Description of the attraction
Not far from Nicosia, among the lush forests, is one of the most famous active Orthodox monasteries in Cyprus - Macheras Monastery. It got its name thanks to the miraculous icon of the Mother of God Maheriotissa, which translates as "knife". According to legend, the icon, painted by the Apostle Luke, was brought to Cyprus from Constantinople during the time of iconoclasm and hidden in the mountains. For a long time, no one knew exactly where she was. But in the XII century, two hermit monks Ignatius and Neophytos managed to find a cave, which served as a hiding place for the icon. To get through the dense thickets into the cave, the monks used a knife found nearby. Since the word “knife” in Greek sounds like “maheri”, the icon itself and the monastery erected on the site of that cave were named Macheras.
At the request of Neophytos and Ignatius, the funds for the construction of the monastery were allocated by the emperor of Constantinople Manuel Komnenos - at first a small chapel was erected there, and over time a whole complex with a church, residential and utility buildings appeared on that place, which was actively developing. In addition, Macheras received stavropegic status, i.e. independent of the local dioceses, but subordinate directly to the patriarch.
Unfortunately, two large-scale fires - in 1530 and 1892 - almost completely destroyed the monastery, only the famous icon of the Mother of God was saved. Even the knife with which she was found burned out. However, Macheras was gradually recovering, albeit slowly. It was rebuilt only by 1900.
After Cyprus gained independence in 1960, the life of the monastery improved - all buildings were restored, new chapels and churches appeared. There was also a monument to Gregory Afxentiou - "Maher's eagle", the hero of Cyprus during the struggle against the British colonialists.
At the moment, Macheras is home to several dozen monks who are engaged in agriculture.
