Konevitsan Kirkokello - The Bells of Konevets Monastery

minimalist video of exile and longing -- a strait, wind approaching
(not filmed in Russia)

music (traditional) by Piirpauke, Finland -- their first album

Konevitsan kirkko - Konevets Monastery

Founded around 1393 by St. Arseny Konevsky who wished to convert pagan Karelians to Christianity, Konevets Monastery is situated on the island of Konevets in lake Ladoga, Western Russia. Some sixty kilometres to the northeast there is another monastery, Valaam Monastery, on a slightly bigger island -- Valaam (Finnish: Valamo).

Konevets island is only five kilometres long and two kilometres wide, and separated from the mainland by a five kilometre wide strait. In ancient times, Finnish tribes considered the island holy, revering a huge boulder in the shape of a horse's skull known as Kon'-Kamen' or "Steed-Stone" hence the island's name.

Changing fate of Konevets Monastery
During the Ingrian War (1610 and 1617), the Swedes captured the island forcing the monks to retreat to Novgorod. Russia retook the territory in the course of the Great Northern War (1700--1721). The revived cloister depended upon Novgorod until 1760, when it was officially recognized as a separate monastic establishment.

In 1812, following the Finnish War (February 1808 to September 1809) the monastery administratively became part of the newly-formed Grand Duchy of Finland, along with the rest of "Old Finland".

19th century
The golden age of the monastery came with the 19th century, when its fame spread to the imperial capital and the island was visited by eminent visitors from Saint Petersburg, including Alexandre Dumas and Fyodor Tyutchev. A 1873 essay by Nikolai Leskov describes his impressions from the monastery.
As a consequence of its high profile, the monastic community could fund extensive building projects, starting with the construction of a new cathedral in 1800-09. This huge two-storey eight-pillared building was designed by a local starets. It is surmounted by five octagonal drums bearing five blue bud-shaped domes. The same style is applied to the three-storey belltower (1810-12), rising to the height of 35 meters. Several other churches, a quay and an inn were added in the course of the century. Two sketae were set up to mark the ancient locations of the monastery.

20th century
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the monastery passed to the newly independent Finland, and came under the jurisdiction of the autonomous Finnish Orthodox Church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The island was fortified by the Finnish military, and the inn was expropriated to house a regiment staff. During the Winter War (30 November 1939 -- 13 March 1940) and Continuation War (25 June 1941 -- 19 September 1944), the monastery buildings were damaged. On 13 March 1940 the monks emigrated to Finland, taking the holy icon with them, but leaving the iconostasis, church bells, and the library. Another personal possession of St. Arseny, the Konevsky Psalter, dated to the 14th century, was sent to the Russian National Library. The monks returned for a brief period during the Continuation War, but withdrew with the Finnish Army in August 1944. The monks subsequently joined the monks who had fled from the Valaam Monastery and founded the New Valamo Monastery in Finland.

During the Soviet period, the monastery housed a military unit. In 1990 it became one of the first monasteries in the region to be revived by the Russian Orthodox Church. In November 1991, the brethren announced the discovery of St. Arseny's relics, that apparently had been hidden from the Swedes in 1573. By 2004, the Konevsky Monastery, which hosts a large number of tourists and pilgrims, had been mostly restored

- adapted from en.wikipedia

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Piirpauke
• Konevitsan Kirkokello
• Ladoga
• wind
• minimalist
• sea
• exile
• kantele
• music

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FINLANS SONG---------BAND OF THE PIIRPAUKE AND SONG IS KONEVITSANKIRKONKELLOT. KITARA FROM HASSE WAALLI