Theological and Historical Aspects of the Epistolary Legacy of Schema-hegumen Ioann (Alekseev), St. Ioann of Valaam, the Valaam Elder

Abstract

The article introduces the personality and epistolary legacy of Schema-hegumen Ioann (Alekseev), who pursued asceticism at the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour from 1901 to 1958. After the revolution, the territory on which the monastery stood became part of independent Finland. Consequently, the Elder spent most of his life detached from his homeland. During the Winter War of 1939–1940 between the Soviet Union and Finland, the brotherhood was evacuated deep into Finland, where they founded the New Valaam Monastery. From 1945 to 1957, the monastery was under dual jurisdiction: administratively, it was under the Finnish Church Administration, while canonically, it belonged to the Moscow Patriarchate. Since 1938, Schema- hegumen Ioann had been fulfilling the duties of the spiritual father of the monastery, giving guidance to Russian-speaking pilgrims. At the New Valaam Monastery, the ascetic became widely known as an experienced spiritual mentor. His spiritual disciples included priests, laypeople, former members of the Imperial Court, representatives of the artistic community, and ordinary individuals. Many of them received spiritual guidance from him through correspondence, which was eventually published In 1956, a collection of his letters in Russian was released at New Valaam. From 1961 to 1963, the letters were published in the émigré journal L’Eternel (The Eternal) in France. In the USSR, the Elder’s letters became known in 1958 in samizdat (underground press) format, reproduced using typewriters. In 1985, a portion of the letters was presented in the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”. The collection has been reprinted multiple times and translated into other languages. In Russia, starting from 2000, the Valaam Elder’s letters have been published almost every year, becoming a kind of “handbook for the modern Christian”. Schema-hegumen Ioann did not aim to construct a logically refined theological system; his service was focused on caring for those in spiritual need. When expounding on fundamental doctrines, he relied on the Gospel and the teaching of the Fathers of the Church. His theology was not an intellectual discipline or a theory of the world’s order but an experiential communion with God, rooted in personal transformation experience. In his letters, he sometimes touched upon the issues of the contemporary church life and politics. The article highlights and analyzes the principal theological and historical aspects of the epistolary legacy of the Valaam ascetic.