The stolen icon of St. John the Baptist that belonged to St. Irene Church in Turkish-occupied Karavas village was repatriated last month after successful efforts by the Church of Cyprus. The icon was found at an auction house in Düsseldorf, Germany.
A Church of Cyprus press release on Tuesday said the icon, 92 x 36 cm in size, was originally located in the iconostasis of the church and was a gift of Lavrentios Protosygkellos and contained a commemorative inscription.
The icon was painted in the studio of the Monastery of St. Herakleidios and was dedicated to the temple in 1807. Lavrentios Protosygkellos had gifted the majority of the icons of St. Irene’s Church. Just like the other icons of the church, the icon of John the Baptist was stolen after the Turkish invasion by Turkish antiquities dealers and was sold on the black market of stolen cultural artifacts.
The press release said the icon was found at an auction of the public auction house Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen in Düsseldorf in November 2022. The Church of Cyprus successfully reclaimed the icon. In 2015, another icon from the same church was repatriated. It was stolen along with other items by Turkish looter Aydin Dikmen.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island’s northern third.
Source: Cyprus News Agency