Cemetery

Monastery Cemetery

The crosses of the ascetics resting in the cemetery and the stone plaques acquired in the 1960s tell in their own way about the ascetic's life path and the different stages of monastic asceticism.

On the Russian-language plaques are written the words "Servant of God", the ascetic's name, his age at death, and often also the number of years of asceticism. For those proficient in Russian, the monuments also reveal whether a novice (kuuliaisuusveli), rassophore monk (viitankantaja), monk, schema-monk or hermit monk, hegumen (head of the monastery), or archimandrite (distinguished head of a monastery or hieromonk) rests in the grave. In parishes, the title corresponding to archimandrite is archpriest.

The grobu found on some graves is, for example, a wooden grave monument found in Northern Russia and Karelia, which may have been built over a thousand years ago.

This narrow, two-meter long structure built of logs and roofed with boards is often decorated with intricate wood carvings. In ancient times, a grobu could also serve as a storage place for bodies, protecting them from wild animals during winter, until the grave could be dug. In Finland, old and new grobus can be seen, for example, in the Ilomantsi cemetery, Sevettijärvi, Kuivajärven Kalmosaari, and the cemetery of Valamo Monastery.

St. Herman of Alaska Chapel in the cemetery

Bishop Markus

Bishop Markus (1910-1989) was from the Karelian Isthmus and was tonsured as a monk in Valamo on Lake Laatokka in 1938. In the monastery, he served as Hegumen Hariton's cell attendant, among other duties. Father Markus, who served as a military chaplain during the war and then as a parish priest in various parts of Finland, moved to the United States, to San Francisco, in the 1950s. He was elected Bishop of Laatokka there in 1968. After retiring, Bishop Markus returned to Finland, where he also died and, according to his wishes, was buried in the cemetery of Valamo Monastery.

Bishop Aleksi

Bishop Aleksi (1941-1984) was a deeply spiritual hierarch who had gathered much wisdom on the ascetic life, having assisted Valamo's aging brotherhood since his youth. Bishop Aleksi, elected Bishop of Joensuu in 1980, died of a severe illness only a few years after taking office.

Brother Antti

Brother Andrei Peschkoff (1915-1991) was the last ascetic of the Konevitsa Monastery brotherhood. Novice Andrei Peschkoff, known as Antti of Konevitsa, was able to visit his former home island in the summer of 1991 for the first time in half a century and died soon thereafter.

Pentti Saarikoski

Writer Pentti Saarikoski (1937-1983) spent time in Valamo during the last years of his life, without, however, joining the Orthodox Church. He was buried in the cemetery of Valamo Monastery at the request of his close relatives. The writer's grave has become a popular visitor destination, through which many visitors also get acquainted with the life of the monastery and the Orthodox Church.

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Valamo Monastery is open year-round. Services' visiting hours vary by season.

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