IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2017
The main activities of IBYZ in 2017 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of IBYZ Library
Among the people who used the library resources are Institute members, historians, theologians, and others.
IBYZ Lectures
January 2017: Dr. Petr Balcárek delivered a series of lectures and led seminars on Carpathian Christian Art at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the “1 Decembrie 1918” University in Alba Iulia, Romania, as part of the bilateral agreement of cooperation between IBYZ o.p.s. and this university.
IBYZ Publication
Jiří Vidlička, Počátky vzdělávání československých studentů na pravoslavných bohosloveckých seminářích v Království Srbů, Chorvatů a Slovinců ve 20. letech 20. století (The Beginnings of Czechoslovak Students’ Education at the Orthodox Theological Seminaries in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in the 1920s), VS/ECS 23/2017.
Visits and other events
▪ No visits could take place during the year because of the refurbishment works (insulation of the foundation of the back wing of the building against humidity by injections).
▪ However, at the end of the year, on 28th December 2017, IBYZ, o.p.s. was visited by the founders of the IKONY icon gallery from Žilina, Slovak Republic. This visit was organised by IBYZ Governing Board member Dr. Jozef Matula, who was also present at the meeting together with IBYZ director Dr. Petr Balcárek and IBYZ Governing Board member Dr. Manuela E. Gheorghe. Negotiations concerning possible cooperation between the two organisations took place.
Donations
Donations to the Institute library: IBYZ members and friends.
Finances
Running costs
The running costs of the Institute premises, now paid from the IBYZ ‘running costs’ account, are as follows: electricity, gas; administrative fee for common services on house (including water, chimney, and administration fees, repairs, etc.); check-up and repair of the gas heating boiler; website; check-up of the two fire extinguishers; accountant fee. Other expenses: partial payment of refurbishment works (insulation of the foundation of the back wing of the building against humidity by injections); purchase of special paint for the walls in which the injections had been made.
Income
▪ Rentals
▪ Other sources of income: donations, translation work, and the sale of IBYZ publications.
Concluding Remarks
This represents a brief account of the work of the Institute in the year 2017. (A fuller report for 2017 is available on request.) Many thanks to the IBYZ Founding Members, to the members of the Governing and Supervisory Boards and to all those who gave advice and help.
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IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2016
The main activities of IBYZ in 2016 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of IBYZ Library
Among the people who used the library resources are Institute members and other visitors.
Lecture
On 4th August 2016, Dr. Petr Balcárek delivered a lecture at the Moravian diocesan assembly of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia on the question of Christian Mission and the Orthodox Church.
IBYZ Publication
Preparation of the translation into Czech of Josef Strzygowski’s study “Perso-Indian Landscape in Northern Art” (“Persko-indická krajina v severském umění“) with an introductory study by Petr Balcárek, VS/ECS 22/2016.
Visits and other events
No visits could take place because of the refurbishment works (renewal of the façade in the inner yard after the change of windows in the corridor on the first floor of the back wing of the building) performed by our neighbour on the first floor.
Donations
▪ Donations to the Institute library made by IBYZ members and friends.
▪ Financial donations made by IBYZ members.
Finances
Running costs
The running costs of the Institute premises, now paid from the IBYZ ‘running costs’ account, are as follows: electricity, gas; administrative fee for common services on house (including water, chimney, and administration fees, repairs, etc.); accountant fee.
Income
▪ Rentals of Institute premises.
▪ Donations, translation work, and the sale of IBYZ publications.
Concluding Remarks
This represents a brief account of the work of the Institute in the year 2016. (A fuller report for 2016 is available on request.) Many thanks to the IBYZ Founding Members, to the members of the Governing and Supervisory Boards and to all those who gave advice and help.
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IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2015
The main activities of IBYZ in 2015 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of IBYZ Library
Among the people who used the library resources are Institute members, as well as a couple of Olomouc historians and others.
IBYZ Lectures
October 2015: Dr. Petr Balcárek delivered a series of lectures and led seminars on Carpathian Christian Art at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the “1 Decembrie 1918” University in Alba Iulia, Romania, as part of the bilateral agreement of cooperation between IBYZ o.p.s. and this university.
IBYZ Publication
Petr Balcárek – Rudolf Chadraba, Mluva obrazů (The Language of Images), VS/ECS 21/2015.
Visits and other events
No visits could take place because of the refurbishment works (change of windows in the corridor of our neighbour’s flat on the first floor of the back wing of the building), which meant the façade in the inner yard was covered by scaffolding.
Donations
Donations to the Institute library made by IBYZ members.
Finances
Running costs
The running costs of the Institute premises, now paid from the IBYZ ‘running costs’ account, are as follows: electricity, gas; administrative fee for common services on house (including water, chimney, and administration fees, repairs, etc.); accountant fee; website; gas heating boiler check-up and repair.
