DOCSLIB.ORG

LITURGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS in the BYZANTINE LECTIONARY COD.587 in the DIONYSIOU MONASTERY, MOUNT ATHOS Tomoyuki MASUDA

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

LITURGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE BYZANTINE LECTIONARY COD.587 IN THE DIONYSIOU MONASTERY, MOUNT ATHOS Tomoyuki MASUDA* The Dionysiou Lectionary (Cod.587 in the Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos) possesses not only the largest illustrations among the seventeen manuscripts with th~ narrative cycle of Christ's life, but also the greatest variety of pictorial forms according to the importance of the texts and feasts. To grasp the characteristics of its iconographic program, I discuss on the illustrations for Holy Week. The miniature depicting Christ s Prayer at Gethsemane is placed at the top of the Twelve Evangelia for the Passion of Holy Thursday. Why is Christ depicted three times in different motions? Why the miniature of the Conference of the Chief Priests before Caiaphas for the Liturgy of Holy Thursday has the same composition as the Conference of the Chief Priests before Pilate for the Orthros of Holy Saturday? Why the Betrayal of Judas is selected for the Holy Friday Liturgy? To solve these questions, we have to interpret whole texts of the church services for the Passion and surviving illustrated lectionaries. Our painter depicted the Prayer at Gethsemane in the composition of Moses Receiving the Law to emphasize Christ as New Moses and to visualize the typological correspondence between the Old and the New Testament. The Conference of the Chief Priests, an insignificant episode at a glance, is regarded as the important event which connects the Gospel typologically with the Psalter in the context of the liturgy. To emphasize the point visually, the Dionysiou Lectionary selected the Conference of the Chief Priests with the same composition as the Psalter illustrations of the conference of the kings, in spite of the Gethsemane scene originally suitable for the place. Though the Betrayal is suitable for the twelve Evangelia, being pushed out by the Gethsemane, it is moved to the next position of the Holy Friday Liturgy. The main interest of the planner of the manuscript consists in the liturgy and the typology, and not in the correspondence * Professor, School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University Vol. XLI 2006 91 with the text. The program of Holy Week in the Dionysiou Lectionary is deliberated carefully. Keywords: Byzantium, lectionary, Mount Athos, illuminated manuscript, liturgy The relation between liturgy and art is one of the most controversial issues among Byzantinists. The Gospel lectionary is supposed to be mostly influenced from church ritual in the field of the manuscript illustration. A detailed analysis on liturgical influence is, however, still a matter for future research, since few of the illustrated lectionaries are fully published. I discuss here some illustrations of Holy Week in the Dionysiou Lectionary (Cod. 587 in the Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos), 1 which is the most richly illustrated of the middle­ Byzantine lectionary manuscripts. The impact of the liturgical texts on the lectionary illustration will be demonstrated. The text of the Gospel lectionary is divided into two major parts: the movable feasts from Easter (Jn 1: 1-17) to Holy Saturday (Mt 28: 1-20), and the immovable feasts from 1 September (St. Symeon the Sty lite, Lk 4: 16-22) to 31 August (commemoration varied by manuscripts). I restrict my argument to the illustrations for Holy Week. So far, the seventeen lectionary manuscripts with narrative Christological illustrations are known from the middle Byzantine period, and the forms of their illustration contain full-page, half-page, column picture, initial, marginal and their incorporations. 2 1. Monastery of St. John the Theologian on Patmos, Cod. 70 (1oth century, marginal miniatures )3 2. State Library in Sanct Petersburg, Cod. gr.21 (1oth Century, half-page miniatures )4 3. Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, Cod. A86 (loth century, marginal miniatures)5 4. Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, Cod. Skevophylakion (11th century, full-page miniatures )6 5. Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos, Cod. 1 (11th century, full-page miniatures) 7 6. Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., Cod. 1 (11th century, marginal miniatures )8 7. Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, Cod. M639 (II th century, column and initial miniatures)9 92 ORIENT LITURGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE BYZANTINE LECTIONARY COD.587 8. Vatican Library, Cod. Vat.gr.1156 (11th century, various miniatures of full page, column, margin, etc.) 10 9. National Library in Athens, Cod. 190 (11th century, initial and marginal miniatures) 11 10. Hellenic Institute in Venice, Cod. gr.2 (11th century, various miniatures of full page, margin, initial, etc.) 12 11. Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos, Cod. 587 (11th century, various miniatures of full page, half page, column, margin, initial, etc.) 12. National Library at Athens, Cod. 68 (ll-12th century, miniatures of full page and column) 13 13. Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, Cod. Paris.suppl.gr.27 (ll-12th century, miniatures of column, initial and margin) 14 14. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, Cod. 2 (12th century, miniatures of full page and initial) 15 15. Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Cod. 8 (12th century, marginal and initial miniatures) 16 16. Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, Cod. M692 (12th century, miniatures of full page, margin and initial) 17 17. Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos, Cod. 111m (13th century, miniatures of full page, half page, initial and margin) 18 The Dionysiou Lectionary possesses not only the largest illustrations among the seventeen manuscripts cited above, but also the greatest variety of pictorial forms, selecting the full-page, half-page, column, and initial, according the importance of the texts and feasts. Several feasts are omitted partly due to the actual difficulty giving miniatures to all the feasts of the year in the restriction of one volume, and partly due to the programmatic reason that the donor wished to reflect his intention in the selection of the illustrations, such phenomenon not being rare in the lectionary manuscripts. Let us begin by examining the miniature depicting Christ s Prayer at Gethsemane (f.66, fig. I), illustration for the Twelve Evangelia for the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, read as the matin lessons of Holy Thursday. The picture occupying two thirds of the folio is splendorously framed by a polychrome floral pattern. On the upper left stands Christ on the mountain ridge raising his hands toward heaven. In the center of the picture, slightly right, Christ makes proskynesis at the top of the mountain, an angel flying down from His back. We recognize the representation of heaven in the upper-right comer, filtering through which the rays of God come. On the other hand, eleven disciples are Vol. XLI 2006 93 sleeping in the foreground with the exception of St. Peter on the right end being awakening and listening to his master. Christ on the right end of the foreground, holding a scroll in the left hand and raising the right hand, admonishes His sleeping disciples. Underneath the scene is the row of a schematic representation of plants. The subject of the miniature is, without doubt, the Prayer at Gethsemane, or the Agony in the Garden, 19 narrated between the Last Supper and the Betrayal of Judas in the synoptic Gospels. According to Matthew (26:36-46) and Mark (14:32-42), the disciples accompanying Christ are three, while Luke (22:39-46) simply reports that "disciples" followed Him. Since the description of an angel appearing from heaven is found only in Luke, we can assume that our picture owes its basic elements to Luke's Gospel. A problem remains however: Why is Christ depicted three times in different motions? Matthew and Mark relate that Christ prayed three times, and this description of three different prayers may be a source of inspiration for the painter. But this does not explain fully the iconographic details. The Evangelists witness that Christ prayed repeatedly on three occasions, so it is a little hard to consider that the painter depicted it by three representations of Christ with different poses. Two manuscripts from the eleventh century with frieze illustrations depict Christ's prayer comparatively faithful to the text, and in a few scenes, Christ appears twice emphasizing the repetition of the prayer.20 Although it may be possible that our picture is a result of the conflation of the narrative ascendants, a positive explanation is required to explain why in this scene the conflation is made. In addition, the accompanying text of John 13:31- 18: I does not refer to the Prayer at Gethsemane. Why is the picture attached to the irrelevant text, and what's more, why is Christ represented three times in diverse manners? To answer these questions, we have to consider the whole program of Holy week in the Dionysiou Lectionary. Surveying the program of Holy week,21 we will confirm the accord of the text and the illustration. The texts from Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday are omitted in our manuscript. Holy Thursday, Washing of the Feet I (Jn 13:3-11): a column picture22 of the Washing of the Feet (f.52) - the contents of the text and the illustration coincide. Holy Thursday, Washing of the Feet II (Jn 13:12-17): a column picture of the Last Supper (f.53)- the description of the Last Supper is found in Jn 13:21-31, so, in a strict sense, the contents of the text and the illustration do not coincide. 94 ORIENT LITURGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE BYZANTINE LECTIONARY COD.587 Holy Thursday, Liturgy (Leitourgia) (Mt 26:1-20; Jn 13:3-17; Mt 26:21- 39; Lk 22:43-44; Mt 26:40- 27:2): a column picture of the Chief Priests and the Elders in the House of Caiaphas (f. 54, fig.2)- just a beginning part (Mt 26:3- 5) of the long text telling the various events coincide with the miniature.
Recommended publications
  • Maxi-Catalogue 2014 Maxi-Catalogue 2014

