the faith of people in the camps and of religious services whispered secretly by groups of mien as they rested on the grass. In the solitude Dr. Levitin was able to pray and recite the services of the Russian Orthodox Church to himself and at such times he had a vision of the ecumenical nature of the Church— the One Body. OF the Conference, too, prayer and meditation formed an integral part of our lives. Each day began either with an Orthodox Liturgy or an Anglican Holy Communion (or, once, a Roman Mass), and in the evening there was either Orthodox Vespers or abbreviated Evening Prayer. The Orthodox worship T found very helpful and as the week progressed I was happy to find mysolf mnaking the transition from a spectator to one who could pray the services and make much of them his own, I am sorry to say I was less at home with the Anglican services—in their ceremonial they owed much to nineteenth century borrowings from Rome and frequently contained features (uch as devotion to Mary) which are not altogether typical of traditional Anglican teaching or practice. Perhaps it is a present challenge to the Fellowship to seek to bring a wider spectrum of Anglicanism into contact with Orthodoxy? There were alo meditations in the morning and frequently again at night : those of Fr, Lev Gillet I found especially helpful. Thus the whole Conference was undergirded by an atmosphere of prayer and the sense of being God's people in Christ, which, for me at Ieast, gave an added depth and purpose to our activities. It was no doubt also this underlying spiritual awareness that ensured that the Conference really was a meeting of people in fellowship. The atmo- sphere was very friendly and accepting, and the many meetings and con- versations were as important as the official lectures. There are several people from whom I learned something more of Christian love during the week, but T will mention only three. The first was Isa Gulean, a young Syrian Orthodox from Turkey, who was able to talk without any bitterness of all that his Church has suffered from both Islam and the Western Church. The other two are Nicolas and Militza Zernov, in whom I began to see what the Orthodox mean when they talk of man as capable of becoming an icon of Christ. My fe is the richer for having met them. Finally, I must express my gratitude to Ganon Allchin and all those who helped plan and run the Conference, particularly of course Rev. Gareth Evans who, in some of the hottest weather of the year, coped very efficiently yet unobtrusively with the problems of administering such a large and unruly body as we were, ignorance and prejudice between Christians and enabling them to see that in Christ they are children of the same Heavenly Father who ‘s good and loves mankind’, 130 jong may the Fellowship continue its part in the task, not, so much of healing the divisions within the Church, but of overcoming‘ THE REVIVAL OF MONASTICISM ON ATHOS by GARTH L. FOWDEN On July 23rd, 1974, Greece witnessed 2 remarkable and still in many ways mysterious revolution in its political life. In a dramatic reversal of fortunes an older generation of politicians returned to govern a country where seven years of authoritarian rul.—a curious blend of oriental conservatism, even prudery, with a constant exposure to "ie cultural values of the regime’s main external ally, the Americans—had done much to undermine the Greece they had known before their exile from political life. In a short article written a year before the fall of the ‘Junta’, and published in the Winter 1973 issue of Sobornost, I drew attention to the encouraging signs of a revival of the mon- astic life on the Holy Mountain of Athos, while suggesting at the same time that the failure of outsiders to understand the value of its unique zhythms of life might lead to a dangerous jsulation from and vulnerability to the outside world—to its becoming an island in time. Two years later, both the internal condition and the external context of the Athonite communities have changed and developed sufficiently to warrant a brief second glance at the problem. ‘The two decayed monasteries which had already been fully revived in 1973 have since consolidated their position, The pioneering community at Stavronikita now consists of fifteen monks and three novices, under their distinguished abbot Basileios. Although this community is small even by Athonite standards, its monastery is small too, and no great expansion is anti- cipated in the near future, although it has recently acquired two foreign members, one English and one Swiss. Its somewhat intellectual character led to initial suspicions of radicalism on the part of the always conservative inhabitants of the Holy Mountain, but gradually the community has been able to show’ that one of the best ways of strengthening traditions is by under- standing them—a point which will doubtless be best appreciated by visitors used to the off-hand manner in which older monks are still sometimes inclined to treat the artistic treasures in thelr care. In similar manner, Philotheou now has forty-five members, and is expecting more novices, Without the intellectual reputation of Stavronibita, it nonethe- less asserts what it conceives to be the purest and strictest traditions of Greek monasticism. Its refusal to admit non-Orthodox to the common meals, or beyond the exonarthex of the church during services, is apt to prove puzzling to the Western visitor but one monk remarked during a recent visit that he found equally puzzling the arrogance of non-Orthodox visitors in not attend ing services for this reason, for the life of the monastery is the paradigm of Christian truth, the trunk of dogma of which Rome is but the largest branch, and the Protestant Churches subordinate off-shoots, This is in essence the same attitude as that which finds its most rigid and legalistic expression in the zealot 131 Athos Library Aytopertixh BiBALoBrhKNcommunity of Esphigmenou, where anti-ecumenism and Old Calendarism are treated as items of faith. That such an outlook is nonetheless a minority view cven on the Holy Mountain was demonstrated by the failure of the other houses to rally to the support of Esphigmenou when in 1974 it placed itself ina state of siege and refused to receive the representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Although