It appears that the Monastery was founded during the early Byzantine period (A.D. 330–350) by pious Cypriots in honor of Saint Herakleides (Vasily Barsky), who lived in the first century and was the first Bishop of Tamasos. Apart from the Life of Saint Herakleides, we have no other information from the Byzantine period or from the periods of Frankish and Venetian rule. The Typikon of the Monastery of Machairas, written by Neilos, Bishop of Tamasos, who had previously also served as Abbot of this Monastery, does mention the founding of a women's monastery at Tamasos dedicated to the Panagia (1209); however, there is nowhere any mention of the Monastery of Saint Herakleides.
As it appears, the monastic buildings of the Monastery were completed during the period of Ottoman rule. From repairs carried out on one of the wings of the Monastery, however, it is evident that portions of it date back to the Medieval period. Nevertheless, its foundation could not have taken place during the period of Frankish rule, since there was a law prohibiting the establishment of Orthodox monasteries. It therefore follows that its foundation must have taken place in the much earlier years.
The earliest structure at the Monastery chronologically is the Mausoleum, or Martyrium, which was built over the tomb of the Saint following the earthquakes of A.D. 332 and 342. Today, the walls of the Mausoleum have been destroyed, but its floor, which is a mosaic, has survived. At the beginning of the fifth century, a three-aisled, timber-roofed basilica was built to the west of the tomb of Saint Herakleides. It had a narthex and an atrium. This basilica occupied the area of the present katholikon of Saint Herakleides, the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, the southern veranda, and the open narthex to the west, and extended farther west beyond the narthex.
As it appears, the monastic buildings of the Monastery were completed during the period of Ottoman rule. From repairs carried out on one of the wings of the Monastery, however, it is evident that portions of it date back to the Medieval period. Nevertheless, its foundation could not have taken place during the period of Frankish rule, since there was a law prohibiting the establishment of Orthodox monasteries. It therefore follows that its foundation must have taken place in the much earlier years.
The earliest structure at the Monastery chronologically is the Mausoleum, or Martyrium, which was built over the tomb of the Saint following the earthquakes of A.D. 332 and 342. Today, the walls of the Mausoleum have been destroyed, but its floor, which is a mosaic, has survived. At the beginning of the fifth century, a three-aisled, timber-roofed basilica was built to the west of the tomb of Saint Herakleides. It had a narthex and an atrium. This basilica occupied the area of the present katholikon of Saint Herakleides, the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, the southern veranda, and the open narthex to the west, and extended farther west beyond the narthex.
In all likelihood, the Mausoleum of Saint Herakleides and the basilica must have been connected. This seems to be supported also by the marble pavement that survives today inside the Medieval Mausoleum (14th century), which belongs to the sixth century A.D. The floor of the basilica was covered with a mosaic, small fragments of which have survived. One of these was left uncovered and is preserved today in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity. Mosaic also covered the floor of the narthex, the porticoes, and the atrium of the basilica. The stone chancel screens and small pillars also belonged to this basilica; these were used during the 17th and 18th centuries to construct a kind of iconostasis inside the Medieval Mausoleum.
During the Arab raids of the 7th century, the basilica was destroyed. It was rebuilt at the beginning of the 8th century, at which time it was also decorated with frescoes. It was decorated again in the 11th century; unfortunately, however, very few traces of this decoration have survived to the present day. We do not know when this basilica was destroyed, but most probably it was destroyed before the construction of the Medieval Mausoleum. The present vaulted katholikon, which occupies the area of the basilica, was built at the end of the 15th century or at the beginning of the 16th, and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity was built during the 17th century. At that time there was also a common enclosed narthex, as can be seen from the plan drawn by the Russian monk Vasily Barsky, who visited the Monastery in 1735.
During the Arab raids of the 7th century, the basilica was destroyed. It was rebuilt at the beginning of the 8th century, at which time it was also decorated with frescoes. It was decorated again in the 11th century; unfortunately, however, very few traces of this decoration have survived to the present day. We do not know when this basilica was destroyed, but most probably it was destroyed before the construction of the Medieval Mausoleum. The present vaulted katholikon, which occupies the area of the basilica, was built at the end of the 15th century or at the beginning of the 16th, and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity was built during the 17th century. At that time there was also a common enclosed narthex, as can be seen from the plan drawn by the Russian monk Vasily Barsky, who visited the Monastery in 1735.
