Koutsovendis or Koutsoventis (, ) is a village in the

Kyrenia District The Kyrenia District, or simply Kyrenia, is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital city is Kyrenia. It is the smallest of Cyprus's districts, and is the only one controlled in its entirety by the unrecognised de facto state of Northern C ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It is under the ''de facto'' control of

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 ...

Monastery of St. John Chrysostomos

Just north of the village (at 35.27439, 33.41835) is the Monastery of Saint

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

os or Agios Ioannis Chrysostomos (Άγιος Ιωάννης Χρυσόστομος).Kleanthous, Zarita (2009
"Map of the districts of Cyprus"
www.mapsofcyprus.co.uk It is also known as Hagios Chrysostomos. The monastery was founded about 1070 by the monk George from the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

.Parani, Maria G. (2005
"The Monastery of St. Chrysostomos at Koutsovendis (Cyprus): The Wall-Paintings"
(Fellowship Report) Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC; archived by

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

on 8 June 2011 The monastery is known for its

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, which are currently whitewashed over and covered in white paper as the area is in a Turkish militarized zone and has been since 1974. The church is now inaccessible. The monastery consists of two churches that connected with a shared wall. Headquarters for the monastery are presently located in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

due to the Turkish occupation."Exarchies of the All Holy Sepulchre"
Jerusalem Patriarchate; archived by

WebCite WebCite is an intermittently available archive site, originally designed to digitally preserve scientific and educationally important material on the web by taking snapshots of Internet contents as they existed at the time when a blogger or ...

on 29 February 2012 The original south church was destroyed and rebuilt in 1891. This building was the ''

katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon () or ''sobor'' () refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major Church (building), church building (temple) of a monastery corresponding to a conventual ...

'' of the entire monastery. The new south church was rebuilt on the foundations of the old structure and in a rectangular fashion, having three bays, and is covered by pointed cross-groin vaults. Surviving portions of the original church include the pavement, marble door frames, and a carved wooden door. The north church, dedicated to the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, is what would be considered a "compressed

cross-in-square A cross-in-square or crossed-dome floor plan was the dominant form of church architecture in the middle and late Byzantine Empire. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome. Architecture Archite ...

type" that is off axis due to the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

of the south church that projects into its space. The founder of the chapel and donor for the painted decorations was the Governor of Cyprus, Eumathios Philokales. Out of all the Byzantine era buildings in the relative location,this is the most well preserved. The architectural type is that of a single aisle domed structure. While the building is created largely from brick, what is unique is that the dome is also constructed of brick alternating with stone that is framed by bricks.

Wall Paintings at the Monastery of St. John Chrysostomos

The restoration of wall paintings at Koutsovendis was carried out by

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and gardens of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife ...

in 1963 and 1968-1969. Further visits and restoration projects have been prevented due to Turkish occupation of the area. While not all the paintings are in good condition, if they exist at all, some that have been eroded show preliminary sketches. Many of the original

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es included details of gold, vermilion, and lapis lazuli.

Frescoes on the
Dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

In respect to the dome, the entire interior surface was at one point covered entirely in a single composition depicting the

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

. Between each of the twelve windows sat

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

. All that remains currently are remnants and preliminary sketches made in red ocher upon bare masonry. Around the

calotte Calotte may refer to: * Calotte (architecture), a round cavity or depression in architecture * Calotte or zucchetto, a plain skull cap, specifically those worn by ecclesiastics ** Calotte (Belgium), used among students at Belgian catholic univer ...

of the dome are remnants of two circles that would have represented the glory of the Etimasia. There exists a segment of a halo between windows nine and ten. A larger section of the painting still remains between windows ten and eleven and shows the upper half of a seated figure. A majority of the head is missing, but the beard and lower segment of the halo can still be seen. One can see the fold of his

chlamys The chlamys (; genitive: ) was a type of ancient Greek cloak. It was worn by men for military and hunting purposes during the Classical, Hellenistic and later periods. By the time of the Byzantine Empire it was part of the state costume of the ...

pass from his left shoulder to the height of his right knee . While no painting exists between windows eleven and twelve, there is a preserved drawing on the plaster and masonry. The figure appears to be

St. Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

with a short beard and curly hair. The right hand is lifted with the palm facing outward in the form of blessing with the left hand holding a scroll.

