Nicosia Agios Georgios Church
The early history of Agios Georgios Church (Άγιος Γεώργιος), which is situated in the Agios Kassianos quarter, is not completely clear.
About this building
Some publications mention that the barrel-vaulted church was built in the 15th or 16th century or later, while in another report, it is assumed that the original church was built in the 14th or 15th century and that the building was successively extended. For a long time, the church housed very valuable icons – among others the icon of the Martyrdom of St George from 1719, which was restored in 1851. The church was also decorated with wall paintings, which were later whitewashed. The iconostasis was carved in 1812 during the term of office of Archbishop Kyprianos.
In the course of the events of summer 1974, the building found itself located in the combat zone and was reportedly set on fire by the Turkish side; the fire destroyed inter alia the wooden iconostasis. Nevertheless, many icons were saved from destruction; today some of them can be found in the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios Ill Foundation in Nicosia, and others were transferred to the Monastery of Machairas.
For more information on this building visit https://www.cyreligiousheritage.org/districts/Nicosia/village/65
