Get Real! wrote:Tim Drayton wrote:Get Real! wrote:samarkeolog wrote:Get Real! wrote:T_C wrote:Wasn't Bellapais Abbey also given to the GCs by the Ottomans?
Theres Greek iconography in there, plus Greek writing on the walls also....
What do you mean by "given"? That's a 13th century Lusignan Abbey! It was there way before any Ottoman arrived...
Presumably he means that it was Lusignan, but became Greek Cypriot, so it was a Catholic church converted into an Orthodox church, so Greek Cypriots/Orthodox converted others' religious sites the same way Turks/Muslims did.
Unlike my friend Deniz, I'm not so easily impressed by half-researched and half-assumed opportunistic attempts to soften the blow of infamous Ottoman FORCEFUL religious conversions as opposed to the Orthodox Church’s takeover of an ABANDONED Abbey in accordance with your link…King Hugh IV lived in the abbey between 1354 and 1358 and added apartments for himself, but in 1373, Bellapais' glittering treasure attracted the attention of the Genoese, who robbed the abbey of everything light enough to carry. After this, the abbey spun into physical and moral decline. By the mid-16th century, the strict Norbertine rule had been virtually abandoned at Bellapais, with many of the canons taking a wife (or two) and accepting only their own children as novices.
The Venetians shortened the long-standing name, Abbaye de la Paix (Abbey of Peace), to De la Paix, which eventually became Bellapais.
After the Turkish conquest in 1570, the abbey was given to the Orthodox Church. The buildings were neglected and fell into disrepair, but the abbey church was used as the parish church for the village that grew up around the monastery (presumably populated by descendents of the monks).
Better luck next time.
Aherm ... you have omitted to acknowledge the source of your quote, something you (rightly) take others to task for.
I said... "in accordance with your link… "
I stand corrected.
