Page 100 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

The Monks’ Hospitality ically granted a minimum stay of four days, dur-
In the early twentieth century, Charles Diehl ing which they are invited to observe and par-
articulated a nuanced perspective on the recep- ticipate in the monastic life at their own pace.
tion afforded to visitors at Vatopédi Monastery, The hospitality extended by the monks leaves a
noting that the ‘reception, although different, lasting impression on travellers, as evidenced by
[which]is no less cordial at Vatopédi than at the reflections of Belgian priest Dom Théodore
Lavra: in the great salon of the hegumen, where Belpaire (1882–1968), who articulated his ex-
the portraits of the past and present sovereigns perience of being ‘at the mercy of the hospital-
of Europe are lined up, from the sultan and the ity’ of the monks, and ‘becomes aware of being
tzar to the presidents of our republic, the refresh- here, in this Orthodox environment, foreign to
ments circulate, and the gifts shower us, and they everything: to the language, to the customs, to
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100 would like to detain us more, to keep us until the their table, to their piety’ (Belpaire 1929, 29).
next morning: but time is running out and we
must leave, taking away the regret of the visit too Conclusion
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 12 (2024), številka 2 / volume 12 (2024), number 2
brief, of the barely glimpsed vision of this mo- The concept of a living past, a past that is still
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nastic world of yesteryear’ (Diehl 1909, 199). alive, a dive-like journey through time, (Lacar-
In a similar vein, the observations of De rière 2002, 8), plays a pivotal role in shaping the
Voguë regarding the representatives of the Holy narrative of travel to Mount Athos. This idea,
Community in Karyès evoke a poignant com- which has been previously articulated through
parison to the councils of the early Church. He readings with vivid ‘descriptions of all these
remarked upon the venerable age of these men, convents, these hermitages, nestled in the crev-
suggesting that ‘these old men are eight hun- ices of the mountain’ (De Launay 1897, 148)
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dred years old, double that perhaps. Are we not that we come to encounter, allows travellers to
in Chalcedon or Ephesus, in one of the com- engage with and verify the authenticity of these
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mittees of the conciliar assembly?’ (De Vogüé sites during their journeys. This notion began to
1894, 274). take root in the 19th century, evolving through-
Authorities have streamlined the process out the 20th century, and it fundamentally char-
for visitors, no longer requiring the inspection of acterizes the essence of travel narratives related
passports or other documents. Instead, access to to Mount Athos.
Mount Athos is facilitated by issuing a Diamoni- In 1884, Father Neyrat articulated this per-
tirion visa (since the 1980s), a pass that officially spective, expressing his desire to witness first-
authorized entry into the monks’ territory. This hand a region that had only been accessible to a
pass is obtained from an office in Ouranoupoli, select few. He spoke of the churches where the
aptly named ‘the city of the sky.’ Visitors are typ-
50 ‘ À la merci de leur hospitalité. [...] d’être ici dans ce milieu
précieuse relique, que j’ai également le privilège de vénérer orthodoxe, étranger à tout: à la langue, aux mœurs, à leur
(car je suis ce jour dans le monastère le seul pèlerin).’ table, à leur piété…’
48 ‘Et la réception, pour être différente, n’est pas moins cor- 51 Lacarrière takes up this idea in his latest book devoted
diale à Vatopédi qu’à Lavra : dans le grand salon de l’hig- to Athos where for him we ‘penetrate the heart of anoth-
oumène, où s’alignent les portraits des souverains passés er time, in some print inhabited by silhouettes from an-
et présents d’Europe, depuis le sultan et le tzar jusqu’aux other age’ which are compared to ‘very real ghosts, ( …)
présidents de notre république, les rafraîchissements cir- who move around, greet you, accompany you, even inquire
culent et les cadeaux nous comblent, et l’on voudrait nous about your nationality, your age and your health.’(‘on «
retenir davantage, nous garder jusqu’au lendemain matin : pénètre au coeur d’un temps autre, en quelque estampe
mais le temps presse et nous devons partir, emportant le re- habitée de silhouettes d’un autres âge » qui sont comparées
gret de la visite trop brève, de la vision entrevue à peine de à « des fantômes bien réels, (…) qui s’agitent, vous saluent,
ce monde monastique d’autrefois’ vous accompagnent, s’enquièrent même de votre national-
49 ‘Ces vieillards ont huit cents ans, le double peut-être. - Ne ité , de votre âge et de votre santé.’
sommes-nous pas en Chalcédoine ou à Ephèse, dans un des 52 ‘de descriptions de tous ces couvents, ces ermitages, nichés
comités de l’assemblée conciliaire?’ dans les anfractuosités de la montagne’