From the travels of this Russian monk we obtain the first reliable information about the Monastery of Saint Herakleides. In his written account, he mentions that the Monastery was large, with vineyards, gardens, fields, and sheep, from which the needs of the monks and visitors were provided for. The natural surroundings were beautiful, with low mountains, water, and fruit trees. He also mentions the central church of the Monastery (the katholikon) and the Medieval Mausoleum. From this written account we learn of the existence of three sarcophagi inside the Medieval Mausoleum, which belonged to Bishops Herakleides, Mnason, and Rhodon. Today the sarcophagi are empty, and only two of them remain; we do not know, however, when they were transferred to the Medieval Mausoleum or where the third one is today.
Barsky also refers to the oppression of the Turkish Hagarenes, who insulted the monks, imposed taxes upon them, threatened them, and, unfortunately, frequently passed through the Monastery, since its location lies at the crossroads of the roads connecting the surrounding villages of Nicosia.
Barsky also refers to the oppression of the Turkish Hagarenes, who insulted the monks, imposed taxes upon them, threatened them, and, unfortunately, frequently passed through the Monastery, since its location lies at the crossroads of the roads connecting the surrounding villages of Nicosia.
The Iconography of the Church – The School of Saint Herakleides
In 1759, the decoration of the church with frescoes was begun by the iconographer Philaretos. Unfortunately, very few examples of this decoration survive today.
Of particular interest is the section preserved on the second arch connecting the katholikon with the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, where the life of Saint Herakleides is presented in four scenes. Also significant is the fresco of the holy hierarchs Basil, Chrysostom, Gregory, and Nicholas on the western section of the southern wall of the katholikon. This depiction is the work of the iconographer Philaretos (1759).
There are frescoes in the katholikon that are much older, dating from the decorations carried out in the original basilica, first in the 8th century and then in the 11th century. They depict an Apostle and an Angel (8th century), and a Prophet and Jesus Christ (11th century).
Besides the iconographer Philaretos, there were many other notable iconographers associated with the Monastery of Saint Herakleides. For approximately a century, an iconography school operated at the Monastery, founded by the hieromonk Ioannikios. Philaretos was his student, and Nektarios was a student of Philaretos. Other renowned iconographers were Leontios, another Philaretos, Dositheos, and Philotheos. The works of these iconographers enriched the other monasteries and churches of Cyprus. Today, many of their works can be found at the Sacred Monastery of the Panagia of Machairas, the Monastery of Saint Menas, the Panagia of Arakas, the Church of the Panagia at Tris Elies, Saint Marina at Kalopanagiotis, Saint George at Kaminaria, the Monastery of Saint John Lampadistes, Saint Kyprianos at Meniko, and Saint George at Evrychou.
The most important iconographer of the School of Saint Herakleides was Archimandrite Leontios, who continued painting icons until the beginning of the 19th century.
Today, a group of the sisters of the Monastery is engaged in learning the art of iconography.
In 1759, the decoration of the church with frescoes was begun by the iconographer Philaretos. Unfortunately, very few examples of this decoration survive today.
Of particular interest is the section preserved on the second arch connecting the katholikon with the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, where the life of Saint Herakleides is presented in four scenes. Also significant is the fresco of the holy hierarchs Basil, Chrysostom, Gregory, and Nicholas on the western section of the southern wall of the katholikon. This depiction is the work of the iconographer Philaretos (1759).
There are frescoes in the katholikon that are much older, dating from the decorations carried out in the original basilica, first in the 8th century and then in the 11th century. They depict an Apostle and an Angel (8th century), and a Prophet and Jesus Christ (11th century).
