This month, our ‘Christian Heritage month by month’ column presents the chapel of the Virgin Mary of Kambily, in the Maronite Archeparchy of Cyprus. Click here for more info
(Photo: Maronite Archeparchy of Cyprus)
The chapel of the Virgin Mary (Panayia of Kambily) is located in Kambily, a small village on the Southern slopes of the Pentadaktylos mountain range in Cyprus. It is a small, single-aisled church with a dome, built in the 13th century. Internally, it was decorated with frescoes from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, of which few remain visible today.
The church belongs to the Maronite community and holds an interesting and symbolic history. Historians, including Dantini (1593), mention the village as a Maronite one. During the Ottoman Period in Cyprus (1571-1878), it was co-inhabited by Maronites and Turkish Cypriots. As the Muslim population increased, Maronites left the village.
With the division of the island in 1974, the church remained unused and was instead run by the Turks as a warehouse. In 2008-2009, it was restored with funding from the SAGE program, and since then, the chapel can again be used for Masses and pilgrimages, with permission granted by the “local authorities.”
The chapel of the Virgin Mary in Kambily, is not only an ancient Maronite church, but also a symbol of Christianity throughout the centuries, which calls for peace and reconciliation and raises hope through the Christian faith.