The Mount Athos Center celebrates 25 years of uninterrupted presence and promotion of its scientific and cultural work and activities for Mount Athos.

On Sunday, September 28, at 7:00 p.m., at the OLYMPION cinema in Thessaloniki, the Mount Athos Center is organizing an anniversary event during which its work will be presented.

The event will be honored by the presence of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who will deliver a speech marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Mount Athos Center.

During the event, Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki will give a welcome speech, followed by a short documentary presenting the work of the past twenty-five years. followed by speeches from a representative of the Holy Community of Mount Athos and the Mayor of Thessaloniki and President of the Board of Directors of the Mount Athos Center, Mr. Stelios Angeloudis. with the participation of the Byzantine choir of students from the Athoniada Ecclesiastical Academy and the Byzantine dance group “Oi Filathonites.”

About Mount Athos Center

The Mount Athos Center (a non-profit organization) was founded in 2000 by the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Holy Community of Mount Athos, and is essentially the functional continuation of the exhibition “Treasures of Mount Athos,” which was presented in 1997 by the European Capital of Culture Organization “Thessaloniki 1997.”

It is administered by a seven-member Board of Directors chaired by the Mayor of Thessaloniki, and its honorary president is the current Protos of Mount Athos. Of the remaining six members of the Board, three are appointed by the Municipality of Thessaloniki and three by the Holy Community of Mount Athos.

It is located in the city center, at 109 Egnatia Street, in the listed Nedelkos building, which was granted by the Municipality of Thessaloniki for its activities. The basement of the building houses the library and its archives, the ground floor houses the bookshop, while the upper floor of the building has a specially designed exhibition space, which hosts the organization’s exhibitions as well as the administrative services. The ground floor also houses the Pilgrims’ Office of the Holy Community of Mount Athos, while the inner courtyard hosts a number of events from May to October.

The purpose of the Mount Athos Center is to promote and highlight the long monastic tradition of Mount Athos, its great spiritual and cultural heritage, as well as its historical and cultural journey. These objectives are achieved through the organization and presentation of exhibitions in Greece and abroad, the production of publications, the organization of conferences and specialized scientific research, the organization of visual arts programs, and a host of other events.

In its 25 years of operation, the Mount Athos Center, always serving its statutory objectives, has presented more than 200 exhibitions in Greece and abroad, published 54 valuable publications, and organized 11 international scientific conferences and 8 international scientific workshops, strengthening the scientific community involved in Athonite research. Above all, it has brought to the fore and strengthened the long-standing relations between the city of Saint Demetrius and Mount Athos, making Thessaloniki the embassy of Mount Athos throughout the world.

Admission to the event is free with special invitations. Those interested can send an email to [email protected].