Saint John the Theologian's
day is on the 26th of September, the day of John the
Theologian's "metastasis" (departure) as it is called
by the inhabitants of the community in Prastio Avdimou. It is
the village's central church. It is located at the centre of
the village. It was built in 1900 and it is of Gothic style.
Externally, it is made of stone with a roof and, internally,
the church is flat. There is no women's loft but the portable
icons of the saints in the icon screen are the nave's riches.
The wood-cut icon screen, separating the High Altar from the
rest of the temple, is enough to attract visitors. Portable
icons of the Saints frame the icon screen. The church has a
capacity of 150 persons. Last year (2002), the relative maintenance
of the church was done externally, with the expenses paid by
the community. The necessary maintenance of the church's interior
is scheduled to be done soon.
However,
there are some other remains of old churches in the region,
such as

the country church of Archangel Michael,
which was declared as an "B" status ancient monument
by the Antiquities Department, and

the country church of Saint
Helen. There isn't anything else or any information
regarding these churches.
Also, further north than these relics, in
an isolated valley, the church of an old, small monastery
that was dedicated to "Panagia Diakinousa" (the Moving Virgin Mary) is extant. It was named so because,
according to tradition, the inhabitants used to see the Virgin
Mary coming out of the church and walking. Always according
to tradition, at the time that Apostle Paul was preaching
Christianity in Pafos, the people were scared of Judaism and
so had to move to the north, where they found a safe place
to build a church that later became a large Monastery and
had several monks living in it. In an age when the Plague
(some illness) was killing the village's inhabitants, the
Virgin Mary chased the Plague out of the village where She
firmly stepped on a large rock, leaving Her footprint on it;
the rock was named "Pathkia tis Panagias" (Footprint
of the Virgin Mary) and the name remained until today. Ever
since then the illness disappeared from the village.
The church, which has three aisles, is of
the early 18th century but it appears to have been previously
built, around the 14th century. Segments of the mediaeval
church (two small chapels) are incorporated in the more recent
church (in its north-east and south-east corners). In the
niche of the north-east chapel, which seems to have been a
chapel also used for a burial, there is a fairly worn-out
fresco of the Virgin Mary sitting on a throne along with little
Jesus. In 1960 the Antiquities Department made efforts for
the conservation of this fresco but -unfortunately -the removal
of plaster was not done successfully.
The traces of the other parts of the monastery
(monks' cells, etc) have disappeared. From we information
we gathered it seems that when the priest officiated in the
central church, the small chapels were also officiated, as
well as during the Holy Communion.
All the things necessary for a liturgy and
for servicing the faithful can be found inside the church.
The meagre and worn-out icon screen, the Psalters, and the
few wooden stools are present in the interior of the church,
in which a liturgy is conducted about 10-12 times a year.
A mass takes place every time it is the day of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. |