Monastery of the Fortress of the Virgin Mary (Monastery of Ayia Napa) in Cyprus, resort of Ayia Napa
Rating: 9,2/10 (6555 votes)  The history of the monastery begins in the 6th century, when an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was found in the cave where the church is now located. Later, this icon began to be called the"Ayia Napa" icon, and many pilgrims began to come here."Ayia Napa" in translation means"holy forest", since many centuries ago, on the place where the city is now located, and in particular the monastery, there were dense thickets of forests. The cave where the icon was found served as a shelter from pirates for many years. A cave in The 14th century was turned into a church. The church consisted of two rooms connected by arches. In the 16th century, one of the premises of the church began to be used as a Catholic chapel; its walls have preserved the remains of painting to our times. Once a young girl from a wealthy family came to this church, because she did not want to marry without love, and became a nun. During her reign, the first monastic cells and an indoor fountain were built, and this is how the monastery arose. Until 1668, there was an exclusively female monastery here, and after that it became a male monastery. In 1758, the monastic life of the monastery ended altogether. In 1813 the monastery was restored. Later, a village was built next to the monastery, which after a while turned into a big city, and began to be called as a monastery - Ayia Napa. Currently, the Ayia Napa monastery consists of a two-story tower, a church, a gazebo with a fountain (the fountain is not working) and part of a stone fortification wall. We also recommend reading Makronisos in Cyprus, Ayia Napa resort Topic: Monastery of the Fortress of the Virgin Mary (Monastery of Ayia Napa) in Cyprus, resort of Ayia Napa. |