    Maxi-Catalogue 2014 Maxi-Catalogue 2014

    maxi-catalogue 2014 maxi-catalogue 2014 New publications coming from Alexander Press: 1. Διερχόμενοι διά τού Ναού [Passing Through the Nave], by Dimitris Mavropoulos. 2. Εορτολογικά Παλινωδούμενα by Christos Yannaras. 3. SYNAXIS, The Second Anthology, 2002–2014. 4. Living Orthodoxy, 2nd edition, by Paul Ladouceur. 5. Rencontre avec λ’οrthodoxie, 2e édition, par Paul Ladouceur. 2 Alexander Press Philip Owen Arnould Sherrard CELEBR ATING . (23 September 1922 – 30 May 1995 Philip Sherrard Philip Sherrard was born in Oxford, educated at Cambridge and London, and taught at the universities of both Oxford and London, but made Greece his permanent home. A pioneer of modern Greek studies and translator, with Edmund Keeley, of Greece’s major modern poets, he wrote many books on Greek, Orthodox, philosophical and literary themes. With the Greek East G. E. H. Palmer and Bishop Kallistos Ware, he was and the also translator and editor of The Philokalia, the revered Latin West compilation of Orthodox spiritual texts from the 4th to a study in the christian tradition 15th centuries. by Philip Sherrard A profound, committed and imaginative thinker, his The division of Christendom into the Greek East theological and metaphysical writings covered issues and the Latin West has its origins far back in history but its from the division of Christendom into the Greek East consequences still affect western civilization. Sherrard seeks and Latin West, to the sacredness of man and nature and to indicate both the fundamental character and some of the the restoration of a sacred cosmology which he saw as consequences of this division. He points especially to the the only way to escape from the spiritual and ecological underlying metaphysical bases of Greek Christian thought, and contrasts them with those of the Latin West; he argues dereliction of the modern world.
  • Preserving & Promoting Understanding of the Monastic

    Preserving & Promoting Understanding of the Monastic

    We invite you to help the MOUNT ATHOS Preserving & Promoting FOUNDATION OF AMERICA Understanding of the in its efforts. Monastic Communities You can share in this effort in two ways: of Mount Athos 1. DONATE As a 501(c)(3), MAFA enables American taxpayers to make tax-deductible gifts and bequests that will help build an endowment to support the Holy Mountain. 2. PARTICIPATE Become part of our larger community of patrons, donors, and volunteers. Become a Patron, OUr Mission Donor, or Volunteer! www.mountathosfoundation.org MAFA aims to advance an understanding of, and provide benefit to, the monastic community DONATIONS BY MAIL OR ONLINE of Mount Athos, located in northeastern Please make checks payable to: Greece, in a variety of ways: Mount Athos Foundation of America • and RESTORATION PRESERVATION Mount Athos Foundation of America of historic monuments and artifacts ATTN: Roger McHaney, Treasurer • FOSTERING knowledge and study of the 2810 Kelly Drive monastic communities Manhattan, KS 66502 • SUPPORTING the operations of the 20 www.mountathosfoundation.org/giving monasteries and their dependencies in times Questions contact us at of need [email protected] To carry out this mission, MAFA works cooperatively with the Athonite Community as well as with organizations and foundations in the United States and abroad. To succeed in our mission, we depend on our patrons, donors, and volunteers. Thank You for Your Support The Holy Mountain For more than 1,000 years, Mount Athos has existed as the principal pan-Orthodox, multinational center of monasticism. Athos is unique within contemporary Europe as a self- governing region claiming the world’s oldest continuously existing democracy and entirely devoted to monastic life.
  • Athos Gregory Ch

