Finland picture|Father Mikael from the Valamo monastery tells the news agency AFP that he regularly receives emails from men who would like to become novices.
Still more young Finnish men are drawn to the harsh monastic life, and in certain circles Christianity is gaining a stronger foothold.
At least this is the picture of Finland published by the French news agency AFP last week about the story. In the story, we visit the Valamo monastery in Heinävedi, North Karelia.
The morning in the monastery starts at six o’clock with prayer, breakfast and chores, the story describes. The monk’s disciplined lifestyle is attracting more and more people: In a few years, the group of 10 men has grown to 18.
Father Mikael or Mikael Nummela tells AFP that he regularly receives emails from men who would like to become novices. The first year, a kind of test year, in the monastery is spent as a novice.
Nummela estimates that the reason behind the increased popularity is people’s longing for stability in the midst of uncertain times. According to him, the coronavirus pandemic was a kind of turning point.
The number of monks in Valamo monastery has almost doubled in the last five years.
in Finland there are fewer and fewer Christians. However, about five years ago, researchers noticed a peculiar detail: among young men, there are more and more people interested in religion.
Helsingin Sanomat reported on the phenomenon in July.
Professor of Theology Kati Tervo-Niemelä The University of Eastern Finland told AFP that the reason behind the development may be the feeling that masculinity is not valued in society in general.
29-year-old Father Rafael arrived at Valamo monastery about six years ago.
Father interviewed by AFP Raphael tells the news agency that he applied to the monastery after his university degree. According to his own words, he received a typical Finnish Lutheran upbringing, where he goes to church a couple of times a year. He longed for more and therefore applied to an Orthodox monastery.
Rafael has also noticed that men are more conservative than women.
“Orthodoxy is very patriarchal and conservative in a way [uskonto]which is based on traditional with a capital P. That’s exactly why it appeals to me.”
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