The renovated Byzantine Museum of Archbishop Makarios III Foundation is officially opened

The Cypriot State places culture and historical memory high among its priorities, Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, said on Sunday, in his speech at the inauguration of the renovated Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation, in Nicosia.

The President, who inaugurated the renovated museum along with His Beatitude Archbishop Georgios of New Justiniana and All Cyprus expressed the belief that, like all the other actions and initiatives of the Foundation, the renovation of the Byzantine Museum “will contribute significantly, not only to the upgrading, but also to the strengthening of the effort to rescue and promote our Christian cultural heritage.”

He also announced the Government’s decision to use the museum during the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026, not only for visits by foreign Ministers who will be coming to Cyprus for ministerial meetings, but also for hosting special events, “precisely, to promote our Christian, religious culture and at the same time, to highlight even more our national problem”.

President Christodoulides said that the Byzantine Museum, “as one of the most important buildings in the area, within its halls, is safely and scientifically preserves everything that the Christian culture of Cyprus has to offer”. He added that for over 40 years, 1500-year-old “treasures”, “have been showcasing our unique religious and cultural heritage to locals and foreigners, to students and scientists, researchers and visitors”.

He said that the Foundation has been carrying out “an admirable and unique cultural and national work” since “it preserves the historical and national identity, it highlights and promotes cultural value, our cultural heritage, it educates and cultivates citizens of all ages and contributes to the stimulation of national and historical consciousness, something that is of particular importance, taking into account the 50 years of occupation”, he said. The President also said that the State, was doing “everything necessary in this direction, placing our culture and historical memory high among our priorities.”

He also said that the Byzantine Museum, with the contribution of Church and State, “collects, rescues, preserves, claims and, most importantly, repatriates Christian treasures of our homeland.”

He referred to “the famous mosaics of Panagia Kanakaria”, which, in addition to their religious and archaeological value, “are also a symbol of the great struggle waged with the contribution of our compatriots, to locate and return the stolen ecclesiastical and other artefacts back to our homeland”. He noted that this was also a struggle “of national importance” and “for the liberation and reunification of our homeland”.

His Beatitude Archbishop Georgios in his speech, said this was a “special day” for the Archdiocese, since the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation “is no longer inaccessible to the public”, noting that renovation works have been completed, and it is now open to the public.

He said that the Foundation has now an upgraded space for storing and displaying its exhibits, and stressed that, although an ecclesiastical museum was necessary for every Church, it was “an imperative need for us, the Church of Cyprus.” “A small Church, perhaps in terms of land and number of people, but large in terms of historical dimensions,” he said.

He noted that the museum also contains pre-Christian exhibits, while the Kanakaria Mosaics were also on display, as well as the frescoes of Saint Euphemianos of the village of Lysi – which were stolen and sold abroad after the Turkish invasion of 1974 and were repatriated years later.

He also noted that the largest number of exhibits dated from the 13th century onwards. Undoubtedly, he noted, the icons, mosaics, woodcarvings, ancient prints, vestments, “all the sacred relics that we proudly display today are elements of culture. They are witnesses to the struggles and anxieties of our people.”

The Archbishop thanked, in addition to the Government, the Swiss ambassador, “for the generous offer of €200,000 on behalf of his government” as well as cultural activist Tasoula Hadjitofi “for her many years of efforts to locate, claim and recover many of our treasures.”

General Director of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation, Christos Koukliotis, noted in his speech that this was “a day of joy and pride”, because after much effort, as he said, they were delivering to society a fully renovated and enriched museum “that can stand up to other museums in the European and international arena”.

The ceremony was attended by Ministers, the House President, Members of Parliament, the Mayor of Nicosia, the President of the Nicosia District Local Government Organis5ation, and foreign ambassadors, among others.

The renovated Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation will open to the public on 18 March 2025, between Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9:30-17:00.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

For further information, interested parties can contact the Museum on 22430008 (Monday to Friday, 8:00-2:30) or at the email address: museum@amf.org.cy.

Source: CNA