Another view of the monastery

The hermitage

 

 On the northern wall , to the left of the grave , the invocation : the donor , Neophytos , is prostrate in prayer before Christ on His throne . To his right one reads : 'Oh Christ , through Thy Mother and John the Baptist who stand in purity and honour by Thy Throne , have mercy on him who is in supplicant prayer at Thy divine feet for now and for ever more .' On the ceiling of the cave , Neophytos , the saintly old man , the guide and teacher on the path of light , truth and eternal life , is portrayed once again , this time with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel who grasp him by the shoulders and accompany him to Heaven . Thus he gave expression to his most ardent wish . A third picture of Neophytos is to be found beneath the Anastasis . To the left and right of the door linking the bema and cell is the Annunciation , over the door Christ Emmanuel is placed between the Archangel and Virgin . On the ceiling over the altar the Ascension unfolds , quite close to the Virgin Mary Orans . On the same level , instead of below as is usual , are the Fathers of the Church : John Chrysostom , Gregory , Epiphanios and Nicholas . Theodore banished Ephraim Syrus , Cyriacus the Anchorite , Gerasimos , Theodore , Pachomios , Hilarion and Euthymios to the uneven west wall . The round fresco of Christ Pantocrator on the curved overhang of rock is to be seen on the low , western part of the ceiling . It belongs to the paintings redrawn on renovated by an unknown master in 1503 . In the upper southern part of the naos there are numerous scenes from the Passion of Christ : the Last Supper and the Washing of the Feet date from 1503 . The Agony in the Garden , the Betrayal , Jesus before Pilate who washes his hands , the Way if the Cross , The Crucifixion , the Deposition , the Anastasis already mentioned and the 'All hail ' (Mathew 28:9) which the Risen Christ called Mary Magdalene and the 'other Mary ' and then asked them to inform the other disciples of His victory over death (Mathew 28:1-10) , were painted in 1196 , as mentioned above , in monastic style . The same also applies for the life-size figures of saints in the lower zone : Anthony , Arsenios , Euthymios , Amun the Nitriote , Andronikos , Daniel the Sketiote , Theodosios the Cenobiarch , John of the Ladder , Onouphrios , Makarios , Paisios and Stephen the Younger . The latter is a martyr for his defence of the veneration of icons , and that is why he carries an icon of the Virgin of the 'Glykophilousa' type on his arm . The Hospitality of Abraham is once again from 1503 .

Opposite the hermitage , a domed basilica was erected around 1500 with a nave and two aisles , dedicated to the Virgin Mary . The decoration is from the 16th. century . The cycle begins in the southern aisle with Joachim and Anna Presenting Gifts in the Temple , their Return and Joachim's Prayer . The northern aisle contains 24 pictures on the 24 verses of the hymn 'Akathistos ' to the Virgin Mary . They are influenced by the Macedonian school of the Palaiologan period .

Undoubtedly most valuable is the fresco with the Communion of the Apostles in the centre section of the altar apse . The Saviour blesse bread and wine - His Body and His Blood - at the opened altar . Regrettably , only six apostles , led by Peter , are preserved . The portrayal is worthy of the meaning of the holy place and the rite performed here . Beneath it officiating bishops bow before the Mystery : Saints John Chrysostom , Gregory , Athanasios , Basil , Cyril of Alexandria and John the Almsgiver . The composition varies the Adoration of the Lamb . All these works probably go back to Joseph Houris , a hellenised painter who had come to Cyprus from Syria and left his name on the icons of the great intercession which he painted in 1544 .

If one looks once again at the overwhelming Communion of the Apostles , the striking similarity with the treatment of the topic in the Serbian monastery Manasija in Reaava from the 15th. century must be mentioned , evidence of a close artistic link . The nearness to the monumental painting in Lagoudera , Kurbinovo in Macedonia or Studenica in Serbia is even more noticeable .