Holy Cross - Three Stamps and from Cyprus (Christmas 1993)

 



Holy Cross - Three Stamps and Card from Cyprus (Christmas 1993)

CYPRUS 1993 CHRISTMAS ISSUE: THE HOLY CROSS-ORTHODOX CHURCH EMBLEM (BIG FORMAT ILLUSTRATED CARD. ONLY 4200 NUMBERED CARDS WERE CIRCULATED. ORIGINAL SIZE 31 X 21 5cm)

FROM THE CARD:

The theme of the present Christmas issue is the Holy Cross, the emblem and symbol of the Orthodox Church

7C: The carved wooden cross at Stavrouni Monastery is one of the oldest carved wooden crosses preserved in the Orthodox Church. The Cross stands on a foot decorated with 32 carved representations from the Old Testament. On the Cross there are 12 representations from the New Testament.   According to an inscription on the foot,  the Cross is the work of the wood carver Georgios Laskaris  dated 1476. In 1792 the Cross was covered in silver at the expense of Dragomano Hadji Georgakis Kornesios.

20C: The Cross at Lefkara village is the biggest cross with silver cover in Cyprus. It is also the oldest cross of its kind dating back to the 14^th Century. The cross was repaired twice:  in 1603 when four round representations were added to decorate the back of the cross and in 1933 when the representation of the Crucifix was added as shown on the stamp.

25C: The Cross at Pedoulas village. It has silver cover with repousse representation  One side of the cross which depicts scenes from the Twelve Main feasts (Dodekaorton) is older than the other side and could be dated back to the 17^th century.  On this side of the Cross there is a representation of the Birth of Christ, which follows the established Byzantine Iconography.  The other side is much more recent and, according to an inscription, dates to 1839.