Church of Saint Evphemianos, Lysi

Church of St. Euphemianos
Church of St. Euphemianos in Lysi, Cyprus (June 2010)
Location	Lysi
Country	Cyprus
Denomination	Greek Orthodox
History
Founded	ca. 13th Century
Dedication	Lavrentios, monk and abbot of St. Andronikos Monastery
Architecture
Style	Byzantine architecture

The church of St. Euphemianos (Greek: Άγιος Ευφημιανός, Turkish: Agios Efimianos Kilisesi) is a small medieval church (located at 35° 5'8.70"N 33°39'53.00"E), about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Lysi in the Famagusta district of Cyprus. It is a very small, single-dome, stone building and the interior is decorated with frescoes dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries.

The inscription on the bottom of the arch indicates that the temple was dedicated by Lavrentios, monk and abbot of St. Andronikos Monastery, to “St. Themonianos”, a local saint. The inscription reads (in Greek):

The name St. Themonianos mentioned in the inscription is almost certainly a corruption on the name of St. Euphemianos, a local 12th-century saint who led an ascetic life in a cave near the village of Lefkoniko in the plain of Masaoria, and was one of "three hundred" Palestinian refugees who fled to Cyprus during the Arab persecutions against the Christians. Other variations on the name include Phenianos (Φηνιανός), Thymianos (Θυμιανός), or Thomianos (Θωμιανός). The church itself was colloquially known to the local villagers as St. Phenianos (Άις Φηνιανός). Technically, the Church of St. Euphemianos is a chapel, due to its diminutive size and the fact that it was not the main church of Lysi, there was no priest assigned to it, and services were only held there on special occasions. Before the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, thousands would visit the church on the Saint’s feast day on November 14.

The dome of the church is decorated with a fresco showing , the 'All sovereign'. Surrounding the figure of Christ is a double row of angels moving towards the Hetoimasia or empty throne prepared by God the Father for the Second Coming of Christ. The throne is guarded by the Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel and two seraphim. The Virgin Mary leads one line of angels to the throne, while John the Baptist leads the other. In the apse, the Virgin is depicted as flanked by the two archangels with a medallion on her breast of the infant Christ, symbolizing the Incarnation of Christ.