In 2024, The Headley Southeast European Cultural Heritage (HSEECH) Fund supported 5 projects. This is the story about “Beezantium” project implemented by Greek organisation Ambelli.
Beezantium is a cultural heritage and community development initiative interlacing Byzantine culture, apiculture, and the life of bees. Launched by the non-profit organisation Ambelli, Beezantium draws inspiration from the holy icon, Virgin Mary of the Bees, the life of bees and Orthodox thought on the beehive as the ideal prototype for human society.
Beezantium engages the community in discussions, debate and experiential workshops to envision paths for community revitalization. By embracing the bee as critical to life and as a potent symbol in Byzantine art and culture, Beezantium seeks to spur participants into action by setting a solid framework for intergenerational dialogue, learning and collaboration that will galvanize the community into concrete action with due respect for the environment.
Key project elements included:
- Lectures on Byzantine culture and history
- Learning sessions on biodiversity and bees and their symbolic representation in culture
- Adult and children’s workshops on beekeeping, apitourism, art and iconography
- Focus groups for debate and action including youth empowerment activities
- A Byzantine concert, walking tours and community events.
When Storm Daniel hit Thessaly in September 2019, the flooding caused incalculable damage to residents, livestock and the natural environment with more than 110,000 beehives – vital elements to region’s environmental resilience and food production system – destroyed. The natural disaster struck a region already battling economic malaise and population flight. The project sought to ignite the community into dialogue and action by paying due homage to the region’s rich Byzantine heritage and robust agricultural capacities. While the project initially targeted the Thessaly region, it has since expanded to other areas of Greece and the world!
In December 2024, an exact replica of the holy icon Virgin Mary of the Bees served as Greece’s official gift to France at the re-opening of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral commemorating the miraculous event that 200,000 honeybees, placed on cathedral’s rooftop as part of an urban beekeeping initiative, were unscathed by the devastating fires that plagued the Cathedral in 2019. Since then, smaller replicas of the icon have made their way to the Belgium, Bulgaria,
Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Türkiye, United Kingdom and the United States for public veneration. It was also the official gift to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the feast day of Saint Bartholomew on June 2025, in Istanbul recognizing his Eminence’s role as Green Patriarch.
In May 2025, to commemorate the establishment of Constantinople on the same day in 330 AD, a lecture was held in Istanbul featuring pre-eminent Byzantine scholar, Prof. Koray Durak from Boğaziçi University. On World Bee Day, bee friendly gardens were planted by local children in Trikala Greece, York, England and Istanbul Turkey providing plenty of opportunities for them to learn about bees and Byzantine culture while connecting three regions together for common action for the planet and recognizing each party’s historical role in Byzantine history. Project Beezantium continues to expand worldwide. Stay tuned for more at Ambelli.org