Nativity (Church of St. Nicholas, Famagusta), Christmas Issue Icons, Republic of Cyprus

Nativity (Church of St. Nicholas, Famagusta), Christmas Issue Icons, Republic of Cyprus

Postage stamps--Cyprus--History

Γραμματόσημα--Κύπρος--Ιστορία

Walking into any church or monastery in Cyprus, one will encounter icons both old and new. The word "Icon" comes from the Greek "Icona" meaning image. In the Greek Orthodox the scriptures in pictorial form. Cyprus abounds with icons and the monasteries of Kykko and Chrysorroyiatissa both claim to have in their possession an icon of the Madonna and Child reputedly painted by the Apostle St. Luke himself. Icons are painted on wood, the majority of which are Byzantine in style, rich in color, gilded and luminous. Well seasoned woods such as the cypress, the oak , and the poplar are used. Where silver is used it is simply to cover and protect the painting, but the Holy faces are left uncovered. In Cyprus, iconographers are usually monks. They are well qualified in restoring old icons but they also paint new ones as many islanders desire to hang one in their homes. Restoring an old icon is a delicate and laborious task and the materials used are especially important. Iconographers prepare their own paint by mixing egg yolk and vinegar, a mixture that gives icons a smooth, shiny surface, which cannot be easily scratched or removed. Such paintings are usually a labor of love and devotion but they are also of ten commissioned to be donated to a church or monastery as an act of faith or recompense for prayers answered. Many of the icons in Cyprus are from the 16th and 18th centuries and a large number are housed in the Byzantine Museum of Archbishop Makarios III Foundation in Nicosia.

Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus

Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία

Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus

Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία

Library of Cyprus University of Technology

Digital Heritage Research Lab of Cyprus University of Technology

5th November 1979

Designer: A. Malekos

Απαγορεύεται η δημοσίευση ή αναπαραγωγή, ηλεκτρονική ή άλλη χωρίς τη γραπτή συγκατάθεση του δημιουργού.

www.cypruspost.gov.cy

TIFF

EL, EN

Image

1979-CHRISTMAS-35

35.160417, 33.346556

Aspioti - Elka, Athens