Creation Seminar and Spend a Night Outdoors Event - Valamo Folk High School 40 Years
on Saturday 29.8.2026
Welcome to the Valamo Monastery Cultural Center on Saturday 29.8.2026, Finnish Nature Day. This year's Creation Seminar is festively dedicated to Valamo Folk High School'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 for 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 Spend a Night 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 Restaurant Trapesa (included in Fri-Sat accommodation price)
10.00 Welcome speech - Valamo Folk High School's four decades on the paths of growth, partnership, and holiness - Institute 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 Restaurant Trapesa (18 €/person, self-funded)
12.00 Moleben, opportunity to participate in a 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
14.30 Guided tour of the monastery garden
15.00 The Institute offers cake and coffee in the red hall of Restaurant Trapesa
15.45 The Theology of Creation based on presentations, dialogically and communally - Dr. Ari Koponen and Dr. Pauliina Kainulainen
Discussion topics:
* What does the soul find in nature? Nature at the intersection of ecotheology and depth psychology
* The significance of Saint Francis of Assisi today. On October 4, 2026, it will be 800 years since his death.
Ari Koponen is a Doctor of Theology, researcher, translator, and writer. He is currently preparing a work on Orthodox ecotheology. “Ecotheology is today at the core of the Eastern Church's theological and ethical thought. It has strong ties to asceticism and nature issues. Global climate and environmental problems also challenge the Christian view of the continuation of life, the future, and a sustainable way of life.”
Pauliina Kainulainen is a Doctor of Theology, an Evangelical-Lutheran church priest, researcher, non-fiction writer, and civil activist. She is especially known as an ecotheologian who addresses the interaction of humans, nature, and spirituality in her works.
17.15 Forest management and hiking trails of Valamo Monastery - Forest manager Raimo Asikainen
Raimo Asikainen is the manager of the forest properties of Lintula and Valamo Monasteries. Asikainen has over 40 years of experience in public sector forestry, wood product processing, nature conservation, and forest certifications. In his work, Asikainen has reconciled the dialogue between the intangible and tangible needs of nature.
18.00 Vigil in the Main Church
20.00-21.00 Valamo Tea Table in the red hall of Restaurant Trapesa (15 €/person, self-funded
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The evening culminates in stargazing and the Spend a Night Outdoors event in the monastery courtyard in designated areas, in your own tents and hammock tents.
Depending on the weather, the darkening August evening may offer perfect conditions for stargazing. Suomen Latu challenges you to spend the night outdoors, enjoying the fresh air and the infinite 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 for those staying overnight in their own tent or hammock 5 €/person. Payment in the morning at Restaurant Trapesa.
Registration by 16.8.2026
Bookings and additional information:
tel. 017 570 1810
salesservice@valamo.fi
Also ask about accommodation!
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During the day, you also have the opportunity to visit the exhibitions:
Rudolf Koivu - Fairy-tale Illustrator -art exhibition in the Cultural Center
Admission fee 12 € / adult. Children under 18 years old free. 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