Income
▪ Rentals of Institute premises.
▪ Donations, translation work, and the sale of IBYZ publications.
Concluding Remarks
This represents a brief account of the work of the Institute in the year 2015. (A fuller report for 2015 is available on request.) Many thanks to the IBYZ Founding Members, to the members of the Governing and Supervisory Boards and to all those who gave advice and help.
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IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2014
The main activities of IBYZ in 2014 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of IBYZ Library
Among the people who used the library resources are Institute members, icon painters, historians, also Prof. Michailo Popović from the Academy in Vienna on the occasion of his visit and lecture given on the IBYZ premises at the end of April this year.
IBYZ Lectures
▪ January 2014: Dr. Petr Balcárek delivered a series of lectures and led seminars on Carpathian Christian Art at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the “1 Decembrie 1918” University in Alba Iulia, Romania, as part of the bilateral agreement of cooperation between IBYZ o.p.s. and this university.
▪ Tuesday 29th April 2014. 18.00 p.m.: Dr. Mihailo Popović from the Abteilung Byzanzforschung at the Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, delivered a lecture on SKOPJE – A Sacred Cityscape of the 14th Century on the IBYZ premises at Dolní náměstí in Olomouc.
IBYZ Publication
David Vrána, Počátky mincovního umění v Čechách (The Beginnings of Coin Art in the Czech Lands), VS/ECS 20/2014.
Visit at IBYZ
Prof. Sebastian Brock, one of the founding members and supporters of IBYZ, visited the Institute on the occasion of his participation in a conference organised by Centrum Aletti in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Other Activities and Events
▪ Agreement of Coooperation within the Erasmus European Programme
On 28th January 2014, an agreement of cooperation within the Erasmus European Programme between IBYZ o.p.s. and the „1 Decembrie 1918“ University in Alba Iulia, Romania was signed. Activities taking place within the “Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP)“ and “Erasmus +“ would be financed by the European Union.
Donations
▪ Donations to the Institute library made by IBYZ members and friends.
▪ Financial donations made by IBYZ members and visitors of the Institute.
Finances
Running costs
The running costs of the Institute premises, now paid from the IBYZ ‘running costs’ account, are as follows: electricity, gas, administrative fee for common services in the house (including water, chimney, and administration fees, repairs, etc.); accountant fee; website; check-up and repair of the gas heating boiler; check-up and maintenance of the two fire extinguishers.
Income
▪ Rental of IBYZ premises.
▪ Donations, Romanian and English lessons, and the sale of IBYZ publications.
Concluding Remarks
This represents a brief account of the work of the Institute in the year 2014. (A fuller report for 2014 is available on request.) Many thanks to the IBYZ Founding Members, to the members of the Governing and Supervisory Boards and to all those who gave advice and help.
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IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2013
The main activities of IBYZ in 2013 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of IBYZ Library
Among the people who used the library resources are Institute members; the students of the departments of Philosophy, Philology, and Art History at the Faculty of Arts, Palacký University in Olomouc, who attended the seminar led by Dr. Petr Balcárek on the IBYZ premises during the autumn semester in the academic year 2013/2014: Ikona a kult ve východním křesťanství (Icon and Cult in Eastern Christianity).
Weekly IBYZ Course
IBYZ organised, on a weekly basis, a course on Ikona a kult ve východním křesťanství (Icon and Cult in Eastern Christianity), led by Dr. Petr Balcárek, A group of 5-6 students from the departments of Philosophy, Philology, and Art History at the Faculty of Arts, Palacký University in Olomouc attended this course on the IBYZ premises during the autumn semester in the academic year 2013/2014. The series of lectures given by Dr. Balcárek in the first part of the course was followed by seminar works presented gradually by the students themselves on topics of their own choice in fields of research related to the overall theme of the course. The course took place each Tuesday, beginning on 1st October until 26th November 2013.
IBYZ Lecture
On Tuesday 12th November, at 7 p.m., a lecture on Philippus Arabs – první Křesťan na římském trůnu? (Philippus Arabs – The First Christian on the Throne of Rome?) was delivered by Dr. Vlastimil Drbal from Mainz, Germany (as part of his research within the European project on pilgrimage places), on the IBYZ premises at 166/22 Dolní náměstí, Olomouc. The lecture was based on examples of mosaic decorations related to the topic.
IBYZ Publication
Vlastimil Drbal, Philippus Arabs – první Křesťan na římském trůnu? (Philippus Arabs – The First Christian on the Throne of Rome?), VS/ECS 19/2013.
