The Alvar Aalto library in Vyborg, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Konevsky monastery, a chapel in the municipality of uukuniemi town, Athos, Greece. In the speech of Andreas Hanninen (Andreas Hänninen), 70-year-old resident of Helsinki, flashed different names.
Hanninen — Orthodox believer, Builder and restorer. In the 70s it was the engineer hänninen, Heikki (Heikki Hänninen), who was involved in the construction of nuclear power plants and subway stations. But in the early ‘ 80s, he became a restorer and designer in the Museum office of Finland Andreas Hanninen.
Much lower the salary was not an obstacle, since the work with the cultural and historical sites attract Hanninen more than building the rough of remakes. He, however, encountered in the Ministry bureaucracy, in 1990, he retired and became a consultant on issues of restoration.
Most of the facilities were in Russia. Because of the difficulties in Russia and banking crisis of the 1990s, hänninen, until recently, was in debt.
Orthodoxy Hanninen turned 35 years ago. “After I visited the Orthodox Church in Kotka, it smells and the music has remained deep in my memory. I was no longer the old Heikki, so I took another name, Andreas. This is the Orthodox name was given to me during the sacrament of confirmation on Valaam”.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, hänninen founded the society “friends of the Konevsky monastery” (Konevitsan ystävät). Working in this society, he began to restore the monastery, located on an island on lake Ladoga.
Handwriting restorer Hanninen present in Russia and in St. Petersburg Hermitage, and also in the Vyborg library, Alvar Aalto and the Orthodox Church of Elijah the Prophet in the Finnish town of Ilomantsi.
After retirement Hanninen organized, including, and visits to the Holy places of mount Athos, reserved only for men. He organized trips-Saturdays together with his youngest son.
Hanninen was born in South Karelia, in the village of Simpele, in a family with ten children. He himself had seven children, of whom the youngest was 24 and the oldest is 50. “Children are only now beginning to appreciate what made them father,” he says.
The marital relationship did not exist, but Hanninen have close female friends.
Ten years ago he built himself a summer house, the house in uukuniemi town where he was born. When he turned 60, he decided to build next to the house chapel, first in uukuniemi town over the past 400 years.
After the restoration of the canal in the city Möhkö in 1989 he left logs of larch, which can be used. Construction proceeded slowly, mainly because Hanninen injured his hand with a circular saw, and he had to build the chapel with one hand.
In the end, on October 10 in uukuniemi town solemnly erected a cross and dedicated the chapel.
And on 21 October Hanninen 70th anniversary, and the completion of the chapel was his gift to the birthday.
Summer Hanninen holds in the house uukuniemi town in Greece, winter in Helsinki. He often travels to Viborg to see friends and take advantage of the best for the Finns services such as massage, which improves the condition of the victim of a circular saw hands.
Hänninen says that, having overcome various difficulties, he now lives in harmony with loved ones. Faith has helped.
“When one respects the established Church tradition, for example, attend Church, they give you strength in the difficult moments of life.”