Besides the iconographer Philaretos, there were many other notable iconographers associated with the Monastery of Saint Herakleides. For approximately a century, an iconography school operated at the Monastery, founded by the hieromonk Ioannikios. Philaretos was his student, and Nektarios was a student of Philaretos. Other renowned iconographers were Leontios, another Philaretos, Dositheos, and Philotheos. The works of these iconographers enriched the other monasteries and churches of Cyprus. Today, many of their works can be found at the Sacred Monastery of the Panagia of Machairas, the Monastery of Saint Menas, the Panagia of Arakas, the Church of the Panagia at Tris Elies, Saint Marina at Kalopanagiotis, Saint George at Kaminaria, the Monastery of Saint John Lampadistes, Saint Kyprianos at Meniko, and Saint George at Evrychou.
The most important iconographer of the School of Saint Herakleides was Archimandrite Leontios, who continued painting icons until the beginning of the 19th century.
Today, a group of the sisters of the Monastery is engaged in learning the art of iconography.
The Decline of the Monastery
In 1773, the Monastery underwent a general renovation under Archbishop Chrysanthos. Despite all the efforts that were made, however, the Monastery had already begun to decline by the beginning of the 19th century, and after 1821 the brotherhood had been dissolved.
The Monastery was leased to a hieromonk who was responsible for its estates and served in the church. After its final tenant, the Monastery was abandoned, and because its properties were leased to various laypeople, most of them were gradually sold off.
In 1773, the Monastery underwent a general renovation under Archbishop Chrysanthos. Despite all the efforts that were made, however, the Monastery had already begun to decline by the beginning of the 19th century, and after 1821 the brotherhood had been dissolved.
The Monastery was leased to a hieromonk who was responsible for its estates and served in the church. After its final tenant, the Monastery was abandoned, and because its properties were leased to various laypeople, most of them were gradually sold off.
The Revival of the Monastery – Eldress Harithea (1915 - 04/13/2000)
In the years that followed, until 1962, the Turkish and British occupiers who afflicted the island, together with the general situation on the island, left no one any room to imagine that the Monastery would one day reopen. God and Saint Herakleides, however, so ordained it that the Monastery would come to life again and once more become a sanctified place where hymns of praise would be offered to the Triune God. With the permission of His Beatitude Archbishop Makarios III, Eldress Harithea, together with Sisters Theophania and Eupraxia from the idiorrhythmic monastery of Kaimakli, came to the Monastery of Saint Herakleides on July 22, 1962, with the intention of reopening it as a cenobitic monastery.
In her personal diary, she describes the difficulties, the labor, and the pain, both physical and, even more so, spiritual. The monastery was in ruins, and the entire building lacked everything that people needed even to live there tolerably. There was neither water nor electricity, nor even the necessities required for their upkeep. Archbishop Makarios III took care of all these needs, supporting the Eldress and the sisters with great love and understanding, both at the beginning of their undertaking and throughout all the remaining years of his service as Archbishop of the Holy Church of Cyprus. This was at a time when the Church did not have financial resources because of the struggle of EOKA. Help was also offered by the inhabitants of the neighboring villages of Politiko and Pera Orinis, who welcomed the sisters to the monastery with great joy and supported them.
In the years that followed, until 1962, the Turkish and British occupiers who afflicted the island, together with the general situation on the island, left no one any room to imagine that the Monastery would one day reopen. God and Saint Herakleides, however, so ordained it that the Monastery would come to life again and once more become a sanctified place where hymns of praise would be offered to the Triune God. With the permission of His Beatitude Archbishop Makarios III, Eldress Harithea, together with Sisters Theophania and Eupraxia from the idiorrhythmic monastery of Kaimakli, came to the Monastery of Saint Herakleides on July 22, 1962, with the intention of reopening it as a cenobitic monastery.
In her personal diary, she describes the difficulties, the labor, and the pain, both physical and, even more so, spiritual. The monastery was in ruins, and the entire building lacked everything that people needed even to live there tolerably. There was neither water nor electricity, nor even the necessities required for their upkeep. Archbishop Makarios III took care of all these needs, supporting the Eldress and the sisters with great love and understanding, both at the beginning of their undertaking and throughout all the remaining years of his service as Archbishop of the Holy Church of Cyprus. This was at a time when the Church did not have financial resources because of the struggle of EOKA. Help was also offered by the inhabitants of the neighboring villages of Politiko and Pera Orinis, who welcomed the sisters to the monastery with great joy and supported them.
