Religious Tours

No visit to Cyprus can be considered complete without undertaking a religious tour. The number of religious sites on the island is legion, having come down from the pre-Christ era to today through various empires and emperors, each markedly different from the preceding and the succeeding era. 4VIP Tour offer excursions and tours to the Monasteries of Kykkos, St.Cyprian and Justina, Holy Cross, and Stavrovouni and many more, since these most interesting and important Churches and Monasteries not only in Cyprus but in the whole World. People from all around the World come here to be cured from incurably sickness and find family happiness and wealth.

Cyprus is a small country, but big in its stories of miracles, visitations, pogroms and visions. Cyprus played an integral part in early Christian History, although the events of the first 400 years are often overlooked. Few people know that Christianity reached Cyprus well before Barnabas and Paul arrived or that both Barnabas and Lazarus are buried on the island. Paul performed his first miracle and received his name in Paphos.

Barnabas and Paul: After the Holy Spirit commanded Barnabas and Paul to go forth from Antioch and spread the Faith, they set sail for Cyprus. There they landed at Salamis and began to proclaim the Word of God, preaching the Good News, working wondrous signs and miracles in the island's synagogues on their way to Paphos. There they were confronted with Elymas, a Jewish civic leader and attendant to the Proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was the island's governor, appointed by the Senate of Rome. Elymas actively tried to prevent the pair from reaching the Proconsul. According to a strong local tradition, he even had Saul dragged to the synagogue, tied to a pillar, and whipped.

"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one." [Corinthians 2 11:24]

Nevertheless, the Proconsul, 'a man of intelligence', insisted on a meeting with Barnabas and Saul to hear the Word of the Lord. It was during this meeting, in the Proconsul's audience chambers that Saul struck Elymas blind, converted Sergius Paulus to the Faith and received the name 'Paul' never to be called 'Saul' again.

One story that is not repeated too often is that of St. Andrew. The holy monastery of the apostle Andrew in Karpasia, Cyprus, lies in the Turk – occupied segment. According to tradition, Apostle Andrew’s ship ran aground in a storm. The apostle went down and struck the nearest rock for drinking water and immediately a stream started flowing. This blessed water also cured the blindness of the ship’s captain who returned to the spot years later and built a church in honour of St Andrew.

Towards the end of the 19th century, a poor Greek woman’s son was kidnapped by Islamic Turks. She prayed to God and almost 15 years later St Andrew approached her in her dream and told her to go to his church in Cyprus and she would find her son. She caught the next ship to Cyprus and started talking with a friendly Islamic group and revealed her quest. A few moments later one lad from that group called her aside and asked her, “How will you recognise your son?” She told him about her son’s birth marks and this boy tore off his clothes to show his birthmarks. He was her long lost son. She went to the church, thanked St Andrew and her son was reverted to Christianity from Islam by the church priest.

The lands of the Monastery of Agia Thekla leased to inhabitants of the surrounding villages by the Archdiocese. One of them was Church Steward Ioanikios from Mosfiloti, who -in 1867 -arranged for the decoration of the Saint Thekla's icon and kneeling desk. More specifically, Ioannikios. In particular, while Ioannikios was irrigating the Monastery's plantations, he noticed that the ground subsided at some spot and it absorbed a significant amount of water. He then crossed himself and exclaimed, “Saint Thekla, if I find something, I will cover you with gold.” Indeed, when he dug in that venue he discovered a clay pot filled with golden, Venetian coins -a fact that allowed him to fulfill his solemn promise. He then invited the artisan Hadjigiannis who made the cover of the icon to engraved the sign, ‹‹Expenses generously paid by the supervising Church Steward Ioannikios Papageorgiou 1867››. The icon had a crown decorated with silver, which was a donation by the nation's martyr Kypros Kyprianou in 1816. “Oh, Thekla, accept this crown as a gift, which is brought to you by Kyprianos Kyprou A-Ω-Ι-ΣΤ'.\” Ioannikios made provisions so that the crown would be placed onto the Saint's icon, where it is until today.