Frescoes in the
Apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

Unfortunately, much of the decoration within the apse was destroyed due to the central portion collapsing. However, there is still some fragmentary fresco decoration throughout. In the conch of the apse, one can discern two

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

s standing against a dark blue background. One holds an orb while the other grasps a staff. All that is left of the leftmost angel is the outer edge of the right wing and the orb that was held in his right hand. The second archangel is just as poorly preserved. Part of the wing is discernible in an under painting along with the lower half of the staff. Between the angels stands the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. These three figures reside above a life sized procession of

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 ...

s clothed in pale garments and holding open scrolls. While only two can still be seen on either side of the bema, it is thought that there were originally eight. One of the bishops is perhaps St. Basil, but the other remaining figure remains nameless. The bishop thought to be St. Basil, located on the north wall of the bema, is preserved to below the knees and exhibits short dark hair and a long beard.The scroll is held in both hands and bears a text from the prayer of the first antiphon of St. Basil's liturgy. The vault of the bema holds a fresco of the

Ascension Ascension or ascending may refer to: Religion * "Ascension", the belief in some religions that some individuals have ascended into Heaven without dying first. The Catholic concept of the Assumption of Mary leaves open the question of her deat ...

with, what would have been six,

looking up at Christ being carried by four angels in a mandorla. All that remains of the angels is the right arm, right wing, and a portion of the halo. On the north side there are only remnants of two

. The leftmost figure is presented in a three-quarter view from behind. His right hand is seen shielding his eyes. The second apostle is painted in a more profile view. His entire right half is missing along with his left arm. He is shown in a gray tunic and purple-brown

. The south side has only one remaining apostle. His body faces west while the head is turned in the eastward direction. The right arm has not been preserved, but within the apostle's left hand a tied scroll is held. Upon the face of the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, in the southeast corner of the bema, there remains fragments of a

from just below the eyes to elbow level. His brown beard is outlined in white while coming to a point at the collarbone. Dressed in a brown mantle and a white

epitrachelion The ''epitrachelion'' ( "around the neck"; Slavic: Епитрахи́ль - ''Epitrakhíl’''; often called simply a '' stole'' in casual English-language usage) is the liturgical vestment worn by priests and bishops of the Orthodox Church a ...

adorned with small black crosses, the bishop holds a gilded book in his left hand.

The South Wall

Approximately one-eighth of the painted surface of the south wall has been preserved. These fragments can be found in the soffit of the arch, a low register on the wall, and on the dado below the lowest register. Within the soffit was seven medallions with the busts of saints. There is only one that is well preserved."The medallions were 72-74 cm in diameter, including the yellow-ochre frame...which was outlines with an inner black line and an outer white line. The background of the soffit was a blue-black and that of the medallions alternately green and red...the haloes of all the saints were yellow ochre, outlines in white and red-brown along the outer circumference." The entire south wall was covered with a fresco of the Anastasis originally. A door has been placed incorrectly due to construction to preserve the integrity of the building, so it seems as if the painting is cut short on one side. What remains of the composition are fragments of Christ towards the middle of the image,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

, and

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

on the left side of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, and the remaining hand that would have belonged to

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

on the right side. All that remains of Christ is his head and the portion of his body extending form his hips to just below the knees. He is flanked by two angels on the left side of his head. John displays his characteristic shaggy hair and beard. His right arm is positioned pointing towards Christ while holding a folded scroll in his left. "David and Solomon stand in identical poses, their left arms raised in the same awkward vertical position, and are dressed in the same costume...The two prophets wear identical crowns composed of six "gold" (yellow ochre) plaques,". Solomon is shown without a beard and as a man of youth adorned with a gilded halo. All three prophets are shown standing on a marble sarcophagus.

The North Wall

The north wall lacks remains of the wall paintings. There were originally four compositions that were arranged within three registers: The Betrayal, the Judgement of Pilate, and the Road to Calvary, and a depiction of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

in the lower section. Only the outer circumference of the painting of the Betrayal survives along with an inscription.

Bibliography

Carr, Annemarie Weyl. "Dumbarton Oaks and the Legacy of Byzantine Cyprus." ''Near Eastern Archaeology'' 71, no. 1/2 (2008): 95- 103. . Kelly, John N.D. ''Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom- Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop.'' Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press, 2011. Mango, Cyril, E. J. W. Hawkins, and Susan Boyd. "The Monastery of St. Chrysostomos at Koutsovendis (Cyprus) and Its Wall Paintings. Part I: Description." ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 44 (1990): 63-94. Papacostas, Tassos, Cyril Mango, and Michael Grünbart. "The History and Architecture of the Monastery of Saint John Chrysostomos at Koutsovendis, Cyprus." ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 61 (2007): 25-156. . Parani, Maria. "The Monastery of St. Chrysostomos at Koutsovendis, Cyprus: The Wall-Paintings." Dumbarton Oaks. March 16, 2017. Accessed October 21, 2017. http://www.doaks.org/research/support-for-research/fellowships/reports/2004-2005/parani.

Notes

{{Authority control Communities in Kyrenia District Populated places in Girne District Historic sites in Cyprus