Kykkos Monastery
Κύκκος | |
Kykkos Monastery | |
Location within Cyprus | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | The Holy, Royal and Stavropegic Monastery of Kykkos |
| Order | Orthodox monasticism |
| Established | 11th century |
| Dedicated to | Virgin Mary |
| Celebration date | August 15, September 8 |
| Diocese | Church of Cyprus |
| Controlled churches | Metochi Kykkou |
| People | |
| Founder | Alexios I Komnenos |
| Prior | Nikiphoros, Metropolitan of Kykkos and Tylliria |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Byzantine |
| Site | |
| Location | Troodos, Nicosia District |
| Country | Cyprus |
| Coordinates | 34°59′02″N 32°44′28″E / 34.984°N 32.741°E |
Kykkos Monastery (Greek: Ιερά Μονή Κύκκου or Κύκκος [locally [ˈt͡ʃikʰos]] for short, Turkish: Cikko Manastırı) lies 20 km (12 mi) west of Pedoulas, and is one of the wealthiest monasteries in Cyprus.
The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos was founded around the end of the 11th century by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081–1118). The monastery lies at an altitude of 1,318 m (4,324 ft) on the north west face of the Troodos Mountains. There are no remains of the original monastery as it was burned down many times. The first president of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III started his ecclesiastical career there in 1926 as a monk.