Managing-The-Heritage-Of-Mt-Athos

174 Managing the heritage of Mt Athos Thymio Papayannis1 Introduction Cypriot monastic communities (Tachi- aios, 2006). Yet all the monks on Mt The spiritual, cultural and natural herit- Athos are recognised as citizens of age of Mt Athos dates back to the end Greece residing in a self-governed part of the first millennium AD, through ten of the country (Kadas, 2002). centuries of uninterrupted monastic life, and is still vibrant in the beginning of Already in 885 Emperor Basil I de- the third millennium. The twenty Chris- clared Mt Athos as ‘…a place of monks, tian Orthodox sacred monasteries that where no laymen nor farmers nor cat- share the Athonite peninsula – in tle-breeders were allowed to settle’. Halkidiki to the East of Thessaloniki – During the Byzantine Period a number are quite diverse. Established during of great monasteries were established the Byzantine times, and inspired by in the area. The time of prosperity for the monastic traditions of Eastern Chris- the monasteries continued even in the tianity, they have developed through the early Ottoman Empire period. However, ages in parallel paths and even have the heavy taxation gradually inflicted different ethnic backgrounds with on them led to an economic crisis dur- Greek, Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian and 1 The views included in this paper are of its au- thor and do not represent necessarily those of < The approach to the Stavronikita Monastery. the Holy Community of Mt Athos. 175 Cape Arapis younger and well-educated monks (Si- deropoulos, 2000) whose number has Chilandariou been doubled during the past forty Esgmenou Ouranoupoli Cape Agios Theodori years. It is up to them to continue the Frangokastello Vatopediou spiritual traditions of the area during Pantokratoros Zografou Stavronikita the third millennium. Konstamonitou Karyes Dovhiariou Koutloumousion Xenofondos Iviron Philotheo Agiou Panteleimonos Dafni Xiropotamou Karakalou The heritage of Mt Athos Simonos Petras Megistis Osiou Grigoriou Lavra Dionysiou Mt Athos It is important to note that the heritage Agiou Pavlou Cape Timiou Prodros Cape Pines of Mt Athos is multiple and integrated, and that it is incorporated in a living millennial tradition (Smyrnakis, 1903). ing the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- In parallel, this tradition is maintained turies and made them abandon the while the monastic communities of coenobitic and embrace the idiorrhyth- Athos adapt contemporary techniques mic system (where monks come to- to their needs. Thus, state-of-the-art gether but are able to own things indi- methods are being used in restoring vidually and not being obliged to work and protecting priceless icons and an- for the common good). Despite their cient manuscripts, while the monks impoverished situation during the use mobile telephony and the internet eighteenth century, Mt Athos took a to communicate, although their use is leading role in the Greek enlighten- in principle restricted. ment, founding the Athonite Academy near Vatopedi Monastery (Theodorou The spiritual heritage of the area origi- and Dana, 2003). During the Greek nates from the Byzantine Orthodox tra- War of Independence in the early nine- dition with the Ecumenical Patriarch of teenth century, the Holy Mountain be- Constantinople still maintaining the came a shelter for the suffering Greek spiritual leadership of Athos (Pa- population, and was plundered by the pachrysanthou, 1992). The strong reli- Ottomans. After the end of the war, gious faith of the monks and their devo- many Slavonic countries in an attempt tion to ascetic life dedicated to prayer to increase their influence in the area is an inspiration for the Christian Ortho- donated large sums of money to re- dox faithful, which is estimated now to build old monasteries and the numbers 200-250 million people distributed in of the monks increased. The world many countries (McGuckin, 2011). wars and the civil war that followed di- Part of this spiritual tradition is the ava- minished their numbers considerately. ton, which forbids the entrance of wom- Near the end of the twentieth century, en and children, as well as female ani- Mt Athos monasticism experienced a mals to Mt Athos. Since its official es- re-vitalisation through an increase of tablishment in 969 AD by Ioannis Tsi- 176 miskis, the area has been dedicated to mate types provides a habitat for a large the Virgin Mary and has been known as number of plant and animal species, in- Her ‘little garden’. Thus, no other wom- cluding quite a few endemic to the re- an has ever been allowed to enter. gion (Kakouros, 2006). The absence of grazing in the entire peninsula has al- The cultural heritage consists of a lowed the existence of a dense forest, of unique architecture, which melds deciduous and coniferous and maquis many different styles from various ep- vegetation (Dafis et al., 1996). ochs and countries, perfectly in har- mony with each other and very well in- That