(Registered Charity No.1047287)
Ironstone Farmhouse, Milton, Banbury OX15 4HH
Newsletter No. 5, July 1997
The 1997 Annual General Meeting (AGM)
About seventy members and their guests gathered at St Anne's College, Oxford, on 15 May. Sir Steven Runciman welcomed them and invited Bishop Kallistos to take the chair. The bishop called on Brother Aidan to speak on the subject, 'Dying We Live: Daily Life in an Athonite Monastery', in which he drew on his experiences as a member of the community at Iviron. Brother Aidan has kindly given permission for his talk to be printed in the Annual Report for 1997.
After a rather austere buffet lunch (we aim to do better next year!) the formal business of the AGM was transacted. A fuller description of this will appear in the Annual Report. Here it will suffice to say that Mr. Stephen Badger was elected to the Executive Committee and the office of Honorary Treasurer, and Dr Graham Speake was re-elected as Honorary Secretary.
Mr. David Winfield was then invited to give an illustrated talk on 'The Frescos of the Protaton' which he had recently surveyed for the Holy Community on behalf of the Friends. His talk, which was of absorbing interest and great importance for the future of these endangered paintings, was based on the report which he compiled after a two-week visit to Karyes in November 1996, which also will be printed in the Annual Report for 1997.
Once again there was an exhibition of paintings of the Holy Mountain by Stephen Grady, several of which were sold, enabling us to pass on a percentage of the proceeds to the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon. A welcome newcomer to the proceedings was Nicholas Chapman of the Orthodox Christian Book Service. His stall attracted a good deal of attention and he was kind enough to present us with 10 per cent commission on his takings (both on the day and as a result of his recent mailing). We are most grateful for this generous donation.
Regulations for entry to Mount Athos
The last Newsletter mentioned that pilgrims to Mount Athos are now required to obtain a letter of recommendation from their embassy or consulate before they can be issued with a diamonitirion. This regulation remains in place and, in the case of the British, such a letter costs the equivalent of £20, whether it is obtained from the embassy in Athens or the consulate in Thessaloniki. The British Ambassador (who is a member of the Friends) is trying to negotiate exemption from this requirement for members of the society; but negotiations were still in progress at the time of writing.
Orthodox pilgrims are required to register with the Bureau for Visitors to the Holy Mountain, 21 Kanari Street, Thessaloniki, but this can be done by telephone (note the new number: 031-943181). Orthodox clergy are not bound by the quota, but they are asked to inform the Bureau for Visitors.
Pilgrimage to Tolleshunt Knights
A small party of nine members, including Bishop Kallistos, travelled to Essex on Saturday 21 June and were most warmly received by the Abbot and members of the community of St John the Baptist, founded in 1959 by the late Fr Sophrony. In addition to receiving their lavish hospitality, we were able to spend time in their well-stocked bookshop and to attend vespers in the beautiful old parish church of the village. We hope that we may visit them again.
Proceedings of the 1994 Birmingham Symposium
The 1994 Spring Symposium of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies was devoted to 'Mount Athos and Byzantine Monasticism'. The proceedings of this memorable conference, edited by Symposiarch Anthony Bryer and Mary Cunningham, have recently been published by Variorum and include contributions by Bishop Kallistos, Robert Allison, Alex Lingas, Peter Burridge, and Paschalis Kitromilides among many others. The cover price is £39.50, but members of the Friends may order copies at the special price of £30.00 (including P&P) by writing direct to Dr Mary Cunningham (44 Church Street, Littleover, Derby DE23 6GD) and enclosing a cheque payable to the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies.
New edition of the Zwerger map
Copies of the new edition of Reinhold Zwerger's invaluable map of Mount Athos are now available from the Secretary, Graham Speake, at the address given at the top of this newsletter, @ £11.50 (including p&p). Persons wishing to pay in dollars may send their checks to American Secretary Robert Allison, Dept. of Philosophy & Religion, Bates College, Lewiston, ME 04240 USA in the amount of $20 (the slightly higher rate is to cover transatlantic postage.). Cheques payable to "The Friends of Mount Athos", please.
Fr Moses of Koutloumousiou
Fr Moses of Koutloumousiou is currently in the USA for a liver transplant. Funds for the surgery (which cost $140,000) have been raised, but further efforts are needed for his post-operative care. Anyone wishing to contribute to this, or to another fund that is raising money for the purchase of 4x4 vehicles for the same monastery, is invited to send a donation to St Katherine's Greek Orthodox Church, 3149 Glen Carlyn Road, Falls Church, VA 22041, USA.
Future Meetings of the Friends
Two meetings are planned for the latter part of this year:
All members and their guests will be most welcome at both of these meetings.
Book Search
Quest Books specializes in secondhand and rare books about Byzantium. Members with particular 'wants' are encouraged to contact them at Harmer Hill, Millington, York YO4 2TX (tel. and fax: 01759 304735; calling from the USA: 011-44-1759 304735)
FoMA Travel Bursary for 1998
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 for 1998. Applicants may be drawn from any discipline but should already be 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, Graham Speake, at the address given at the top of this newsletter by the end of 1997. The attention of applicants is drawn to the fact that women are never admitted to Mount Athos.
Award of the 1997 Onassis Prize for Culture
All members will be delighted to learn that the joint winner of the 1997 Onassis Prize for Culture is our President, Sir Steven Runciman. We congratulate him on this notable achievement - his predecessors include Harold Macmillan (1980), Desmond Tutu (1981), BBC External Services (1984), Vaclav Havel (1993) - and we are deeply honoured by his decision to donate the proceeds to Athonite causes.
Graham Speake
Hon. Secretary