Excursions

Evening at the Crypt of the Uspenski Cathedral (Saturday 9 Jan)

Uspenski Cathedral. Photo: Katja Hagelstam (Helsingin ortodoksinen seurakunta)

Uspenski Cathedral. Photo: Katja Hagelstam (Helsingin ortodoksinen seurakunta)

There is no need to register to this Saturday excursion, and the event is free of charge.

19:35 Guided tour in the Uspenski Cathedral (Kanavakatu 1) and addresses by representatives of several faiths in the Cathdral Crypt.

 

Visits to Religious Buildings / Museums and a Joint Dinner (Sunday 10 Jan)

15:00–17:00 Excursion to religious buildings and/or museums in groups in the Helsinki city centre.

Registration to the guided tours is not necessary, but please drop an email to teemu.pikkumaki “at” helsinki.fi if you definitely want to be in a certain group. The following groups are availabe by now:

Group 1. Studium Catholicum and Finnish Ecumenical Council (Guide: Kaisa Iso-Herttua)

  • Dominican Cultural Centre in Helsinki, Finland (Dominikaaninen Studium
    catholicum): In 1946 The Holy See decided to create a centre of
    studies under the direction of the Dominican Order. The centre,
    comprised of a library, a chapel dedicated to Saint Olav and a
    Brothers’ rooms upstairs.
  • The Finnish Ecumenical Council: The goal of ecumenical work is to bring Christians into mutual fellowship towards the visible unity of the Church. The ecumenical council serves as the local representative of the World Council of Churches, and a contact point between Orthodox, Baptists, Pentecostals, Catholics and various sorts of Lutherans and other Protestants.

Group 2. Kamppi Chapel, Temppeliaukio Church, and Rabita Mosque (Guide: Taina Kalliokoski)

  • The Kamppi Chapel is a Lutheran chapel outside of the main bus station for the city centre, operated by the Helsinki parishes and the Social Services Department of the City of Helsinki. Opened in 2012, it is also known as the “Chapel of Silence” since it is intended to be a place to calm down and have a moment of silence in one of the busiest areas in Finland.
  • Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighborhood of
    Helsinki. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Built directly into solid rock, it is also known as the Church of the Rock or the Rock Church.
  • Rabita Mosque of Suomen Islamilainen yhdistys (Finnish Islamic Society). The society is the second oldest Muslim organization in Finland, founded in 1987 by Muslims from 10 different background countries including Somalis, Kurds, Kosovars and Turks.

Group 3. Tour to Cemeteries in Hietaniemi (Guide: David Huisjen)

  • The Hietaniemi cemeteries are located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter
    and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki. There are adjacent
    Lutheran, Orthodox, Jewish and Islamic cemeteries. Here the Finnish elite and most cultural significant members of these religious communities over the past two centuries are buried. We will explore the ways in which artists, businessmen, military heroes and statesmen from these different communities are memorialized, and how these groups interact with each other on this level. There are Lutheran cemetery two funerary chapels, non-religious crematorium, an Orthodox chapel and cemetery and Islamic cemetery at the area.

Group 4. Buddhist Centre and the Kallio Church (Guide: Anne Rantalainen)

  • Helsinki Diamond Way Buddhist Centre, Liisankatu 16 A 8, is one of the eight Buddhist centres and groups and is part of an international non-profit network of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The centre is under the spiritual guidance of H.H. the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje. The main practice in the centre is the 16th Karmapa meditation.
  • The Kallio Church is a Lutheran church in the Kallio district of Helsinki, Finland. It was designed by Lars Sonck and represents National Romanticism with the influence of the Art Nouveau. Kallio was traditionally a working class area. It is separated from the centre of Helsinki by a bridge. Because the area is full of small flats and rents used to be low, it started to attract people who were moving into Helsinki from elsewhere in Finland. Later it has developed into a colourful area, where students, artists and hipsters enjoy living.

[More options may still become available…]

Possible entrance fees to museums or possible public transportation tickets are not incl. in the conference registration fee, to be paid on site.

17:30–  Joint dinner in Hotel President (Eteläinen Rautatiekatu 4, 3rd floor): The conference course of 17 doctoral and master’s degree students introduced by Heidi Zitting, social evening.

Registration to this dinner needed by 18 December to the conference secretary (teemu.pikkumaki “at” helsinki.fi), binding because of the dinner order, buffet dinner 35 € (not incl. in the conference registration fee, to be paid on site).

Hotel President is just 300-400 meters from where the Finnair buses (Elielinaukio) and trains (Helsinki main railway station) depart to the airport.