AGIOS KASSIANOS CHURCH

Famous for its icons and relics, this Greek Orthodox church (Ιερός Ναός Αγίου Κασσιανού/Ieros Naos Agiou Kassianou) is located along the buffer zone. Built of beautiful honey-colored limestone, the present building dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, but it incorporates elements of older churches. It is one of 25 churches dedicated to St. John Cassian in Cyprus. This Scythian monk, born around 360 on the shores of the Black Sea, east of present-day Romania, is considered one of the creators of Western monasticism. He was the founder of the abbeys of Saint-Victor and Saint-Sauveur in Marseilles and died there around 435. According to Cypriot tradition, the church here possesses relics of the saint, in particular his helmet with alleged miraculous virtues. These relics, which are the object of a lively devotion, were brought from the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Constantinople after the capture of the Byzantine capital by the Ottomans in 1453. The decoration of the interior of the church is also remarkable. Completely covered in gold, the 18th century engraved wooden iconostasis preserves icons from the 15th and 16th centuries, which also come from the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Constantinople. But the most valuable icon of the church, dating from 1340, is now on display in the Byzantine Museum of the Makarios-III Foundation. Representing a golden Virgin and Child, it was donated by a Carmelite congregation and incorporates elements typical of Crusader art.