Mikael Agricola Choir led by Darya Shkurlyatyeva and Agricola Reconstruction Club led by Yelena Polevina based at Sts. Peter and Paul Lutheran Cathedral of Vyborg laid a wreath at the monument to the famous proponent of the Reformation. The procession came out of the cathedral singing a Mikael Agricola hymn, “Exultet coelum laudibus.”

 

The church’s senior pastor Rev. Vladimir Dorodni said Mikael Agricola’s prayer and lit a remembrance candle. The prayer’s words echoed the Bible quote inscribed on the monument’s socle, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” a beatitude from Matthew 6:9.

 

Back in the cathedral, the group sang the Finnish-language hymn “Liekkijä on monta, valo on yksi” (“There are Many Tongues of Fire, But there is One Light”), the favorite of the church’s first post-Soviet pastor Rev. Aimo Kymäläinen.

 

Then came the gift-giving time. Yelena Polevina gave the senior pastor a large artistic photo of the Agricola monument. This “winter portrait” is a work of Alyona Golovach, photographer with Vyborg’s Museum & Reserve Grounds.

 

Agricola Choir singer Yelena Zhukova made another doll costume by the memorial date. Now the congregation doesn’t only have a choir girl doll, but also a “young Mikael” who says he wants to be press secretary for Agricola Choir and Club. He might start a blog soon. Stay tuned!

 

Photo credits: Yelena Polevina. Thank you Yelena also for the wreath!