Bellapais Abbey (also spelled Bellapaïs) is the ruin of a monastery built by

Canons Regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

in the 13th century on the northern side of the small village of Bellapais, in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

, about five kilometres from the town of

Kyrenia Kyrenia is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...

. The ruin is at an altitude of 220 m above sea level, and commands a long view down to Kyrenia and the Mediterranean sea. The site is also a museum, which hosts a restaurant and a cafe. The Abbey's refectory is also a venue for concerts and lectures. In spring and early summer, classic music festivals with international and local stars are held here.

History

The site was formerly named Episcopia or Piscopia, suggesting that it may have served the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Kyrenia as a residence, and as a place of refuge from Arab raids in the 7th and 8th centuries. The first occupants known to have settled on or near the site were the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, who had fled Jerusalem after its fall in 1187 to

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

. The canons had been the custodians of the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

. Aimery de Lusignan founded the monastery, with the first buildings dating to between 1198–1205. The abbey was consecrated as the Abbey of St. Mary of the Mountain. The White Canons (Norbertines or

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

s) succeeded the founding canons in 1206. Consequently, documents from the 15th and 16th century refer to Bellapais as the "White Abbey". The common explanation of the modern name ''Bellapais'' is that the French name ("Abbey of Peace") was corrupted after the Italian takeover into "Bellapais", reinterpreted as "Beautiful Land". George Francis Hill was unconvinced of both the French and Italian portions of this derivation. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich says that this was the ancient Jewish village of "Mallep," visited by Jesus Christ. The main building as it can be seen today was built during the rule of King Hugh III 1267–1284. The cloisters and the refectory were constructed during the rule of King Hugh IV between 1324–1359. Hugh IV lived in the abbey and had apartments constructed for his use. In 1373, the Genoese raided Kyrenia, almost destroying

Kyrenia Castle Kyrenia Castle ( ) is a 16th-century castle built by the Republic of Venice, Venetians over a previous Crusades, Crusader fortification. Within its walls lies a twelfth-century chapel showing reused late Ancient Rome, Roman capitals, and the Shipwr ...

. The Genoese stripped Bellapais of anything that was portable and of any value. By 1489 the Venetians had taken control of Cyprus. By the time of the Venetians, the inhabitants of the Abbey had abandoned the Premonstratensian Rule. Reportedly, canons took wives, and then to keep the business within the family, accepted only their children as novices. Following the Ottoman conquest of Kyrenia and Kyrenia Castle in 1571, the Ottomans expelled the Premonstratensians and gave the abbey to the Greek Orthodox

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus () is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; ...

, which they appointed as the only legal Christian church on Cyprus. The Church of Cyprus neglected the Abbey, which fell into disrepair. However, the abbey church itself came to serve as the parish church for the village that grew up around it, and whose inhabitants may have used the abbey as a quarry for stone. During the period of British control of Cyprus (1878-1960), the British Army initially took control of Bellapais. In 1878 they cemented the floor of the refectory, which they then used as a hospital. Unfortunately, the soldiers also fired off small arms in the refectory; one may still see bullet holes in the east wall. Then in 1912 George Jeffery, Curator of the Ancient Monuments of Cyprus, undertook repairs of the abbey.

Structure

The abbey consists of a church and a cloister, with most of the monastic buildings surrounding the cloister. In Britain these would normally be built on the south side of the church to shelter the living quarters from the cold air from the north. At Bellapais, the monastic buildings are on the north, probably to be cooler, although occasionally the lay of the land dictated position. The Abbey's main entrance is through a fortified gate on the south side, with a tower that is a later addition, and a forecourt. The gateway replaced an earlier drawbridge. The church, which dates to the 13th century, itself borders the courtyard and is the best preserved part of the complex. The church has a flat roof and a belfry, with one surviving bell, above the entrance. The church consists of a nave with two side aisles, a choir and a sacristy. The surviving decorations include an intricately carved pulpit, the bishop's throne, and five chandeliers. The forecourt leads to the cloister, which has 18 arches. Under one of the arches on the north side there are two Roman

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

that the canons once used as lavabos. The sarcophagi are one above the other, with the upper one being decorated, and the lower one plain. Water flowed from the upper to the lower, and then out a channel to the cloister garden. Behind the sarcophagi there is a door that leads to the canons'

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

. The door's

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

contains coats of arms of Cyprus, Jerusalem, and the Lusignans. The refectory is Gothic in design. It includes a pulpit that projects from the north wall, six windows on the north wall that illuminate the space, and a rose window on the eastern wall. The room is 30m long and 10m wide, with seven columns that extend from the side walls to support the roof. There are six windows. A door on the western wall leads to the kitchen and to a cellar built under the refectory. The

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

is on the eastern side of the cloister, as is the

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...

. The chapter house functioned as the abbey's administrative office, and the undercroft contained workrooms. The chapter house has an interesting Gothic stone carving. The carving depicts a man with a double ladder on his back, a second man between two sirens, a woman reading, two beasts attacking a man, a woman with a rosary, a monkey and a cat in the foliage of a pear tree under which there is a man holding a shield, and a canon wearing a cloak. The canons' cells were on a second floor, above the chapter house and the undercroft. There are several stairs from the cloisters. Three give access to the roof. On the south side of the cloister there is a pair of stairs that lead to the abbey's treasury room, which is in the northwest corner of the monastery.

References

North Cyprus: Bellapais
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellapais Abbey Kingdom of Cyprus Historic sites in Cyprus Christian monasteries established in the 1190s Augustinian monasteries Premonstratensian monasteries Gothic architecture in Cyprus

History

Structure

See also

References