Kouvola church to restore altar screen lost for more than a century

Kouvola’s Holy Cross Church plans to restore its original iconostasis, an Orthodox altar screen whose pieces were separated more than a century ago, Yle reports. The congregation aims to return it to the church before the end of 2026.

The church, completed in 1916 as a Russian garrison church, has not displayed the original screen intact since it was dismantled after Finland gained independence. The Finnish state seized the church’s property, and the screen’s parts ended up in different places. For years, many believed it had been destroyed during Second World War bombing in Kotka.

When Orthodox congregations in southeastern Finland merged in 2021 and reviewed their property, they discovered that almost all the pieces had survived. Some were found in the attic and cemetery of Kotka’s Orthodox church. The search involved comparing old photographs with objects in storage, said Timo Tynkkynen, rector of the Southeastern Finland Orthodox Parish.

One icon is still missing. Documents from the 1930s indicate it was held by Kouvola’s Lutheran church, which is searching its storage areas.

The parish decided in 2025 to bring the original screen back. The move would mean removing the current iconostasis, painted in the 1980s by Finnish icon painter Margit Lintu. The parish says the Finnish Heritage Agency supports the restoration, and the existing icons will be placed elsewhere.

More than 170 people have signed an online petition opposing the removal of Lintu’s iconostasis. Signatory German Vakkari said the decision was made without enough discussion and that the current screen is part of the congregation’s shared memory. Tynkkynen said the parish council’s decisions in favour of the restoration are legally binding.