STAVROVOUNI MONASTERY ENTRANCE. (Please view larger).

The monastery Stavrovouni was constructed on the peak of the mountain of the same name in the district of Larnaca . In earlier times it had been known under the name of Olympus , nowadays , the highest point of Troodos Mountains further to the west bears that name . Stavrovouni , as the name already says , is dedicated to the Holy Cross ; it can be derived from two words 'stavros '(cross) and 'vouno' (mountain) . According to religious tradition , the monastery was founded by St. Helena , the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine I , the Great . According to the 15th. century Cypriot chronicler Leontios Machairas , Helena had discovered the three crosses on which Jesus and the two thieves had been crucified on her pilgrimage to the Holy Land . She had them excavated and wanted to bring them to Constantinople . But she is said to have left one of these crosses in Cyprus during an involuntary visit caused by shipwreck , and to have presented it to a monastery . Thus the legend .

Stavrovouni is the earliest documented monastery on the island . The oldest written reference dates from the Byzantine period . It proves that Stavrovouni had been an important religious centre since the 4th. century . The relevant information is to be found in the memoirs of a Russian traveller , Abbot Daniel , who stayed on Cyprus in 1106 . He recorded that the Holy Cross was located on Mount Olympus with objective of 'warding off evil spirits and curing any illness ' , and he noted : 'This cross is like a meteorite , it is not supported in the ground , because the Holy Ghost holds it in the empty space . I , unworthy man , knelt down before this holy , mysterious object and have seen with my own , sinful eyes the inherent holy grace present in this place . ' After its foundation , Stavrovouni was occupied by Orthodox monks living according to the rule of St. Basil . We obtain further historical information from Western visitors to Cyprus in the 13th. century . Willibrandi de Oldenburg , for example , visited Stavrovouni in 1211 and wrote : 'The cross of the Good Thief is on the highest mountain in Cyprus' - which was wrong , as Stavrovouni is not as high as the Troodos peak . Ludolph von Suchen noted in 1305 : 'The mountain is like the Mount Tabor on which the Benedictine monks live . From its peak one can see the Lebanon .' That is true , but the weather must be very clear in order to be able to check this .

In its long history , Stavrovouni went through times of great poverty and hardship caused by the most varied invasions by foreigners on the island . Nowadays , the Holy Cross is no longer there and nobody knows what has happened to it . The walls , the church , the iconostasis and monks' cells in Stavrovouni were almost completely destroyed during a great fire in 1888 . The only relic which has been preserved down to the present is a silver cross in which a minute piece of the holy cross is inserted , the only major reliquary which is still kept in Stavrovouni .

Recently , the monastery underwent a complete renovation . Its small church was restored again with frescoes and icons by well-known painter , Fr. Kallinikos , a monk from Stavrovouni . The legend of the foundation is recorded in these pictures , St. Helena in a brilliant red garment and the Finding of the True Cross in Jerusalem . By the way , the emperor's mother recognised that she did have the right cross by the miraculous healing of a woman . Colourful , but also not without the skull painted beneath Christ's Cross for centuries is the Deposition . The majority of the frescoes in the church refer to the Cross and the life of St. Helena . In this manner , Stavrovouni is continuing the deeply-rooted Byzantine painting tradition .

 

Thank you.

Wonderful presentation and a really informative write-up

 

 

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous 2010. May the beauty of the world brighten up your life and decorate your days with love, success and happiness.

 

 

 

Interesting and lovely presentation ...

 

Dear Dimitris ... Merry Christmas !!! ... I wish all the best for you and your family during the New incoming Year. Sincerely ... a big hug.

Very great composition !

Beautifully coloured work, great representation for Christmas,....

May I wish you and your family a Happy Xmas and an even Happier New Year...Kind Regards Keith

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Best regards, Ilkka

very beautiful and colorful...congrats.regards.

Lovely entrance to the quite interesting monastery, Dimitris. A delight of details, colors, clouds and atmosphere. Excellent photograph! Congats!

 

PS.- Thanks for the story Dimitris. Merry Christmas & Happy 2010 ! Kind regards / / / David Orea

Magnificent composition enhanced by your detailed narrative. My compliments!

 

Happy holidays and a properous new year to you, Dimitris. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L

Kala Hristougenna Dimitri!

 

I wish you and your loved ones all the best, always!

Beautiful work! Very appropriate for this season. Nicely composed and presented. Best regards, Leslie

 

We Wish You a Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ ♥We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...And A Happy New Year!♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...

Very beautiful and the dialog adds to it greatly, thanks. (Hope there isn't going to be a quiz on this....) I love the image but would clone out the lines and crop out most of black-top.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2010. Jayanti

Thank you for all your comments and sugestions, their greatly appreciated. Regards to all, Dimitris.

Very nice documentary photo.Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year dear Dimitris!

Shades and sky are are adding so much to this beautiful photo! Congrats!

Wonderful photo, congratulation!!!

Great image, colours and composition.

Greets!

Masterly composed and captured Dimitris! I have added this beautiful image in my favorite folder . Thanks for sharing and very brief and complete information about this place.

Please translate my rating to 7/7, because of your generosity I couldn't give you what I really wanted.

 

Best wishes Sadegh 

Thank you very much Sadegh, you honour me my friend. But please use the replacement picture as Steeve has got a point. I have cloned out the white lines and I will post it for critique only in the next few days.

Sadegh Miri's comment reminded me of this picture...Your comments and suggestions dear friends are deeply appreciated and your good wishes, belatetly, accepted and returned.