After almost fifty years of absence, the reliquary of the nineteenth century with the relics of ten Christian saints was discovered at an online auction in Dusseldorf, Germany and returned to the island of Cyprus. The discovery of the shrine and its return to the temple of St. Mamas (Mamant) in the city of Morphu is reported by the St. Petersburg Internet magazine 'Interesant'.
The disappearance of the relic is associated with the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, as a result of which the northern part of the island, including Morphou, was occupied. It was then that the shrine disappeared - and this year the reliquary surfaced as one of the lots at the auction. The management of the auction house, having learned the status of the find, bought it from the owners and returned it to the Cypriot temple.
The reliquary, made of wood, contains the relics of Saints Panteleimon, Tryphon, Philip, Polydor, Kharalamb, Neophytos, Michael Sinandi, John Lampadistus and Mamas. On the lid of the reliquary, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is depicted together with the Great Martyr Panteleimon the Healer and the Martyr Tryphon. The date on which the reliquary was made is indicated on the silver insert plate: 1835.
The Cyprus Antiquities Department thanked everyone involved in the return of the shrine; special gratitude was expressed to the management of the auction house Hargesheimer.
The disappearance of the relic is associated with the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, as a result of which the northern part of the island, including Morphou, was occupied. It was then that the shrine disappeared - and this year the reliquary surfaced as one of the lots at the auction. The management of the auction house, having learned the status of the find, bought it from the owners and returned it to the Cypriot temple.
The reliquary, made of wood, contains the relics of Saints Panteleimon, Tryphon, Philip, Polydor, Kharalamb, Neophytos, Michael Sinandi, John Lampadistus and Mamas. On the lid of the reliquary, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is depicted together with the Great Martyr Panteleimon the Healer and the Martyr Tryphon. The date on which the reliquary was made is indicated on the silver insert plate: 1835.
The Cyprus Antiquities Department thanked everyone involved in the return of the shrine; special gratitude was expressed to the management of the auction house Hargesheimer.
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