by Grigorios Anastasiou, Director of IBM
The Foundation
The establishment of the Institute of Byzantine Musicology was realized thanks to the steadfast determination of the late Metropolitan of Kozani, Dionysios Psarianos—its first director - and was cemented by the tears and toil of its first scientific associate, Professor Emeritus Gregorios Stathis. The proposal by the late Metropolitan of Kozani to establish an Institute of Byzantine Musical Studies - as he envisioned naming it - timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary celebrations of the 1821 Revolution, was accepted and ratified during the 87th session of the Holy Synod on June 24, 1970. From that very moment, the work of tilling and sowing - cultivating previously unworked soil - began with the cataloging of musical manuscripts from Mount Athos; this task was the primary focus of Gregorios Stathis, the then-research associate of the Institute of Byzantine Musicology. The task of cataloging - at once so laborious and fundamental - also served as the occasion for the Foundation’s first official public presentation, marked by a lecture delivered by Gregorios Stathis on June 8, 1972, at the Hall of the Archaeological Society of Athens, titled: "The Cataloging of Byzantine Music Manuscripts from Mount Athos and the Immediate Benefits Derived Therefrom"[1]. In the meantime, Gregorios Stathis had drafted the Royal Decree "On the approval of the establishment of an institute for scientific research - specifically regarding musicological studies concerning the origins, notation, evolution, history, and tradition of Byzantine ecclesiastical music - under the title 'Institute of Orthodox Byzantine Musicology,' and on the ratification of its organizational statute." The Royal Decree proved unnecessary; however, it was subsequently transformed into the Founding Act of the Institute of Byzantine Musicology - published in the periodical "Ecclesia" - and ultimately, to acquire legal force, it underwent a linguistic revision and was published as the Institute’s Regulation in the Government Gazette on November 10, 1982[2].
The History
If we were to outline the history of the Foundation to date, we would divide it into three periods: the first, spanning from its establishment in 1970 to its official recognition by the State in 1983; the middle period, extending from the inaugural meeting of its Board of Directors until 1999; and the final, contemporary period, which begins with the appointment of Grigorios Stathis - who until that moment had been its sole scientific associate - to the position of Director, continuing to the present day.
The First Period
During the first period - which might be described as that of the Foundation’s establishment and its initial flourishing - the groundwork for its future activities was laid, and it experienced its first significant growth. The key achievements of this period include:
- The publication of the first two volumes of the monumental "Catalogues of Musical Manuscripts of Mount Athos", as well as the first three dissertations by Gregorios Stathis in the "Studies" series - covering Fifteen-Syllable Hymnography, Anagrammatismoi and Mathēmata of Byzantine musical composition, and the interpretation of Old Notation. - The realization of the first four of the eight "Musicological Studies" in total ("Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Composers") and the corresponding recording productions. It is worth listing here those major artistic and musicological events in which distinguished choirs of chanters collaborated with various choir directors, such as Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas, Chrysanthos Theodosopoulos, and Theodoros Vasilikos and, from 1983 onwards, the "Maestors of Psaltic Art", under the direction and instruction of Gregorios Stathis:
· The first musicological study dedicated to Petros Bereketis, held at the "Parnassos" Literary Society Hall in Athens on May 26, 1974.
· The second, dedicated to Gregorios Protopsaltis, at the same venue on June 7, 1976.
· The third, dedicated to Balasis the priest, in the hall of the Society for Macedonian Studies in Thessaloniki, on April 17, 1978, and later in Athens, in the University Ceremonial Hall, on March 21, 1988.
· The fourth, dedicated to Petros Peloponnesios, on October 15, 1979, at the Olympia Theatre of the Greek National Opera.
· The fifth, at the same venue, on February 20, 1984, dedicated to Theodoros Phokaefs.
· The sixth, dedicated to Ioannis Koukouzelis in the Great Hall of the University of Athens on March 3, 1986, with that extraordinary performance by the "Masters of the Art of Psaltiki" - an event that those who experienced it still recount to us today.
· The seventh, dedicated to Germanos of New Patrai, took place again in the Great Hall of the University of Athens on May 25, 1989.
· The eighth, dedicated to Parthenios Meteorites, was held within the framework of the Greek-Danish Symposium at the same venue on November 12, 1993.