the monastery is still boycotting the meetings of the, Holy Community, nobody any longer takes their slogan of ‘Orthodoxy or Death’ very seriously, and, in an almost Anglican spirit of compromise, the affair is being allowed to die quietly. ‘A very different spirit pervades the monastery of Simonopetra, until Christmas 1973 one of the most decayed of all Athonite houses, but now entirely revivified through the arrival of the group of forty young monks, mostly in their twenties and thirties, formerly living in the Monastery of the Metamorphosis at Meteora, Hounded from there by the pressure of tourism, they were welcomed with open arms at Simonopetra, The ori community of ten aged momks, whose abbot had just died, immediately elected the leader of the Meteoran group, Fr. Aimilianos, as its new head. This smooth transition was much facilitated by the fact that Simonopetra was already a coenobion, whereas at Philotheou the process had been less happy because the original community had’ been idiorhythmic. The old monks of Simonopetra greeted the new arrivals with a heart-felt joy; they would even go out and bring flowers as tokens of. their gratitude, while in their turn the younger men, many of them university-educated either in Greece or even in some cases abroad, say that they seeino reason why the differences which separate them from their older brethren should not be overcome through love and the grace of God. For as Fr, Serapion remarks: ‘Monks are like children. They play, and never dream their father may have problems.” ‘The younger generation of monks at Simonopetra puts its skills and enthusiasm to good use and shows its sense of duty towards the wider life of the Holy Mountain by taking a particular interest in the administration of the monastic state. In 1975 it supplied both the Secretary and Under-Secretary of the Holy Community, while foreign visitors to Simonopetra are made particu- larly welcome by those of the community who speak foreign Languages. More over, like Stavronikita, the house has several foreign monks or novices, ‘The monastic revival on Athos is not however confined to the three mon asteries of Stavronikita, Philotheou, and Simonopetra. Two other houses, Grigoriou and Koutloumousiou, have received infusions of fresh blood without as yet undergoing a fundamental change in character. At Grigoriou, the election of a new abbot has led to the arrival since July 1974 of fifteen new monks, including one Peruvian, while at Koutloumousiou, another house of little reputation in recent years, the strength of the community has now risen to fifteen after the arrival early in June 1975 of about eight new monks, though not this time from outside the Holy Mountain—sevaral of them came Another aspect of the new spirit abroad on the Holy 132 Mountain is che formation of what might be described as pressure gro within certain idiorhythmic houses, aiming at a change-over to cocnobitic status, It is in the nature of the monastic organism, that such a fundamental change, to be effected from within rather than (as in the case of Philotheou) through the arrival of new forces from without, must be undertaken with infinite caution and carefulness. In the Serbian monastery of Chilandari eight monis (about a third of the total) are in favour of the change, and try to eat together when possible. The attitudes of the others vary, but one of them perfectly expressed the essence of the problem by assuring the present writer that the coenobitic system was of course the ideal, but that for himself he preferred the freedom (and the far from arduous character, if judged by * coenobitic standards) of idiorhythmic life, Nonetheless, Chilazdari is lucky in being an idiorythmic house with an excellent spirit, which perhaps it owes to the popular esteem it enjoys among the Christians of Yugoslavia—more than can be said for any Greek house. Possibly it is ultimately of greater significance that there is said to be a similar pro-coenobitic group in the wealthy and tourist-suffocated Megisti Lavra. ‘The spectacular changes of fortune enjoyed by a few monasteries during the last eight years, and the hopes for the future nursed by others, should not blind us to the quieter, older-established virtues of houses like Dionysiow and Aghiou Pavlou, and of the sketes and other dependencies. Indeed, those monks who live outside the walls of the twenty ruling monasteries enjoy a great advantage over their brothers in that they are largely free from the intrusions of the tourist. Few visitors will ever penetrate to the idyllic kellion of Moly- vokklisia, for example, though it lies but fifteen minutes’ walk from Karyes. ‘A dependency of Chilandari, this rambling dwelling with its mediaeval chapel land exquisite frescoes now houses a recently-arrived group of about ten Greck monks, somé of them icon-painters, living a life of a moving simplicity that would’ scarcely be conceivable amidst the distractions and faded glories of prestigious monasteries on the beaten tourist trac Ultimately though, it is the individual charismatic leader, the spiritual father (gerontas), on whom the life of the Holy Mountain hinges. It is the abbot who sets the tone of his monastery, and if he is known as a master of the spiritual life, he will attract to his house men of scrious purpose and dedication, Deprived of such a leader, a community may easily lose its spiritual impetus, even though it continues to preserve the outward forms. Thus the revival of Grigoriou has been due entirely to its new abbot, while __ the respect accorded to Dionysiou is due largely to its nonagenarian abbot and spiritual father, whose reputation extends far beyond the Holy Mountain, and who has been described by a monk of another monastery as ‘a man of vast spiritual culture’. Similarly, the monks of Simonopetra might be described without undue exaggeration as simply the disciples of their abbot, Fr. Aimilianos—their chief loyalty is to him and to the place in which they happen to find themselves, be it the Meteora or the Holy Mountain. Conversely, the 133 Ate: Library Ayiopercixth BuBALoBr}KNsame point is the chief argument against the idiorythmic system, which by definition excludes the office of abbot, and creates an atmosphere in which the maa of spiritual distinction may well exist, but searcely lead, It