Cyprus was visited by the Theotokos, Virgin Mary, who stayed on as a guest of Jesus’ good friend Lazarus, the only man to have lived, died and be buried twice. Her presence was the fount of many stories of deliverance of people stricken with maladies. St. Helena, who had discovered the three crosses of that fateful Friday visited Cyprus by default after her ship was forced aground in a violent storm. She had with her the three Crosses, pieces of which she donated in her visits. She also left behind a part of the bloodstained tope with which Jesus had been tied to the cross.

After two miracles had been recognised in Greece on 10 and 11 November 2007, another was recorded in the case of a family from Limassos. The story is astounding!

St. Thekla Monastery

  • St. Thekla Monastery

    Thecla (30 AD-circa 120 AD) was a saint of the early Christian Church, an ardent follower of Paul the Apostle and who decided on self-abnegation later in her life. Shielded by divine intervention three times in her life, her martyred remains were interred in Ma'loula, Syria. A Greek Orthodox nunnery of St. Thecla, Deir Mar Takla was built near her cave tomb, and is a pilgrimage site with a holy well. The Holy Monastery of Ayia Thekla, built by St. Helena of the Crosses in the 327 AD is located about 500 metres south of Mosfiloti village in Larnaca District. The holy water issuing from a spring there heals skin problems, including difficult ones like eczema, besides clearing issues with the eyes and the head. It reportedly helps to find a spouse for marriage.

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Kykkos Monastery

  • Kykkos Monastery

    The Kykkos Monastery, dedicated to the Virgin of Kykkos, is the most famous and rich active Cypriot monastery. Founded high on the northwest face of the Troödos Mountains around end 11th century by a Byzantine Emperor, it carries a potpourri of tales of intrigue, deceit, visions, miracles, and unshakeable faith. It’s most important possession is an icon of the Virgin Mary reputedly painted by Luke the Evangelist. The Virgin’s face is veiled and never revealed. People from all over the world come to the Monastery to the miracle-working Mother of God, asking Her to cure them of some illness or grant them the strength to cope with life’s trials and personal and family problems. They also seek blessings from the relics of the numerous Saints in the Museum, like St. Stefanos, Helena, Lazarus, Barnabas, Aristobulus, Epiphanius and Matrena.

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The Monastery of the Holy Cross in Omodos

  • The Monastery of the Holy Cross in Omodos

    The Timios Stavros Monastery or the Monastery of the Holy Cross at Omodos holds relics taken directly from Golgotha, the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. The most important is the Great Cross with the Holy Rope. The piece of rope was given by St. Helena on her visit in 327-328 AD. A wooden Cross with a gold and silver-plated cover is placed in a special canopy at the iconostasis, bearing various depictions from the life of Christ. At the centre of the Cross, sheltered by a golden wicket that opens, lies the ‘AGIOS CANNAVOS’ (Holy Hemp-made Rope), also called the ‘AGIO SCHINIO’ (Holy Rope), a piece of the rope that the Romans used to fasten Christ upon the Cross and is stained red with His blood. It is the sole existing piece in the world. This church is a wonder of the World where visitors come to pray, asking for miracles related to family issues, health and happiness.

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Trooditissa Monastery

  • Trooditissa Monastery

    The Monastery of the Panagia of Trooditissa in the Troödos Mountains near the village of Plátres, is an orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In 990 AD, a cave with an icon of the Virgin was discovered but attempts to build a monastery there were foiled by a mysterious power that stopped any water reaching the site and laid to waste every night all that was built in the day. The workers were then led by divine power to a spring close by, a clear sign as to where to build the monastery. Obraz Bozhej Materi Umilenie, an overage, sterile and childless lady, conceived a child in 1864 with the blessings of Virgin Mary and left behind her belt touched by divinity. The silver belt adorns the icon of the Panagia. Today, only prospective mothers and childless wives may visit this icon, pray and put on that belt, taking away the expectation to conceive a child.

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Saints Cyprian and Justina Monastery

  • Saints Cyprian and Justina Monastery

    The lives of St. Cyprian, a sorcerer reformed and converted by the Almighty through St. Justina circa 268-304 AD, and her own life history give details in Christian literature of sorcery and its power over men—and its defeat by the power of Christ. Executed in Antioch, an ancient Greek city, but buried in Rome, their remains were hidden in a small village church in Meniko, near Nicosia, in the 13th century. Many were healed by worshipping the relics of the saints, including Cypriot King Peter 1 Lusignan, who had a bigger church built on the site in mid-14th century. Saints Cyprian and Justina have worked many miracles through their intercession for victims of an evil eye or a curse and those suffering from satanic influence, voodoo or black magic. The monastery also hosts the power of St. Spyridon, who confers blessings on those who pray to him for help with their business or tide over difficult financial times.

