Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise By Graham Speake. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002. 294 pages. Price h/b £25.00 or $39.95. ISBN 0-300-09353-5.
In 1963, when the Orthodox world celebrated
the millennium of monastic life on the Holy Mountain, pessimistic observers
said that the event could in fact be regarded as the funeral service of
Athonite monasticism. There had been a steady decline in the number of monks
from the beginning of the twentieth century, and to the casual observer the end
seemed near. The start of the decline coincided with the outbreak of the First
World War, but it accelerated after the 1917 revolution in Russia and the
Second World War. In 1903 there were 7432 monks, and by 1943 the number had
dropped to only 2878. The decline continued until 1972 when, for the first time
during the century, there was an increase of one monk, the number being then
1146. There were therefore well-founded reasons for pessimism. However, to know
the numbers is not always the same as to understand them.
The Holy Mountain has experienced ups and downs many times in its long history, the
waves of decline and revival resembling the fluctuations on the stock market.
The Athonites, although occasionally worried about the state of affairs, have
never lost faith, and have always been convinced that everything will turn for
the best: indeed, it has done so once more. Graham Speake's first and primary
aim in writing Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise is to describe this recent revival in the ruling
monasteries. He portrays the cultural and historical heritage, which had been
in decline for more than half a century, the stimulating natural environment,
and above all the living spiritual tradition, its life-giving well that has
always been in the desert of Athos. His second motive is to provide 'a complete
history from earliest times to the present' (p. 5). This task is, of course,
impossible if the word 'complete' is taken literally. However, as a frequent
visitor to the Holy Mountain, Speake has been able to review previous books and
studies on Mount Athos and its history with an insight based on his own
experiences in the field. Moreover, recent archival publications, especially
the Archives de l'Athos
(still to be completed) under the direction of Gabriel Millet and Paul Lemerle,
provide a wealth of information of immense historical importance for our
understanding of the Orthodox view of life in general, and monastic life in
particular, throughout the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. This information has
not, of course, been used exhaustively in this book. The author is not aiming
at a scholarly monograph, rather at a general illustrated introduction and
guide to those who wish to read the entire history of the Holy Mountain and to
hear the latest news about developments on the monastic peninsula.
'Yet
another book on Mount Athos!' a cynical man of letters may exclaim, and not
without reason. The Bibliographie de la Sainte Montagne de l'Athos by Irénée Doens, originally published in 1964
but reprinted on Mount Athos in 2001, contains a list of 774 titles in Greek (not counting
subcategories a, b, and c) and of 1860 titles in other languages. Numerous
books about the Athonite way of life have been published since then. Why, then,
is there a need for yet another book on the Holy Mountain?
Anyone who takes pleasure in belles-lettres will appreciate a book that is enjoyable to read, the
more so when the scholarship is sound. Among the many books on the subject,
Speake's Mount Athos is one of the best in English, being up to
date as regards the interpretation of the history of the Holy Mountain and the
authenticity of the Athonite spirit, and accurate in its understanding of the
Orthodox view of life and its theology. There are many other books on Athos,
but only a few that show an understanding of the Athonite way of life, and none
that contains the latest news about the recent revival of monastic life on the
Holy Mountain. Athos is once more experiencing a renewal in almost all of its
ruling monasteries, and Speake tells us the story of how this process began and
how it spread from one monastery to the next.
Whenever Mount Athos is mentioned, the most frequently asked question is: why do the
Athonites not allow women to visit them? The answer is given in Chapter 2 (The
Garden of the Mother of God). The Virgin Mary paid a legendary visit to Athos,
which thereafter became her Garden and she its patron and protector. She claims
the monks' entire devotion, a devotion she is unwilling to share with any other
women. This is not the main reason for the exclusion of women, however, which
lies in the 'time-honoured principle of abaton (literally a “no-go” area) which is common to all
monasteries, whether for men or for women, and which enables them, in so far as
they wish to enforce it, to close their doors to members of the opposite sex.
The abaton is by no means
peculiar to Athos' (p. 25). Women were, in fact, first excluded from Patmos by
imperial chrysobull; and Meteora banned women in the fourteenth century. The
only difference is that the Athonites have extended the principle to cover the
whole Mountain, and that has to do with the fact that the entire area is
divided between the ruling monasteries and is in effect their (monastic)
garden. To understand this is thus to know more, because for the Athonites the
exclusion of women is not a stand against women or feminism, but a purely
practical matter. The monks simply wish to devote their lives to spiritual
striving and unceasing prayer for the well-being of the world. This requires
their undivided attention and demands the highest possible degree of
concentration.
Speake then gives us a most readable historical survey, from Byzantine through
Palaiologan and Ottoman Athos to twentieth-century Athos. He relates the
history of the Holy Mountain from the first hermits who settled there in the
ninth century, through to the foundation of the Great Lavra as the first
'new-style monastery' on the peninsula with its peculiar fortress-like structure.
He goes on to tell the story of the foundation of the other ruling monasteries,
the development of Athos as a pan-Orthodox centre with the coming of the Slavs
and unwelcome guests such as the Vlach shepherds, the Latins, and the pirate
raids. He describes the periods of decay, reconstruction, and renewal, the
influence of Serbia, the intervention of emperors and patriarchs, and the
hesychast controversy. He introduces some prominent ascetics and spiritual
fathers, artists and musicians, and tells us about the idiorrhythmic movement
and its decline at the end of the twentieth century, the skilful diplomacy of
the Athonites during the Ottoman period, the emergence of the sketes, and the
process of renewal from the eighteenth century onwards Ð the fruits of which
are to be seen today.
