The icon of the enthroned Christ from the Monastery of Antifonitis in Kalogrea, Kyrenia, was returned on Tuesday at the Archbishopric, by Minister of Transport, Yiannis Karousos, and Director of the Department of Antiquities, Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou. The icon, which is considered a “twin” of the icon of the enthroned Virgin Mary, is dated between late 15th and early 16th century A.C. and its return has been long awaited since 1998.
In statements Karousos announced that a proposal is been drafted to establish “a team, with the appropriate staff, members of the police who will be trained, who will be solely responsible to combat the illicit trade of antiquities.”
Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos recounted the efforts undertaken for the return of hundreds of historic ecclesiastical relics which had been looted from the Turkish occupied areas and had been later located in Munich. He recalled that a judge had ruled at the time that a total of 500 items the provenance of which had been clearly the Turkish occupied villages, be returned without any financial burden.
In his statements Karousos said that he was honoured to deliver yet another looted icon that has successfully been repatriated to Cyprus.
As for the restored icon, Karousos thanked everyone who contributed to its return, particularly the Director and staff of the Department of Antiquities, the Law Office, the Archbishop and the Cyprus Police. He explained that the efforts for the restoration of stolen monuments are made away from the public eye, in order to safeguard their successful resolution.
Replying to a question, the Minister stressed that the relations the Church of Cyprus has built over the years, with the churches abroad, have been helpful in monument repatriation efforts.
On her part, Director of the Department of Antiquities said that the repatriation efforts are time consuming and for this specific icon they go back to 1998.
“Our efforts were intensified in 2014, after the Church of Cyprus was notified that the icon was being sold in an auction abroad,” she said, but stressed that it took over six years for the stolen icon to return in Cyprus.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
The uncontrolled situation in the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus after the Turkish invasion in 1974 has fostered the development of a network of dealers in illicit antiquities whose aim was to sell out the cultural heritage of Cyprus. With the encouragement and help of the Turkish army, the trade in illicit antiquities has brought great profit to those involved, and Cypriot treasures already adorn private collections in a number of countries including Turkey, Russia, Switzerland, Holland and the UK, and even as far as the US, Australia and Japan.
More than 500 churches situated in the areas under Turkish occupation since 1974 have been destroyed, plundered and looted. The Cyprus government and the church have repeatedly protested to the UN, the World Council of Churches and many other international and religious organisations.
Source: Cyprus News Agency