Mount Athos is the spiritual heart of the Orthodox world. From its beginnings in the ninth
century it attracted monks from all corners of the Byzantine empire and beyond to experience
its seclusion its sanctity and its great natural beauty. The first monastery founded in 963
was an international institution from the start by the end of the twelfth century separate
monasteries had been founded not only for Greeks but also for Georgians Amalfitans Russians
Serbs and Bulgarians. Nationality however has rarely counted for much on Athos and though
the Romanians have never secured a monastery for themselves today they form after the Greeks
the largest ethnic group. This book tells the story of how these many traditions came to be
represented on the Mountain and how their communities have fared over the centuries. Most of
the papers were originally delivered at a conference convened by the Friends of Mount Athos at
Madingley Hall Cambridge in 2009. As far as possible the authors were chosen to write about
the traditions that they themselves represent.
