Sourp Boghos (;

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

) is an Armenian Apostolic chapel 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 ...

, Cyprus.

The chapel is located in the old Armenian cemetery near the

Ledra Palace The Ledra Palace Hotel is located in central Nicosia, Cyprus, and until 1974 was one of the largest and most glamorous hotels of the capital. The hotel was designed by the German Jewish architect Benjamin Günsberg and was built between 1947 and ...

hotel, very near the Nicosia city centre, was built in 1892 by the will and testament of Boghos G. Odadjian, a translator for the British administration of Cyprus. The cemetery was used as a burial place until 1931, when its operation was discontinued by the government for health reasons, and another Armenian cemetery started its operation to the west of

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 ...

. However, until the 1963-1964 inter-communal troubles, the chapel was used a few times a year to celebrate Liturgies. Afterwards, due to the proximity with the cease-fire line, it had been neglected until it was partially restored in 1988 by initiative of Senior Archimandrite Yeghishe Mandjikian. Between 2008 and 2009, the cemetery and its chapel were restored thanks to the initiative and efforts of Armenian MP

Vartkes Mahdessian Vartkes Mahdessian (Armenian: Վարդգէս Մահտեսեան, Greek: Βαρτκές Μαχτεσιάν) is a businessman in Nicosia, Cyprus, managing two companies in Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates and the Representative of the Armenian co ...

and the Armenian Ethnarchy of Cyprus, with partial funding by the Ministry of Interior. The first Liturgy since 1963 and the re-consecration of the chapel took place on 11 April 2010, celebrated by Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian. Liturgies were held until 2014. In March 2010, a commemorative aluminium plaque was placed above a cenotaph in the cemetery, containing the names of 419 persons resting there, for whom records can be found in the Prelature’s registry.

References

Armenian diaspora in Cyprus Armenian churches in Cyprus Churches in Nicosia Chapels in Cyprus {{Cyprus-struct-stub

See also

References