The Monastery grew, both materially and in the number of its inhabitants. In time, other nuns arrived, and their love for Christ enabled them to disregard weariness and hardship. They all worked together to build their home, as Eldress Harithea characteristically used to say.
In addition to overseeing the entire operation of the Monastery and attending to the material needs of its people and buildings, Eldress Harithea also took care of the Services included in the program of the monastic typikon and life, something she had greatly missed while she was at the idiorrhythmic Monastery of Kaimakli.
If all these things required labor and time, how much more did the reshaping and regeneration of the souls that God had entrusted to her hands require, especially when the love that flowed from her was so genuine and unmixed that it did not allow her to take into account the pain and tears she shed for her children? Her spiritual formation, her abilities, discernment, and virtue, and above all the courage of her soul, which in a paradoxical way united strictness with the most delicate sensitivity, all of this, despite having had neither formal education nor guidance from her early years, made Eldress Harithea a new foundress of the Monastery of Saint Herakleides and a Holy Mother.
For this reason, the patience she showed made her like the Crucified Christ, as she opened the arms of her heart, as though to make room for everyone within its breadth, which knew no bounds.
In addition to overseeing the entire operation of the Monastery and attending to the material needs of its people and buildings, Eldress Harithea also took care of the Services included in the program of the monastic typikon and life, something she had greatly missed while she was at the idiorrhythmic Monastery of Kaimakli.
If all these things required labor and time, how much more did the reshaping and regeneration of the souls that God had entrusted to her hands require, especially when the love that flowed from her was so genuine and unmixed that it did not allow her to take into account the pain and tears she shed for her children? Her spiritual formation, her abilities, discernment, and virtue, and above all the courage of her soul, which in a paradoxical way united strictness with the most delicate sensitivity, all of this, despite having had neither formal education nor guidance from her early years, made Eldress Harithea a new foundress of the Monastery of Saint Herakleides and a Holy Mother.
For this reason, the patience she showed made her like the Crucified Christ, as she opened the arms of her heart, as though to make room for everyone within its breadth, which knew no bounds.
Elder Father Lazaros the Stavrovouniotis
Amid the burdens of the position she had undertaken as Abbess of the Monastery, her principal supporter and co-founder was Father Lazaros, one of the sanctified figures whom the Monastery of Stavrovouni had produced and nurtured. Those who knew him described him as an ascetic, a faster, and a very strict spiritual father; in reality, however, he concealed within himself a very refined and sensitive soul. He was indeed strict, but only with regard to himself. What distinguished his personality was his great exactness, both concerning the canons of the Church in general and the typikon of monastic life.
As an Elder, and therefore as the Father of the Monastery, he took care, through counsels and appropriate penances, to “form” Christ in the sisters and to preserve the keeping of their conscience and the entire program of monastic life as the Fathers had handed it down. For this reason, he never failed to emphasize continually all that the nuns needed to take heed of and strive to accomplish. When they told him that they loved him as their spiritual father, he characteristically replied: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
The following is also noteworthy: although during the final years of his life — specifically, during his last year and a half — he suffered from stomach cancer and was confined to bed, during the fast before Pascha he asked to see the sisters and hear their confessions, even though his pains were unbearable. He did not want to leave them without this Mystery, lest he make things difficult for some soul who was in need. Thus, while lying in bed, he heard the sisters' confessions one by one and afterward gathered them together and read the prayer of absolution over them.
Toward the Eldress, he showed great love, respect, and esteem. Whenever he saw her approaching from a distance, he would rise from his seat and speak to her with the utmost attentiveness. And when, as the older sisters related to us, he was in the final days of his life in the hospital, he raised himself from his bed and kissed both of her hands.
The entire personality of Eldress Harithea was sealed by the final trial of her life, the incurable illness of lung cancer, which she accepted with patience, giving thanks to her Bridegroom, Christ, and frequently repeating the words of the hesychast Father, Abba Isaac: “Let your face be radiant whenever you meet a person.”
The good and merciful God, rich in mercy, granted the Eldress the blessing of seeing her monastery progress both in its buildings and in its human community. With the faith she had in the providence of God, she cast her monastery and her children at the feet of the All-Good One, beseeching Him not to abandon them, since she already sensed the end of her earthly life.
