The Shepherd, July 2004
PASCHA AT VALAAM MONASTERY
THE ANCIENT (some say Russia’s most ancient) monastery of Valaam is situated on the island of the same name in Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe and close to the Russo-Finnish border. Ladoga is not free of ice in April and no pilgrimage boats sail from St Petersburg. In order to visit one must fly in the Monastery’s helicopter - a short but memorable journey since “health and safety” concerns are still not widely understood in Russia!
Before the Revolution monks were the only inhabitants of Valaam and even now the local people occupy what is nothing more than a small settlement next to the main monastery and are largely supplied with food by the monks.
There are about 200 Valaam monks, which figure includes not only those of the main house but those living in nearby sketes (several of them on separate small islands) or at Podvories (holdings) in St Petersburg, Moscow and other places. The St Petersburg Podvorie is an important source of income for the monastery and is attached to a large and popular city church which offers strongly monastic services.
The monastic buildings at Valaam were terribly devastated in the Soviet period (i.e. 1945-1989, because before the Second World War Lake Ladoga was in Finland) and restoration is still proceeding. The huge Transfiguration Cathedral is not yet fully open and all the main services take place in its lower church of Saint Sergius and Herman. The Shrine of these Saints, the founders of Valaam, and the relics of Saint Antipas (of Romania, Mount Athos and Valaam) who died in 18821 are found in the lower church, which has been beautifully restored after its desecration as a dance hall in Soviet times.
My wife and I were able to stay next to the monastery during Great Friday, Saturday and Pascha Sunday itself - an undeserved blessing indeed. As well as attending the services of these solemn days we visited some of the nearby sketes - All Saints (where women are only admitted on one day of the year), Nikolsky, Gethsemane and the Resurrection. The last is the most interesting and in the lower church, where one would normally find the altar, is an exact reproduction of Christ’s Holy Tomb in the Resurrection Church in Jerusalem. None of these sketes are fully restored though two of them now have monks permanently resident.
The services for Passion Week at Valaam are not for the faint-hearted. Never again, anyway, will a certain two pilgrims grumble about the length of services at other Orthodox monasteries.
The Great Friday afternoon service at Vespers and bringing out of the Winding Sheet lasts for two and a half hours. All the chanting is in accordance with ancient Valaam tradition, with no nineteenth century settings used at all, and it is sung extremely slowly. In the readings every word is clearly pronounced.
The evening service (Mattins of Great Saturday) lasted four hours but began at 9 p.m. In previous years there had been attempts to celebrate the Passion Week services at their correct times with this services beginning at midnight, but objections from pilgrims and other visitors have now led to a return to an earlier hour.
The Vespers and Liturgy of Great Saturday is also again now celebrated at the familiar (and incorrect) hour of 9 a.m. and lasts three and a half hours. Certain pilgrims, alarmed at reports that this would be the longest of all the services stayed away until midday and thus missed almost the whole Liturgy. A great pity as this beautiful and moving service was carried out perfectly, peacefully, and unfussily; all the hieromonks (including those from the sketes) serving together with their abbot.
Of course all present, monks, resident workers and pilgrims were by now eagerly anticipating Pascha night itself. After the reading of the Acts, the Midnight Office began at 11 p.m., followed immediately by Mattins and Liturgy. By the end of the Liturgy, it was already 6.30 in the morning though this time very few had realised it, so extraordinary had been the solemn services. Of course all Orthodox are familiar with them and there is no need to describe them but here, with the monks of Valaam, they took on a fresh meaning and beauty.
After seven and a half hours in the church, the male pilgrims had breakfast with the monks lasting precisely half an hour. And then we rested until a rather longer lunch with Paschal foods at midday.
The ancient rule of Valaam does not permit alcohol at meals, so it must be admitted that the men had rather less fun at this point than the women pilgrims, who were separately entertained by two priests’ wives with no inhibitions about the consumption of intoxicants.
And so our little pilgrimage came to an end. On our return flight we were able to visit the other Ladoga monastery, Konevits, on a much smaller island, and to venerate its founder, Saint Arseny*. Here restoration is progressing more slowly because the devastation of the Soviet period was even greater, but the upper church - a beautiful eighteenth century building - is now almost ready for use. Here also is an exact copy of the famous Konevits icon of the Mother of God (the original is now in Finland). This we venerated, asking her protection for us pilgrims and our loved ones and for our safe return to our homes; among them St Petersburg, Moscow, Vladivostok and our own London.
John P. Harwood
* See Orthodox Word, vol. 33, no 5 (1997) for his full life.
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