Finding your spiritual home

On behalf of the church community, I am deeply grateful to Father Ioan, rector of the Tallinn Orthodox Parish of St George the Great Martyr and Victory-Bearer, and his wife, who put so much effort into ensuring that we Ukrainians who have found our way to the Orthodox church find comfort for our souls here. More and more of our faithful gather in the church, especially on feast days, and it warms the heart that people, especially those forced to flee, have found spiritual shelter.

Today’s Liturgy for the Feast of the Holy Trinity was especially uplifting, above all thanks to the church choir, whose heartfelt singing gave the faithful a particularly warm feeling. Fortunately for the community, Illia Humeniuk, a student of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, has joined the choir. His penetrating yet extraordinarily soulful bass won the hearts of the parishioners, who listened to the choir with delight. At the end of the Liturgy, Father Ioan traditionally invited the community to a church meal – a picnic, in modern terms – where people were treated to whatever there was… Today’s picnic also brought an unexpected musical gift. A young man named Petro Kovalevskyi sang for us to the guitar. I admit that we heard this name in Estonia for the first time today, as Petro was forced to flee Mariupol – by the way, the hometown of our rector, Father Ioan. It was he who invited his fellow townsman to meet the parishioners and truly delighted each of us. Petro Kovalevskyi is a thoroughly professional performer of the world’s best-known lyrical melodies, including Ukrainian ones. His soft yet penetrating voice with its beautiful timbre makes you listen, whatever he sings.

As it turned out, not long ago, on 2 June, Petro Kovalevskyi appeared with a musical piece in one of the programmes of the Estonian TV channel ETV+, performed by his musically gifted family: father and two daughters. Do take a look at this link, to see for yourself. The musician, by the way, promised to join the programme of Ukrainian songs and romances that the club “Kryla” is preparing for 26 June 2022 at 18:00, so, friends, this may be one more reason to come to our lyrical evening.

Meanwhile, the most important thing I would like to note in my comment on the photos posted by Father Ioan is that our compatriots today very much need communication in a spiritual environment familiar to them. Besides our cultural centres and other meeting places, the parish can become that soul-filled place where you feel at home, in your spiritual home. Come, dear compatriots, every Sunday to God’s church (Tallinn, Suur-Kloostri 14) – here you will find heartfelt shelter and sometimes support. Find time to talk with the priest and with your compatriots – it will bring relief from the tension that many of you have carried since 24 February! See you in church!