THEOTOKEIA FESTIVAL
On Wednesday 19 August 2026, at the Cultural Centre of Saints Theodore on Imbros, in the presence of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, a series of celebratory events were held by the Mount Athos Center in Thessaloniki in collaboration with the Holy Metropolis of Imbros and Tenedos in order to mark the Patriarch’s 35 years of service as Ecumenical Patriarch and the 65th anniversary of his ordination as deacon.
‘Apart from my institutional role, due to the fact that every Ecumenical Patriarch is also Bishop of Mount Athos, I also have an emotional tie with Mount Athos springing from my love of monasticism and, even more so, from the fact that, when I was ordained 65 years ago, I took my name from Bartholomew of Koutloumousiou Monastery, who always proudly signed himself as “The Imbriot”. And a proof of my love for Mount Athos is the fact that I have visited it eight times.’
‘Apart from my institutional role, due to the fact that every Ecumenical Patriarch is also Bishop of Mount Athos, I also have an emotional tie with Mount Athos springing from my love of monasticism and, even more so, from the fact that, when I was ordained 65 years ago, I took my name from Bartholomew of Koutloumousiou Monastery, who always proudly signed himself as “The Imbriot”. And a proof of my love for Mount Athos is the fact that I have visited it eight times.’
THEOMITORIKA FESTIVAL 2026
General State Archives/Historical Archive – Museum of Hydra
Official opening: Saturday 1 August 2026, 21:00
The opening ceremony in Bucharest of the exhibition entitled ‘Mount Athos and Meteora 1929 – Princeton’s Hidden Treasure’ was held with great success on Wednesday 24 June 2026, marking yet another important milestone in the exhibition’s international journey.
The exhibition has been organised by the Mount Athos Center in Thessaloniki in collaboration with the Department of Art and Archaeology of Princeton University in the USA and the ‘Byzantina’ Cultural Institute, and is being held at the Galeria Fundației Bizantine, where it will remain open to the public until 1 October 2026.
June 24 - October 1, 2026
The exhibition of historic photographs from Princeton continues on its journey…
The Mount Athos Center in Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the Department of Art and Archaeology of Princeton University in the USA and the Byzantine Cultural Institute in Bucharest, presents the exhibition entitled ‘Mount Athos and Meteora 1929 – Princeton’s Hidden Treasure’ in Bucharest. The exhibition represents a special cultural event as it displays a rare archive of photographs and film of great historic value.
4 June - 3 October 2026
The Mount Athos Center presents an exhibition of painting and iconography entitled ‘Constantine Xenopoulos’s Athos: An experiential approach to the Garden of the Virgin Mary’, which will be officially opened on Thursday 18 June at 19:00.
