Church of Panagia Evangelistria


Useful Information

photography
Church of Panagia Evangelistria. Public Domain.
Location: South of Xylofagou, Larnaca district. British Overseas Territories, Dhekelia.
Open: no restrictions.
[2020]
Fee: free.
[2020]
Classification: SubterraneaCave Church
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address:
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History

1426 monastery destroyed by raiding Turk pirates.
1879 Bible and icon rediscovered and chapel built.
1980 chapel renovated.
2013 chapel renovated.

Description

The Church of Panagia Evangelistria has a great history and tradition. Originally there was a monastery on the same site which was founded in the 13th century. It was completely destroyed by the raids of Turk pirates in 1426 who killed all the monks. But the monks had hidden the Bible and the icon of the Virgin Mary in the nearby cave named Spileo tis Panagias (Panagia Cave). The pirates did not find them and because the monks were dead they were forgotten until they were rediscovered in 1879. Hatzias, the local who rediscovered them, told he had seen a vision of where the icon was buried. The next day he went to the cave with his brother, and they dug until they found the icon. The locals tried to take it to the village, but they could not move it. So they realised that the icon was meant to stay in the cave. They decided to leave it and build a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the cave.

The name of the destroyed monastery was Panagia tou Syrmatou as it was located in an area called Syrma, a place where storms pass. The new cave chapel was called Panagia Evangelistria after the icon of the Virgin Mary. The staircase down into the cave from the northern side shows footprints in the rocks which according to tradition, belong to the Virgin Mary. Both the chapel and the cave of the Virgin Mary are considered to be miraculous.