Holy Cross Monastery, Omodos

The monastery of the Holy Cross at Omodos is also known as the Honest Cross monastery — in Greek, Timios Stavros. It is the oldest monastery in Cyprus, and although it stands in Omodos in the Limassol region, it belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Paphos.

Two stories about how it began

One account has villagers at Pano and Kato Koupetra seeing fire and smoke coming from the bushes; each time they went to look they found nothing. This went on over several nights until they noticed a cave — and a cross inside it. That village has long since disappeared.

The other has Queen Helena stopping in Cyprus on her way from Jerusalem to wait out a storm. Some say she had a vision of the cross on the mountain where Stavrovouni now stands; others that she found it there on waking. Either way, part of the Holy Cross was left at the monastery built on that mountain, and later a piece was given to Timios Stavros at Omodos. Fragments of the True Cross are held in many monasteries around the world; in Cyprus they are here and at Stavrovouni.

Nobody can date the monastery exactly, but it is certain that it predates the village of Omodos, and it is thought to have existed even before Queen Helena came to the island.

Inside

To enter the church you must be modestly covered; cloaks are usually available to put on over your clothes. Inside, the church runs on arches, with icons along the walls and a three-tiered gold-plated iconostasis at the far end. The finest work, though, is the timber on the ceilings of the corridors — and above all the vaulted entrance door, built arched so that the church could be defended against attack during Ottoman rule.

The courtyard and museum

Two-storey buildings enclose the church in the shape of the Greek letter Π. The monks’ sleeping quarters, the Synod and the guest rooms are to the north; the warehouse and animal barns, now empty, to the south; and the Museum of Byzantine Art, holding a large collection of icons, to the west.

The museum also has a section on the liberation struggle of 1955–1959, and one room in the Synod is kept as it was when Queen Helena stayed there. Other parts of the hall are used for folk art, galleries and photography exhibitions. Entrance to both church and museum is free, though opening times vary.