New Valamo Monastery, Heinavesi

New Valamo or New Valaam 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 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 nowadays an active centre of the Orthodox religious life and culture in Finland. The monastery welcomes visitors throughout the year. The peaceful atmosphere of the monastery and close proximity to nature offer the hurried people in the busy world of today a rare opportunity to relax − far from the bustle and noise of everyday life.The relocation of the monasteryIn 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. Having received evacuees from the Konevsky (Konevitsa) and Pechenga (Petsamo) monasteries, it is now the only monastery for men of the Finnish Orthodox Church.

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