Creation Seminar and Sleep at Night Outside Event - Valamo College 40 Years
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 solemnly dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Valamo College, at the core of which green values and respect for creation have been at the forefront since the beginning.
The seminar day invites you to stop by nature, spirituality and communal reflection. At the end of the evening, we will be quiet to observe the starry sky and later you can also participate in the Sleep a Night Outside event in the peaceful courtyard of the monastery.
Program:
7.00 III moment. Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Panagia. In the old church
7.30-10.00 Breakfast at the Trapesa restaurant (included in the price of accommodation Friday-Saturday)
10.00 Welcome words - Valamo College's four decades on the paths of growth, partnership and holiness - College principal Sirpa Koriala
10.30 Meeting 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 the Trapesa restaurant (own expense 18 €/person)
12.00 Moleben, opportunity to participate in a prayer service in the Old Church
12.30-13.30 Sacred trees and the Orthodox concept of forests - Archimandrite Serafim Seppälä
13.45 Thanksgiving Akathist "Glory to God for everything" is delivered at the St. Nicholas Church On the shores of Lake Juojärvi
14.30 Guided tour of the monastery garden
15.00 The college offers coffees with filled cakes in the red hall of the Trapesa restaurant
15.45 Theology of creation based on presentations in a dialogical and communal way - TT Ari Koponen and TT Pauliina Kainulainen
The themes of the discussion are:
* What does the soul find in nature? Nature at the crossroads of eco-theology and depth psychology
* The significance of Saint Francis of Assisi today. October 4, 2026 will mark the 800th anniversary of his death.
Ari Koponen is a doctor of theology, researcher, translator and writer. He is currently preparing a work on Orthodox eco-theology. “Ecotheology is today at the core of the theological and ethical thinking of the Eastern Church. 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 lifestyle.”
Pauliina Kainulainen is a doctor of theology, a priest of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, a researcher, a non-fiction writer, and a civic activist. He is particularly known as an eco-theologist, whose works deal with the interaction between humans, nature and spirituality.
17.15 Valamo Monastery Forest Management and Hiking Trails - Forest Manager Raimo Asikainen
Raimo Asikainen is the manager of the forest properties of the Lintula and Valamo monasteries. Asikainen has over 40 years of experience in public sector forestry, wood product processing, nature management and forest certification. In his work, Asikainen has reconciled the dialogue between the immaterial and material needs of nature.
18.00 Vigil at the Main Church
20.00-21.00 Valamo tea table in the red hall of the Trapesa restaurant (own expense 15 €/person
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The evening culminates in stargazing and the Sleep a Night Outside event in guided areas in the monastery courtyard in your own tents and hammocks.
The darkening August evening may offer perfect conditions for stargazing, depending on the weather. Suomen Latu challenges you to sleep outside for the night, enjoying the fresh air and the infinite starry sky.
https://www.suomenlatu.fi/nuku-yo-ulkona/etusivu/suomenlatu-huomenna-suomenlatu-ulkoilu-nukuyoulkona.html
Daily price 20 €/adult, includes the possibility to sleep in your own tent or hammock in the monastery yard on the night between Saturday and Sunday.
Breakfast outdoors for those staying in their own tent or hammock 5 €/person. Payment in the morning to the Trapesa restaurant.
Registration by 16.8.2026
Reservations and additional information:
tel. 017 570 1810
myyntipalvelu@valamo.fi
Ask about accommodation too!
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During the day there is also the opportunity to get to know exhibitions:
Rudolf Koivu ‑ Fairytale Illustrator - art exhibition at the Cultural Centre
Admission fee 12 € / adult. Under 18s free. The same ticket also includes admission to the monastery museum.
https://valamo.fi/a/21-10-2025/rudolf-koivu-nayttely-valamossa-v2026
Silk and gold embroidery exhibition at Valamo College
https://valamo.fi/a/04-02-2026/silk-and-gold-embroidery-exhibition-at-valamon-college
