The shrine of Mount Kikos: the monastery as a monument of Orthodox culture

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Cyprus has been attracting huge flows of tourists for many years. The beauties of the Cypriot nature, of course, are beyond doubt, but the cultural attractions of the island deserve close attention. Monasteries, temples, architectural monuments created in ancient times are hard to count.

The richest and most majestic Orthodox monastery in Cyprus is named after its location. For ten centuries now, it has been towering on Mount Kikos. The monastery was founded by the Byzantine emperor in the distant 11th century. According to legend, the monastery owes its origin to the hermit Isaiah. Once a Byzantine governor got lost in these places and met a hermit. Isaiah did not want to show the way out to the nobleman, and he treated him cruelly. After some time, punishment fell on the Byzantine governor, and his daughter became very ill. Then he remembered the poor hermit. Isaiah did not ask him for anything, except for the icon of the Mother of God, created by St. Luke, which was kept in the imperial palace in Constantinople. The icon was stolen and placed on Mount Kikos. A monastery and a church later grew on the site.

According to otherversion, the icon, painted by St. Luke, was brought by Emperor Alexei Kionin personally. He also contributed to the construction of the monastery and the church. The name of the monastery is also shrouded in a veil of mystery. There is a legend that his appearance was predicted by a small bird living in these parts. She sang a song that the mountain would become a monastery, while repeating: "Kikos, kykos." A more prosaic version explains the name of the mountain by the fact that a fruit called "coconut" grows on it.

Kikos Monastery is baptized (it was based on the Holy Cross). The icon of the Mother of God has been in the walls of the monastery for almost a thousand years.

Initially, the structure was wooden. However, after a fire in the middle of the 14th century, it began to be rebuilt. Since then, the monastery of Kikos in Cyprus began to take on its modern look.

Now it is a real decoration of Mount Kikos, the monastery is a complex of residential and economic solid stone buildings. Its walls are decorated with mosaics, arched passages.

In the yards there are deep wells, as well as elements of an old building. It shines with splendor and its beauty largely thanks to the current rector, Bishop Nekiforos.

The real miracle of the monastery is the icon of the Mother of God "Joy and Consolation", written off from the same icon, located on Mount Athos. In 1997, she began to stream myrrh. Thousands of pilgrims who want to venerate the miracle head to Mount Kikos. The monastery opens its doors for tourists who can visitlocal museum. Here you can see ancient icons, various elements of church decoration, ancient books and much more. The exhibits of the museum are not only religious monuments, but also general cultural antiquities.

There are 4 halls in the museum, each of which is dedicated to a particular topic. The museum is open all year round. Students and children enter it for free, but adults pay 5 euros.