FRIENDS OF MOUNT
ATHOS
(Registered Charity No. 1047287)
It was in 1996 that Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi and other members of his brotherhood first visited us. That was the first time that we ventured to hire the conference centre at St Anne’s College, Oxford, for our AGM, and we were rewarded with a turnout of over a hundred members and their guests, eager to listen to what the Abbot had to say. Ten years on, we are delighted and honoured to welcome Abbot Ephraim and the Vatopedi fathers to Oxford again. Over the intervening decade it is a pleasure to record that relations between our society and that monastery have grown ever closer and warmer, to the extent that for many of us Vatopedi has surely become a home from home on the Holy Mountain.
The notice for this year's AGM was enclosed with the mailing of this newsletter. Proceedings will begin at 11.30 am when Abbot Ephraim will speak on the topic 'Soul and Repentance'. The care of souls has always loomed large among the Abbot's concerns. As long ago as 1994, when Dimitri Conomos led the first SYNDESMOS Spiritual Ecology Camp at Vatopedi, Fr Ephraim welcomed the team warmly and made it quite clear from the start what he saw as his responsibility in the project and how he understood his role. As Dimitri reported in his article about the camp, 'it was all very well for us to come to the garden of the Mother of God with the intention of cleaning and caring for it… But what about our souls?'
Fr Gregory, a senior member of the Vatopedi brotherhood, was in the party of monks who came to London in 1998 for the launch at St James’s Palace of the English edition of the wonderful two-volume work on the tradition, history, and art of Vatopedi monastery. No one is better qualified than he to speak about the 'Restoration of Buildings and Conservation of Treasures at Vatopedi 1996-2006'. We eagerly look forward to being brought up to date, by Abbot Ephraim and Fr Gregory, with the spiritual and material progress made by this great monastery over the past decade.
Sandwiched between the two talks is the official business of the AGM itself and as usual there will be elections. Anthony Hazledine has resigned from the Executive Committee after seven years’ much-valued service. Jeremy Black has agreed to undertake his work. Meanwhile Bishop Kallistos (Chairman), Simon Jennings (Treasurer), John Arnell, and Dimitri Conomos have all reached the end of their term of office and will tender their resignations. All four have indicated their willingness to stand again. Any other nominations for these positions should reach the Secretary in writing at least one week before the meeting. Guests are welcome to attend the AGM but may not vote.
After tea there will be an opportunity to join the Orthodox community at 1 Canterbury Road (five minutes' walk from St Anne's) for a service of Vespers at 5 pm. Both Orthodox and non-Orthodox members and their guests are warmly invited to attend this service which will last for about an hour.
Attendance at the AGM is free. The charge for attending the rest of the day (including morning coffee and afternoon tea) is £7.50 / $14 per person (students £4.00 / $7.50); and there will be a buffet lunch costing £15.00 / $28.00. Names and cheques (payable to "The Friends of Mount Athos") should be sent as soon as possible, Payment in British Pounds should be sent with the reservation information to Jeremy Black at Proffitts House, Millers Lane, Hornton, Oxfordshire OX15 6BS. Payments in Dollars accompanied by the reservation information should be sent to Robert W. Allison, 45 N. Saunders Rd., Greene, Maine, USA 04236. If paying in dollars, please send duplicate reservation information to Jeremy Black at the address above.
This spring another expedition, the sixth, will be dispatched to the Mountain for a fortnight in May. The list for this year is already full and there is a waiting list, such is the enthusiasm for this important and rewarding project inspired by our honorary member, HRH The Prince of Wales. But the project leader, John Arnell, will soon be assembling a team for next year and any members of the society who wish to volunteer their services are encouraged to contact him (John@thearnells.org).
This year's pilgrimage is timed to coincide with the opening of a major Athos Exhibition at the Helsinki City Art Museum. This will be marked by an international symposium on the theme 'Pilgrimage as Dialogue' which we are invited to attend. Pilgrims will then move on to Finnish Karelia in order to visit the monastery of the Transfiguration at Valamo and the neighbouring Lintula convent before crossing the Russian border for visits to the ancient monastery of Valaam, the wooden churches of Kizhi island, and finally St Petersburg from where the party will return to London. The cost of this tour, which is being led by Bishop Kallistos, will be approximately £800 ($1450) per person. There are still a couple of places available: anyone interested in joining the group should contact Dimitri Conomos (dimitri.ec@btinternet.com) as soon as possible.
Residential conference: February 2007
The society is planning to hold its third residential conference at Madingley Hall, Cambridge, over the weekend of 9-11 February 2007. Provisionally entitled 'Mount Athos: The Last Fifty Years and the Next', it will follow a similar pattern to previous conferences. Full details and the programme of invited speakers will be circulated later in the year.
Applications are invited from suitably qualified graduate students working for a higher degree or diploma at institutions of higher learning in the UK for the Friends of Mount Athos Travel Bursary. Applicants may be drawn from any discipline but should be already engaged in or willing to become engaged in a project with a specifically Athonite context. The value of the award is £500. Applications, accompanied by the names and addresses of two referees, should be addressed to the Secretary, Dr Graham Speake, Ironstone Farmhouse, Milton, Banbury OX15 4HH. The attention of applicants is drawn to the fact that women are never admitted to Mount Athos.