The ceremony was attended by Metropolitan Alexy of Chelyabinsk and Miass, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk region Oleg Gerber, Abbess of the Odigitrievsky convent Abbess Evsebiya (Lobanova), clergy of the Chelyabinsk diocese, deputies of the Legislative Assembly, representatives of public organizations and residents of the city.
Opening the exhibition, Metropolitan Alexy thanked the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region for the opportunity to introduce South Ural residents to a unique project.
"Mount Athos is a special story. The founder of Russian monasticism, St. Anthony of Kiev Caves, was an Athonite monk. It was he who brought to Russia the traditions of monastic life, which formed the basis of Russian monasticism. Not everyone has the opportunity to visit the Holy Mountain, so it is especially important that thanks to this exhibition we can touch its spiritual heritage and see how people strive for the Heavenly Kingdom," said Bishop Alexy.
The project "Our Athos" was presented to the South Ural people by its author, Kostas Asimis, a famous Greek photographer and representative of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos. For more than forty years, he has been introducing viewers to the life of the Holy Mountain, monastic traditions and Orthodox heritage.
Kostas Asimis has created a photo archive of Russian monasticism on Mount Athos, which includes more than five thousand rare photographs and restored ambrotypes of the 19th century. The photographer is one of the few in the world who is officially allowed to capture the inner life of the Athos monasteries, their shrines and the daily monastic way of life.