Must-seeUNESCO
Timios Stavros Church, Pelendri
One of the ten painted churches of Troodos on the UNESCO list
The story
The Church of the Holy Cross, Timios Stavros, stands on the southern edge of the mountain village of Pelendri. The first single-aisled church with a dome was built around the middle of the twelfth century. An inscription in the apse says it was painted in the year 1171 to 1172. Only the apse of that church survives. Later a new church was built on the spot, a north aisle was added, and in the sixteenth century a south aisle, so the church became three-aisled. The main paintings date from the second half of the fourteenth century. Some are in the metropolitan style of late Byzantine Constantinople. Others are in a local manner, with features of Crusader and Armenian art. The north aisle served as the private chapel of the family of John Lusignan, the Catholic feudal lord of this area.
This is one of the ten “Painted Churches in the Troodos Region,” a UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1985 (the tenth church was added in 2001). According to the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus has three UNESCO sites: Paphos (1980), the painted churches of Troodos (1985) and Choirokoitia (1998).
Visiting
Entry is free. Opening hours differ between official sources, so it is best to call before you go: the Department of Antiquities gives the number 99 662286.
On the way
Photos
Sources
- Department of Antiquities, Cyprus — Church of Timios Stavros (Holy Cross), Pelendri
- Department of Antiquities, Cyprus — UNESCO World Heritage monuments in Cyprus
- Deputy Ministry of Tourism (visitcyprus.com) — Timios Stavros church in Pelendri village
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