Liturgical Year Cycle

Liturgical Year

The Orthodox liturgical year begins on the first day of September, as it once did in Byzantium. It is characterized by the alternation of fasting periods and feasts.

The center of the liturgical year is the Feast of Christ’s Resurrection, or Easter. It is preceded by the forty-day Great Lent, the purpose of which is to help the faithful prepare for the reception of the feast. Great Lent is followed by Holy Week, during which the events of Christ's Passion Week are recounted up to the joyful feast of the Resurrection.

In addition to Easter, the liturgical year includes 12 great feasts and several smaller feasts. In addition to Great Lent, there are also three other longer fasting periods during the year. The purpose of all of them is to prepare the faithful for the upcoming feast. In addition to the long fasts, the calendar also contains numerous individual fasting days – these include, for example, all Wednesdays and Fridays, and in monasteries, also Mondays.

Every temple and prayer house also has its own patronal feast, or praasniekka, which is determined by the event, saint, or icon to whose memory the building is dedicated. Every Orthodox Christian's personal feast day is their name day. On that day, the Church commemorates the saint after whom they are named.

Easter

Easter is the greatest feast of the liturgical year. The entire existence of the Church and its teaching are based on it. “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain,” says the Apostle Paul.

The celebration of the events of Christ’s Passion Week begins on Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, celebrated the week before Easter. On Lazarus Saturday, the raising of Lazarus from the dead four days after his death is commemorated.

Palm Sunday is celebrated in remembrance of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. During its festive vigil, willow branches symbolizing palm leaves are blessed, often beautifully decorated according to the old Karelian custom. It is especially customary for children to bless people with God's blessing using these decorated branches after the Palm Sunday Liturgy. The branches are traditionally kept in the icon corner at home until Ascension Day, when they are disposed of by burning.

From Holy Monday to Wednesday evening of Holy Week, the services are deeply sorrowful, yet at the same time full of the hope of resurrection. On the morning of Great Thursday, the Institution of the Eucharist is commemorated, and in the evening, the events of Passion Week are reviewed by reading 12 Gospel passages. During the reading of the Gospels, the congregation holds lit candles in their hands.

On Great Friday, Great Vespers is celebrated, at the end of which the Shroud of Christ is carried in a solemn procession from the altar to the center of the church nave. The congregation follows the procession of the Epitaphios, kneeling with candles in their hands. Finally, the congregation venerates Christ's sufferings by bowing before the icon and kissing both it and the Gospel book, which is placed in the center of the Epitaphios.

In the monastery church, the so-called Burial Service of Christ is celebrated on the evening of Great Friday, which has no counterpart in other Christian churches. At its conclusion, the Epitaphios is solemnly carried in a procession around the church.

Great Saturday is a time of silent expectation. During the Saturday morning service, Old Testament prophecies of the Resurrection are read. In Valamo Monastery, the custom is followed whereby, after the morning Liturgy, the Epitaphios of the Savior is taken to the altar, and the church quiets down to await the great feast of Easter.

On Saturday evening, shortly before midnight, the Midnight Office is celebrated in the dimly lit church, after which preparations are made for the procession. As the day changes, the Holy Doors are opened, all the church lights are lit, and fire is brought from the altar, with which the congregation's candles are lit. The procession begins to circle the church. When the church has been circled, the procession stops before the closed doors of the church. Here, for the first time, the Paschal Troparion is begun: “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.” This joyful Paschal hymn is repeated endlessly on Paschal night and throughout the entire 40-day Paschal festive season, during which the Church celebrates the memory of Christ's Resurrection.

Other Feasts

In addition to Easter, the monastery year includes at least four ecclesiastical feasts, whose celebration clearly distinguishes them from other feasts of the liturgical year.

The Christmas morning Divine Service is held at the monastery on Christmas night. The most important content of the Christmas celebration for the Orthodox is participation in the Eucharist.

The Feast of the Baptism of Christ, or Theophany, celebrated on January 6th, is the oldest Christian feast after Easter. On the day of Theophany, a procession is organized at the monastery to the boat shore, where a Great Blessing of Waters is performed in memory of Christ's baptism in the Jordan River.

The annual procession to the Feast of the Konevets Icon of the Mother of God, celebrated at the beginning of July, involves a round trip from Valamo Monastery to Lintula Holy Trinity Monastery.

The monastery's patronal feast, or the main church's annual feast, is celebrated on August 6th, commemorating the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. On the day of the patronal feast, a procession is held around the entire monastery area. After that, the church and the faithful are sprinkled with holy water, and the blessing of new fruits is performed in the church.

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Valamo Monastery is open all year round. Service visiting hours vary by season.

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