The monastery of Saint Barnabas (or Ayios Barnabas) was a church on the

island of Cyprus Cyprus is an island in the Eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and the 80th-largest island in the world by area. It is located south of ...

, located west of Constantia. The site is today within

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 ...

and functions as a museum. The original shrine church was founded in the late fifth century, perhaps in 477, when the Emperor

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

financed the construction of a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

near the spot where the body of

Barnabas Barnabas (; ; ), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christians, Christian, one of the prominent Disciple (Christianity), Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jews, Cyprio ...

was discovered by Archbishop

Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (; died 11 July 472) was the Western Roman Empire, Western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Born in the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Anthemius quickly worked his way up the ranks. He married into the Theodosian dyna ...

. Funding was also provided by local notables. The church had a timber roof and included

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

s, gardens, aqueducts, and hostels intended for receiving pilgrims. It may have been expected that pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem might stop in Constantia and visit the shrine. The sixth-century '' Laudatio Barnabae'' describes the new tomb of Barnabas as decorated with silver and marble. It also attested the existence of a monastic community living beside the shrine. The relics were eventually moved to the basilica of Saint Epiphanius in Constantia. Two buildings were added to the complex during the reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(527–565) by the next archbishop, Philoxenos, who left a short inscription recording his work. In the late seventh century, the basilica was destroyed during Arab raids. Today, what remains of the original basilica is incorporated in the east end of a newer vaulted basilica of the

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, built around 900. The church has three aisles and two flat domes on tall drums. It may have been the residence of the archbishops for a couple centuries after the abandonment of Constantia in the late eighth century. Although the second construction remained standing throughout the centuries and continued function as a pilgrimage church, n19, refers to the "exhaustive evidence for the survival of the pilgrimage church". the continuity of the monastic community, although possible, cannot be demonstrated.

Wilbrand of Oldenburg Wilbrand of Oldenburg (before 1180 - Zwolle, 26 July 1233) was a bishop of Paderborn and of Utrecht. Family Wilbrand was the son of Henry II, Count of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen, and Beatrix of Hallermund, daughter of Wilbrand I, Count of Loccum-Ha ...

visited the church in the 13th century, noting that the city around it was "destroyed". In 1735,

Vasil Grigorovich-Barsky Vasil Grigorovich Barsky (; Russian language, Russian: Василий Григорьевич Григорович-Барский; born 1 (New Style, N.S. 12) January 1701 - died 7 (18) October 1747) was an Eastern Orthodox monk and traveller from ...

visited the site and drew a sketch of the cloisters, courtyards and outbuildings. The current form of the buildings is a result of work done in 1756 by Archbishop Philotheos. Between 1971 and 1974, the monastery had three monks who made their living by selling honey and painting

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s. The monastery was abandoned following the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

. No longer hosting a monastic community, the church today function as a museum of icons. The former

cloisters A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southe ...

host an archaeological museum with artefacts going back to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

St Barnabas' Monastery and Icon Museum: Near Salamis, Famagusta, North Cyprus
{{coord, 35.17478, 33.88041, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CY, display=title Christian monasteries established in the 5th century Byzantine church buildings in Cyprus Buildings and structures in Famagusta Christian monasteries disestablished in the 20th century 1974 disestablishments in Cyprus Former Christian monasteries Museums in Northern Cyprus