- Address: Nikosia, Cyprus
- Phone: +357 22 359 334
- Diocese: stauropegial monastery of the Cyprus Orthodox Church
- Type: for men
- Foundation date: XII century
The Monastery of Maheras in Cyprus is one of the most famous; he, along with Kykkos and Stavrovouni , is a stauropegic monastery - this means that he is subordinated to the synod or even directly to the patriarch, not to the local diocese. There is a monastery of Maheras on the slope of Mount Kioni at an altitude of 870 meters, near the village of Lazania, 43 kilometers from Nicosia . To get to one of the best monasteries in Cyprus is possible only on the one hand, from all the others it is protected by natural obstacles. This is easily explained: in the Middle Ages, he, like other monasteries, was a fortress. Today it is a working man's monastery.
The complex of the monastery is a square square, on which the main temple and monastic services are located. The tiled arcades were erected in 1900; their height is 19 meters! Monastic cells are located in the thickness of powerful monastic walls.
A three-faceted church with Gothic windows was erected in 1892-1900 instead of the old one, which completely burned down. The carved iconostasis of wood was finished even later - only in 1919. It contains a valuable relic - a parchment with a record of eighteenth-century church music. Most of the monastery buildings are made in Byzantine style.
A bit of history
The icon of the Blessed Virgin, written, according to legend, by the Evangelist Luke, was brought to Cyprus approximately in the period between the 7th and 9th centuries - at that time the iconoclasm reigned in Asia Minor. The icon was hidden in one of the caves of Kioni Mountain, and in the 12th century it was found by the monks Neophyte and Ignatius (roughly this event occurred in 1145). Whether the knife or knife was found together with the icon helped the monks get rid of the bushes that closed the entrance to the cave in which the icon was found - in one way or another, the mountain received the second name - "Maheras", which is translated from Greek as a "knife". A remarkable find led to the construction of a cave near the desert, which received the same name. The icon itself, depicting the Virgin in a somewhat unusual form - she does not hold the baby in her arms, but extends her hands as if praying (this type of icon is called Agiosoritissa) - was called "Maheriotissa". The icon still remains in the main monastery church - it survived in the fire of 1530, when the monastery burned to the ground (except for the icon, only the monastic rule, written in 1201 by the monk Nile) was preserved.
The first inhabitants of the desert were Neophyte and Ignatius. After the Neophyte died, Eldar Procopius settled with Ignatius. In 1172, the elders visited Constantinople, where they appealed to Emperor Manuel Comnenus for financial help to build the monastery. After their return to the desert, two more monks joined them; Together they built a chapel and cells. Gradually, the number of monks increased; they engaged in agriculture, grew grapes, processed copper. At the monastery worked bindery workshop. During the heyday of the monastery had extensive land and had many vassal villages.
In 1340, the wife of King Franco Hugo IV, Alicia, was healed after she was allowed to kiss one of the monastic relics - a crucifix. In 1530, as already mentioned above, the monastery burnt to the ground. After the fire, he was not restored for a long time; The "revival" of the monastery falls on the period 1720-1760. Since at this time Cyprus was under the rule of the Turks, the monastery had to endure difficult times: the Turks periodically broke into the monastery, taking church utensils, and even the execution of priests. Most of the property of the monastery was confiscated. Nevertheless, it is at this time that the monastery is restored, rebuilt and the number of monks in it increases.
In the XIX century, in 1892, another fire broke out in the monastery, which began in the candle warehouse. In the restoration of the monastery took part Russian - on their donations were not only restored the monastery buildings, but also cast bells; In addition, the monastery treasury houses many gifts from Russian pilgrims, including sacred relics with particles of holy relics.
The monastery of Maheras is also famous for the fact that many ascetics who later received canonization began their journey. Also from the 17th century, work was done on the correspondence of Ecclesiastes' books.
The monastery always supported the national liberation movement; it even hid for some time the leader of the movement Grigorius Avksentiu, who was then hunted down by the British and burned alive two kilometers from the monastery. In the courtyard of Maheras there is a monument to Avksentiu.
How to get to the monastery?
Despite the fact that the monastery is active, it is open to tourists. "Solitary" travelers can visit it on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-30 to 17-30; you can visit the monastery and a big company - on the same days, but from 9:00 to 12:00; about such excursions it is better to arrange in advance by phone.
Photographing and shooting video on the territory of the monastery is prohibited.
To get to the monastery is best rented car ; if you are coming from Nicosia , then you have to get to the village of Deftera, and then turn to the road to the village of Licrodonata. If you are driving along the Limassol-Larnaca high-speed road, then you need to drive the villages Germasogeia, Acrounta, Arakapas, Sikopetra, Aplika, then turn to Kalo Horio and Guri. Then you will only have to go through the village of Kapedis - and you will find yourself near the monastery.
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