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Church · Ancient Monument

Church of St. George of the Greeks

Famagusta · In the area occupied by Turkey since 1974

Church of St. George of the Greeks: a church in Famagusta, in the area occupied by Turkey since 1974. Declared an Ancient Monument in 1907.

SalamisEnkomi

Famagusta District, about 35°07′ N, 33°56′ E

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

Protection

Antiquities Law
  1. 27 December 1907

    Declared an Ancient Monument, No. 8865

    “Church of St. George of the Greeks”

    The Cyprus Gazette No. 8865 of 27 December 1907 (Notice No. 8865), PDF p. 283 Online

  2. 10 May 1935

    Scheduled in 1935, First Schedule, Famagusta item 3

    “The Church of St. George of the Greeks”

    Supplement No. 1 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2441 of 10 May 1935, A Bill entitled A Law to consolidate and amend the Law relating to Antiquities [the Antiquities Law, 1935], First Schedule, District of Famagusta, item 3, p. 325, PDF p. 345 Online

  3. 8 December 1938

    Order under the Antiquities Law, No. 253, First Schedule, Famagusta item 37 (transferred from the Second Schedule, Famagusta item 13)

    “Room and wall forming part of the Church precincts of Saint George of the Greeks”

    Supplement No. 3 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2693 of 16 December 1938, No. 253, The Antiquities Law, 1935: Order in Council No. 1827 made under section 6 (1) (made 8 December 1938), First Schedule, Famagusta item 37 (transferred from the Second Schedule, Famagusta item 13), p. 548 Online

What was done when

2 records
  1. mid-14th century (the dome: disputed, perhaps late 15th century)

    A three-aisled Gothic basilica begun probably soon after the plague of 1349 as the cathedral of the Greek bishop of Karpasia, then resident in Famagusta. Some recent research holds that the dome over its central bay was not part of the original design but was added in a late 15th-century reconstruction after Venetian Renaissance models; the date of the dome is still disputed.

    Study

    As printed

    “the dome atop the clerestory of the mid-14th-century basilica of St George of the Greeks in Famagusta was not part of the original design”

    Denys Pringle, «Gothic architecture in the Holy Land and Cyprus: from Acre to Famagusta», Levant 47.3 (2015), pp. 293-315, p. 310

    Also: Michalis Olympios, «Hybridity, transculturality and eclecticism in the art and architecture of the Latin East», recorded lecture, 55th Public Lecture Series, Archaeological Research Unit - University of Cyprus, published on YouTube 2021-04-06, at 0:47:44 Online

  2. Undated

    Medieval Orthodox cathedral in Famagusta, Cyprus; ruinous, photogrammetrically surveyed in 2016; wall and column dimensions and construction dating discussed.

    Study

    As printed

    “The cathedral of St. George of the Greeks was built in the 14th–15th c. in Famagusta, Cyprus”

    Marinos Ioannides; Eleanor Fink; Antonia Moropoulou; Monika Hagedorn-Saupe; Antonella Fresa; Gunnar Liestøl; Vlatka Rajcic; Pierre Grussenmeyer (2016). Digital Heritage: Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection. p. 27.

In the literature

1
  1. Undated

    Once the Orthodox Cathedral of Famagusta.

    As printed

    “The church of St. George of the Greeks was once the Orthodox Cathedral.”

    F.S.M., "Famagusta", Cyprus Today vol. 3, no. 5-6 (September–December 1965), pp. 6–7, p. 7.

Pictures

7

In our archive · 6

Costas and Rita Severis Foundation1 painting1938
  • painting, 1938--02--19

Sources

  1. 1.The Cyprus Gazette No. 8865 of 27 December 1907 (Notice No. 8865), PDF p. 283 Online
  2. 2.Supplement No. 3 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2693 of 16 December 1938, No. 253, The Antiquities Law, 1935: Order in Council No. 1827 made under section 6 (1) (made 8 December 1938), First Schedule, Famagusta item 37 (transferred from the Second Schedule, Famagusta item 13), p. 548 Online
  3. 3.Supplement No. 1 to The Cyprus Gazette No. 2441 of 10 May 1935, A Bill entitled A Law to consolidate and amend the Law relating to Antiquities [the Antiquities Law, 1935], First Schedule, District of Famagusta, item 3, p. 325, PDF p. 345 Online
  4. 4.The National Archives, Kew, CO 1069/705, CO 1069-705-35, «St George (in the foreground) and St Nicholas (in the background), Famagusta», 1950-1959, The National Archives on Flickr Commons Online
  5. 5.Photograph: 1945. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, matpc.21875. «St George of the Greeks, Famagusta» Online
  6. 6.Centre of Visual Arts and Research (CVAR), Costas and Rita Severis Foundation, Nicosia, online catalogue: pht_00468, “Saint George Church of Greeks Famagusta – Cyprus”, 20th century, ; pht_00769, “Ruined church at Famagusta”, ca. 1918, https://cvar.severis.org/en/collections/item/ruined-church-at-famagusta/28025/; pht_01101, “Saint George of the Greeks Church, Famagusta”, ca. 1930, https://cvar.severis.org/en/collections/item/saint-george-of-the-greeks-church-famagusta/7701/; and 8 more records Online
  7. 7.Marinos Ioannides; Eleanor Fink; Antonia Moropoulou; Monika Hagedorn-Saupe; Antonella Fresa; Gunnar Liestøl; Vlatka Rajcic; Pierre Grussenmeyer (2016). Digital Heritage: Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection. p. 27.
  8. 8.Denys Pringle, «Gothic architecture in the Holy Land and Cyprus: from Acre to Famagusta», Levant 47.3 (2015), pp. 293-315, p. 310
  9. 9.Michalis Olympios, «Hybridity, transculturality and eclecticism in the art and architecture of the Latin East», recorded lecture, 55th Public Lecture Series, Archaeological Research Unit - University of Cyprus, published on YouTube 2021-04-06, at 0:47:44 Online
  10. 10.F.S.M., "Famagusta", Cyprus Today vol. 3, no. 5-6 (September–December 1965), pp. 6–7, p. 7.

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