Panagia Tu Sinti

The history of the monastery has been poorly studied to date. It is known that the monastery was founded in the XIII century and consecrated in honor of the Panagia (Virgin Mary) Eleus ^[3] . Very little is known about the history of the monastery in the Middle Ages. Initially, the monastery of Panagia tou Sinti belonged to the Franciscan order and consisted of several dozen monks involved in agriculture, as well as the production of olive oil ^[3] .

The first written records of Sinti Monastery date back to the late 15th century . The monastery is mentioned in Greek and Turkish documents of the XVI - XVIII centuries , found in the monastery archives of the Kikk monastery . Based on these documents, we can conclude that Sinti Monastery was probably independent at the end of the XVI century ^[1] .

Probably around 1542 the monastery was significantly rebuilt, becoming one of the remarkable buildings of the period of Venetian rule in Cyprus. The Ottoman Turks who captured Cyprus in 1571 confiscated the monastery, sold its land and tried to turn the monastery church of Panagia that Sinti into a mosque ^[3] . Then the monastery passed into the possession of the Kikk monastery ^[1] , which used its territory primarily for the cultivation and storage of fruits and vegetables ^[3] . At the beginning of the XVII century, the Sinti monastery was bought by a certain Turk, from whom it was later bought by Christians ^[1] , obviously, by the Kikk monastery.

In 1735, the Kiev pilgrim Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky during his trip to Cyprus visited the monastery of Panagia tou Sinti, leaving the following description in his book “Wandering in the Holy Places of the East from 1723 to 1747”:

Belongs to the Virgin Mary Kikk, from where monks and caretakers are sent to obey, there were only three of them during my trip, because Turkish tax rules no longer allowed. It stands on the road, in a deserted place, has very few garden trees and two mills (one located in front of the monastery, and the other on the other side of the river), from which they receive some profit; still has fields suitable for sowing, and several animals ... This monastery, decrepit in years, has the appearance of a solid four-sided building with a spacious courtyard and cells around, with three entrances (from the east, west and south) and a well in the middle of the courtyard ... and also with a magnificent a temple with a dome and three doors (from the west, south and north) ... skillfully painted on the outside and inside ... ^[4]

When the land register of the Kikk monastery was created in 1774, information about Panagia tou Sinti and the village of Pentalia was entered into it. It is known that the two abbots of the Kykkos monastery, Joseph and his nephew Neophytos, were from Pentalia and may have been directly related to the monastery of Panagia tou Sinti. One of them, Joseph, was hanged by order of the Turkish governor of Cyprus, Kucuk Mehmet, at the beginning of the Greek Revolution of 1821, among many Greek Cypriots ^[5] .

In addition to Grigorovich-Barsky, other famous travelers visited the monastery: William Turner in 1815 , George Jeffery in 1918 and Rupert Gannis in 1936 , who left descriptions of the monastery complex ^[1] .

In the XIX century , according to the English traveler William Turner, the monastery flourished, taking in many pilgrims. According to the Kikk monastery, Panagia tou Sinti remained a functioning monastery until 1927 , then became depopulated ^[3] . In the early 1950s, the lands around the monastery were sold to residents of the neighboring villages of Pentalia, Agia Marina and Kelokedara ^[6] . Ownerless monastery buildings began to collapse rapidly, turning into ruins. The threat of complete destruction looms over the monastery complex ^[1] . Only the church operated, but its famous Panagia icon of the Eleus type, dating from the 16th century, was transferred to the Kykkos Monastery in 1956 (now there is a copy of this icon in the church), and the rest of the icons were distributed to other Cypriot churches and monasteries ^[3] .

In September 1966, the Department of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus declared the Monastery of Panagia Tu Sinti a monument of antiquity ^[1] . In 1993, the Cyprus Tourism Organization, in collaboration with UNESCO, began the first restoration work on the monastery grounds. In 1997, the Europa Nostra Prize was awarded to the monastery for the careful preservation of the architectural monument and effective restoration work on the ruins of the monastery ^[6] . Currently, only the monastery church is in excellent condition, in which Orthodox services, baptisms and weddings are periodically held ^[3] .

The monastery complex consists of stone buildings of one or two floors, partially ruined , surrounded on four sides by a stone-paved courtyard. On the south side of the complex is still the monastery church, next to which on the east side is the entrance to the monastery. Another covered gate is located on the north side of the complex ^[1] .

The monastery church is dedicated to the Cynthic icon of the Virgin (Panagia tou Sinti) and is an example of a Franco-Byzantine one - nave type church with a dome that combines elements of Byzantine and Gothic architecture ^[7] . The dome of the church rests on only four walls; there is not a single column in it. Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky in his book spoke about the monastery church as a unique structure, in the shape of which one can feel the influence of Western architecture of the Franciscan monasteries ^[3] . In the exterior of the church, many Gothic elements are really guessed, such as a pointed arch , internal arches , an arched entrance pediment , richly decorated fragments of door jambs, and an oculus that date the construction of the church in the 2nd half of the 16th century ^[7] .

• Monastery Panagia tou Sinti (Panagia tou Sinti - Παναγία του Σίντη) // cyprusiana.ru
• Cindy Monastery, which has no equal ... // "Herald of Cyprus", Issue No. 538 from 01/20/2006
• PANAGIA TOU SINTI (PENTALIA) // www.thepaphosguide.com
• Philokyprou M., Petropoulou E. The impact of different philosophical approaches towards the conservation of ancient monasteries in Cyprus // Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Heritage Architecture XII. - Ashurst, Southampton: WIT Press, 2011 .-- S. 143-154 .