Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-03-29
MONKS DISTURBED BY
WAR IN THE BALKANS.
Have Appealed to the Mother Church
of Russia for Protection.

Karyes, Chalcidic Peninsula, Mace
donia, March 2s.-The monks Of Mt.
Athos have appealed to the Holy Moth
er Church of Russia for protection.
Disturbed in their quiet unWorldly
lives by the APPROACH of the world war
to a Balkan battlefield several months
ago, the Holy Synod of the Community,
which constitutes the thoroughly DEM
ocratic government of the twenty con-
vents, long deliberated the peril threat
ening them. They are not ignorant or
war. At one time their convent walls
were mounted with cannon, and in the
early part of the last century they took
with sad results for themselves,
prominent part in the Greek war for
| independence from Ottoman rule.
| War, therefore, is a very positive
horror to the monks of Mt. Athos. 50
| after due elaboration, they decided to
| send two of their presidents Cof whom
| there are four named in rotation from
| each of the converts each year, TO
| Athens, to lay their fears before the
| representative of the secular head OF
the Greek Church In pursuance OF
| this decision, armed with a loaf OF
black bread, a little paper of salt, and
| an ilzon of great beauty, newly paint
| ed with loving monxiSh care, the two
black-robed elders of the ancient reli-
gious republic left the protected peace
of their cliffs and walls, sea- grit, and
Ventured the troubled waters of the
Aegean to put their difficulties before
Prince Demidoff, Imperial Russian
Minister to Greece. The secular head
and most powerful defender of the
Greek Church in the world outside OF
Mt. Athos is the Emperor of All the
Russias. To him in person they could
not go. The way was cut off. Neither
| through Bulgaria in arms nor by way
Of the besieged Bosphorous could these
legates of Mt. Athos come to their mex
friend and protector. So they went as
best they could to his representative
dressed in their ample, flowing robes
their pot hats like outworn tiles
turned upside down, and their uncut
hair and patriarchial boards. Ant
the Russian Minister received them
gave them food and drink in his Elk
quisite palace in Athens in return fol
their bread and salt, and treating then
with great respect, assured them thei
case would be put before the Empero
himself, and that contingent or Rus
sian marines would be sent to guar
the peninsula if they had to come al
the way from Archangel to get there
He told them not to fear, for the Bull
garians, too, are of the Greek Churcl
and themselves have a convent all
their own on Mt. Athos; and it wa
scarcely conceivable that even tn
least scrupulous of Bulgarian "komi
tadijis'' or bandits should lay hostil
hands upon the holy things OF tn
Church.
But what has bothered the monks c
Mt. Athos has not been the Bulgarian!
The monks in a vague sort OF wa
know that their treasures of golde
images, brilliant studded altar utensils
manuscripts centuries and centurie
old, are sufficient to tempt almost an
man. They fear, not perhaps an or
ganized attack, but a raid agains
which which their hired guard of flft
soldiers would be helpless. So a sec
ond deputation has just been dispatch
ed to Athens, and some of the NOR
precious of their sacred possessions
their bits of the true cross, their saint
ly momentoes of the holy founders
the various converts, around whic
shrine after shrine has been bui
through the ages-have been placed 4