Obituary | Veikko Koivunen, chief verger of Helsinki’s Uspenski Cathedral

Veikko Koivunen, the longtime chief verger of Helsinki’s Uspenski Cathedral, died in Helsinki on Aug. 7, 2026, at the age of 85. He was born in Tuupovaara on May 12, 1941, into a family of nine children displaced by war. At the age of three, he and his sister were sent to Sweden as war children. When he returned home, he spoke only Swedish.

Koivunen had already begun serving as a verger at the Hoilola chapel in Tuupovaara by the age of 20. He later worked as a truck driver and warehouse manager before joining Uspenski Cathedral in 1989. He held the post of chief verger until his retirement. At the time, the cathedral still used Church Slavonic in its services. Finnish became the service language the following year.

His responsibilities extended well beyond building maintenance and security. Koivunen supervised numerous employees and volunteers, and took part in the cathedral’s sacred work alongside the clergy. He looked after the prosphora and wine needed for Communion, as well as the proper serving of the remaining wine. When altar servers, candle bearers, kadilapekka assistants or subdeacons were unavailable, he stepped into those roles as well.

People came to know him as an honest and fair manager, flexible, conciliatory and marked by a gentle Karelian smile. Both worshippers and clergy respected and loved him. The cathedral’s liturgical music, incense and icons continued to enrich his life after retirement. At his allotment in Viherkumpu, he built what he called “his own magnificent cathedral,” a small tent chapel that he gladly showed to visitors ranging from bishops to errand boys.

In his later years, Koivunen said he was especially pleased that his work had helped the Orthodox Church find and train an archbishop. He had encouraged Matti Walgren, once a tourist guide and now known as Archbishop Elia, to become interested in the Orthodox faith and church. Koivunen was buried on Aug. 15 during the festive liturgy marking Uspenski Cathedral’s anniversary.