A large group of friends and donors attended the private viewing of Byzantium and Islam at the Metropolitan Museum, and the reception and dinner in the Temple of Dendur that followed. Many others supported the event through generous contributions, ensuring the success of this fundraising evening admirably chaired by Mary Jaharis (with her husband Michael a major sponsor of the exhibition), Zoe Moshovitis, Robert Shaw and Peter Vlachos. Download the evening's program here. View videos of the President's Welcome and the Invocation by Archbishop Demetrios of America. See the Royal Patron's Address and the after-dinner remarks by the curator of the exhibition and Librarian of Saint Catherine's.

Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition (7th–9th Century) is the first major museum exhibition to focus on this pivotal era in the history of the eastern Mediterranean. With some 300 works of art on display, the exhibition is the first to synthesize Byzantine and Islamic studies of the eastern Mediterranean. The exhibition is curated by Dr Helen C. Evans, Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator for Byzantine Art, with Brandie Ratliff, Research Associate for Byzantine Art. It continues through 8 July. For more information, see www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/byzantium-and-islam.