It should be noted that these musicological studies continued subsequently—albeit perhaps in a different form—with other institutions (such as the Athens Concert Hall) also participating in their organization.
The Second Period
The middle period of the Foundation’s history is a time of institutional consolidation and continuation of initiatives already set in motion, followed by a relative slowdown towards its end - after 1993, when the third volume of the Catalogues of Byzantine Music Manuscripts of Mount Athos was published. This slight slowdown in the Foundation’s vigorous activity should be attributed - beyond any external difficulties - perhaps also to the fact that its scholarly associate, Gregorios Stathis, was occupied with other commitments: his university duties and other activities, primarily artistic ones involving the Maestors of Psaltic Art choir. This is further explained by the universally acknowledged reality that he has been the "soul" of the Foundation from its inception to the present day.
I reproduce here the opening of the first meeting of the Administrative Council - an event that effectively inaugurated this intermediate historical period - as vividly recorded in the Council’s minute book:
"1. Archbishop Seraphim was the first to speak; smiling and making expressive gestures with his hands, he said:
- Holy brother, distinguished gentlemen: we have met here - and please forgive me for keeping you waiting a little - to be briefed and to see what we can do regarding the musicological affairs of our region. What shall we do about the Institute of Byzantine Musicology? Welcome, and may God help us move forward; we must! For it is a great pity that this matter of music in our worship has been neglected. Holy brother, please tell us: what must we do now?
Taking the floor, Metropolitan Dionysios of Kozani said:
- Your Beatitude, we thank you for your kindness in inviting us and for dedicating some time to the topics of today’s meeting. I am truly pleased that, after some twelve or thirteen years since the Foundation’s establishment, its Board of Directors is convening for its first meeting. This Foundation is dedicated to a great mission—and has already accomplished significant work, thanks to the tireless Mr. Gregorios; it is no exaggeration to say that he is the very soul of the Foundation. The rest of us have contributed almost nothing to it. Today, therefore, Mr. Stathis has been asked to brief us on the Foundation, after which we shall proceed to constitute the Board of Directors. I ask Mr. Stathis to read the Introductory Report to us.
- "Yes," said Mr. Peristeris as well, "let us be enlightened, for we know nothing."
The Third Period
The significant work accomplished up to 1999 was followed by even greater achievements from that time onwards, during the third, modern period of the Foundation's history. A decisive factor in this was the firm resolve of the then Archbishop, late Christodoulos, who appointed Professor Stathis as Director, thereby entrusting him with the role of the Foundation's guiding spirit and driving force. The two positions of research associates were filled by the late Demetrios Balageorgos - until his election as a Lecturer at the University of Athens in 2003 - and myself.
In 2021, having served the Institute of Byzantine Musicology since its inception - a tenure spanning more than fifty years - Grigorios Stathis submitted his resignation as Director in a letter to His Beatitude Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens. At the same time, he took the initiative to propose me - previously a research associate - as the new Director and to request the appointment of a new research associate. In June 2022, at an official event in the Great Hall of the Hierarchy, the Holy Synod and His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens Ieronymos, awarded Gregory Stathis the title of Honorary Director of the Foundation for Byzantine Musicology.
The hiring of the new research associate did not prove possible until 2025, when I, having been elected Associate Professor at the University of Athens, resigned from my salaried position at the Holy Synod. Consequently, as of July 2025, Polykarpos Tympas - a doctoral candidate in Byzantine Musicology at the University of Athens and a Head Cantor - was hired as a research associate for the Foundation.
During this third period of the Foundation’s life, at least 41 book and CD titles were released: 20 dissertations and studies, 7 massive catalogues of musical manuscripts, 5 CD albums (mostly double or triple sets), 5 booklets containing ecclesiastical services or other liturgical material, a substantial volume of transcriptions in staff notation, and three large volumes of conference proceedings. Furthermore, nine international conferences on musicology and psaltic art have been held to date, along with a landmark one-day symposium on ekphonetic notation and practice. More would have been achieved, or even greater things would be awaiting realization, had the economic hardship of recent years not acted as a brake. Fortunately, the existing momentum continues to drive things forward.
[1] First published in the journal Ecclesia MΘ´ (1972), pp. 626-629, 694-698 and N´ (1973), pp. 50-53.
[2] Official Gazette of the Government of the Hellenic Republic, issue Α´, page number 135, Athens, November 10, 1982, pp. 1169 – 1172.