Naturally, throughout the years that followed, the wholehearted and practical support of the then Archbishop Chrysostomos was unwavering. As had been the case throughout the history of the Monastery with its successive Archbishops, as we see from its history, he continued the work of his predecessors. As a worthy shepherd, he always responded with great paternal love both to the material and to the spiritual problems that arose throughout the course of the sisterhood.
In 1992, following a visit to Mount Athos, he invited Elder Athanasios to come to Cyprus. Indeed, following this invitation, the Elder came to his homeland, obeying the command and will of God. That same year, the Elder founded a monastic brotherhood at the Monastery of the Hiereon in Paphos, and it was then that he became acquainted with Eldress Harithea. A little later, Elder Athanasios assumed the spiritual guidance of the sisters, which he undertook with great willingness following the approval of His Beatitude. This development brought complete peace to Eldress Harithea, who, with the purity of her heart, discerned the grace of God in the soul of Elder Athanasios, as well as his prudence, gentleness, and great love.
Mount Athos, the Garden of the Panagia, from which the Elder had come, had always brought forth Fathers who were bearers of the Spirit, who shine today with their holiness like spiritual luminaries in the firmament of our Church, guiding the generations that have come after them. In our own days, such a luminary was the blessed Elder Joseph the Hesychast (†1959), who labored in both deed and word, followed precisely the most sacred patristic tradition, and left his disciples the whole experience of his spiritual struggles.
Having this experience, the truth of the Gospel as he himself had lived it, as the most certain and genuine treasure of great price, those who came after him can glory as heirs of this paternal testament and hope not only to attain the divine promises through his prayers, but also to enjoy today his paternal blessings in the monasteries that have been founded and firmly established upon this root. A spiritual descendant of this most venerable figure and a disciple of the revered Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi is Elder Athanasios, Metropolitan of Limassol.
Amid the burdens of the position she had undertaken as Abbess of the Monastery, her principal supporter and co-founder was Father Lazaros, one of the sanctified figures whom the Monastery of Stavrovouni had produced and nurtured. Those who knew him described him as an ascetic, a faster, and a very strict spiritual father; in reality, however, he concealed within himself a very refined and sensitive soul. He was indeed strict, but only with regard to himself. What distinguished his personality was his great exactness, both concerning the canons of the Church in general and the typikon of monastic life.
As an Elder, and therefore as the Father of the Monastery, he took care, through counsels and appropriate penances, to “form” Christ in the sisters and to preserve the keeping of their conscience and the entire program of monastic life as the Fathers had handed it down. For this reason, he never failed to emphasize continually all that the nuns needed to take heed of and strive to accomplish. When they told him that they loved him as their spiritual father, he characteristically replied: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
The following is also noteworthy: although during the final years of his life — specifically, during his last year and a half — he suffered from stomach cancer and was confined to bed, during the fast before Pascha he asked to see the sisters and hear their confessions, even though his pains were unbearable. He did not want to leave them without this Mystery, lest he make things difficult for some soul who was in need. Thus, while lying in bed, he heard the sisters' confessions one by one and afterward gathered them together and read the prayer of absolution over them.
Toward the Eldress, he showed great love, respect, and esteem. Whenever he saw her approaching from a distance, he would rise from his seat and speak to her with the utmost attentiveness. And when, as the older sisters related to us, he was in the final days of his life in the hospital, he raised himself from his bed and kissed both of her hands.
The entire personality of Eldress Harithea was sealed by the final trial of her life, the incurable illness of lung cancer, which she accepted with patience, giving thanks to her Bridegroom, Christ, and frequently repeating the words of the hesychast Father, Abba Isaac: “Let your face be radiant whenever you meet a person.”
The good and merciful God, rich in mercy, granted the Eldress the blessing of seeing her monastery progress both in its buildings and in its human community. With the faith she had in the providence of God, she cast her monastery and her children at the feet of the All-Good One, beseeching Him not to abandon them, since she already sensed the end of her earthly life.