need hardly be added that the tendency of the outside world to judge the Holy Mountain of Athos only in terms of what it can offer as a landscape, or as a repository of Byzantine art, demonstrates a complete ignorance of the value to mankind of a spiritual garden, and of the preservation of some other criterion by which the doings of the modern world may be judged. But equally it would be wrong to concentrate so much on the inner life of the Holy Mountsin as to lose sight of the problem which, at long last, the monks them- selves sre beginning to ponder—how to adjust the traditional life of the Athonite communities sufficiently to allow them to continue looking outwards, and in turn to be a beacon to which the world itself will look. ‘The first and basic aspect of the problem is how to maintain the total number of monks on the Holy Mountain at a reasonable level, especially in view of the difficulty of finding and paying lay workers to assist in the every- day upleep of the monasteries, and in the exploitation. of the forests on which the monks largely depend for their livelihood, Over the last five years the number of monks on Athos has actually risen from about 1,140 to about 1,200, thus reversing the fall in numbers that had been more or Jess constant since the end of the First World War. However, this total could be larger if more monks were to come from the communist countries—the Patriarch of Moscow recently requested permission from the Holy Community for twenty-five to come from Russia, but though the Community (of which the overwhelming majority is of course Greek) was agreeable, Athens allowed permits only for ight, Tt remains to be seen whether the atmosphere of détente now prevailing between Greece and the communist bloc will improve this situation, but it is more likely that the policy of the Greek government towards the Holy Moun- tain is dictated by internal rather than foreign policy (in which the fate of a handful of monks can hardly weigh very heavily), ‘On the other hand, the change of regime in Athens has already had at least two beneficial. results for the Athonite community. Firstly, the new civil governor, a professor of theology from the University of Thessaloniki, is vastly more sympathetic, and therefore respected, than was his predecessor, while secondly, a number of monks or novices of western oricin have at last been granted the residence permits which they were denied under the Junta. As has already been noted, several houses (including Stavronikita, Simonopetra, Grigoriou and the skete of the Prophet Elijah) now have one or two members _ of western European or American origin, amounting to perhaps ten on the whole peninsula. The fact that these men are of western culture, and often converts from other branches of Christianity, is gradually adding an intriguing new dimension to the life of the Holy Mountain, ‘The whole question of what role the Greek state will play in the future of Athos is so complex as to be immune to summary. Despite this, the isolated 134 ‘observations of an outsider may occasionally throw some light. The contribu- tions made by the Ministry of Culture to, for example, the restoration programme and new museum just completed at Chilandari, and to the clear ing of the Theophanes frescoes in the katholikon of Stavronikita, must unavoid- ably strengthen the State's hand if it should wish in some way to make the artistic treasures of Athos more accessible. Equally, the reluctance of the government to approve (let alone initiate) positive steps to curb casual tourisia gives ground for disquiet. On the other hand, even if only for financiel reasons, there seems to be little chance of new roads being made on the peninsula in the near future, while the idea is beginning to be broached of aa Athonite museum, to be built possibly on the border, or in Thessaloniki, for * exhibitions of icons and other works of art—a wise concession to the feeling that the treasures of Athos should be made more easily accessible that they are at the moment, and a logical extension of the efforts of the Patriarchal Insti- tute for Patristic Studies at Moni Viatadon in Thessaloniki to make micro- films of the Athonite manuscripts available to scholars throughout the world. These comments are intended as a progress-report, and by their nature can have no conclusion, At one level, it is impossible to separate the Athonite community irom the society which produces most of its members. One has only to glance at a newspaper stand or a cinema-hoarding in any Greek town to be amazed at the increased rapidity with which the cheapest features of Western popular culture have been imitated during the first year of the restored democracy. Even more significantly, mass-education has been much expanded over the last two decades so that by now even the simplest villagers, are inclined on the one hand to question their own traditions, but on the other to accept without question whatever is foreign, (The exaggerated popular enthusiasm for the cultural exports of the communist countries, in reaction to the rabid anti-communism of the Junta, is a good example of this.) Mon asticism, of course, is an important part of the tradition that is being ques. tioned, though conversely, as long as Greek men and women continue to feel the religious vocation, the standards of monastic life will rise in step with those of society at large. This brings us to the second level at which the problem must be considered ; for to enter a monastery is to forget the world, and on Athos at least this injunction is taken very seriously. Is it therefore possible to explain the revival of monasticism on Athos simply in terms of changes in Greek society, or is there more to it than that? To this question there can be no sure answer, but if the West is any standard by which to judge, monasticism thrives these days in spite rather than because of society, as an expression of the desire to remould rather than to reaffirm it. Education, by definition a process of induction into received cultural values, js not itself enough to inspire young men to the life of self-denial, and if the Holy Moun- tain continues to exercise its fascination over them, it is to the soul rather than the mind that it makes its first appeal. Athens, August 1975 * Athos Library 185 Ayiopetcuxt BiBALOBHKN