FRIENDS OF MOUNT
ATHOS
(Registered
Charity No. 1047287)
Over the weekend of 20–22 February 2009 the Friends will hold their fourth residential conference at Madingley Hall near Cambridge. The theme this time is ÔMount Athos: Microcosm of the Christian EastÕ which enables us to focus on the variety of traditions that have been (and still are) represented among the monastic communities of the Holy Mountain. Athos has always been the spiritual centre for all the Orthodox Churches and, despite recent threats to this paradigm, the Holy Community realizes that the very heart and strength of Athonite monasticism is its ecumenical profile.
Where did the first monks come from? To what extent was/is Athos a Byzantine phenomenon? Why did Athos so quickly develop an ecumenical, supranational profile? What did these non-Greek traditions being with them and what was their impact on the life of the Athonites? If it was a two-way process, what effect did Athos have on the lands from which the monks came? Why have some traditions flourished and others not? What are the threats to their survival today? And what is the future for pan-Orthodoxy on Athos? These are some of the questions that our conference will try to answer.
Our speakers, all of them specialists in their field but practised at addressing a non-specialist audence, will deliver a well-balanced series of eight talks which are intended a provoke discussion as well as providing illumination.
Dr
Rosemary Morris taught for
many years at the University of Manchester and is now Visiting Fellow at the
University of York. She is the author of many articles on Byzantine social and
ecclesiastical history and her book, Monks and Laymen in Byzantium,
843–1118 (Cambridge,
1995), was awarded a Runciman Prize. She will speak about the first monks on
Athos and what the Athonite archives tell us about them under the title
ÔAthonite evidence for the non-Greek monks on the Holy Mountain,
850–1045Õ.
Dame
Averil Cameron is
Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine History at Oxford and Warden of Keble
College. Her publications include Changing Cultures in Early Byzantium (1996) and her latest book, The
Byzantines (Oxford, 2006),
was awarded the 2007 Criticos Prize. Her topic is the Byzantine character of
the Holy Mountain.
Dr
Nicholas Fennell has
taught Russian and French at Winchester College since 1975. He is the author of
The Russians on Athos
(Bern, 2001) and of numerous articles about Russian Athonite history and
literature. He will speak about the Russian tradition on the Holy Mountain.
Dr
Tamara Grdzelidze works in
the Faith and Order Department of the World Council of Churches in Geneva. She
is preparing an English translation of two eleventh-century Georgian
hagiographical texts from Iviron for which she was awarded a publication grant
of £1000 by the Friends in 2004. Her topic is the Georgian tradition on Mount
Athos and its manifestation in the Iviron Monastery.
Dr
Vladeta Jankovic, formerly
Serbian Ambassador in London, is currently Serbian Ambassador to the Holy See
as well as being a professor of classics at the University of Belgrade. He has
an unparalleled knowledge of the Chilandar Monastery on Athos and he will speak
about the Serbian tradition on the Holy Mountain.
Fr
Constantin Coman is
Professor of Theology in the University of Bucharest. Since Byzantine times
Romanians (and their forebears, the Moldavians and Wallachians) have made
enormous contributions to Athos, both material and spiritual; they form the
largest ethnic minority on the Mountain today; and yet they have never had a
monastery to call their own. Fr Constantin will speak about the Romanians on
Athos.
Archimandrite
Ephrem Lash is an
Englishman who was for many years a monk of the monastery of Dochiariou on
Mount Athos. Drawing on his own experience, he will speak about life on Athos
for a monk from the West.
Metropolitan
Kallistos Ware is
President of the Friends and a monk of the monastery of St John the Theologian,
Patmos. From 1966 to 2001 he was Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, and
Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies. An outspoken critic of recent
attempts to Hellenize the Holy Mountain, Bishop Kallistos is a stalwart
defender of its pan-Orthodox traditions.
This lecture, delivered by our President, Metropolitan Kallistos, at the PrinceÕs Foundation on 28 June 2003, has recently been published by the Friends. The production costs have been underwritten by an anonymous benefactor and a free copy is being sent with this mailing to every member of the society. Additional copies may be ordered from the Secretary at £7.50 each inclusive of postage and packing.
Robin CormackÕs
book Icons, published
by the British Museum Press in 2007, includes illustrations of 100 icons in the
British MuseumÕs collection. These icons are not often displayed, but we have
made arrangements with the museum for a private view for members of the
Friends. This will take place on Tuesday 3 February 2009 at 2 pm. The guide
will be Professor Cormack, who is also curating the exhibition of Byzantine Art
that is about to open at the Royal Academy. There is no charge for this event,
but numbers are limited (to 20). If you wish to join the group, write to the
Secretary asap.
Some members will already know that Jeremy Black and Thomas Braun have been involved in a serious road accident and are in critical care in a Coventry hospital. Please pray for them as they fight for their lives.
Vacancy for
an administrator
As a result of Jeremy BlackÕs accident there is a vacancy for an administrative assistant to the Secretary. The ideal candidate would be a volunteer (all expenses will be paid) based not too far from Oxford with access to a computer and e-mail. Anyone interested should write as soon as possible to the Secretary.
GRAHAM SPEAKE
Hon.
Secretary
speakeg@aol.com