LOVELORN people from all over the island have been scraping shards of stone from the tomb of Ayios Agapitikos, in Arodes village to make love potions to the point where almost one quarter of the stone has been eroded.
It is said that Ayios Agapitikos, whose name literally translated means, ‘Saint Loverboy’ helps those seeking true love but it has now gotten to the point where there is some concern over the future of the stone.
The Church of Ayios Kalanidonas is found in the centre of Arodes village in Paphos, and the stone grave of the saint is outside. The myth around ‘Loverboy’ and his grave is old, but has only become widely known in the last few years.
The quantity of stone, which has been taken over the past 20 years or so is apparent, and only three quarters of it now remains.
For hundreds of year’s members of the community of Arodes, Christians and Muslims alike, considered the grave to be holy, and used it to help in solving family problems as well as to set to set the spark of love alight.
As the tale of the ‘love miracles’ spread, the small village in Paphos has seen hundreds of visitors come to the grave to take a piece of the stone to use in their quest for love.
Community leader Matteous Stephanou said the faithful used to scrape the stone covering the saints’ grave and dilute the dust with water.
They then drank it. Some people still do this today.
“My parents and my grandparents told me that this was a way to help a relationship blossom. It was also a way of getting couples together and can also be used to help with general problems concerning matters of the heart,” he said.
He added that he has known many people to use the stone and its dust, and that in many cases love had blossomed.
It’s obvious that the slab of rock bears the scars of many would be couples, as some ardent lovers have broken off fair-sized pieces. Apart from grinding it down to use the dust, the rock is also kept by some as a love talisman.
On the north side of the small church there is also a grave of Saint Mesitikiou, which literally means Saint Negotiator. Perhaps he also plays his part in getting loved up couples to the altar.
The church is 250 years old, and in days gone by, graves were also placed inside the church.
Following recent digs an older cemetery was discovered buried under the more recent one. Members of the Antiquities Department in Nicosia visited the village yesterday to examine the grave and evidence of the original cemetery, to see how best the findings and the saints’ grave could be preserved to prevent any further destruction.
