(Registered Charity No.1047287)
Ironstone Farmhouse, Milton, Banbury OX15 4HH
Newsletter No. 6, April 1998
The 1998 Annual General Meeting (AGM)
There is still time to book a place at this year's AGM which will be held on Thursday 21 May in the Mary Ogilvie Theatre at St Anne's College, Oxford. A balanced programme has been devised which begins at 11.30 am with a talk by Fr Symeon, the Peruvian hermit from Karyes, who will speak about his own experiences as "A Western Monk on Mount Athos". In the afternoon Anthony Bryer, Professor of Byzantine Studies at the University of Birmingham and symposiarch of the memorable 1994 Spring Symposium devoted to Mount Athos and Byzantine Monasticism, will give a talk entitled "Ottoman Athos".
Entrance tickets cost £5 each (students £2.50). There will be a full buffet lunch costing £10. Names and cheques (payable to the Friends of Mount Athos) should be sent as soon as possible to the Hon. Treasurer, Simon Jennings, Rawlinson & Hunter, Eagle House, 110 Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6RH.
At the AGM, which will take place between the two lectures, there will be elections. The Chairman (Bishop Kallistos) and the members of the Committee (Dr Conomos and Dr Hill) have all reached the end of their term of office and will tender their resignation. All have indicated their willingness to stand again. We also have to elect a new Treasurer to fill the gap left by the death of Stephen Badger. Simon Jennings (currently co-opted as Treasurer) has indicated his willingness to stand. Any other nominations for any of these offices should reach the Secretary in writing at least one week before the meeting. Guests (non-members) are welcome to attend the AGM but may not vote.
Fr Symeon is coming all the way from Athos specially to be with us and to share with us some reflections concerning his (often colourful) sojourn on the Holy Mountain. Professor Bryer, an equally colourful figure, suggested in a recent article that "the Ottoman period of Mount Athos is arguably the longest, most secure and enlightened of all secular phases of the sempiternal history of the Holy Mountain".
Both speakers can be relied upon to stimulate and entertain their listeners. Members are encouraged not only to come themselves but also to bring guests to sample this paschal feast of Athonite abundance.
Graham Speake
Hon. Secretary