Naturally, throughout the years that followed, the wholehearted and practical support of the then Archbishop Chrysostomos was unwavering. As had been the case throughout the history of the Monastery with its successive Archbishops, as we see from its history, he continued the work of his predecessors. As a worthy shepherd, he always responded with great paternal love both to the material and to the spiritual problems that arose throughout the course of the sisterhood.
In 1992, following a visit to Mount Athos, he invited Elder Athanasios to come to Cyprus. Indeed, following this invitation, the Elder came to his homeland, obeying the command and will of God. That same year, the Elder founded a monastic brotherhood at the Monastery of the Hiereon in Paphos, and it was then that he became acquainted with Eldress Harithea. A little later, Elder Athanasios assumed the spiritual guidance of the sisters, which he undertook with great willingness following the approval of His Beatitude. This development brought complete peace to Eldress Harithea, who, with the purity of her heart, discerned the grace of God in the soul of Elder Athanasios, as well as his prudence, gentleness, and great love.
Mount Athos, the Garden of the Panagia, from which the Elder had come, had always brought forth Fathers who were bearers of the Spirit, who shine today with their holiness like spiritual luminaries in the firmament of our Church, guiding the generations that have come after them. In our own days, such a luminary was the blessed Elder Joseph the Hesychast (†1959), who labored in both deed and word, followed precisely the most sacred patristic tradition, and left his disciples the whole experience of his spiritual struggles.
Having this experience, the truth of the Gospel as he himself had lived it, as the most certain and genuine treasure of great price, those who came after him can glory as heirs of this paternal testament and hope not only to attain the divine promises through his prayers, but also to enjoy today his paternal blessings in the monasteries that have been founded and firmly established upon this root. A spiritual descendant of this most venerable figure and a disciple of the revered Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi is Elder Athanasios, Metropolitan of Limassol.
The Monastery Today
Today, the work that Eldress Harithea had already begun to expand the Monastery and beautify its entire surroundings is being continued by Eldress Prodromi, who, following the repose of Eldress Harithea, assumed the burden and responsibility of the abbacy, without allowing the spiritual life of prayer, chanting, and stillness in the Monastery to be set aside or even diminished.
The forty-five nuns make it the largest monastery in Cyprus in terms of the number of its monastics. In recent years, new ministries have also begun to be carried out: the ministry of mosaic-making, the teaching of iconography, and the art of gold embroidery using modern machinery.
The Divine Liturgy, Parakleses, and vigils celebrated at the Monastery of Saint Herakleides transform the bodily labors of the day into the sweetness of offering the soul to God. “The communion and union of man and God, the mother of tears and again their daughter, the bridge over temptations, the work of angels, the nourishment of all bodiless beings” — the simple whispering prayers of the sisters make the Monastery of Saint Herakleides a place full of grace, illumining and holy.
Source: Sacred Monastery of Saint Herakleides: The Monastery of the Apostolic Saint of Cyprus, by Nikos Nikolaidis, Ph.D. in Theology, from the 10th issue of the journal Pemptousia, December 2002–March 2003, pp. 88–95. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Today, the work that Eldress Harithea had already begun to expand the Monastery and beautify its entire surroundings is being continued by Eldress Prodromi, who, following the repose of Eldress Harithea, assumed the burden and responsibility of the abbacy, without allowing the spiritual life of prayer, chanting, and stillness in the Monastery to be set aside or even diminished.
The forty-five nuns make it the largest monastery in Cyprus in terms of the number of its monastics. In recent years, new ministries have also begun to be carried out: the ministry of mosaic-making, the teaching of iconography, and the art of gold embroidery using modern machinery.
The Divine Liturgy, Parakleses, and vigils celebrated at the Monastery of Saint Herakleides transform the bodily labors of the day into the sweetness of offering the soul to God. “The communion and union of man and God, the mother of tears and again their daughter, the bridge over temptations, the work of angels, the nourishment of all bodiless beings” — the simple whispering prayers of the sisters make the Monastery of Saint Herakleides a place full of grace, illumining and holy.
Source: Sacred Monastery of Saint Herakleides: The Monastery of the Apostolic Saint of Cyprus, by Nikos Nikolaidis, Ph.D. in Theology, from the 10th issue of the journal Pemptousia, December 2002–March 2003, pp. 88–95. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
