The Friends of Mount Athos (FoMA) is a society formed in 1990 by people who shared a common interest for the

monasteries of Mount Athos The monastic community of Mount Athos is an Eastern Orthodox community of monks in Greece, enjoying the status of an autonomous region holding the combined rights of a decentralized administration, a region and a municipality, with its territo ...

. It is a registered charity in the United Kingdom (Registered Charity No. 1047287).

People

Timothy Ware Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Kallistos of Diokleia, was the President of the society.

Graham Speake Graham Speake (born 9 June 1946, London) is a British classical philologist and Byzantinist. Education After attending St Paul's School in London, Speake studied Classics at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won various prizes for, among othe ...

, one of the founders, is the Chairman of the society. Among its members are the late

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

and King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

, of the United Kingdom, who is the royal patron of the society.

Footpath maintenance and mapping

As a service to the monasteries and to pilgrims, the society clears and maintains the ancient footpaths of Mount Athos, with many of the stone-paved

kalderimi In the former Ottoman countries, a kaldırım (Turkish) or kalderimi (Greek: καλντερίμι or καλντιρίμι; plural ''kalderimia'') is a cobblestone-paved road built for hoofed traffic. ''Kalderimia'' are sometimes described as cobb ...

paths dating back to the Byzantine era. It also provides on its website detailed footpath descriptions with GPS tracks, and a regularly updated report on the condition of the paths. FoMA member and cartographer, Peter Howorth of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, working with the society's footpath team, has recently published a new Pilgrim Map. Announcement of the Pilgrim Map, with link to the cartographer's website.

Publications

Among the society's publications are its annual bulletin (''Friends of Mount Athos Annual Report'') offering articles, book reviews and other features related to Mount Athos. Past issues are available from the society's web site. It also publishes ''A Pilgrim's Guide to Mount Athos'' in both printed and continuously updated digital forms.

References

External links

The Friends of Mount Athos
{{Mount Athos Mount Athos Christian charities based in the United Kingdom Eastern Orthodox organizations established in the 20th century Organizations established in 1990 Heritage organisations in the United Kingdom