Stavrovouni Monastery

The Stavrovouni Monastery ( Greek Ιερά Μονή Σταυροβουνίου ) stands on a hill west of the Cypriot port city of Larnaka . It is said to have been founded by Helena , mother of the Roman emperor Constantine , between 327 and 329 AD, making it one of the oldest monasteries in the world.

Founding legend

Legend has it that Helena was returning from the Holy Land with parts of the Cross of Christ and the Cross of the Penitent Thief when she was struck by the storm on the coast of Cyprus. A place where a temple of Aphrodite is said to have been in antiquity was chosen for the construction of the monastery, which since then has been called Stavrovouni (= mountain of the cross). Helena left some cross particles in the monastery. It has since been one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites on the island of Cyprus.

history

Benedictine monks moved here under the rule of the Lusignans (1192–1489) . In 1426 the monastery of Mameluke was sacked and destroyed. It only came back to life during the Turkish occupation (1573–1878). The current appearance dates back to the 17th to 18th centuries. The monastery was built from older remains, as is indicated above all by the church with two domes, which in the ground plan bears features of the multi-domed churches of the 11th century. They are embedded in a cell wing of a defensive character that surrounds the inner courtyard, to which one climbs from the west through the entrance wing. On the west side, the retaining wall with its massive buttresses goes back to the Benedictines in a building phase in the Gothic style around 1400.

Lower terrace with the Church of All Saints of Cyprus

There were four cisterns under the system that covered the water requirement throughout the year. There is also a crypt under the church, in which the bones of the deceased monks are brought three years after their death. A secret crypt, which offered refuge for the monks in times of threat, was discovered by foreign excavators and the monastery treasures hidden there were abducted. Today it serves as the chapel of Saints Constantine and Helena, the founder of the monastery.

Although the whereabouts of the relic is questionable after the eventful history of the monastery, people in Stavrovouni still worship the cross. Treasures of the monastery are a wood-carved cross with an octagonal base, which a certain Georgios Laskaris is said to have made in 1476. It has a metal panel that omits scenes from the life of Christ. A larger silver-clad cross is said to contain a piece of the cross relic.

In addition to the convent buildings with the monastery church on the top of the mountain, the monastery complex includes a somewhat lower terrace with the Church of All Saints of Cyprus ( Παρεκκλήσιον των Πάντων των εν Κύπρω Αγίων ) and a bookstore. Access to the actual monastery is similar to the Mount Athos , only men allowed.

literature

έκδοση ιεράσ: Ιερά Μονή Σταυροβουνίου, Λευκωσία, Κύπρος 1998 ISBN 9963-615-02-3
Camille Enlart: Gothic Art and the Renaissance in Cyprus. translated v. David Hunt. Paris 1899 / London 1987, pp. 320f.
Gwynneth the Parthog: Byzantine and Medieval Cyprus. A Guide to the Monuments . London 1995, pp. 302-304.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Parthog, p. 303 / Enlart, p. 321.

34.885839 33.435594Coordinates: 34 ° 53 ′ 9 ″ N , 33 ° 26 ′ 8.1 ″ E

[1] Parthog, p. 303 / Enlart, p. 321.