Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-02-26
CONVENTs ON
MOUNT ATHOS IN
FEAR OF ATTACK
Some Six Thousand Monks
and Lay Brothers in DAN
ger; Priceless Treasures At,
tractive to Raiders,
Associated Press Correspondence.,

kayres. .Chalcidic Peninsula. Mace
donia, Jan. 25.-The monks of St.
Athos have appealed to the Holy
Mother church of Russia for protec-
linn. Disturbed in their quiet I'M
worldly lives by the approach of the
world war to Balkan battlefield
several months ago, the Holy Synod of
The Community. which constitutes the
thoroughly democratic government of
the twenty converts, long deliberated
The peril threatening them. They are
not ignorant of war AT one time their
convent walls were mounted with cam
non. and in the early part of the last
century they took with sad results for
emselves, prominent part in the
creek war for independence from OF
toman rule.
War, therefore, is n very positive
horror to the monks of st. Athos. So
after due deliberation, they decided to
send two of their presidents (of 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, little paper of salt and
an ikon of great beauty, newly paint
ed with loving monkish care, the two
black -robed elders of the ancient re-
llgious republic left the protected
peace Of their cliffs and walls. sea-girt
and ventured upon the troubled wa
ters of the Aegean to put their diff
cultles before Prince Demidoff, inn
perial Russian minister to Greece. The
secular head and most powerful de-
fender of the Greek church in the
world outside Of Mt. Athos Is the en-
peror Of all the Russias. To him in
person they could not go. The way
was cut off. Neither through Bulga-
ria in arms nor by way of the beseged
Bosphorous could these legates of Mt
Athos come to their next 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 up
side down, and their uncut hair and
patriarchial boards. And the Russian
minister received them, gave them
food and drink in his exquisite palace
in Athens in return for their bread
and salt. and treating them with great
respect assured them their case would
he put before the emperor himself,
and that u contingent of Russian ma
rnes would be sent to guard the pc
ninsula if they had to come all the
way from Archangel to get there.
He told them not to fear, for the Bul-
garians, too, are of the Greek church
and themselves have a convent all Of
their own on Mt. Athos; and it was
scarcely conceivable that even the
least scrupulous of Bulgarian "komi-
tadjis" or bandits should lay hostile
hands upon the holy things of the
church.
Raid Is Feared.
But what has bothered the monks
of Mt. Athos has not been the Bul-
garians The monks in a vague sort
of way know that their treasures or
golden images, brilliant studded altar
utensils manuscripts centuries and
almost any man. They fear, not per-
haps an organized attack, but raid
against which their hired guard of
fifty soldiers would be helpless. So
second deputation has Just been dis
patched to Athens, and some of the
more precious of their sacred posses
sions - their bits of the true cross,
cot, Of holy
founders of the various converts.
around which shrine after shrine has
been built through the ages - have
been placed in the security of the steel
safe of the imperial Russian legation
at Athens.
Certainly one of the most eXtraor-
binary and beautiful sights of the
Athos. The Chalcidic peninsula
stretched south into the Aegean sea
like three fingers Of great hand,
has the mountain itself as the nail
on the easternmost finger. But the
mountain is merely sort of lofty
marble white and oakengree land
mark, on the garlanded sides of which
are hundreds of shrines and huts of
individual anchorites. The whole Pc
ninsula itself is the garden ground of
twenty converts. most of them either
at the waters edge or perched high
upon cliffs or mounted on the ter
raced hillsides overlooking the water.
Their architecture their extraordinary
setting, stages a scene for the passer-
by on the deck of coasting steamer,