[13]

According to experts interviewed by Helsingin Sanomat, the works on sale did not represent the best of the artists’ production and were overpriced. Talk of “museum-quality” works was misleading buyers. According to Savolainen, auction houses do not know how to price art correctly. According to investigations by Helsingin Sanomat, the prices of the works were many times, even tens of times, those of the auction houses in previous sales.[12]

According to research by the Finnish National Gallery, the graphic works by Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall that were on sale as “test pieces” at the exhibition were counterfeit inkjet prints. According to Savolainen, 10–20 copies of the works were sold for around 80 000 euros.[14]

In 2020, Savolainen and his wife were given suspended jail sentences by the North Savo Magistrate’s Court.[15] In 2021 the end result of Savolainen’s and his wife’s trial at the Eastern Finland Hovrätt was the same.[16] The wife tried to take the case to the Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear it.[17]

Hegumens of the monastery

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Location of Valamon Monastery in the Heinävesi municipality
Chapel of Saint Nicholas, private eukteria of New Valamo

The following persons have served as hegumens (father superiors) of the monastery:[18]

  • Yefrem 1758–1781
  • Nazary 1781–1801
  • Innokenty 1801–1823
  • Yonafan I 1823–1830
  • Varlaam 1830–1833
  • Veniamin 1833–1839
  • Damaskin 1839–1881
  • Yonafan II 1881–1891
  • Gabriel 1891–1903
  • Vitaly 1903–1905
  • Pafnuty 1905–1907
  • Mavriky 1907–1918
  • Pavlin 1918–1933
  • Chariton 1933–1947
  • Yeronim 1948–1952
  • Nestor 1952–1967
  • Simforian 1969–1979
  • Panteleimon 1979–1997 (later Metropolitan of Oulu, since 2013 retired)
  • Sergei 1997–2011, 2012–2022 (later Bishop of Hamina, vicar bishop of the Helsinki Orthodox Diocese)
  • Mikael 2022–

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ortodoksinen kirkko Suomessa"( The Orthodox Church in Finland) (ed. by Fr. Ambrosius and Markku Haapio) (1979) p. 287
  2. ^ "Orthodoxy in Finland, Past and present (ed. by V. Purmonen)(1984) p.41
  3. ^ "Orthodoxy in Finland, Past and present" (ed. V. Purmonen) (1984) pp. 41–42
  4. ^ "Valamossa satojen tuhansien vahingot — taideaarteet saatiin pelastettua" [Losses worth several thousand Euros in Valamo — valuable works of art were saved.]. YLE uutiset Etelä-Savo. 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  5. ^ "Valamon luostarin tulipalo käräjille" [Valamo monastery fire goes to the local court]. YLE uutiset Etelä-Savo. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  6. ^ Viljakka, Vuokko (2012-12-05). "Syytteet Valamon tulipalosta hylättiin" [Charges dismissed in the case of the Valamo monastery fire]. savonsanomat.fi (Savon Sanomat). Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  7. ^ Saarinen, Juhani (17 Aug 2013). "Valamo elää yli varojensa" [Valamo lives beyond its means]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. pp. B 6–7.
  8. ^ "Valamon Viiniherman Oy". Taloussanomat.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  9. ^ Vuoripuro, Verna (2 July 2014). "Valamon luostarissa aletaan valmistaa viskiä" [Whisky to be produced in the Valamo Monastery]. Helsingin Sanomat. Helsinki: Sanoma. p. A 12.
  10. ^ Lehtiniemi, Keimo (1 July 2014). "Valamo aloittaa viskin valmistuksen – luostariin Suomen suurin tislaamo" [Valamo to begin production of whisky]. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  11. ^ Lindblom, Johannes (12 July 2016). "Valamo Monastery Distillery – Whisky matured in Church Wine casks" [Valamo Monastery Distillery – Whisky matured in Church Wine casks]. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  12. ^ a b c Anu Nousiainen (6 May 2018). "Luostarin suojissa rahastettiin taiteella" [‘Monastery cashed in on visitors’ naivety’]. Helsingin Sanomat. Helsinki: Sanoma Oyj. pp. B 6–9. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  13. ^ STT (6 May 2018). "HS: Valamon luostarissa kaupattiin taidetta reippaaseen ylihintaan sepitetyn sukutarinan varjolla. Näyttelyiden tiedottaja kiisti olevansa taulujen todellinen omistaja - Itä-Suomen poliisi tutkii taidemyyntinäyttelyihin liittyvää toimintaa" [‘HS: Art was sold at a steeply overpriced price at the Valamo Monastery under the guise of a fabricated family story. The exhibition spokesperson denied that he was the real owner of the paintings - Eastern Finland Police are investigating activities related to the art sales exhibitions.’]. Turun Sanomat. Turku: TS-Yhtymä group. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Picasso’s test prints turned out to be inkjet prints ". Ylen news 7 May 2018.
  15. ^ Pohjois-Savo Magistrate’s Court judgment 20/113385, Case number R 19/420, pp. 88–90, 88–90, issued on 3 April 2020.
  16. ^ Eastern Finland Hovrätt Decision 21/126411, Case number R 20/703, pp 90, 99, issued on 15 June 2021.
  17. ^ Asta Tenhunen (30 September 2019). "Korkein oikeus ei ottanut taidepetoksia käsittelyyn – Valamon näyttelyn väärennösten tuomio jää pysyväksi" [‘The Supreme Court did not take up art fraud – the verdict on the forgeries at the Valamo exhibition remains permanent’]. Savon Sanomat. Kuopio: Savon Media. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Igumens of Valamo Monastery 1758–". Archived from the original on 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  19. ^ "Lintulan Kroniikka" (The Chronicle of Lintula ) edited by Archmandrite Panteleimon (1992) p. 96
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62°33′47″N 028°47′26″E / 62.56306°N 28.79056°E / 62.56306; 28.79056

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