Apart from the decline in the number of monks, economic and political problems have
played a major part in the recent history of Mount Athos. The political
settlement ratified by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) recognized GreeceÕs
sovereignty; and when Greece joined the European Community in January 1981, the
legal status of the Holy Mountain was reinforced and became widely accepted.
Once the political status was assured, the spiritual revival that for some time had
flourished in the cells and
hermitages at the southern tip of the peninsula, the desert of Athos as it
were, began to spread. Holy men with deep spiritual insight Ð notably the
renowned desert father Elder Joseph the Hesychast Ð gathered groups of
disciples around them. New Skete in particular became a centre for this revival
movement. It was from there that the ruling monasteries recruited their abbots,
and gradually, one by one, they began to bloom spiritually once more. The
cultivation of inner stillness and prayer of the heart were again put at the
centre of the spiritual life. Speake is right in his statement that, in fact,
'there was nothing new about it' (p. 174), because this has always happened at
times when monastic life on the Holy Mountain has been at a low ebb. From the
late 1960s onwards, the disciples of these charismatic elders were recruited to
the monasteries in trouble and were elected hegoumenos. Some of these abbots
moved to another ruling monastery once the first one was on its feet, as did Fr
Vasileios Gontikakis, who was first at Stavronikita and is now at Iviron.
Initially, the revival was confined to the Greek ruling monasteries. The Russian, Serbian,
and Bulgarian monasteries are still in the process of recovering from the ill
effects of communism. The Russian St Panteleimonos is now on its way to
revival, but the Bulgarian Zographou is still struggling with its economic and
spiritual problems. The brutal expulsion in 1992 of the Russian brotherhood
from the skete of the Prophet Elijah reflected the tension between the Holy
Mountain and the Patriarchate in Constantinople, as well as that between the
Greek and non-Greek monks.
Nothing in life is free, and so the revival did not come without costs. For example, in
1963 a road was built from Daphne to Karyes on the pretext that it enabled
delegations to come to celebrate the millennium. Today, roads lead to most of
the ruling monasteries, and electricity, hot water, central heating, telephone
systems, computers and mobile 'phones are all to be found. Last September I
could hear numerous mobile 'phones ringing in the monastery, once even during
the evening service. Speake regards these innovations merely as ephemeral
conveniences Ð the monastic routine has not changed (p. 37). I am inclined to
agree with him. As long as the monks follow the traditional monastic routine,
and the advice of their spiritual fathers and elders, there will always be
discernment between what is and is not essential in monastic life.
Speake follows his well-balanced exposé of Athos in its historical perspectives with
an account of Athos today, first what it is like for the monk, then what it
means to the pilgrim. It is in these two chapters that the reader will feel the
touch of an author who knows what he is talking about. We sense the presence of
personal experience. For anyone who has visited the Holy Mountain the
description is authentic. The account of the initiation procedures, the
celebration of a feast, the life in the sketes and cells, the advice for the pilgrim,
the moving around on the Holy Mountain, the hospitality, Easter and Christmas
on Athos, the procedure for baptism, and the brief theology of the mystery of
Athos comprise a valuable ethnological account of Athos today. When I visited
St Paul's in September 2002, an Italian was baptized at nearby New Skete. In
recent years I have witnessed three baptisms on Athos. This tells us that the
practice is no longer so rare.
Twenty-first-century Athos is both modern and genuinely traditional. Today, more
than 1600 monks
live as the Athonites have always lived, dividing their day into prayer, work,
and rest, not chronologically, but so that the three functions intermingle to
produce an angelic life in which time is insignificant. In this respect, life
on the Holy Mountain has not changed at all. The role of the spiritual fathers
is what it always has been. Every ruling monastery has its own and in spiritual
matters his advice is unconditionally respected. Sounds of unceasing prayer are
to be heard in every monastery as the monks carry out their tasks of obedience,
such as painting icons, working in the garden, refurbishing the house, cooking
in the kitchen, and doing other manual jobs.
'The exclusiveness of Athos is essential to its survival', Speake concludes in his
Epilogue (p. 265). I totally agree. Where compromises have been made, the
monastic life is no more, Meteora in Thessaly being a case in point.
I suggested at the beginning of this review that to know is not always the same
as to understand. To understand is to know more. Speake knows much more than
the average Athos visitor. But what is more, he also understands Athonite
spirituality. This is somewhat rare, even among the Greeks. They do not
hesitate to criticize the innovations on Athos, especially the use of jeeps and
mobile 'phones, as well as the speed boats commuting between the monasteries
and Ouranoupolis. These innovations are all there, but as Speake has documented
in numerous beautiful and well-chosen colour pictures, the traditional Athos is
still there too. The monastic life continues as it has always done. The
stillness is there, and we listen to its sounds and sense the presence of God
as the Athonites and the true pilgrims do. I have just finished reading a most
enjoyable narrative, a story by an author who uses words as eloquently as our
Honorary Member uses watercolours to capture views of the Holy Mountain.
RENÉ GOTHÓNI
Helsinki