AGIOS IOANNIS LAMPADISTIS MONASTERY

This superb Greek Orthodox monastery (Μονή Αγίου Ιωάννου του Λαμπαδιστού/Moni Agiou Ioannou tou Lampadistou) is home to a community of monks and is part of the group of ten painted churches on the Troodos listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Dedicated to the local saint Ioannis Lampadistis ("John the Illuminator"), the complex was built between the ^11th and ^18th centuries. It is unique in having three churches united under the same imposing wooden roof structure and linked by a ^15th-century narthex. The oldest, to the south, is Agios Heraklidios. Built in the ^11th century, it is dedicated to Saint Heraklidios of Cyprus, the first bishop of Tamasos (63 km to the northeast), in the^5th century. It contains the island's oldest carved wooden stamp (iconostasis), decorated with the heraldic symbols of Byzantium (double-headed eagle) and the Lusignans (lion). In the center, the church of Agios Ioannis Lampadistis was added in 1731. It contains the skull and ^12th-century tomb of the "Illuminator" saint. Finally, to the north is the ^13th-century Akathistos Ymnos chapel. Although it is dedicated to theAkathistos Hymn, a Byzantine prayer to the Virgin Mary, it is an ancient Catholic place of worship. The chapel bears witness not only to Latin domination of Cyprus, but also to the close ties between communities during this period.

Frescoes, museum and store. As far as frescoes are concerned, the narthex retains its decoration painted by a Byzantine artist who took refuge here after the fall of Constantinople in 1453: miracles of Christ, portraits of donors, etc. The church of Agios Heraklidios contains a few fragments from the ^11th and ^12th centuries in the apse, a fine ^13th-century scene (the Entry into Jerusalem) and others executed in the ^16th century. The Akathistos Ymnos chapel boasts the most complete and best-preserved Italo-Byzantine program in Cyprus. Painted in the ^14th century, it comprises a cycle illustrating the 24 "stanzas" (phrases) of theAkathistos Hymn: from the Annunciation to the Virgin Protectress of the Church, via the Nativity, including an elegant scene of the Adoration of the Magi. The painter, undoubtedly trained in Italy, adopts Byzantine codes, but incorporates certain innovations of the Italian Renaissance, in particular a sense of perspective. The monastery also boasts a museum with icons from the ^12th-16th centuries, as well as a store selling icons painted by the monks.