Christmas, Commemorative Issue

Christmas, Commemorative Issue

Γραμματόσημα--Κύπρος--Ιστορία
Postage stamps--Cyprus--History

The icon of the Birth of Christ comes from the church of Panayia Asproforousa, meaning Blessed Virgin Mary of the white robes because of the white robes worn by the monks of the Premontre Order who lived in the medieval Abbey of Bellapaix.

The Apse and the porch of the church were originally adorned with frescoes. Cornelius van Bruyn, a Dutchman, arrived
in Cyprus on 19th April 1683 and on visiting the monastery called De-la-Paix, wrote that six or seven ancient paintings adorned the walls of the church.

In the 30c stamp the Virgin is depicted sitting on the side of the wooden crib while Joseph is shown kneeling on the other side. The three shepherds are shown behind the crib. The stylistic features attributed to the icon flourished in Cyprus at the end of the 18th century and during the 19th.

Enclaved persons managed to retrieve the icon from the village that was occupied during the Turkish invasion of 1974. It is now kept in the temporary see of the Diocese of Keryneia in Lefkosia.

Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus
Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία

Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus
Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία

Library of Cyprus University of Technology

10th November 2005

Designer: Melanie Efstathiadou

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

www.cypruspost.gov.cy

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2015CS10, 2015CS11, 2015CS12

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