is why Mt Athos has been recog- tegrated in the rich natural environ- nised by UNESCO as a Mixed World ment of the Athonite Peninsula. It is Heritage property for both nature and complemented by invaluable collec- culture in September 1988. The entire tions of artefacts, frescoes and icons, area has been included in the Natura manuscripts and old editions, objects 2000 European Union network of pro- of religious art and other precious gifts tected areas, both for its habitats and from devout leaders and pilgrims. Most birds. Both of these designations have of these are now properly maintained, been proposed unilaterally by the although fires and insensitive restora- Greek State, without the participation tions have caused occasionally seri- and the agreement of the monastic ous damage (Papayannis, 2007). communities and have been approved by the World Heritage Committee and The natural heritage is also unique due the European Commission. The Holy to a rapid succession of diverse climatic Community of Mt Athos has accepted conditions and ecosystems from Medi- these designations ipso facto, but only terranean along the coasts to alpine at within the historic and legal framework the tip of Mt Athos, which exceeds 2000 of the Athonite Peninsula. m (Ganiatsas, 2003). The variety of cli- The inner courtyard of the Vatopedi Monastery. 177 Management responsibilities clearly presented in the following ex- cerpt from a letter sent to UNESCO in The requirements of the two protection October 2010: regimes under UNESCO and the Euro- pean Union have created occasional ‘Naturally, the monks of Mount friction between government services Athos are themselves the unremu- and the Mt Athos authorities, who feel nerated custodians, protectors, and strongly that they have the full respon- preservers of the peninsula’s natu- sibilities for the management of the ral and cultural treasures. They are, Athonite Peninsula. This is based on in addition, the bearers and practi- the long tradition of the area, and has tioners of a spirituality that is both been recognised by the Decree traditional and contemporary; they 10/16.09.1926 on the ratification of ‘the are the ones who live in and shape Constitutional Charter of Mt Athos’, as the institutions and established or- well as by article 105, paragraphs 1–3, ders. The Athonite administrative of the Greek Constitution. It is also rec- authorities (the Holy Community ognised by the 1981 Treaty of adhe- and the Twenty Holy Monasteries), sion of Greece in the European Union, manage their own affairs and strug- which recognises Mt Athos as part of a gle to maintain their institutions and European Union member state, but traditions. From their own funds, but with certain special considerations. occasionally with state and private grants, they care for the various In accordance with the existing legal monuments, and, either through framework, Mt Athos is governed by the services that they organize, or that Holy Community, which consists of rep- they entrust to outside collabora- resentatives of the 20 monasteries in tors, they oversee various studies the area. Each monastery has jurisdic- and restoration projects, plans for tion for the management of their proper- the management of the environ- ty, certain general matters, however, are ment, and, with the cooperation decided at the level of the Holy Com- and approval of the appropriate munity, such as opening of roads, or government services, they see that entry of automobiles for the transport of these projects are carried out.’ goods and people. For major matters, the Holy Community meets with 20 Ab- The relations of Greece with UNESCO bots also participating (Elissaios, 2007). for all World Heritage Convention matters have been ensured through the The State is represented by a Gover- Ministry of Culture and the Permanent nor – appointed by the Ministry of For- Delegation of Greece to UNESCO. Of- eign Affairs – who is responsible for ten the Holy Community has been ig- security matters and the implementa- nored, while the Ministry of the Envi- tion of Greek laws. ronment (responsible for nature pro- In this context, the diachronic views of tection) has shown little involvement. the Holy Community of Mt Athos are This has been strongly protested by 178 the Athos authorities who have at- Thus, decision WHC-06/30.COM/7B of tempted to communicate directly with the Committee meeting in Paris in- the World Heritage Committee with cludes the following: mixed results. It should be noted that ‘The highest priority for improve- in spite of recommendations from the ment of conservation of the World World Heritage Committee, the Minis- Heritage property is the prepara- try of Culture and the Holy Community tion, approval and implementation have been submitting separate reports of an integrated and multi-discipli- on the conditions of the Mt Athos site nary management plan for the en- (Holy Community, 2008). However, re- tire area of Mt.

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