Mount Athos and Russia: 1016-2016

«This is a wonderful collection of fascinating essays on the history of Russians on Mount Athos and the influence of Athonite spirituality in Russian lands. It is a welcome, in fact an essential, addition to our understanding of the Holy Mountain and its place in Orthodox history and spirituality.» (Father John Behr (Fr Georges Florovsky Distinguished Professor of Patristics, St Vladimir's Seminary, New York and Metropolitan Kallistos Chair of Orthodox Theology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam))

«A splendid set of insights into the long, rich, and complex history of Russian Athonite monasticism. The Russians have contributed decisively to the pan-Orthodox and international character of the Holy Mountain. This elegant and engaging volume offers a wonderful panorama on this fruitful if sometimes fraught presence.» (Dr Marcus Plested, Associate Professor, Marquette University)

«Since the earliest days of monastic life on the Holy Mountain, its prayer and witness have been of immense significance to the Russian Church - and the Russian Church in turn has contributed in major ways to the history and spiritual flourishing of Athos. These essays, both learned and sensitive to the essentials of monastic life, demonstrate beautifully both the complexities and the graces of this long relationship. This will be a collection of real importance to Athonite studies.» (Dr Rowan Williams, University of Cambridge)

Nicholas Fennell is a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a Senior Scholar. He taught at Winchester College for forty years before devoting himself to research into the Russian presence on Athos, and into Greek-Russian ecclesiastical relations. His publications, in Russian and English, include The Russians on Athos (2001) and Il´insky skit na Afone (2011).
Graham Speake is a writer and publisher with degrees in classics from Cambridge and Oxford. He is founder and Chairman of the Friends of Mount Athos and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He is author of Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise (2nd edn. 2014), which won the 2002 Criticos Prize, and of A History of the Athonite Commonwealth: The Spiritual and Cultural Diaspora of Mount Athos (2018).