A unique exhibition in Finland

An exhibition "Athos - Monastic Life on the Holy Mountain" on the legendary but still living monastic community in Greece opened at 18.8.2006 at the Tennispalatsi Art Museum in Helsinki

The large-scale exhibition of Byzantine Art contains treasures and sacred objects of the Greek Orthodox Church dating back for over a thousand years. It opens the door on the legendary monastic community of Mount Athos and its way of life to the general public for the first time outside Greece itself.

Mount Athos is a semi-autonomous community of Orthodox monks located in Macedonia, northern Greece, about an hour and a half’s drive from the city of Thessaloniki. There are 2000 monks living there at present, belonging to 20 monasteries, the oldest of which was founded in the year 963. The exhibition is an excellent opportunity for women, too, to see the treasures since only male pilgrims are allowed to visit the area, and then only after obtaining the necessary visa.

This unique account of the life of Mount Athos today and in the past takes the form of a collection of some 500 objects from the monasteries themselves and from 15 museums in various parts of Europe, including ancient icons, manuscripts, sacramental vessels, textiles, wood carvings, jewellery, crosses, maps, photographs and paintings.

Duration: 18.8.2006-21.1.2007

Athos - Monastic Life on the Holy Mountain(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)