Holy Mother of God Cathedral (), or Sourp Asdvadzadzin cathedral, is the Armenian Apostolic cathedral of the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus, located in

Strovolos Strovolos (; ; ) is a municipality in the Nicosia district, of Cyprus. It is a part of the Nicosia urban area. With a population of 71,123, it is the second most populated municipality in Cyprus, after Limassol, and the most populated municipalit ...

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 ...

, capital of

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 ...

. Following the 1963-1964 inter-communal troubles, the Armenian-Cypriot community of Nicosia lost its mediaeval cathedral

Notre Dame de Tyre Notre Dame de Tyre or Our Lady of Tyre (), or simply as Armenian church () is a monastic church in Nicosia, Cyprus. It is located in the Arab Ahmet quarter, in Salahi Şevket Street, formerly known as Victoria Street. History It is believed that ...

in now Turkish-occupied Nicosia. As a result, Archbishop Makarios III granted them use of the old Ayios Dhometios chapel in

Ayios Dhometios Ayios Dhometios ( or ; ) is a suburb located west of the Cypriot capital Nicosia. It has a population of 12,456 (2011 census) making it one of Cyprus's biggest municipalities. There is also a population of 2,314 (in 2011) within the area of Ayios ...

. With the help of the World Council of Churches, the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, the Cyprus government and the faithful, a new cathedral was built in Strovolos, also called "Sourp Asdvadzadzin" (Holy Mother of God). Its foundation stone was laid on 25 September 1976 by Archbishop Makarios III and Archbishop Nerses Pakhdigian. It was officially inaugurated on 21 and 22 November 1981 by Catholicos of Cilicia

Khoren I Paroian Khoren I Paroyian (; 24 November 1914, in Nicosia – 9 February 1983, in Antelias) was the Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia, from 1963 to 1983. He was born in Adalia, a settlement near the Magaravank in Cyprus with the birth name of Mesro ...

and Co-adjutor Catholicos Karekin II Sarkissian, in the presence of

Archbishop Chrysostomos I Chrysostomos I, born Christoforos Aristodimou (; 27 September 1927 – 22 December 2007), was the Archbishop of Cyprus from 1977 to 2006. Biography He was born in the village of Statos in Paphos, British Cyprus. By the scholarship of Kykko ...

, Bishop Zareh Aznavorian and Representative Dr. Antranik L. Ashdjian. It is the only church in Cyprus built in a traditional Armenian style, with a central octagonal dome and a smaller dome for the bell. The church was renovated in 2005 in memory of the Tutundjian family, killed in the Helios air accident, while the belfry was also repaired that year in memory of archpriest Vazken Sandrouni. The church was renovated on the inside in 2008. Many of its icons are the work of Lebanese-Armenian painter Zohrab Keshishian. In the same complex with this church is the Nicosia Nareg Armenian School (1972), the Armenian Prelature building (1984), the

Armenian Genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

monument (1992), the statue of Saint Krikor Naregatsi (1991), a marble

khachkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...

(cross-stone) (2001) and Archbishop Zareh Aznavorian's bust (2005). Below the Prelature building is the "Vahram Utidjian" Hall (1998), venue for many cultural and other events of the community. Since 6 January 2000, the parish priest is archpriest Momik Habeshian.

References

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hayem.org
{{Dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church Armenian diaspora in Cyprus Armenian churches in Cyprus Armenian Apostolic Church in Cyprus Churches in Nicosia Cathedrals in Cyprus

See also

References