Description of the attraction
The Monastery of St. Barnabas is located near the city of Famagusta, very close to the famous Royal Tombs. The whole complex consists of a church, a monastery and a small chapel, but today this place has been turned into a tourist attraction. In the church there is a museum with a rich collection of old and new icons, in the building of the monastery there is an archaeological exposition, which contains objects found during excavations at the site of the ancient city of Salamis. And in the chapel you can see the remains of St. Barnabas himself, in whose honor the monastery was built.
Saint Barnabas is one of the founders of the Greek Orthodox Church and is also considered the patron saint of Cyprus. He was born in Salamis, received his education in Jerusalem, where he witnessed the miraculous deeds of Jesus Christ. After that, he donated all of his property, which he inherited from his parents, to the needs of the church, and also distributed to the poor. Returning to Cyprus as a preacher, Barnabas succeeded in converting the then ruler of the island, the protégé of Rome, Sergius Paulus, to Christianity. Thus, Cyprus became the first state in the world whose ruler was a Christian.
However, despite the patronage of the Roman proconsul, Barnabas still had to accept a martyr's death for his faith. When he returned to the island, he was seized and the preacher was stoned to death by an angry mob. Barnabas's associates stole his remains and secretly buried him under a carob tree near Salamis, placing the Gospel of Matthew on his chest. Over time, the burial place was forgotten.
According to legend, about 400 years later, in 477 AD, one of the Cypriot bishops saw in a dream the place where the saint was buried. After a short search, the grave of Barnabas was indeed discovered, and it was possible to identify it thanks to the very Gospel placed on the chest of the deceased. A church was built at the burial site, which, unfortunately, was completely destroyed during the Arab invasion in the 7th century.
The current monastery was built much later - in 1750. It is still in excellent condition, and in 1991 it underwent a large-scale reconstruction.
