Creation Seminar and Sleep Outdoors Event - Valamo Lay Academy 40 Years
on Saturday, August 29, 2026
Welcome to Valamo Monastery's Cultural Center on Saturday, August 29, 2026, on Finnish Nature Day. This year's Creation Seminar is festively dedicated to Valamo Lay Academy's 40-year journey, at the heart of which green values and respect for creation have been present from the beginning.
The seminar day invites you to pause amidst nature, spirituality, and communal reflection. At the end of the evening, we will quietly observe the starry sky, and later you can also participate in the Sleep Outdoors event in the peaceful courtyard of the monastery.
Program:
7:00 Third Hour. Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Panagia. In the Old Church
7:30-10:00 Breakfast at Trapesa restaurant (included in Fri-Sat accommodation price)
10:00 Welcome speech - Valamo Lay Academy's four decades on the paths of growth, partnership, and holiness - Lay Academy Rector Sirpa Koriala
10:30 Encountering Animals - Archimandrite Serafim Seppälä
Archimandrite Serafim Seppälä is a professor of systematic theology and patristics at the University of Eastern Finland.
11:30 Buffet lunch at Trapesa restaurant (self-funded 18 €/person)
12:00 Moleben, opportunity to participate in the prayer service in the Old Church
12:30-13:30 Sacred Trees and the Orthodox Understanding of Forests - Archimandrite Serafim Seppälä
13:45 Thanksgiving Akathist "Glory to God for All Things" will be served at St. Nicholas Chapel on the shore of Juojärvi - Head of Valamo Monastery Archimandrite Mikael
14:30 Guided tour of the monastery garden
15:00 The Lay Academy offers cake and coffee in the red hall of Trapesa restaurant
15:45 Theology of Creation based on presentations, dialogically and communally - D.Th. Ari Koponen and D.Th. Pauliina Kainulainen
The discussion themes are:
* What does the soul find in nature? Nature at the intersection of ecotheology and depth psychology
* The significance of St. Francis of Assisi today. On October 4, 2026, 800 years will have passed since his death.
Ari Koponen is a Doctor of Theology, researcher, translator, and author. He is currently preparing a work on Orthodox ecotheology. "Ecotheology is at the core of the Eastern Church's theological and ethical thought today. It has strong ties to asceticism and questions of nature. Global climate and environmental problems also challenge the Christian view on the continuation of life, the future, and a sustainable way of life."
Pauliina Kainulainen is a Doctor of Theology, a priest of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, researcher, non-fiction author, and civil activist. She is particularly known as an ecotheologian who addresses the interaction between humanity, nature, and spirituality in her works.
17:15 Valamo Monastery's forest management and hiking trails - Forest manager Raimo Asikainen
Raimo Asikainen is the forest property manager for Lintula and Valamo Monasteries. Asikainen has over 40 years of experience in public sector forestry, wood product processing, nature management, and forest certifications. In his work, Asikainen has reconciled the dialogue between the intangible and material needs of nature.
18:00 Vigil in the Main Church
20:00-21:00 Valamo Tea Table in the red hall of Trapesa restaurant (self-funded 15 €/person
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The evening culminates in stargazing and the Sleep Outdoors event in designated areas within the monastery grounds in one's own tents and hammock tents.
The darkening August evening may offer, depending on the weather, perfect conditions for stargazing. Suomen Latu challenges you to sleep outdoors for the night, enjoying the fresh air and the endless starry sky.
https://www.suomenlatu.fi/nuku-yo-ulkona/etusivu/suomenlatu-huomenna-suomenlatu-ulkoilu-nukuyoulkona.html
Day Price 20 €/adult, includes the opportunity to sleep in your own tent or hammock in the monastery courtyard on the night between Saturday and Sunday.
Breakfast outdoors for those staying overnight in their own tent or hammock 5 €/person. Payment in the morning at Trapesa restaurant.
Registration by August 23, 2026
Reservations and Additional information:
puh. 017 570 1810
salesservice@valamo.fi
Also inquire about accommodation!
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During the day, you also have the opportunity to explore the exhibitions:
Rudolf Koivu - Fairy Tale Illustrator - Art Exhibition at the Cultural Center
Admission fee 12 € / adult. Free for children under 18. The same ticket also grants admission to the Monastery Museum.
https://valamo.fi/a/21-10-2025/rudolf-koivu-nayttely-valamossa-v2026
Silk and Gold Embroidery Exhibition at Valamo Folk High School
https://valamo.fi/a/04-02-2026/silkki--ja-kultakirjontatyo--nayttely-valamon-opistossa