    Athos Gregory Ch

    8 Athos Gregory Ch. 6_Athos Gregory Ch. 6 5/15/14 12:53 PM Page 154 TWENTIETH-CENTURY ATHOS it of course came the first motorized vehicles ever seen on Athos. 2 Such con - cessions to modernization were deeply shocking to many of the monks. And they were right to suspect that the trend would not stop there. SEEDS Of RENEWAl Numbers of monks continued to fall throughout the 960s and it was only in the early 970s that the trend was finally arrested. In 972 the population rose from ,5 to ,6—not a spectacular increase, but nevertheless the first to be recorded since the turn of the century. Until the end of the century the upturn was maintained in most years and the official total in 2000 stood at just over ,600. The following table shows the numbers for each monastery includ - ing novices and those living in the dependencies: Monastery 972 976 97 90 92 96 9 990 992 2000 lavra 0 55 25 26 29 09 7 5 62 Vatopedi 7 65 60 5 50 55 50 75 2 Iviron 5 6 52 52 5 5 5 6 6 7 Chilandar 57 6 69 52 5 6 60 75 Dionysiou 2 7 5 5 56 59 59 59 50 5 Koutloumousiou 6 6 66 57 0 75 7 7 77 95 Pantokrator 0 7 6 6 62 69 57 66 50 70 Xeropotamou 0 26 22 7 6 7 0 0 Zographou 2 9 6 2 5 20 Dochiariou 2 29 2 2 27 Karakalou 2 6 20 6 6 9 26 7 Philotheou 2 0 6 66 79 2 79 7 70 Simonopetra 2 59 6 60 72 79 7 0 7 7 St Paul’s 95 9 7 7 6 5 9 5 0 Stavronikita 7 5 0 0 0 2 5 Xenophontos 7 26 9 6 7 50 57 6 Grigoriou 22 0 57 6 7 62 72 70 77 6 Esphigmenou 9 5 0 2 56 0 Panteleimonos 22 29 0 0 2 2 5 0 5 Konstamonitou 6 7 6 22 29 20 26 0 27 26 Total ,6 ,206 ,27 ,9 ,275 ,25 ,255 ,290 ,7 ,60 These figures tell us a great deal about the revival and we shall examine 2 When Constantine Cavarnos visited Chilandar in 95, however, he was informed by fr Domitian, ‘We now have a tractor, too.
  • Manolis G. Varvounis * – Nikos Rodosthenous Religious

    Manolis G. Varvounis * – Nikos Rodosthenous Religious

    Manolis G. Varvounis – Nikos Rodosthenous Religious Traditions of Mount Athos on Miraculous Icons of Panagia (The Mother of God) At the monasteries and hermitages of Mount Athos, many miraculous icons are kept and exhibited, which are honored accordingly by the monks and are offered for worship to the numerous pilgrims of the holy relics of Mount Athos.1 The pil- grims are informed about the monastic traditions of Mount Athos regarding these icons, their origin, and their miraculous action, during their visit to the monasteries and then they transfer them to the world so that they are disseminated systemati- cally and they can become common knowledge of all believers.2 In this way, the traditions regarding the miraculous icons of Mount Athos become wide-spread and are considered an essential part of religious traditions not only of the Greek people but also for other Orthodox people.3 Introduction Subsequently, we will examine certain aspects of these traditions, based on the literature, notably the recent work on the miraculous icons in the monasteries of Mount Athos, where, except for the archaeological and the historical data of these specific icons, also information on the wonders, their origin and their supernatural action over the centuries is captured.4 These are information that inspired the peo- ple accordingly and are the basis for the formation of respective traditions and re- ligious customs that define the Greek folk religiosity. Many of these traditions relate to the way each icon ended up in the monastery where is kept today. According to the archetypal core of these traditions, the icon was thrown into the sea at the time of iconoclasm from a region of Asia Minor or the Near East, in order to be saved from destruction, and miraculously arrived at the monastery.
  • Works of Athonite Icon Painters in Bulgaria (1750-1850)

    Works of Athonite Icon Painters in Bulgaria (1750-1850)

