Church of Archangelos Michail, Pedoulas, Cyprus

The church of Archangel Michael is situated in a central area of the Troodos mountain range, in the valley of Marathasa, in the village of Pedoulas. In 1985 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List which includes nine other painted Byzantine churches of the Troodos range. According to the dedicatory inscription above the north entrance, the church was built and decorated with frescoes in 1474, with the donation of priest Vasilios Chamados. The priest, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, is depicted above the dedicatory inscription, offering Archangel Michael a model of the church.

This church belongs to the typical single-aisled, timber-roof type of the Troodos region. The narthex, which extends to its south and west side, was used as a loft due to the small size of the church. The loft was used by the women, while only men entered the main church.

The church of Archangelos Michail is one of the few churches in Cyprus which preserves the name of the artist who decorated it. His name was Minas and he was a local painter who came from the area of Marathasa. Minas was a typical “naïve” painter with a conservative style, and followed the Byzantine tradition. However, he was aware of the artistic trends of his time and place which explains the influx of western elements in his work. During this period many contemporary churches were decorated with wall-paintings of the same style.

The wooden templon screen is worth mentioning, which also dates to 1474, with painted decoration consisting of coats-of-arms. It is one of the best-preserved examples of the kind in Cyprus. On the epistyle one can notice the painted coats-of-arms of the medieval Kingdom of Cyprus. Next to it is the double-headed eagle, the emblem of the Palaiologan dynasty, the last kings of the Byzantine Empire.

Only a few metres to the west of the church of Archangelos Michail, in a specially arranged room of the old primary school, a collection of portable icons and other objects of mainly religious art are kept. These come from the Byzantine churches of the village of Pedoulas, and are dated from the 13th to the 20th century.

References:

Cyprus Department of Antiques

User Reviews

fadi hrimat (2 years ago)

El Palomo (3 years ago)
Beautiful. It's a pity the museum was closed. Do not forget to leave an offer

Chris Barham (3 years ago)
It's a shame someone has loaded the wrong photo for this church. This is one of the UNESCO Painted Churches and is gorgeous. Ignore the big white painted church higher up the hill and instead look for the diminutive barn-like building lower down the hill. I hope Google fixes this error.

Colin Lothian (3 years ago)
The problem with this listing is that the Church in the main image is not the Church of Archangelos Michael but a nearby much larger church. The larger church is about 200 metres away from the Byzantine chapel which is down a lane and on the right hand side of the road. It is opposite the Byzantine museum. The UNESCO protected church is one of 10 in Greek Cyprus. A Wikipedia listing will give you the GIS references for all the churches and a further 56 of some note. Look up Byzantine Churches of Cyprus. It is possible to download the GPX coordinates directly into Viewranger open cycle map of Cyprus. The Cypriot Tourist Authority has a free publication available on Cultural and Spiritual Tours. A free l:75000 scale map is also available from the same source. Be careful when taking photographs here the wall paintings are very very old and flash could damage them. This is a conservation area as well as a working chapel so donations are welcome. A walking/ hiking route runs from just beyond the chapel . Details are on the sign board.

Alexander Potapov (3 years ago)
The church is gorgeous and stunning. The building itself is a landmark, so the average driver notices it with ease. I definitely admire the style for it is magnificent but simple.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Varvara_R

Historic Site of the week

Trinity Sergius Lavra

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a world famous spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular site of pilgrimage and tourism. It is the most important working Russian monastery and a residence of the Patriarch. This religious and military complex represents an epitome of the growth of Russian architecture and contains some of that architecture’s finest expressions. It exerted a profound influence on architecture in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, was founded in 1337 by the monk Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius achieved great prestige as the spiritual adviser of Dmitri Donskoi, Great Prince of Moscow, who received his blessing to the battle of Kulikov of 1380. The monastery started as a little wooden church on Makovets Hill, and then developed and grew stronger through the ages.

Over the centuries a unique ensemble of more than 50 buildings and constructions of different dates were established. The whole complex was erected according to the architectural concept of the main church, the Trinity Cathedral (1422), where the relics of St. Sergius may be seen.

In 1476 Pskovian masters built a brick belfry east of the cathedral dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The church combines unique features of early Muscovite and Pskovian architecture. A remarkable feature of this church is a bell tower under its dome without internal interconnection between the belfry and the cathedral itself.

The Cathedral of the Assumption, echoing the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin, was erected between 1559 and 1585. The frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral were painted in 1684. At the north-western corner of the Cathedral, on the site of the western porch, in 1780 a vault containing burials of Tsar Boris Godunov and his family was built.

In the 16th century the monastery was surrounded by 6 meters high and 3,5 meters thick defensive walls, which proved their worth during the 16-month siege by Polish-Lithuanian invaders during the Time of Trouble. They were later strengthened and expanded.

After the Upheaval of the 17th century a large-scale building programme was launched. At this time new buildings were erected in the north-western part of the monastery, including infirmaries topped with a tented church dedicated to Saints Zosima and Sawatiy of Solovki (1635-1637). Few such churches are still preserved, so this tented church with a unique tiled roof is an important contribution to the Lavra.

In the late 17th century a number of new buildings in Naryshkin (Moscow) Baroque style were added to the monastery.

Following a devastating fire in 1746, when most of the wooden buildings and structures were destroyed, a major reconstruction campaign was launched, during which the appearance of many of the buildings was changed to a more monumental style. At this time one of the tallest Russian belfries (88 meters high) was built.

In the late 18th century, when many church lands were secularized, the chaotic planning of the settlements and suburbs around the monastery was replaced by a regular layout of the streets and quarters. The town of Sergiev Posad was surrounded by traditional ramparts and walls. In the vicinity of the monastery a number of buildings belonging to it were erected: a stable yard, hotels, a hospice, a poorhouse, as well as guest and merchant houses. Major highways leading to the monastery were straightened and marked by establishing entry squares, the overall urban development being oriented towards the centrepiece - the Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra.

In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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