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Makheras Monastery

  • Makheras Monastery

    The Makheras' monastery was built in 1148 AD by two monks who came across an icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave nearby. Visitors were not really welcome till recently; Orthodox Christian males were just about tolerated by the monks who live there in seclusion, provided they were suitably dressed. Women may not enter the building. Now, the Monastery may accept male visitors staying overnight without cost. You may not get a room and will have to sleep in a cloister. You will find the draft of wind rather sharp and cutting, in whose awe the Monastery was named ‘The Sword’ or Makheras. You are expected to either give the monks a donation, or buy their produce, like honey, wines and liqueurs.

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Panagia Chrysospiliotissa Church in a Cave

  • Panagia Chrysospiliotissa Church in a Cave

    Also known as Panagia Chrysospiliotissa, it was built in the 17th century in honour of Panayia Khrysospiliotissa, Our Lady of the Golden Cave. This was a catacomb that was reworked to form a large cave within which a Church was erected. The 12th century Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary of Valana in the Church is believed to have miraculous powers. It is the only Icon in the whole World where women have to pray within a circular miracle spot and then go beneath the icon to receive the fruit of their prayers. Women from around the world come to ask the Virgin for a successful marriage. While such a request may be made at several sites, barren women come to this cave to pray for an issue. Even if medical specialists rule out childbirth for a woman, that woman will conceive after observing the ritual.

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Church of Saint Lazarus, Larnaca

  • Church of Saint Lazarus, Larnaca

    The Church of St. Lazarus, the friend of Christ and the first Bishop of Kition, Cyprus is in Larnaca city. Kition was the name of Larnaca earlier. St. Lazarus Church was built on the sepulchre of the Saint, the first Bishop of Kition. He lived 30 more years here, and was buried for the second and last time. Leo VI, Emperor of Byzantium, erected the magnificent church in Byzantine style some 1,125 years ago. Virgin Mary came to Cyprus, to visit St. Lazarus. She arrived at Kition where She met Lazarus, to whom She presented a bishop's pallium, woven by Her own hands. Having blessed the local Church of Kition, She returned to the Holy Land. Many illnesses were healed and other miracles were performed here owing to the Saint's grace. A spring exists here and its water is considered holy with the power of healing.

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Stavrovouni Monastery

  • Stavrovouni Monastery

    Stavrovouni Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery which stands on the top of Stavrovouni hill in Larnaca District; it is sometimes simply known as Stavrovouni. The monastery is one of the only places where one can see a piece of the Holy Cross. The monastery was founded by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine I the Great, in the 4th century. Helena discovered the three crosses on which Jesus and the two thieves had been crucified. She excavated them to take to Constantinople, but left one of these crosses in Cyprus due to a shipwreck. The Holy Cross was transferred by a miracle to the peak of a hill overnight and a strong light emanated from that peak. Helena decided to leave a piece there, and built a small chapel over it. Other relics left behind by Helena include the Cross of the Good Thief and a nail.

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Chrysoroyiatissa

  • Chrysoroyiatissa

    The Chrysoroyiatissa Monastery located near Paphos, at an altitude of 610 metres, was founded in the 1152 AD by a monk called Ignatius who found an icon of the Virgin Mary at Moula, near Paphos and installed it in a monastery and dedicated it to Virgin Mary or the Cypriot 'Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate'. This icon is thought to be painted by Luke the Evangelist. Inside the monastery there is a variety of religious icons and treasures on display. The statue that attracts the most attention is of Virgin Mary, made of pure silver. On 15th August, a celebration is held in honour of 'Virgin Mary' as it is believed that on this day she did not wake up after she slept. The word death is not used, as 'Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate' is believed to be in deep sleep, but her other senses and organs, like her heart and brain are still working. This famous church is frequented by those who wish to have a wealthy family and possess great material wealth in their lives.

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