Robin Amis

Robin Amis
Photograph by Lillian Delevoryas
Born	Robin Henry Amis (1932-06-10)10 June 1932 Finchley, London, England
Died	13 June 2014(2014-06-13) (aged 82) Bristol, England
Resting place	Church of St. Edward the Martyr, Brookwood, Surrey, England
Occupation	Author, editor, translator
Nationality	British
Education	St Bees School
Notable works	A Different Christianity,
Spouse	Lillian Delevoryas
Children	4

Robin Amis was a British author, poet, publisher, editor and translator. Although he had studied a wide range of spiritual traditions, including Kabbalah, the Fourth Way and Hindu teachings, it was his conversion to the Eastern Orthodox Church and his relationship with Mount Athos, the ancient monastic republic in Greece, that ultimately defined his life and work. Over a thirty-year period, between 1982 and 2013, he made more than 60 visits to Mount Athos, where he was recognised as a "synergatis", a fellow worker and equal of the monks. Amis documented the results of his research in A Different Christianity: Early Christian Esotericism and Modern Thought (SUNY, 1995), and recounted his experience on the Holy Mountain in Views from Mount Athos (Praxis 2014). As founder of Praxis Institute Press, he translated, edited and published the three volume English language edition of Gnosis by as well as books on Hesychasm and the spiritual tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy. He was married to the American artist Lillian Delevoryas and in the last years of his life lived in Bristol, England.

Robin Amis was born on 10 June 1932 in Finchley, London, to Henry "Glennie" Amis and Dorothy Amis (Beckton). His early schooling was at Frinton-on-Sea, but because of the outbreak of the Second World War he was evacuated at the age of 7 to Portmerion in North Wales. He remained there until the age of 12 and continued his education at St Bees School on the edge of the Lake District National Park. After school Amis found work in the electronics industry. His skill in writing and designing electronic manuals led him to becoming an advertising copywriter. He worked for various agencies including Arthur Wasey, J. Walter Thompson, and Riley Advertising where he became creative director.

In the early 1960s, Amis expanded his writing skills and turned to poetry as a medium. In 1989, some of his early poetry was published in Who Writes the Waves (Agora Books and Two Rivers Farm Press).

In the early 1960s Amis joined the Study Society in London, which was led by one of P. D. Ouspensky's former students, Francis Roles. By the late 1960s, Amis was leading study groups in various parts of England, including Bristol, Birmingham, Sussex and Gloucestershire.