    INSTITUTE OF ART STUDIES, BAS ALEXANDER KUYUMDZHIEV WORKS OF ATHONITE ICON PAINTERS IN BULGARIA (1750-1850) AUTHOR SUMMARY OF A THESIS PAPER FOR OBTAINING A DSc DEGREE Sofia 2021 INSTITUTE OF ART STUDIES, BAS ALEXANDER KUYUMDZHIEV WORKS OF ATHONITE ICON PAINTERS IN BULGARIA (1750-1850) AUTHOR SUMMARY OF A THESIS PAPER FOR OBTAINING A DSc DEGREE IN ART AND FINE ARTS, 8.1, THEORY OF ART REVIEWERS: ASSOC. PROF. BLAGOVESTA IVANOVA-TSOTSOVA, DSc PROF. ELENA POPOVA, DSc PROF. EMMANUEL MOUTAFOV, PhD Sofia 2021 2 The DSc thesis has been discussed and approved for public defense on a Medieval and National Revival Research Group meeting held on October 16, 2020 The DSc thesis consists of 371 pages: an introduction, 5 chapters, conclusion and illustrations` provenance, 1063 illustrations in the text and а bibliography of 309 Bulgarian, and 162 foreign titles. The public defense will be held on 16th March 2021, 11:00 am, at the Institute of Art Studies. Members of the scientific committee: Assoc. Prof. Angel Nikolov, PhD, Sofia University; Assoc. Prof. Blagovesta Ivanova- Tsotsova, DSc, VSU; Prof. Elena Popova, DSc, Institute of Art Studies – BAS; Prof. Emmanuel Moutafov, PhD, Institute of Art Studies – BAS; Prof. Ivan Biliarsky, DSc, Institute of Historical Studies – BAS; Corr. Mem. Prof. Ivanka Gergova DSc, Institute of Art Studies – BAS; Prof. Mariyana Tsibranska-Kostova, DSc, Institute for Bulgarian Language – BAS; Assoc. Prof. Ivan Vanev, PhD, Institute of Art Studies – BAS, substitute member; Prof. Konstantin Totev, DSc, National Archaeological Institute with Museum – BAS, substitute member. The materials are available to those who may be interested in the Administrative Services Department of the Institute of the Art Studies on 21 Krakra Str., Sofia.
  • Mount Athos(Greece)

    Mount Athos(Greece)

    World Heritage 30 COM Patrimoine mondial Paris, 10 April / 10 avril 2006 Original: English / anglais Distribution limited / distribution limitée UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION DES NATIONS UNIES POUR L'EDUCATION, LA SCIENCE ET LA CULTURE CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE CONVENTION CONCERNANT LA PROTECTION DU PATRIMOINE MONDIAL, CULTUREL ET NATUREL WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE / COMITE DU PATRIMOINE MONDIAL Thirtieth session / Trentième session Vilnius, Lithuania / Vilnius, Lituanie 08-16 July 2006 / 08-16 juillet 2006 Item 7 of the Provisional Agenda: State of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. Point 7 de l’Ordre du jour provisoire: Etat de conservation de biens inscrits sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial. JOINT UNESCO/WHC-ICOMOS-IUCN EXPERT MISSION REPORT / RAPPORT DE MISSION CONJOINTE DES EXPERTS DE L’UNESCO/CPM, DE L’ICOMOS ET DE L’IUCN Mount Athos (Greece) (454) / Mont Athos (Grece) (454) 30 January – 3 February 2006/ 30 janvier – 3 février 2006 This mission report should be read in conjunction with Document: Ce rapport de mission doit être lu conjointement avec le document suivant: WHC-06/30.COM/7A WHC-06/30.COM/7A.Add WHC-06/30.COM/7B WHC-06/30.COM/7B.Add REPORT ON THE JOINT MISSION UNESCO – ICOMOS- IUCN TO MOUNT ATHOS, GREECE, FROM 30 JANUARY TO 3 FEBRUARY 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS 1 BACKGROUND TO THE MISSION o Inscription history o Inscription criteria

  • The Unique Spiritual Heritage of the Athos Peninsula in the Context of History and Present Time

