Overview
Located on the slopes of Kionia Mountain in the Troodos Mountains, Machairas Monastery is one of the most important religious sites in Cyprus, housing the icon ‘Panayia of Machairas’, which is believed to have been painted by the Apostle Luke.
According to the legend, a hermit brought the icon to Cyprus during the Iconoclasm period of the ninth century, and kept it in his cave until his death around 1145.
Blessed with divine grace, the hermits Ignatios and Neophytos discovered the cave which was obscured by bushes. The hermits were able to reach it by cutting down the undergrowth with a knife given to them by a divine hand. As a result, the revealed icon was given the name ‘Machairiotissa’ from the Greek word for knife, machairi. The monastery was built on the same spot, also taking the name.
The monastery itself has a rectangular layout and a red-tiled timber roof that can be seen from afar. The main entrance of the monastery faces towards the east; a second entrance faces west. The adjacent buildings and monks’ cells are built around a centrally located church designed in Byzantine style with the main aisle of the church lined with an attractive row of columns. The interior of the church is decorated with religious icons, chandeliers, stone floors and wall frescoes. As expected, the icon of the Virgin Mary takes a prominent position.
The renovated vestry basement consists of the monks’ original cells, stables and storage areas and houses a collection of rare books, manuscripts, icons and other religious artefacts.
Today, the monastery holds approximately 20-30 Orthodox monks who live off their own agricultural activities. The brotherhood at the monastery is extremely devout, keeping vows as strict as those of Mount Athos in Greece.
The entrance to the monastery is free of charge. No video or photography is permitted on location.
