The 2003 AGM: Saturday 7 June at St Anne's College, Oxford

The announcement for the 2003 Annual General Meeting (AGM) accompanies this newsletter. Please note that once again, by popular demand, we are holding it on a Saturday, and that it has reverted to its usual season in the spring. We look forward to welcoming a large crowd to listen to our speakers.

            Abbot Silouan is already well known to many members. His address entitled "The Mystery of the Holy Name as Path and Garden", delivered at our seminar at Highgrove last June, clearly captivated all who heard it, including the Prince of Wales. Our only disappointment was that it had to be so brief. We are therefore particularly pleased that he has agreed to speak to us again at the AGM.

            Costa Carras will also be familiar to many who move in conservation circles, especially in Greece. He was born in London and educated at Oxford but has now moved back to Athens where he is active in the fields of Orthodoxy and ecology. He is a Patron of the Friends of Mount Athos and co-editor (with Andrew Walker) of a commendable collection of essays entitled Living Orthodoxy in the Modern World (1996).

            Sandwiched between the two talks is the official business of the AGM and as usual there will be elections. Bishop Basil and Professor David Cadman as well as the Secretary (Graham Speake) and the Events Secretary (Anthony Hazledine) 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.

            The fact that we are meeting on a Saturday means that we have an opportunity to join the Orthodox community at 1 Canterbury Road (five minutes' walk from St Anne's) for a vigil service at 5.30 pm. Those who are staying overnight in Oxford may like to know that on the Sunday morning (which is the feast of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council) there will be a celebration of the Divine Liturgy (mostly in Slavonic) at 10.30 am. Both Orthodox and non-Orthodox members and their guests are warmly invited to attend these services.

            Attendance at the AGM is free. The charge for attending the rest of the day (including morning coffee and afternoon tea) is £7 / $11 each (students £3.50 / $5.50); and there will be a buffet lunch costing £12.50 / $19.50. Names and cheques (payable to The Friends of Mount Athos) should be sent as soon as possible to the Events Secretary, Anthony Hazledine, Antique Oriental Carpets, High Street, Fairford, Glos GL7 4AD.

 

Residential conference: February 2003

The society held its first-ever residential conference at Madingley Hall, Cambridge, from 28 February to 2 March 2003. Entitled 'Mount Athos the Sacred Bridge: The Spirituality of the Holy Mountain', the event was run in association with the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies at Cambridge who provided much-needed administrative assistance. All seventy-six beds were booked two months before the start of the conference, but due to some late cancellations we were in the end able to accommodate at least all the members who wanted to attend, though some non-members had to be disappointed. The speakers were Bishop Kallistos, Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi, Professor Andrew Louth, Fr Nikolaos Hadzinikolaou, Fr Alexander Golitzin, and Fr Nikolai Sakharov. Delegates came from the United States, Canada, Lebanon, Finland, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and all corners of the United Kingdom. The consensus seemed to be that the event had been a great success and there were demands that it should be repeated. It will be, but probably not every year. Meanwhile we hope to publish the proceedings of this first conference in due course.

            Immediately after delivering his paper Bishop Kallistos was presented with a copy of his Festschrift — Abba: The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West (New York: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2003) — a collection of essays on various aspects of the Orthodox tradition written to mark his retirement by his friends, former pupils, and spiritual children and edited by John Behr, Andrew Louth, and Dimitri Conomos. (All three editors attended the conference, as did many of the contributors to the volume.) The presentation was followed by a champagne reception, to the obvious delight and genuine surprise of the recipient. Copies of the book may be obtained from Orthodox Christian Books Ltd (tel. 01782 576933; fax 01782 576930; email orthbook@aol.com).

 

Project for the restoration of footpaths on Mount Athos

A third expedition is due to spend two weeks on the Holy Mountain in May 2003. Once again groups will be based at three monasteries — Vatopedi, Koutloumousiou, and Pantokrator — and they will attempt to build on the achievements of the two previous years. All the places in this year's party have now been filled, but those wishing to volunteer their services for future years are encouraged to contact the project leader, John Arnell (John@thearnells.org).

 

FoMA Travel Bursary

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 £300. 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 (graham.speake@pgen.net). The attention of applicants is drawn to the fact that women are never admitted to Mount Athos.

 

Bequest from the late Arthur Foss

Arthur Foss was for many years a leading light in the Anglo-Hellenic League, whose excellent Review he edited, and many members will be sad to hear of his death at the end of last year. His widow chose to split the collection from his memorial service equally between the Aldeburgh Parish Church Vestry Appeal and the Friends of Mount Athos. 'It seemed to be an appropriate divide between his two great loves', she wrote, 'Aldeburgh and Greece and Mount Athos.' We were delighted to receive a cheque for £635.55, specifically to be used for restoration.