Shevchenko Tatyana

Problems of Russian Church diaspora in Finland, with the story of Valaam monastery in the interwar period as an example

Abstract

The article examines the period of the history of the Transfiguration of the Valaam Monastery of 1918 - 1939, before the evacuation to Heyniavesi. The famous Russian monastery, which belonged to the Diocese of Finland and Vyborg of the Orthodox Russian Church, had to adapt to life in independent Finland. The conditions of the monastery existence had changed significantly after the declaration of independence of this country and the change of the state system in Russia. In 1918, the Finnish government awarded the diocese the status of the second state church of the national minority. Despite the difficulties of socio-political, economic and jurisdictional nature, active finnization, which included the imposed calendar reform, the monastery became a symbol of steadfastness, evidence of the greatness of Russian culture and loyalty to Orthodoxy for Russian emigration around the world. The monastery leadership managed to find a common language with the church and secular authorities of Finland, the monastery won the respect and love of ordinary Finlanders. It can be said that the monastery has found its place in a new Western society. However, the author believes that it is possible to assert about the "prosperity" or "flourishing" of the Valaam Monastery at that time only conditionally, in comparison with the sad fate of monasteries in the USSR. She recalls the contradictory events in the story of the Valaam Monastery in the period, which influenced the fate of its inhabitants and the monastery itself, contributed to the reduction in the number of the brotherhood and the appearance of a "split" in it, and proves that visible well-being was the attribute of an artificially created image, although it had a positive meaning.

Keywords

Orthodox Church of Finland, Russians Orthodox Church, Valaam Monastery, calendar split, monasticism, emigration, Russian church scattering, diaspora.

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Information about the author

Shevchenko Tatyana

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in History;
Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in Theology;
Place of work: St. Tikhon’s University for the Humanities; 6/1 Likhov pereulok, 127051, Moscow, Russian Federation;
Post: Senior staff scientist of the Department of the Russian Orthodox Church’s modern history;
ORCID: 0000-0002-6497-503X;
Email: Tatyana-valaam@yandex.ru.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.