Visits at IBYZ
▪ Mr. George Woodman, member of the IBYZ Supervisory Board, visited the seat of the Institute in September 2013. Together with another IBYZ friend, he also participated in the pilgrimage to the Carpathian region in Eastern Slovakia organised by IBYZ members Petr Balcárek and Manuela E. Gheorghe. They visited several traditional wooden churches.
▪ On 10th May 2013, IBYZ hosted a reception organised by the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Arts, Palacký University in Olomouc, for the participants of the international conference on Gemisthos Plethon and the Beginnings of Humanism in Florence. The reception took place on the IBYZ premises in cooperation with Dr. Jozef Matula, member of the IBYZ Governing Board.
Other Activities and Events
Bilateral Agreement of Cooperation between IBYZ o.p.s. and the „1 Decembrie 1918“ University in Alba Iulia, Romania
In September 2013, an agreement of cooperation (research activities) was signed by IBYZ o.p.s. and the „1 Decembrie 1918“ University in Alba Iulia, Romania.
Donations
Donations to IBYZ library made by IBYZ members and IBYZ friends.
Finances
Running costs
The monthly running costs of the Institute premises are now paid from the IBYZ ‘running costs’ account.
Income
▪ Rental of part of the IBYZ premises.
▪ Donations.
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IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2012
The main activities of IBYZ in 2012 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of Library
The classification of books and archive materials continued in 2012.
Among the people who used the library resources are two officials of the Office of National Heritage in Olomouc, an official from the Olomouc Office of the State Archives, as well as students and professors from the Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and from the University in Prešov, Slovakia.
Publications
The year 2011 was marked by the preparation of a new study by Petr Balcárek on a nineteenth-century Czech Orthodox monk and scholar, Sáva (Slavibor Breüer) of the Holy Mountain, to be published by IBYZ.
Website
The IBYZ website www.ibyz.org continues to develop. The principal activity during this period was the addition of a comprehensive range of links related to institutions, prepared by Petr Balcárek.
The facility was also made available for members to have individual IBYZ e-mail addresses. The website has already been visited by people from the US, UK, Russia, Greece, the American continents, etc.. For details see the website visitor counter.
Administrative activities
Registration of IBYZ o.p.s.
To meet current legal requirements in the Czech Republic it was necessary to amend the founding contract of IBYZ o.p.s. and to register the contract as amended. The main change was the obligation to appoint a director. On approval of the changes Dr Petr Balcárek was appointed as director. The new, amended, IBYZ Founding Contract, signed by the founding members on 15 September 2011, was registered with the Law Court in the Czech Republic on 3 February 2012.
Donations
Donations to the Institute library were received from IBYZ members.
Financial donations were received from: the British Branch of the Institute of St John the Theologian for Eastern Christian Studies and IBYZ members.
Transfer of Property
The work of legally transferring the property of IBYZ o.p.s. from Petr Balcárek and Manuela E. Gheorghe, i.e. unit 6 at 166/22 Dolní naměstí in the medieval centre of the city of Olomouc, was finally completed. This transfer was brought about by a deed of gift signed 5 June 2012, with the result that on 6 June the property mentioned above formally became the property of the Institute. Details of these transactions are publicly available through the Internet on the Czech Land Registry site.
Running costs
The monthly running costs of the Institute premises, now paid from the IBYZ ‘running costs’ account, are as follows: electricity, gas, administrative fee for common services in the house (including water, chimney, and administration fees, repairs, etc.).
Income
Donations, rentals, and the sale of publications are at present the sources of income of the Institute.
Concluding Remarks
This represents a brief account of the work of the Institute in the year 2012. (A fuller report for 2012 is available on request.) Many thanks to the IBYZ Founding Members, to the members of the Governing and Supervisory Boards and to all those who gave advice and help.
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IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2011
The main activities of IBYZ in 2011 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of Library
The construction and installation of the mobile shelves in Institute library store room was finalized. Books and archive materials are gradually classified and placed on shelves by Petr Balcárek, sometimes joined by voluntary young students.
The library collections proved valuable to various researchers, including students, professors, as well as local priests.
Lecture organised by IBYZ
There was one public lecture in the period under review. On 17 October 2011 Vlastimil Drbal of the Czech Academy of Sciences delivered a paper on the funeral mosaics of Edessa. This paper was subsequently published and further details are given below.
Publications
There were two publications produced in the year 2011, as follows:
▪ Logothetes: Příběh jednoho rodu (Logothetes: the Story of a Family), ed. by Petr Balcárek.
▪ Funerální mozaiky v Edesse (Funeral Mosaics of Edessa), by Vlastimil Drbal (Východokrestanská Studia/ Eastern Christian Studies 17/2011). This consisted of the lecture mentioned above. Again the high production standards of the Institute publications was maintained.
