Two 14th-century Byzantine icons illegally removed from Cyprus following the 1974 Turkish invasion have been returned to the island after being traced to the United Kingdom and the Church of Cyprus successfully asserting its ownership rights.
The icons, depicting the Evangelists Matthew and Mark, date from the Palaiologan period and originally belonged to the Byzantine church of Panagia Phorviotissa at Asinou.
According to the Bishopric of Morphou, the icons had been moved to the Bishopric of Kyrenia’s headquarters in Kyrenia before the invasion, where they were subsequently stolen.
Their return followed efforts to trace their movement, establish their provenance and secure recognition of the Church of Cyprus’s rights. The Bishopric of Morphou said the icons were handed over without any payment, as their holder did not seek compensation.
Byzantine scholar Christodoulos Hadjichristodoulou, an adviser to the Bishopric of Morphou on Byzantine and post-Byzantine monuments, and art historian Maria Paphiti, former head of the icons department at Christie’s auction house, played key roles in securing their return.
Bishop Porfyrios of Neapolis, chairman of the Church of Cyprus’s Synodal Committee for Church Architecture, Monuments and Christian Art, also contributed to the effort. Lawyer George Hadjipieris coordinated the legal proceedings.
The Bishopric of Morphou also thanked the Department of Antiquities and its director, George Georgiou, Chief of Police Themistos Arnaoutis, Interpol and theologian and icon painter George Petrou for their contributions.
Part of a larger collection
The two icons form part of the Great Deesis ensemble from Panagia Phorviotissa at Asinou, a collection of Byzantine religious paintings that was subsequently dispersed.
Two other icons from the same series, depicting the Apostles Peter and Paul, were repatriated from New York in 2007.
The icon of Christ Pantocrator has survived, while those depicting the Virgin Mary, Saint John the Baptist and the Evangelists John and Luke remain missing.
The return of Matthew and Mark restores part of the original ensemble, although efforts to locate the remaining works are continuing.
The artworks
Both icons are painted in egg tempera and gold leaf on wooden panels.
The icon of Saint Matthew measures 63 × 51 cm, while that of Saint Mark measures 63.5 × 47.5 cm.
More than half a century after the Turkish invasion, their repatriation marks another step in efforts to recover Cyprus’s cultural and religious heritage illegally removed from the island.
The case also illustrates the lengthy documentation, international cooperation and specialist legal assistance often involved in recovering stolen antiquities and religious artefacts.
