A 15-year-old boy dressed in a hoodie with a polar bear motif took turns reading the gospel about the birth of Jesus in Russian with three girls in dresses and bows who preached the message in Norwegian. The children held a joint celebration of Orthodox Christmas, unaffected by Russia’s war in Ukraine. It has been an annual tradition for members of the church and other leaders in Longyearbyen to pay a Christmas visit to Barentsburg. The pandemic put an end to the tradition, and this year it was uncertain whether the tradition would resume due to the war in Ukraine. Parish priest Siv Limstrand visited with the children’s choir Polar Gospel from the church on Svalbard to Barentsburg to mark the Orthodox Christmas holiday there. Photo: Daniel Cole / AP But for the past couple of months, parish priest Siv Limstrand from the Norwegian Church in Svalbard has worked together with the church’s choir director and with teachers at Barentsburg School to create a program stripped of official status. The program was to consist only of songs and short stories about the Christmas gospel’s message of light and peace in the dark. – We who live here in the dark north, we know how much light means, said Limstrand when she handed out the thin yellow candles that are used in the Orthodox church and given out to the children after the Gospel reading. – Even a weak candle in the window is enough to find the way to each other, she emphasized. Siv Limstrand, parish priest in Svalbard church. Photo: Daniel Cole / AP Limstrand was not sure whether she would give the formal blessing at the end of the performance. But because the atmosphere was so good, she couldn’t help but end by saying: “The Lord bless you and keep you” to the audience that included church staff, parents from Longyearbyen, teachers from Barentsburg and the general manager of Arktikugol, the mining company that operates the small mining community where around 350 people live. Barentsburg In the first half of 2022, there were 391 people living in the Russian settlements of Barentsburg and Pyramiden. Most of them live in Barentsburg. Barentsburg is 60 km west of Longyearbyen. They have hospitals, schools, kindergartens, cultural and sports buildings, coal-fired power plants, to name a few. Source: SSB, Visit Svalbard Tensions between the communities Russia’s war against Ukraine has led to tensions between the two communities on Svalbard. In October, the board of the Svalbard Tourism Council announced that they had excluded the Russian state-owned company Trust Arktikugol from the association – due to the background of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the violations of international law and human rights the war entails. Children from the Russian school in Barentsburg are decorated for a performance during the Orthodox Christmas celebration on 7 January. Norwegian children from the church on Svalbard attended the party Photo: Daniel Cole / AP Limstrand says that the church members approved the choir’s Christmas visit – to help the children not see each other as enemies, but rather pray for everyone. Leonard Snoeks says that his ten-year-old daughter has helped raise money for Ukraine by selling waffles and coffee outside their house in Norway. They moved to Svalbard six months ago and had no qualms about joining the short trip to Barentsburg. – Even if things are as they are, people are only people, says Snoeks. He believes it is important for the church choir to look beyond the conflict and show that they care about others. No official trip To mark that it was not an official trip, but just a gesture from child to child, this weekend’s celebration took place at Barentsburg school. The Russian element followed the Norwegian one. Since most families in Barentsburg are Ukrainian, the children read a poem in Ukrainian from the internationally famous “Carol of the Bells”, which was written a century ago in Ukraine. Children from the Russian school in Barentsburg presented a light show during the celebration of the Orthodox Christmas holiday last weekend. Norwegian children from Longyearbyen attended the party. Photo: Daniel Cole / AP Svetlana Yanevska, the school’s assistant director, sang the carol a cappella with the students. Yanevska believes that this year it was particularly important to follow the religious traditions together. – Children are children all over the world. Our goal is for all children to be happy and safe, she emphasizes.
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Norwegian and Russian children celebrated Orthodox Christmas together in Svalbard – news Troms and Finnmark
