His Holiness Patriarch Kirill consecrated on Valaam chapel in honor of All Saints of Valaam

July 10, 2016 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, having arrived the day before to the Holy Transfiguration Stavropegial Valaam men’s Monastery, celebrated the consecration of a chapel in honor of All Saints of Valaam, reports Patrairchia.ru. The chapel is located in the northern part of the Valaam archipelago on the way to the Nikolsky Skete.

At the conclusion of the rite of consecration, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church briefly spoke to the participants in the divine service, nothing that he was very glad to visit where he had never been before. “It’s a beautiful church in an historical place,” noted His Holiness.

“May God help you, continuing the tradition of our ancestors, to strengthen the Orthodox faith and piety in our people and to pray to God that the Lord would hear our prayers and grant His grace,” His Holiness said in conclusion, addressing himself to the brothers of the monastery.

The chapel of All Saints of Valaam was built by specialists of the creative association “Fellowship of Restorers,” according to the plan of Russia’s honored architect A. A. Anisimov. The decoration of the chapel includes mosaic icons and stone carving.

Sailing in the bay, a view opens up not only of the church of St. Nicholas of Myra, visible in the distance from the Ladoga, but of the chapel complex with a viewing platform overlooking the main façade on the monastery bay.

The complex is designed in the tradition of northern wooden architecture. In its powerful sloping pillars and stylobates of large stones at the base, wooden roofing and the style of its watch towers the architecture of the church corresponds with the architecture of fortresses and fortifications. The monumental stone base and wooden finishing blends well into the natural landscape of the island.

From the chapel you can walk along the covered walkway to the observation platform with a view onto the bay and Nikolsky Skete. As you approach the magnificent decoration of white stone carved arches and white stone kiots and mosaic icons gradually opens up.

Source: Pravoslavie.ru