Churches

The chapel of Agios Ioannis Lampadistis

The exact date of the construction of this church is unknown. It is built in the center of the village, near the church of Archangel Michael and its style is Byzantine.

The chapel has a rectangular shape and the roof is covered with tiles. Its capacity is 200 people.

The chapel of Agios Ioannis, was used also as an elementary school. In 1948, the new elementary school was built and as a result the old chapel was gradually deserted. During the war for independence (1955-59), the church was used as a point of concentration of the Association “OCHEN”. In 1993-94 the church was restored and took the form that it has to this day, with the contribution of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus and of the church of Archangel Michael.

The chapel is stone made. The bell tower is recently made and it is made of metal. Inside there are no wall paintings. The iconostasis is wooden carved and it was made in 1993. The psalters and the seats are new. The old icon of the saint, which was made in 1883, is placed in a panel in the center of the church.

Agios Ioannis Lampadistis came from Lampadou Solias (near the village Galata) and this is how he got this name. When he was 22 years old, he became a martyr. It is said that Agios Ioannis Lampadistis can heal migraines. The chapel celebrates mass 10 times a year. On the feast day of the saint a procession of his holy icon takes place in the village.

The holy icon of Archangel Michael was found two kilometers outside the village, in the area “Alonakia” in a deserted chapel. The icon was found from the inhabitants of the vicinal village Kato Mylos who carried it in the church of Archangel Michael. The inhabitants of the two villages had some serious arguments regarding the place where the icon would be kept. In the end, the inhabitants of Agios Ioannis “earned” the icon, as the other village had no church at the time.

The chapel of Archangel Michael

In the place of the old deserted chapel, where the icon was found, another chapel was built in 1988, dedicated again to Archangel Michael. This new chapel was built after the initiative of the ecclesiastical committee of the Church of Archangel Michael. A woman once asked from the saint to heal her ill child, and the saint did heal him. So, in order to thank him, she has paid a great amount of money for the construction of this chapel.

The chapel is stone made. It has tiles on the roof, it is two aisled and its shape is rectangular. The iconostasis is wooden and modern as the rest of the equipment in the chapel. The chapel celebrates mass once a year, on Saint Thomas Sunday. The old icon of the saint, which is placed in the church, is transferred outside the chapel for the procession.

The chapel of Panagia

The chapel of Panagia is built on a small hill outside the village, but it is not yet completed. According to some evidence that we have, there was another chapel on the same place, which was demolished. The construction of the new chapel was made by a great benefactor of the village. His name is Kiriakos Pittalis and he is a businessman. He comes from the village but now he lives in London. His goal was to build a church and he actually did it. The chapel will celebrate mass once a year, the 15th August.

The chapel of Agia Polixeni

The chapel, which is dedicated to Agia Polixeni, is built in a picturesque landscape next to a water spring in the area “Latsin”, but the construction is not yet completed. It is believed that in the same area there used to be an old settlement. The owner of this chapel is Andreas Christoforidis. The feast day of Agia Polixeni is on 23rd September.