The Christian Archaeological Society from its founding until 1914
The Christian Archaeological Society (XAE) was founded in December 1884. Protagonist in this initiative was the theologian Georgios Lampakis, who was enthusiastically active in many ways until 1910. Essentially, Lampakis determined the character of the Society during its early years.
Principal aims of the XAE at the time of its founding were to collect and to rescue monuments of Christian Antiquity, and to create a Christian Archaeological Museum. The founders of the XAE and particularly Lampakis worked in earnest to mobilize the authorities to extend the solicitude of the State to Christian monuments, early and recent.
The SocietyΥs greatest success was the creation of its Collection of some 10,000 objects, which was for Georgios Lampakis his goal in life. This collection was made possible thanks to the mobilization of individuals, ecclesiastical bodies and civil servants throughout Greece. It was exhibited in Athens in 1898 and 1903, and was housed for a long period in the National Archaeological Museum. In 1923 the XAE Collection, together with its library and photographic archive, came into the possession of the newly-founded Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens.
In 1892 publication began of the Deltion of the Christian Archaeological Society, in which Georgios Lampakis provided news of the SocietyΥs activity and presented monuments that he located in the course of his travels. Under the auspices of Georgios Lampakis the rich and precious photographic archive of monuments in Greece and Asia Minor was formed, which complemented the collection. A catalogue of the photographs was published in the Deltion of the Christian Archaeological Society, iss. IX, 1910.