St. Panteleimon Monastery in

Myrtou Myrtou ( gr, Μύρτου, tr, Çamlıbel) is a town in the Kyrenia District of Cyprus, north of the city of Morphou. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Name origin There are several traditions as to how the village got ...

/ Aghios Panteleimon (Myrtou) ( gr, Μοναστήρι Αγίου Παντελεήμονα στη Μύρτου, tr, Panteleemon Manastırı, Çamlıbel) is a former

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

History

The monastery was founded by several monks in the 11th century. A reconstruction of the monastery, was carried out in the 16th and 17th centuries. St Panteleimon is celebrated on 27 July. Before the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...

in 1974, many people from all over Cyprus were visiting the monastery to pay their respects to St Panteleimon as well as people from abroad. Since the invasion, the monastery of Saint Panteleimon remains empty.

Monastic building

The monastery complex is made up of buildings of various dates and includes a section used as a guest house.A description of the historic monuments of Cyprus, by George Jeffery, publ.Nicosia, 1918; Page 278 In the 19th and 20th centuries the resident monastic population was around 10-20. A main entrance was constructed in the late 19th century. The church has Renaissance features but has been much altered. Around 17th-18th centuries the original

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was demolished and rebuilt with a remarkable covered exterior corridor (

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

) of pointed arches and vaulting (south side). Between the nave and the loggia is the chapel of St Panteleimon, which is of ancient date. It has a

Barrel Vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

style. It is separated from the nave by semi-circular arches sitting on short columns. This old part of the church has a number of doors and windows which open on to the exterior corridor. The inside of the church had an

Iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

(wall of icons and religious paintings separating the nave from the sanctuary) which included portions of an older mediaeval screen. The part of the iconostasis across the chapel of St Panteleimon had elaborate wood carving, much added recently. Many icons were of superior quality, possibly medieval. The chapel of St Panteleimon is separated from the rest by an unusual elegant iron screen. This unusual feature gives much interest to the interior. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the (bi-communal) Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage in Cyprus, and European Union started conservation works to St Panteleimon monastery on 9 October 2015.Cyprus Mail article https://cyprus-mail.com/2015/10/09/restoration-work-to-start-on-ayios-panteleimon-monastery/ retrieved July 2018

References

External links

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Ξεκίνησε η αναστήλωση του μοναστηριού του Αγίου Παντελεήμονα στην κατεχόμενη Μύρτου (PHOTOS) , Διακόνημα

Παραδίδεται από την Τεχνική Επιτροπή και η μονή του Αγ. Παντελεήμονα στη Μύρτου, Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ, kathimerini.com.cy

Σώθηκε από κατάρρευση το μοναστήρι Αγ. Παντελεήμονα στην Μύρτου (εικόνες+βίντεο)
philenews.com
Ελπίδα τα έργα συντήρησης στη Μονή Αγίου Παντελεήμονα Μύρτου στα κατεχόμενα
ekirikas.com
Συγκίνηση: Ολοκληρώθηκε η Α’ φάση αποκατάσταση της Ι.Μ. Αγ. Παντελεήμονα στη Μύρτου , Mignatiou.com
{{coord missing, Cyprus Christian monasteries established in the 11th century Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Cyprus Historic sites in Cyprus