Pangia Theeloctisti

Marian vocation of Kiti (Cyprus)

La Panagia colicitis (in Greek, "Our Lady built by the angels") is a Byzantine church located in the town of Othernear Lárnaca, in Cyprus. The Marian advocation takes its name from the temple itself, which in local tradition is considered a special work of angelic action.

Main data

Origin and history

La Panagia colicitis (in Greek, "Our Lady built by the angels") is a Byzantine church located in the town of Othernear Lárnaca, in Cyprus. The Marian advocation takes its name from the temple itself, which in local tradition is considered a special work of angelic action.

Tradition / legend: According to the Cypriot tradition, there was in Kiti an ancient Paleocrist church that was destroyed, and the angels would have miraculously rebuilt the temple during the night, hence the title Theeloctisti"built by the angels." This etymological and pious explanation is a well-rooted devotional element, but it is not based on historical documents; it is preserved as a traditional account of the origin of the sanctuary.

Documented history: Historically, the whole conserves remains of a paleocrist basilica on which the current church of Byzantine Middle Ages (11th century), which reuses previous elements. The apse of the early church, with its famous mosaic of the Virgin, was integrated into the new construction. The church dates, in its present form, between the XI- XII centuries, while the absidal mosaic is dated by the scholars among the VII centuries, within the Paleocrist era / first Byzantinism. The temple belongs to the field of Orthodox Iglesia of Cyprus and today it is in the List of World Heritage Mundial de la UNESCO for its historical-artistic importance.

The image and the sanctuary

The main image of this advocation is the Byzantine mosaic of the apse, which represents the Virgin with the Child among the Archangels. It is a golden mosaic, of imperial style, where the Virgin appears standing, in majesty, holding the Child Jesus, both flanked by the archangels Miguel y Gabrielin an attitude of tribute. The whole is considered one of the great jewels of paleocristic art and one of the rare mosaics of this period preserved in situ in Cyprus.

The sanctuary is the Panagia itis Church, a Byzantine temple of cruciform plant with dome (in its mid-Byzantine phase), built on the original paleocrist basilica. It is located on the north-west end of the town of Other, about 10-12 km from Lárnaca. The church features stone factories, enlargements and additions from different times, with a sober interior in which the apse with the mosaic stands out, as well as later icons of the Orthodox tradition. It does not know that it has the title of minor basilica not declared Nacional or diocesan sanctuary in the Latin canonical sense; it is, however, a protected monument and an important place of Orthodox veneration, open to visitors all year round.

Sponsorship and coronation

La Panagia Theelotisti eun spiritual reference place for the people of Kiti and the region of Lárnacabut the sources consulted do not mention an explicit civil or ecclesiastical patronage (for example, as an official patron of the diocese or of the nation). It does not contain, with documentary certainty, a formal title of municipal or diocesan patron in the terms in which they are usually defined in the Latin Church; it is above all a local Marian sanctuary of great historical and devotional prestige.

As for the canonical coronationin available documentation (temple history, academic studies, UNESCO tab, official tourist pages and general resources) does not contain a documented canonical coronation of the image according to the use of the Catholic Church. There are also no references to solemn coronations according to the orthodox rite that can be identified as formal equivalents to Latin canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The churches dedicated to the Panagia in the Orthodox world they usually celebrate their main feasts in the great Marian solemnities of the Byzantine calendar (Sleeping, Nativity of the Theotokos, Presentation, Annunciation). However, in the specific case of the Panagia Angeloktisti does not contain with documented certainty, in the sources consulted, the specific date of a local own party linked to this advocation.

The temple is described as one of the most important ecclesiastical monuments in Cypruswith a constant influx of faithful and visitors, both for devotion and for historical and artistic interest. The church remains open all year round, with regular hours, and is a regular point of passage for pilgrims and tourists who travel the Christian places of the region of Lárnaca. There are no precise quantitative data on pilgrimages (annual number of pilgrims, etc.), or detailed descriptions of Marian processions or other specific popular practices linked to a party of their own; no constan in the revised sources.

Link to the Rosary

La Panagia Angeloktisti pertenece a la Orthodox tradition of Cyprus, where Marian devotion is expressed mainly by the veneration of icons, the Byzantine liturgy and the prayer of Acathistos and other prayers to the Theotokos, rather than through the prayer of Rosary in its Latin form. In the available information about this sanctuary there is no specific historical link between this advocation and the practice of the Rosary as is known in Catholic spirituality.

However, from a Catholic perspective, the contemplation of mystery of Christ in the arms of his MotherAs it appears in the Kiti mosaic, it is deeply aligned with the spirituality of the Rosary: the joyful mysteries (especially the Annunciation and Nativity), luminous, painful and glorious always place Mary next to her Son, as in this image where the Virgin presents the Child to the world among the archangels. The prayer of the Rosary, in a context of respectful ecumenical dialogue, can help the Catholic faithful to to accept this ancient iconography of the Theotokos, joining the ancient praise that the Eastern Church offers to the Mother of God in places like the Angeloktisti Panagia.