Finland’s only Orthodox monastery is idyllically located on an island in Juojävi. Visitors are free to roam the site and enter the churches. The first church was made by connecting two sheds; the rustic architecture contrasts curiously with its gilded icons. The modern church has an onion-shaped dome and an incense-saturated interior featuring an elaborate iconostasis. Visitors can follow a 4.5km marked walking trail to a pilgrim's wooden cross located on the lake's edge.
There’s a prayer service at noon on Saturday and liturgy at 9am on Sunday. Matins are held at 6am Monday to Saturday and vespers or a vigil at 6pm daily. Guided tours (adult/child €6/3; 75 minutes) of the monastery are offered between 10am and 5pm on Sundays and on other days in high summer.
The community encourages visitors, and is well geared to tourism, with a cafeteria, huge gift shop, overnight accommodation and a wine cellar where you can taste and purchase monastery-produced wine and whisky. Note that the monastery has a dress code: knees and shoulders must be covered.
