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“Where God is, there really is happiness”translated

July 12, 2026 · 1 min read

On July 11, 2026, on the day of remembrance of the Venerable Sergius and Herman of Valaam, miracle workers, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Stauropegial Monastery. At the end of the service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the believers with the First Hierarch’s word.

Your Eminences and Eminences! Dear fathers, brothers and sisters!

Usually, when visiting this holy monastery, I remember my first visit to it at a time when abomination and desolation reigned here, when huge locks hung on the doors of this holy church.

Here then there were unfortunate people, isolated from society only because they looked terrible. Not because they suffered from some kind of spiritual illness, which sometimes lead people into a state of madness, but because they were disabled. Many of them were war invalids, and their appearance was so ugly that the authorities of that time considered it impossible to create for them such living conditions that would be associated with communication with other people. The authorities were afraid that, looking at these disabled people, people would feel the whole horror of the war, the whole tragedy of our people, which...

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Δέσποινα Χατζή

I'm always moved by that part about the big padlocks on the church door and the war invalids who were locked in there. I remember my grandmother telling me similar stories from those years. Thank God that today the monastery is functioning normally.

Стефан Ристески

Yes, those big locks on the church door stuck in my head. I remember my grandmother telling about similar things after the war, how people hid the disabled from being seen. Thank God that it is now a monastery and liturgy is served.

Dušan Obradović

And those padlocks on the church doors stayed in my head. In our country after the war, it was similar, people hid the wounded and crippled so that they would not be seen on the streets. Praise be to God that Balaam is alive today and that the Liturgy is celebrated where once there was only wasteland.

Jovan Savić

And those padlocks on the church doors stayed in my head. In our country after the war, it was similar, people hid the wounded so that no one would see them on the streets. Praise be to God that Balaam is alive today and that the Liturgy is celebrated where once there was only wasteland.

Зоран Стојановски

Yes, those locks are hard to forget. My uncle was wounded in the war and for a long time they hid him at home in the village, so that the neighbors would not see him. Now at least the Liturgy is served on Balaam and we pray for all such souls.

Весна Николовска

Yes, those padlocks and hidden wounded men are hard to forget. My father-in-law also came back from the war with big scars on his face, so he didn't go out without a scarf for a long time. At least now the Liturgy is served on Balaam and we pray for their souls, as he said.

Иванка Стоянова

And those big padlocks on the church door stuck in my head. When I read about the disabled from the war, I remember how my grandmother told about a neighbor who came back without an arm and for years did not leave the house so that people would not look at him. Thank God that now Valaam is being served Mass and everything is alive.

Олег Васильев

Yes, those huge locks on the church doors really stuck in my head. In Siberia, after the war, many disabled people were also hidden in their homes so that they would not go out into the street. Thank God that now there is Liturgy on Valaam and everything is different.

Трајче Ристески

Yes, those padlocks and hidden wounded are hard to forget. My late husband also came back from the war with scars and never wanted to talk about it in public. At least now the Liturgy is served on Balaam and we pray for them.

Јасмина Стојановска

Yes, Stefan, those door locks are the hardest part of the story. My aunt from the village told how after the war some families kept the wounded in barns so that they would not be seen by people. Thank God that the Liturgy is being served there now and we pray for them.

Νίκος Αναγνώστου

Yeah, that part about the locks and the war cripples is really strong. Your grandmother was right, back then many places like this were used as warehouses for things they didn't want the world to see. I am glad that today we see Balaam as it should be, with liturgies and pilgrims. When was the last time you visited it?

Ana Jovanović

Yes, those locks on the door are the ones that stuck in my mind the most. Here in Montenegro, after the war, they also hid people with wounds, as if it was a shame. Praise God that Balaam is now praying and not just silent in the wilderness.