Website:
The IBYZ website www.ibyz.org was designed and set up by Tomáš Matonoha; photos taken by Imrich Veber and some photos from Dr. Petr Balcárek’s personal archive have been used. A two-year web domain fee has also been paid.
Administrative activities
Registration of IBYZ o.p.s.
To meet current legal requirements in the Czech Republic it was necessary to amend the founding contract of IBYZ, o.p.s. and to register the contract as amended. The main change was the obligation to appoint a director. On approval of the changes Dr Petr Balcárek was appointed as director (the new Founding Contract was signed by the founding members on 15 September 2011). This appointment necessitated his replacement as a member of the Governing Board and Dr Wilken Engelbrecht, another founding member, was appointed in his place.
Donations
Donations to the Institute library were received from IBYZ members and other friends of IBYZ.
Financial donations were also given by Institute friends and members.
Separation of Property
The work of legally separating the premises occupied by IBYZ o.p.s. from the parts of the house occupied by Petr Balcárek and Manuela Gheorghe was finally completed. The IBYZ property consisting of the library stack, the study room, and other premises formally became a separate unit (no. 6) at 166/22 Dolní naméstí.
Running costs
The running costs of the Institute premises (officially still a part of the Balcáreks’ flat) are covered by donations given by the Balcárek family and other Institute members, as well as from rentals.
The basic monthly expenses are: electricity, gas, accountant, administrative fee for common services on house (including water, chimney, and administration fees, repairs, etc.). This last mentioned monthly contribution towards the house owners’ common fund continues to be paid by the Balcárek family since the new unit 6 is still formally their property.
Concluding Remarks
This represents a brief account of the work of the Institute in the year 2011. (A fuller report for 2011 is available on request.) Many thanks to the IBYZ Founding Members, to the members of the Governing and Supervisory Boards and to all those who gave advice and help, including Ritter-Šťastný Solicitors.
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IBYZ ANNUAL REPORT 2010
The main activities of IBYZ in 2010 were as follows:
Public activities
Use of Library
The library storeroom was under reconstruction. Mobile shelves were made.
Lectures and other activities organised by IBYZ
In October 2010, IBYZ organized two lectures given by Sebastian Brock (one on the premises of IBYZ o.p.s. and one at the Department of Classics, at the Faculty of Arts, Palacký University in Olomouc) and one lecture given by Helen Brock (at the Department of Art History of the same faculty).
From mid-October to mid-November 2010, IBYZ also participated in the organisation of the event called “Month of Romanian Culture” at Palacký University in Olomouc, in cooperation with the Embassy of Romania in Prague. Members of IBYZ looked after the choir of Byzantine music Koinonia from Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania, who gave a concert in the chapel of the Centre of Arts of Palacký University in Olomouc. We would like to thank all those who helped with the organization of these successful events, first of all Her Excellency Daniela Gîtman, Romania’s ambassador in Prague.
Publications
There was one publication, a monograph, produced in the year 2010: Petr Balcárek’s Czech translation of the book Saint Silouan (Starec Siluan).
Administrative activities
Registration of IBYZ o.p.s.
The first Founding Contract of IBYZ o.p.s. (o.p.s. stands for “obecně prospešná společnost”, i.e. “society for public benefit”) was signed by its founders beginning on 26 September 2009, but bureaucratic issues delayed the registration of the Institute at the Law Court of the Czech Republic until 15 February 2010.
However, in June 2010 the Czech law concerning the type of non-governmental organizations called “societies for public benefit” changed again and the IBYZ founding members began thinking of the changes needed in their own Founding Contract (the main one consisting in the obligation of having a director).
The IBYZ logotype was designed in cooperation with the Institute’s founding members (see this headed paper).
Finances
A bank account with Poštovní spořitelna (under ČSOB) was opened, this being, at the time, the only bank that did not require bank fees for running an account for non-governmental, charity organizations.
Donations
Donations to the Institute library were received from several members of IBYZ.
The publication of the Czech version of Saint Silouan was made possible by the generous donation from the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex, UK.
The mobile shelves in the library store room have been constructed with the generous financial help from one of the IBYZ members.
Running costs
The running costs of the Institute premises are covered by donations given by the Balcárek family and other Institute members, as well as from rentals.
The basic monthly expenses are: electricity, gas, accountant fee. The monthly contribution towards the house owners’ common fund, as well as water, chimney, and administration fees are paid by the Balcárek family within the running costs of their flat (this situation will continue until the separation of the Institute premises from the Balcáreks’ flat and transfer of these premises as property of IBYZ o.p.s.).
Concluding Remarks
This represents a brief account of the work of the Institute in the year 2010. (A fuller report for 2010 is available on request.) All the work mentioned above would not have been possible without the help and advice of our many friends, of all those who attended meetings and commented on Institute documents and publications.
