Mt. Athos, June 8, 2011
The main goal of the expedition is to study the manuscripts, letters, and other documents that comprise the creative heritage of the St. Theophan, which are located in the archives of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery, the St. Andrew and St. Elias Sketes, and a number of other Athonite monasteries. The manuscripts found will undergo more thorough study, with the aim of using them in the preparation of the first scholarly publication of the Complete Works of St. Theophan the Recluse.
Over the course of the expedition, the researchers discovered previously unknown works of the great 19th Russian religious writer, who co-authored with St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain Unseen Warfare, one of the great ascetical classics now translated into English.