Nicosia hosted today a cultural event to mark 1,000 years of Russian presence at Mount Athos, which is situated in northern Greece and constitutes an important centre of Christian Orthodox monasticism.
In his speech, Minister of Transport, Communication and Works, Marios Demetriades, said he was honoured “to be standing here today as we celebrate an historic event, a cultural event of our Orthodox church, an event of great importance to our Russian fellows and hence to ourselves, your Cypriot friends”.
“We share a lot and we have so much in common, as a result of our common religion, beliefs and understanding. Cyprus and Russia share above all, an historic relationship characterized by sincere friendship” he pointed out.
The Minister said that “as Greeks, including ourselves as Greek-Cypriots, we consider the 1.000 years of presence on the Holy Mountain with the Saint Panteleimon monastery, an honor. An honor, as you have trusted the Greek civilization by choosing the Holy Mountain 1.000 years ago to be the first Russian Settlement in the Peninsula”.
Cultural heritage can provide an automatic sense of unity and belonging within a group and allows people to better understand previous generations and the history of where they come from, he noted. “At the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, we strongly believe that the protection, study and promotion of our cultural assets, history and culture can contribute in our attempt to achieve a better future,” he stressed.
In his address read out at the event, Alexander Beglov, representative of the Russian President and head of the committee for the millennium of Russian presence at Mount Athos, he said that Mount Athos is a treasure of spiritual tradition, since it includes monasteries and the remains of many Christian Saints.
“The 1,000 years of Russian presence that we celebrate this year, is an important event for all Orthodox peoples, because Mount Athos means a lot for the whole Christian world”, he stressed.
A speech by the Russian Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky was also read out at the event. Medinsky referred to the interest of researchers regarding the presence of Russian monks at Mount Athos for 1,000 years.
According to UNESCO`s website, Mount Athos, an Orthodox spiritual centre since 1054, has enjoyed an autonomous statute since Byzantine times. The `Holy Mountain`, as it is called (Ayio Oros in Greek) which is forbidden to women and children, is also a recognized artistic site. The layout of the monasteries (about 20 of which are presently inhabited by some 1,400 monks) had an influence as far afield as Russia, and its school of painting influenced the history of Orthodox art.