Palokki, Finland, July 14, 2026
Chapel of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God at the monastery cemetery. Photo: ort.fi
The Holy Trinity Lintula Convent in Finland has been awarded the Ecocompass environmental certificate in recognition of its nature protection activities and commitment to reducing its ecological footprint.
The Ecocompass certification reflects practices already embedded in monastic life at Lintula. According to Abbess Ksenia (Rovamo), care for creation isn’t a standalone project at the monastery but is integrated into all areas of its activity—from the sourcing of raw materials for its candle workshop to waste recycling at its guesthouse and the procurement of organic products for its café and shop, reports the Finnish Orthodox Church.
The sisters’ commitment to preserving biodiversity and natural balance also extends to the monastery garden and its surrounding natural environment.
In the Orthodox Tradition, all of nature is understood as God’s creation, which humanity is called to tend, protect, and respect. Abbess Ksenia cites St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia on the relationship between human beings and the natural world: “When you see the sea, the trees, the sky, the stars, and all of creation, go within yourself and glorify God. Through nature, the soul awakens and enters into prayer.” And: “One who is full of love for Christ is full of love for all creation—people, nature, animals, and plants. He wants everything around him to be in harmony and peace.”
New Valaam Monastery in Heinävesi, Finland also received an ecological award in 2020.
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Photo: ort.fi
Lintula Monastery was founded in 1895 on the Karelian Isthmus, some 30 miles from St. Petersburg and four miles from the then-Russian border, on territory belonging to the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire. The Holy Trinity Lintula Convent was formally opened on Aug. 10, 1896, at a liturgical celebration officiated by Archbishop Anthony (Vadkovsky) and concelebrated by St. John of Kronstadt.
The monastery remained at its original location for 44 years. The outbreak of the Winter War in 1939 forced the evacuation of the sisters to central Finland; they were able to take with them only the community’s venerated Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God. Nearly all of the monastery’s buildings and property were destroyed in the fighting of 1939, 1941, and 1944.
In 1946, the sisters of Lintula chose the Palokki estate in Heinävesi, South Savo, as their new home—located not far from New Valaam Monastery, itself founded by monks of Valaam who had likewise been evacuated from their original monastery during the war.
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