World history: “Mount Athos. Images of the Holy Land” exhibition staged in Moscow

November 8 - 28 2011 the State Historical Museum in Moscow is running an exhibition called “Mount Athos. Images of the Holy Land”.

At the core of the exhibition is a unique Svyatogorsk photo archive, which was assembled by monks-hermits and today is kept by Simonopetra Monastery: 240 old photographs dated between 1848–1963, which reveal all images of the “Holy Land” – from landscapes and monastery ensembles to sacred rites and portraits of hermits.

The exhibition creates an image of a sacred place of Athos, which shows a wonder-working icon of Our Lady of Iveron sent from Mount Athos in 1648 as a special gift and blessing of Russia, old maps and prints of icons with views of the Holy Mount, authentic flowers and plants of Mount Athos. In the heart of the exposition – is the only one of its kind 12-meters glass installation, which recreates the outline of the Holy Mount.