The inhabitants of Cyprus carefully preserve the most ancient Orthodox buildings located on their land, many of which are still operational today. One of them, undoubtedly, is the monastery of St. Neophytum the Hermit. It has great social, historical and cultural significance for Christians around the world.
St. Neophytos Monastery is a landmark located in Paphos district, ten kilometers from the city of the same name, which is visited not only by tourists, but also pilgrims from around the world.
Saint Neophyte
This is one of the most revered saints in Cyprus. In 1134, in a small village of Kato Drys, a boy was born into a poor family, who was named Neophytos. When he was eighteen years old, his parents thought about his marriage, but the young man did not plan to create a family. He wanted to devote himself to the service of God and dreamed of becoming a monk.
The young man secretly left his parental home and went to the monastery of John Chrysostom, located in the north of the island. Since the Neophyte was not literate, the abbot entrusted him only with the care of the monastery vineyards. For five years, the young man combined this hard work with his studies and, it must be said, succeeded in learning. However, he dreamed of an even more ascetic life away from people.
Once he turned to the abbot with a request to allow him to become a hermit, but received a rather sharp refusal. The wise abbot considered that the novice was too young for this, and recommended that he go to the Holy Land as a pilgrim, where Neophyt spent six months. Returning to the monastery, Neophytus again spoke to the abbot about hermitage. And again he was refused.
Having finally disbelieved that one day he would receive a blessing, the Neophyte decided to leave the monastery, joining hermit monks in Asia Minor. But these plans were not destined to come true. The border guards of Paphos detained the fugitive in the port and detained him. Fortunately, Neophyte made some pretty influential friends. It was they who released the young man from prison. From that very moment he began to seek solitude in Cyprus.
History of the cloister
The history of the Monastery of Saint Neophytos the Recluse in Cyprus began in 1159, when the young monk Neophytus, seeking solitude, chose a picturesque place for this in the vicinity of Paphos and cut his own cave in the rock. He lived in it until the end of his days. Here he lived the life of a recluse: he prayed, described the most important historical events, wrote religious texts, which later made him famous throughout the Christian world.
Soon there were supporters of his idea of seclusion from worldly fuss: local residents began to come to him, and soon he became their teacher and mentor. Despite the fact that Neophytus preached loneliness until the end of his life, a temple and a monastery were erected next door to his dwelling. The monastery found its present appearance in the 15th century, and the cave-cell of Neophytus has survived to the present day.
The temple, located on the territory of the monastery, was erected in the XVI century and consecrated in honor of the Virgin. Today, you can see the ancient wooden iconostasis, which is decorated with exquisite hand carvings. Fragments of the vault painting are also preserved. In addition, magnificent mosaics and frescoes, executed in an elegant Byzantine style, today are the decoration of the temple.
The monastery of St. Neophytos was devastated by the Turks in 1570 and for a long time (until the middle of the XVIII century) was in decline. Its gradual revival began only in 1611, when Leontius was its rector. At the same time, the monastery of St. Neophyte received the status of stauropegial - he was subordinate only to the archbishop of Cyprus.
The relics of Neophyte were discovered in 1756. They were transferred to the monastery church where even today pilgrims can touch them. There is a museum at the monastery. Its five halls present a unique exposition of icons dating from the 12th – 19th centuries, priceless manuscripts (including Neophytos), books, lists of gospels and ancient ceramics.
Monastery today
Today, ten monks live in St. Neophytos Monastery in Cyprus. The fraternity includes several immigrants from Russia. These are monks who decided to devote their lives to serving God in the land of Cyprus. The current abbot of the monastery, Leontius, is doing a great job of publishing the works of Neophyte. Some of them have been translated into Russian.
Monastery of St. Neophyte
Monastery of St. Neophytos in Paphos from the west, east and north are surrounded by high hills. On the eastern side of the largest of them is the Neophytos Monastery, consisting of the Church of the Holy Cross with a narthex, Neophyte's cell and the refectory. You can go to the monastery through a narrow bridge, which was built in 1877. The saint’s cells and the church were painted with the blessing of Neophytos in 1183. History retained the name of the icon painter. This is Theodore Apsevdis - a painter from Constantinople, which confirms the autograph left by the master on the north wall of the cell.
Church murals
The most famous and eye-catching fresco of the church is located above the altar, which is located in the northern part of the cave. It depicts a Neophyte in angelic robes with his arms crossed in prayer. He asks the archangels for help in being worthy of meeting the Lord.
Another very expressive fresco is located in the cell. On it the saint knelt before Christ sitting on the throne. On both sides of the Neophyte, John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin Mary pray to Jesus.
The narthex of the church in ancient times was decorated with numerous frescoes, but only the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos has been well preserved to our time. In the refectory, which is located north of the cell of the saint, murals were made after 1124. Today, only a small part of the frescoes damaged and miraculously survived can be seen here.
Monastery church
The catholicon is the main temple of the monastery of St. Neophat, which was erected at the beginning of the XVI century. This building is a basilica made in the Venetian style. The side aisles are separated by two colonnades, consisting of four columns. They are decorated with pseudo-Corinthian capitals, characteristic of the Venetian Renaissance.
To this day, in the church are pretty well preserved mural paintings, which were carried out in 1544. From the mural of the vault of the southern nave, which is dedicated to events from the life of the Virgin, the frescoes “The Nativity of Christ”, “Prayer of Yokim” and “Adoration of the Magi” survived. In the niche of the apse, a semicircular shape under the image of St. Sylvester can see a fresco depicting an angel holding a crimson shroud. The icon of the Holy Trinity in the iconographic western version, attracts attention on the eastern side of the northern aisle.
Iconostasis
This is a magnificent, one of the few surviving samples of the finest wood carvings dating back to the 16th century. The icons of the Virgin, Christ, the twelve apostles, John the Baptist, and the archangels Michael and Gabriel were painted at the beginning of the 19th century. Icons of small sizes dedicated to church holidays were written earlier (1544). The icon of the Neophyte was painted by the famous Cypriot master Ioannis Koronaros (1806).
Monastery Museum
In the eastern building of the monastery today you can visit an unusual museum. In its halls there are icons dating from the 12th - 19th centuries. It is necessary to highlight among them the faces of the Virgin and Christ (1183), the work of Apsevdis, the icons of the archangels Gabriel and Michael (1544) made by the famous icon painter Joseph Khuris.
The Russian pilgrims are of great interest among the exhibits of the museum memorial synodic, testifying to the donations that were collected in Russia (1863) to the monastery, the amazing shroud embroidered with gold threads and little-known icons.
Every year on August 15, parishioners, brothers and pilgrims celebrate the patronal feast of the monastery - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on September 28 and January 24 are the days of memory of St. Neophyte.
St. Neophytos Monastery: how to get there?
If you happen to visit Cyprus, be sure to visit this ancient monastery. It is necessary to explain how to get to the monastery of St. Neophyte. Tala, Empa, Mesogi, Trmitus (villages) and the city of Paphos are the nearest settlements to it. You can get to the monastery on two roads. One passes through Empu and Tala. The second is through Mesogi and Trmitus. Both roads near the monastery are connected.
Independently, not as part of an excursion group, you can get by taxi or rented car from Paphos. You should follow the highway towards the village of Mesogi, then turn left towards the village of Tremitus. The main road will lead you to the monastery.
We told you about an amazing place that holds the most valuable relics of Christians around the world. We hope that while in Cyprus, you will definitely visit the monastery to feel the atmosphere of peace and tranquility prevailing here, to bow to the relics of St. Neophytos.