2026 AGM Minutes

FRIENDS OF MOUNT ATHOS

Minutes of the Thirty-Fifth Annual General Meeting held at

St Anne’s College, Oxford, on 6 June 2026

Present: Christopher Thomas (CT) (Chairman), Elizabeth Chesney-Evans (Hon. Secretary), Graham Speake, Dr Aphrodite Papayianni, Leslie Currie, Hugo Grimwood, and 23 members and guests.  

1. Apologies

Fr Stephen Platt, Peter Stevenson, Peter Lea, Dimitri Conomos, Andrew Dismore.

2. Approval of the minutes of the 2025 AGM

Copies of the 2025 minutes were posted online after last year’s AGM and were circulated to members prior to the 2026 AGM. Hard copies were also available at the Summer Conference.

A motion to accept the 2025 minutes was proposed by Dr Graham Speake and seconded by Hugo Grimwood.

The minutes were approved nem con.

3. Chairman’s Report

FoMA’s new Chairman, Christopher Thomas, began by thanking the retiring Chairman, Dr Graham Speake, saying that when an organisation is mature, people often underestimate how hard it must have been to create it from scratch. This Graham had successfully done, along with others, and had shown vision and determination over the past 36 years, with all FoMA’s activities greatly benefiting from his dedication. CT said he was delighted that Graham had agreed to continue in his role as a Trustee and as Honorary President. 

CT went on to highlight some of the charity’s activities over the past twelve months including FoMA’s first overseas conference and exhibition in Thessaloniki in September 2025; the largest ever path clearing pilgrimage thus far in May 2026; and a very successful pilgrimage to Macedonia led by Dr Aphrodite Papayianni, also in May 2026. Future highlights include the biennial Madingley Conference in Cambridge from 16-18 October 2026 and the biennial Metropolitan Kallistos Ware Memorial Lecture at St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in London on Tuesday 21 January 2027.

Turning to the future, CT said there were several ideas in development to move FoMA forward, some in the pipeline, others at this stage mere pipedreams.  These include:

• Community: CT said that 95% of FoMA members live more than 50 miles from Oxford and to serve them better, the charity would move towards becoming a ‘facilitator’ rather than necessarily an organiser, with some future events being organised outside Oxford and London. Output will become more global, with the new quarterly newsletter featuring more articles from members. There are also plans to launch a FoMA podcast. In particular, FoMA will focus on activities to involve women members and encourage a new generation of members.
• Accessibility: This will involve developing a better website and other communication channels and offering a better and more responsive member experience. This will include an easier membership renewal process, and an online event booking service.
•  Legacy: Plans for widening FoMA’s reach and impact include establishing a formal FoMA archive, possibly at an Oxford University college; exploring potential new venues for the annual Summer Conference and AGM and the biennial Metropolitan Kallistos Ware Memorial Lecture (from 2029); and holding a second event in Greece. Fund raising will become a central activity with a dedicated Fund Raiser recruited to the Executive Committee as a Trustee.

4.Annual Trustees Report and Accounts

The 2025 accounts summary was circulated to members prior to the AGM and hard copies of the full accounts and the Trustees Report were made available at the conference, having been ratified by the Independent Examiner, Simon Jennings. These can also be viewed on the FoMA website.  The Executive Committee has appointed a new Treasurer, Daniel Price, to replace retiring Treasurer Peter Stevenson.

A question from the floor was raised by member Andrew Buchanan regarding the financial arrangements for FoMA’s member pilgrimages. CT confirmed that a separate but linked company, Mount Athos Pilgrimages Ltd, had been set up on the advice of the Independent Examiner to handle these finances; this will mitigate against FoMA being classified as acting as a  travel agent. He said that himself, the Honorary Secretary, Elizabeth Chesney-Evans, and the Membership Secretary, Peter Lea, have been appointed as Directors of the company. Any surplus funds from the pilgrimages will be reinvested into FoMA’s general activities.

A motion to accept the Annual Trustees Report and Accounts was proposed by Andrew Buchanan and seconded by Dr. Graham Speake.

The motion was carried nem con.

5. Changes to the Constitution

CT explained that the Executive Committee had reviewed the 2016 Constitution and was proposing a small number of very minor changes, mainly spelling corrections and re-ordering of certain paragraphs. No major changes, e.g. to the charity’s objects, were being proposed. A summary paper was circulated to all members prior to the AGM.

A motion to accept the changes was proposed by John McCormack and seconded by Dr Aphrodite Papayianni.

The motion was carried nem con.

6. Elections

The following members put themselves forward for election: David Greybe and Daniel Price. The following members stood for re-election: Dr Graham Speake, Peter Lea, Dr Aphrodite Papayianni, Fr Stephen Platt, Leslie Currie, and Christopher Deliso. There is currently one Trustee vacancy.

A motion to accept these elections en bloc was proposed by Hugo Grimwood and seconded by Bryce Cross.

The motion was carried nem con.

7. Any Other Business

CT put on record FoMA’s thanks to the retiring Treasurer, Peter Stevenson, and to Dimitri Conomos, both of whom have carried out exceptional work over many years. He also thanked the Independent Examiner, Simon Jennings, who had carried out this year’s external audit despite suffering from serious health issues.

In addition, the Chairman thanked the Honorary Secretary, Elizabeth Chesney-Evans, for making this year’s conference and AGM happen; Marinos Panayi who had stepped in at short notice to help with the technical aspects of the conference; and David Greybe who had provided a newly revitalised book and merchandise stall. All, he said, had made an exceptional contribution to FoMA.

There being no other business, CT closed the meeting at 1.45 pm.

Elizabeth Chesney-Evans

Honorary Secretary

Email: secretary@athosfriends.org