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Monastery · Ancient Monument

The Church and other remains of the Monastery of St. Nicholas of the Cats

Akrotiri, Limassol District · Medieval

The Church and other remains of the Monastery of St. Nicholas of the Cats: a monastery in Akrotiri, Limassol District. Protected by Order in Council in 1940. 2 dated records of work on it, 1959 to 2003, with sources.

Episkopi-BamboulaErimiKourion

Limassol District, about 34°36′ N, 32°58′ E

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The pin marks the village of Akrotiri, not the building. Approximate location. Open in the map →

Protection

Antiquities Law
  1. 20 December 1939

    Proposed for declaration, No. 413, Second Schedule, Limassol

    “The Church and other remains of the Monastery of St. Nicholas of the Cats.”

    Supplement No. 3 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2802 of 20 December 1939, No. 413, The Antiquities Law, 1935: Notice under section 6 (2) (proposed declaration), by the Director of Antiquities (made 20 December 1939), Second Schedule, Limassol, pp. 725–727 Online

  2. 18 March 1940

    Order under the Antiquities Law, No. 104, Second Schedule, Limassol

    “The Church and other remains of the Monastery of St. Nicholas of the Cats.”

    Supplement No. 3 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2821 of 21 March 1940, No. 104, The Antiquities Law, 1935: Order in Council No. 1937 made under section 6 (1) (made 18 March 1940), Second Schedule, Limassol, pp. 238–240 Online

What was done when

2 records
  1. 1959

    The church was repaired on the initiative of the Church authorities with the aid of a Government grant.

    Repair and conservation

    As printed

    “the church of the ruined monastery of St. Nicholas of the Cats, near Akrotiri”

    Colonial Office, Cyprus: Report for the Year 1959 (London: HMSO, 1961), p. 87

  2. 2003

    Church restored.

    Repair and conservation

    Pavlos Flourentzos, «Chronique des fouilles et découvertes archéologiques à Chypre en 2003 et 2004», Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 128 (2004), pp. 1635-1708, p. 1706

In the literature

2
  1. 1570

    Looted and then burnt down by the Turkish fleet during the 1570 attack on Limassol.

    As printed

    “They first looted and then burnt down the Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats”

    Anon., "Administration and Plans for the Fortification of the Limassol Area", Cyprus Today vol. 47, no. 4 (October–December 2009), pp. 30–31, p. 31.

  2. Undated

    Akrotiri monastery founded by Kalokeros in AD 327 on Constantine's instructions; its church is the only ancient monastery church still surviving, per the text.

    As printed

    “The monastry of St. Nicholas of the Cats is the only ancient monastery whose church still survives today.”

    Anon., "Monasticism in Cyprus", Cyprus Today vol. 35, no. 1-2 (January–June 1997), pp. 2–10, p. 5.

Pictures

1
British School at Athens1 photograph1888
  • British School at Athens, Archive, BSA SPHS Image Collection, BSA SPHS/1/0423.1788, «Cyprus, Limassol: Agios Nikolaos Monastery, a Ruin near Cape Gata», 1888 Online

Sources

  1. 1.Supplement No. 3 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2821 of 21 March 1940, No. 104, The Antiquities Law, 1935: Order in Council No. 1937 made under section 6 (1) (made 18 March 1940), Second Schedule, Limassol, pp. 238–240 Online
  2. 2.Supplement No. 3 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2802 of 20 December 1939, No. 413, The Antiquities Law, 1935: Notice under section 6 (2) (proposed declaration), by the Director of Antiquities (made 20 December 1939), Second Schedule, Limassol, pp. 725–727 Online
  3. 3.British School at Athens, Archive, BSA SPHS Image Collection, BSA SPHS/1/0423.1788, «Cyprus, Limassol: Agios Nikolaos Monastery, a Ruin near Cape Gata», 1888 Online
  4. 4.Pavlos Flourentzos, «Chronique des fouilles et découvertes archéologiques à Chypre en 2003 et 2004», Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 128 (2004), pp. 1635-1708, p. 1706
  5. 5.Colonial Office, Cyprus: Report for the Year 1959 (London: HMSO, 1961), p. 87
  6. 6.Anon., "Monasticism in Cyprus", Cyprus Today vol. 35, no. 1-2 (January–June 1997), pp. 2–10, p. 5.
  7. 7.Anon., "Administration and Plans for the Fortification of the Limassol Area", Cyprus Today vol. 47, no. 4 (October–December 2009), pp. 30–31, p. 31.

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