It was with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation of the Holy Metropolis of Trimithous to attend and address today's event, which marks the beginning of the restoration works of the Holy Church of Saint Athanasios Pentashoinitos.
The church was built in the late 8th or early 9th century AD in honour of Saint Athanasius, a local saint of the region of Pentashchinos with a pan-Cypriot radiance, who seems to have lived between 620 and 640 AD.The excavations carried out by the Department of Antiquities in 2004 and 2005 brought to light the ruins of the original three-aisled church and identified its different phases and showed that the monument was probably in use until the beginning of the 17th century.
The most important element of the excavation was the discovery of an underground tomb in the central nave. It is presumed to be the tomb in which the relic of St. Athanasius of Pentashinitus was deposited. Further archaeological research in 2013 revealed several other burials that testify to the use of the site as a cemetery.
Friends,
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, through the Department of Antiquities, maintains a cooperative relationship with the Metropolises of Cyprus for the preservation, protection and proper promotion of the country's ecclesiastical monuments. It is within the framework of this cooperation and through a long process of negotiation that the Department of Antiquities approved the study, prepared by a private architect, for the conservation, restoration and exploitation of the church for the benefit not only of the community of Agios Theodoros in Larnaca, but for all the faithful and the Church of Cyprus.
The processes for the restoration study of the monument were arduous, as the scientific problems posed were complex and difficult. However, in close cooperation with His Eminence the Metropolitan of Trimithus and the private architect and designer, it was possible to highlight a particularly important ecclesiastical monument of Cyprus. With the completion of the restoration work, our country will add another monument to its rich cultural heritage.
The cost of maintenance and excavation work amounted to 109 thousand euros and was covered in equal parts by the Department of Antiquities and the A.G. Leventis Foundation. In addition, a study for the completion of the works was completed last week, with the amount estimated at 390 thousand euros and will be covered by funds from the Department of Antiquities and the Ecclesiastical Committee.
I would like to thank Bishop Trimythus Basil, the officers of the Department of Antiquities, the architect and the members of the Community Council of Agios Theodoros Larnaca for their valuable contribution so far. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works will remain supportive during the restoration works and will offer all possible assistance.
(MCI)
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