    Polonia Sacra 21 (2017) nr 3 (48) ∙ s. 5–26 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15633/ps.2167 Peter Caban1 Filozofická fakulta, Katolícka univerzita v Ružomberku “A place where no woman has ever entered…” The unique spiritual heritage of the Athos peninsula in the context of history and present time From the viewpoint of the history of Christian spirituality, the Athos peninsula takes a very interesting and precious position. For centuries, Athos was the centre of eastern monastic life, art, and science. It played a huge spiritual role in the history of spirituality. Even in the times before Christ, there were small inhabited cities on Athos, for example Sani, Dion, etc. Athos is mentioned in the works of Thucydides, Homer, Plutarch, and many other Greek authors. During the Turkish occupation, Athos was the centre of national renewal and refuge of Greek education, art, and science.2 1 The priest doc. ThDr. Peter Caban, PhD, is a docent at the Department of Religious Studies and Religious Education of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the Catholic University in Ružomberok. In his scientific and Literary pursuits activities, he described the history of Christianity, sacral art, and Christian archaeology. He lectured at several European uni- versities and he authors more than 160 books. As a priest, he works in the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier in Banská Bystrica and in the Priest seminary in Badín (Slovakia). E-mail: [email protected] 2 The exploration for the study was implemented with the support of the grant of the Foundation for the support of Science at the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the Catholic 5 Peter Caban The peninsula together with the entire range of the Athos moun- tains – ῞Αγιον Ὄρος is one of the three “fingers” of the Greek penin- sula Khalkidhiki – Cassandra, Sithonia and Athos which juts into the Aegean Sea from Khalkidhiki.
  • THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH Department for External Church Relations

    THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH Department for External Church Relations

    THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH Department for External Church Relations Patriarch Kirill completes his visit to the Orthodox Church of Greece His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was on a visit to Greece from June1-7, 2013, at the invitation of His Beatitude Hieronymus, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, and the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece. His Holiness was accompanied by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s administrative secretariat, V. Legoida, head of the synodal information department, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR vice-chairman, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations, Protodeacon Vladimir Nazarkin, assistant to the DECR chairman, and M. Kuksov, head of the Patriarchal personal secretariat. Among the Patriarchal party were also Archpriest Andrey Milkin, head of the Patriarchal protocol service, Deacon Alexander Volkov, head of the Patriarchal press service, Rev. Iliya Kosykh, acting secretary of the DECR communication service, and A. Chukyakov, a DECR staff member. Patriarch Kirill was welcomed at the airport in Athens by His Beatitude Archbishop Hieronymus. From the airport the Primates of the Russian and Greek Churches proceeded to the church of the Holy Martyr Dionysius the Areopagite in Kolonaki. In the crowded church, Patriarch Kirill celebrated a thanksgiving. Later that day, the Primates of the two Churches had a talk at the Archbishop’s Palace in Athens. On June 2, Patriarch Kirill and Archbishop Hieronymus celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the church of the Holy Protomartyr and Healer Panteleimon in Athens.
  • ABSTRACTS of PROSPECTIVE SPEAKERS for the THIRD SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOP of the MOUNT ATHOS CENTER Contents

    ABSTRACTS of PROSPECTIVE SPEAKERS for the THIRD SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOP of the MOUNT ATHOS CENTER Contents

    * MOUNT ATHOS CENTER ABSTRACTS OF PROSPECTIVE SPEAKERS FOR THE THIRD SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOP OF THE MOUNT ATHOS CENTER Contents ANNOUNCEMENTS ................................................................................................................ 3 Vladimir Božinović ................................................................................................................. 4 Dr Nina Chichinadze .............................................................................................................. 5 Dr Helen M.Dixon .................................................................................................................. 6 Ekaterina Dughashvili ............................................................................................................ 8 Dr Dejan Dželebdžić ............................................................................................................. 10 Srđan Pirivatrić .................................................................................................................... 11 Manuela Studer-Karlen ........................................................................................................ 12 Alex Rodriguez Suarez ......................................................................................................... 13 Mirjana Živojinović .............................................................................................................. 14 Paschalis Androudis ............................................................................................................
  • Footpath Conditions English

