500-year-old icon looted from divided Cyprus repatriated

The Church of Christ Antiphonitis in Cyprus, photographed in June 2016. A centuries-old Orthodox icon that was looted from the church in or after 1974 was returned in a ceremony held July 12. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Shirazbustan. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The Church of Christ Antiphonitis in Cyprus, photographed in June 2016. A centuries-old Orthodox icon that was looted from the church in or after 1974 was returned in a ceremony held July 12. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Shirazbustan. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) – A 500-year-old Orthodox icon that was looted from a church in the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus has been returned to the island. The icon of the Enthroned Christ, which Cyprus’ Antiquities Department dates to around the end of the 15th century to the early 16th century, was presented at a ceremony July 12 to the head of the island’s Orthodox Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos.

Continue reading