The Golden Girl of Kykkos monastery

By Paul Lambis

There is a legend surrounding Cyprus’ most famous monastery, which claims a bird with a human voice was flying around the burgeoning forest on the site where the monastery was built, singing:

“Kykkou, Kykkou, Kykkos’ hill

A monastery the site shall fill.

A golden girl shall enter in,

and never come out again.”

 

Sources say that the “golden girl” referred to in the song is one of the world’s most famous historic icons, that of the Virgin Mary, painted by the Apostle Luke. The icon was brought over from Constantinople over nine hundred years ago and has been in the care of Kykkos monastery ever since.

The story of the monastery is fascinating as well as informative and provides an interesting insight into how much the world of religion and power were intertwined at the time of its creation. History tells us that when Kykkos was founded at the end of the eleventh century, Cyprus was in the throes of Byzantine rule and was governed by a series of rulers sent from Constantinople. The governor at the time was one Manuel Boutoumites, who apparently liked to spend his summers in the heart of the cool and refreshing Troodos mountainous region, away from the rather oppressive heat of Nicosia.

Legend has it that it was during one of these summers, when Boutoumites was enjoying the splendour of the forest that he encountered a resident hermit called Isaiah. Some sources suggest that the governor was rude and somewhat abusive to the hermit, after Isaiah did not show him the appropriate level of respect. Boutoumites was later struck with a curious illness, which he could not shake, and connected his illness to his inhumane treatment of the hermit. In the meantime, Isaiah received a vision from God, who informed him that meeting the governor and his subsequent ill-treatment by him was all according to God’s plan; God intended Isaiah to join Boutoumites on a pilgrimage to Constantinople, in order to bring the icon of the Virgin Mary to Cyprus.

This particular icon is of special significance to the Eastern Orthodox religion as the Apostle Luke only painted it seven years after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. It was believed, even in those days, that the icon held special powers, which cured the emperor’s daughter of exactly the same illness which had plagued governor Boutoumites.

It is not known as to how the governor managed to convince the emperor that this precious icon of the Virgin Mary, painted by one of Jesus Christ’s original circle, had to leave Constantinople and be taken to one of the smallest and hardly vital parts of the Byzantine Empire, but he succeeded.

Another version of the story describes how the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to the emperor, requesting her icon to be taken to Cyprus.

Once in Cyprus, the icon was taken to a specific place in the Troodos region, which had been appointed by Isaiah who had, once again, been given a divine command that he was to build a monastery, including a church on the site, which was to be named after the Holy Trinity. From the moment the church and monastery were built and consecrated, it was referred to as “Stavropegial”, which means that a holy cross was laid under its foundations.

It is not only because the icon was painted by the Apostle Luke that makes it so special; the painting style of the icon adds to its uniqueness as it was the only icon of the Virgin Mary at the time which portrayed her with her child. The icon features Jesus Christ seated on her right hand side, with his naked legs showing, and it was this style which then influenced so many other icons from the beginning of the twelfth century in the largely Byzantine Orthodox world of Cyprus, Greece, parts of Egypt and the Balkans.

The style, which was referred to formally as the “Kykkotissa’ iconographic type, was adopted by the Russian Orthodox Church in the seventeenth century due to the country’s strong intellectual and cultural links with Cyprus.

The icon of Kykkos’ Virgin Mary has long been associated with numerous miracles within the monastery, including ridding the island of locusts and ending extreme periods of drought.

The association of the icon is a symbol of pride, hope and salvation. Not only has it survived invasions and occupations throughout the years, it has even withstood fires and earthquakes, while its fame has remained steadfast within the religious world of sacred art. Written and pictorial evidence of the icon, from as far back as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, can be found today in both Paris and Rome’s national libraries.

Anyone visiting Kykkos monastery today might be a little overwhelmed by the apparent wealth of the items on display at the museum. Although as an institution, it may be associated with the opulence of religious artefacts and ceremony, it should not be forgotten that this sacred site is not only the chosen burial place of Archbishop Makarios, it is also the divinely appointed home of the ultimate portrayal of the blessed “Golden Girl”.