Agios Synesios

English, as on the record

Sinclair was ADC to Sir Garnet Wolseley in 1878 and remained in Cyprus for some years. He was an amateur painter who made a series of watercolours of Cyprus, sold with the contents of his family home Lady Place in Sutton Courtenay in 1990. Originally built in the 12th century, the church of Ayios Synesios has undergone extensive reconstruction in the 19th century. It is built in the centre of the village of Rizokarpasso, the head village of the Karpass peninsula. The church preserves some Gothic architectural features but was mostly admired for its bell tower with its intricate and elaborate décor. The artist must have found himself there on a Sunday morning as attested by a small crowd flocking into the church. It is interesting to note that the parish is entering the church from the entrance on the south rather than the door on the west as dictated by Byzantine custom. This arrangement, typical of the ecclesiastical culture of Cyprus, dates back to the Latin period when Greeks and Latins shared the same churches, each group entering from a different side door