    Footpath Conditions English

    FOOTPATHS OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN TABLE OF FOOTPATHS WITH CONDITIONS, WALKING TIMES & LINKS TO DESCRIPTIONS AND GPS TRACKS © The Friends of Mount Athos, 2007 – 2021. All rights reserved. – Version 5.0 This table lists the major walking routes on Mount Athos. The entry for each route contains a link (or links) to a detailed Path Description and to GPS tracking where these are available. It also contains the latest information available to The Friends of Mount Athos on the condition of the route (all subject to the disclaimers at the end). Routes are listed alphabetically by the Greek name of the monastery, skete or other landmark at which each path begins. Names beginning with “Saint” (St. Anne, St. Paul, St. Dimitrios) are under Agias/Agiou. The Great Lavra is listed as “Megisti Lavra”. Pilgrims are recommended to refer to Practical Information about Walking the Footpaths of Mount Athos before setting out, and to use the Pilgrim Map of Mount Athos along with the footpath descriptions in both planning and making their pilgrimages. Most of the information in the table is from the FoMA project to clear and restore the footpaths of Mount Athos, or from pilgrimages made by members of the project team, as specified under "source and date of information". If you have current information on path conditions or the timings shown below, The Friends of Mount Athos would greatly appreciate your report. We invite you to contribute to this service by e-mailing The FoMA Footpaths Team. Explanations: 1. Footpaths are shown in preference to roads or tracks.
  • Estate Fortifications in Late Byzantine Macedonia: the Athonite Evidence

    Estate Fortifications in Late Byzantine Macedonia: the Athonite Evidence

    Kostis Smyrlis Estate fortifi cations in Late Byzantine Macedonia: the Athonite evidence One of the most common types of fortifi cation in Byzantium study of the standing structures, as well as excavation, could were the towers and other fortifi ed structures built by land- greatly expand our knowledge of fortifi cations. owners on their estates *. At least in the late period, hundreds of these fortifi cations must have been scattered around the empire’s countryside. Several towers in various degrees of The documentation preservation are still standing today and provide crucial in- formation regarding the construction and location of these The Athonite documents are mostly concerned with the buildings. However, with the exception of those rare towers property rights and privileges of the monasteries. The best that possess an inscription, these monuments remain silent evidence of the possessions of monasteries comes from lists as to who built them and why. In fact, it is uncertain whether of property (praktika) and from imperial chrysobulls confi rm- these towers actually belong to the category of estate forti- ing the monks’ rights on their lands. However, praktika and fi cations, that is, if they were built by landowners and not chrysobulls do not document estate fortifi cations consistently by the army 1 . Moreover, at least until now, it has proven but only make occasional reference to them, unlike in the impossible to date securely the towers on the basis of their case of other types of property, such as dependent peasants construction characteristics 2 . (paroikoi) and lands. As far as the praktika are concerned, In the case of Macedonia, in addition to material remains, this phenomenon is no doubt due to the fact that such con- we are lucky to possess a signifi cant amount of textual evi- structions were not taxed.
  • Pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain ©2007 James S. Cutsinger For

    Pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain ©2007 James S. Cutsinger For

    Pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain ©2007 James S. Cutsinger This article also appears on Professor Cutsinger’s weblog, Anamnēsis, together with a number of photographs: http://www.cutsinger.net/wordpress2/?page_id=68. For several years my son, Trevor, and I had discussed the possibility of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Athos, the world’s only monastic republic, located on the easternmost peninsula of Halkidiki in northern Greece. Renowned for its natural beauty and the numberless treasures of its ancient Byzantine monasteries, this “Garden of the Theotokos” has been the spiritual center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for over a thousand years, and for Orthodox men—women are not permitted—it is in many ways the equivalent of what Lhasa is (or rather was) for the Tibetan Buddhist and of what Mecca is for the Muslim. In early June of 2007, the moment seemed right for this long-anticipated journey, and we set out for Greece, flying first to Thessaloniki, where we visited the Church of Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), venerating the relics of this great defender of the Athonite monks and their practice of hesychasm, before taking a taxi to the small seaside village of Ouranoupolis, whence one departs for the Mountain on the daily ferryboat, traveling along the Singitic Gulf side of the peninsula. Disembarking at the port of Zographou and hiking the first day to the opposite side of the peninsula, we made our 2 way in a clockwise direction, traveling to the communities of Vatopedi, Stravronikita, Iveron, the Great Lavra, Prodromos, Agia Anna, and Simonopetra.