Fifty paintings from Mount Athos, portraits of monks and an art installation bring the atmosphere of Holy Mountain to Sofia. The exhibition “Holy Mountain in Sofia“ has already opened at the National Palace of Culture and will remain open to visitors until November 15. The exhibition is part of the autumn forum “Salon of Arts“. This was announced by the Embassy of Greece.
The exhibition is held under the auspices of the Sofia Metropolis and the Embassy of Greece in Bulgaria.
The author of the paintings is the Greek-Austrian artist Evtimios Varlamis, who lived between 1942 and 2016. His paintings are dedicated to Mount Athos and the spiritual life in Orthodox monasteries. The exhibition also includes the installation “The Prayer of the Monks“, as well as a copy of a monastery cloister.
Paintings, photographs and monastic images
Visitors can see portraits of monks from the collection of the Athos Photo Library. Thus, Varlamis's picturesque view of Mount Athos is combined with documentary photographs related to the monastic community and its tradition.
The National Palace of Culture presents the exhibition as a joint initiative with the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil and with the participation of the Mount Athos Photo Library, the Austrian Museum of Art and the Experimental Workshop “Vergina“. The organizers indicate that the main goal is to recall “a peaceful way of life“ preserved in the Orthodox monasteries.
Varlamis' collection has previously been displayed at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, the National Christian Museum in Athens, the Basilica “St. Mark“ in Heraklion, the “Aristotle“ Cultural Center on Mount Athos and in Austria. In 2013, the works were also presented in the main hall of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will participate in the opening
The official opening in Sofia is scheduled for October 17, 2026 and, according to the Holy Metropolitanate of Sofia, will be with the participation of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The exhibition is located on the third floor of the National Palace of Culture.
By combining painting, photography and spatial installation, the exhibition places in a common context the religious heritage of Mount Athos and the contemporary conversation about spiritual and human values in Europe.
Sources: bta.bg, stolica.bg, Embassy of Greece