«Άγιον Όρος: Το μεγαλείο του Πρωτάτου.

Η διαχρονική συμβολή των Καρυών»

(Οκτώβριος 2006)

“Mount Athos: The Grandeur of the Protaton.

The perpetual contribution of Karies”

(October 2006)

Within the framework of the exhibit “Mount Athos-Treasures of the Protaton” an academic conference, dedicated primarily to the Protaton and the work of Manuel Panselinos, was organized with great participation and success.  The participation of scientists and partners of the Protaton Committee lent particular interest to the event as studies and positions of top scientists were presented to the public.  The conference took place to aid the developing work of preservation and restoration of the monument.

The conference occurred as one of the events of the “Dimitria” festival, with the consenting opinion of the Mayor of Thessaloniki.

The Opening Ceremony

His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made the opening statements for the commencement of the conference in the Hall of the Organization of Macedonian Studies on Saturday, October 21, 2006.

During the opening ceremony, the representative of the Holy Community, Elder Nicodimos Lavriotis and the Mayor of Thessaloniki and President of the Mount Athos Center, Mr. Vasilis Papageorgopoulos offered greetings.  The ceremony ended with the speech of Archimandrite Vasilis Proigoumenos Iviritis with the topic “Manuel Panselinos: Theological commentary on his life and work.”

The Program

The work of the Conference continued at the Thessaloniki Historical Center on Monday the 23rd and Tuesday the 24th of October, 2006.  In four thematic units which occurred over the course of the conference, Karies was presented as the judicial and spiritual center of the Holy Mountain.  Also presented were the Holy Church of the Protaton in historical, symbolic and artistic terms, the restoration work of the Protaton Committee for the preservation of the Holy Church as well as the frescoes and brilliant work Manuel Panselinos, the most important iconographer of the Paleologian period.

The reports of the conference, which included original works, along with announcements and findings, were presented in the following thematic units:

A. KARIES-JUDICIAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF THE ATHONITE STATE
Kriton Chrisochoidis: The Spiritual life in the area of the Protaton during the 16th Century
Vasileios Katsaros: Hilarion Kostamonitis and the questions of his time.
Phokion Kotzageorgis: Observations regarding the tax situation of the Holy Mountain (15th-17th century)
Haralambos Papastathis: Self-Governance of Karies
Konstantine Vapheiadis: The wall paintings in the cells of Karies of the Holy Mountain
Ploutarchos Theocharidis: The building block of the Holy Synod of Mt Athos and the dwelling of the Turkish Overseer.

B. THE HOLY CHURCH OF THE PROTATON: THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN: BEARER OF HISTORICAL, SYMBOLIC AND ARTISTIC SIGNIFICANCE
Nikos Zias: The Committee for the preservation of the Holy Church of the Protaton
Joachim Papaggelos: Concerning the builders of the Monastery of the Protaton
Pantelis Phountas: Outline and structural tracing of the building plan of the Church of the Protaton
Dimitris Abonis: Symbolism in the history of construction of the Church of the Protaton
Stergios Stephanou:  Thoughts and ideas about the shape of the Church of the Protaton
Phaidon Chatziantoniou: The Square of the Protaton: Later Greek acceptance of a European city structural style of the 19th century

C. THE CHURCH OF THE PROTATON: THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE PROTATON
Charalambos Bouras-Dimitris Abonis-The journey of the restoration study of the church of the Protaton and the programming of the work
Konstantinos Kontodinas: - Ilias Vapheiadis: Technical demands of intervention for the roof and interior of the Holy Church (alternative solutions and options)
Markos Tranos-Dimosthenis Moudrakis: Geological and special seismological-tectonic study of the region around the Church of the Protaton
Nikos Naskos: Findings of the soil research and study concerning the Holy Church of the Protaton in Karies of Mount Athos
Ioannis Tavlakis: The Work of the 10th Committee of Byzantine Antiquities at the Protaton

D. THE FRESCOES OF MR. MANUEL PANSELINOS: THE CHRONICLE OF A GREAT CREATION AND THE OPERATION TO SAVE IT
Athanasios Palioura: Artistic-Theological Commentary “The letter of a University teacher to the leading elder of painted art, Manuel Panselinos”
Anestis Vasilakeris: The frescoes of the Protaton and the face of the Emperor
Dimitris Kalomoirakis: The historicity of the Protaton: The Chronicle of the dating the Church and its interpretation
Christina Stephanou-Kaisi: The Four Evangelists of the Holy Church of the Protaton-Karies, Mount Athos
Nicholas Minos, Haris Lionis, Stavros Baltogiannis: The preservation of the frescoes
Petros Patias: Photographical copies of the frescoes
Sister Danilia, Sophia Sotiropoulou, Georgios Karagiannis, Dimitrios Bikiaris, Christos Salpistis, Ioannis Chrisoulakis: The skill of the painting of Panselinos. Natural and chemical analysis of the frescoes in the Holy Church of the Protaton
Dimitrios Aravantinos-Dimitrios Bikas: Approach to the problem of humidity in Protaton of the Holy Mountain