A Lebanese Orthodox priest at the Balamand Stauropegic Monastery of the Dormition, situated 80 kilometres north of Beirut

Photograph by Marilyn Stafford, 1960.

The Balamand Monastery is one of the oldest foundations in the Patriarchate of Antioch, with a history stretching back more than 850 years.

The number of Christians living in Lebanon is declining inexorably: over the past forty years it has fallen by 25-30%, and today they make up no more than 35% of the population, with the Orthodox no more than 10%.

Report a translation error

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

A Lebanese Orthodox priest at the Balamand Stauropegic Monastery of the Dormition, situated 80 kilometres north of Beirut

Read more

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s