Church grateful to Menil Foundation for frescoes return

ARCHBISHOP Chrysostomos II yesterday praised the Church’s resolve in succeeding to bring back to Cyprus two 13th century frescoes that were stolen from a church in northern Cyprus after the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The Archbishop was speaking in a press conference yesterday at the Archdiocese, where all the people involved in the frescoes’ repatriation effort were present; including state attorney, Stella Ioannidou, Director of the Department of Antiquity Maria Hadjicosti and the Foreign Ministry Director dealing with the Cyprus question and Turkey, Andreas Kakouris.

The Archbishop explained the procedure by which the frescoes were secured and highlighted the good will of all the participants of the negotiations.

The frescoes were stolen by Turkish art dealer Aydin Dikmen, but were acquired in 1984 by the Menil Foundation on behalf of the Church of Cyprus. The Church subsequently lent the frescoes to the Foundation for 15 years so that they could be restored and preserved. The lease ends in February 2012, with the Menil Foundation having spent up to US $1 million for restoration and conservation.

“The Menil Foundation tried to extend the loan agreement, but we were adamant that it was time for the frescoes to return home” said the Archbishop.

“We are eternally grateful to the Menil Foundation for restoring and preserving the frescoes, and there is no ill-feeling between us; they are after all great friends of Cyprus and its Byzantine culture.”

According to the Archbishop, the Menil Foundation had asked both the Bishops of America and France to intervene in order to persuade the Church to accept an extension, while it also sent to Cyprus a US based Cypriot Professor, Yiannis Ioannides to aid its cause. Finally, the Director of the Foundation visited the Archdiocese, but at every stage the Church refused to budge. 

“The willingness of the Bishops of America and France actually helped our cause, because it persuaded the Foundation that the frescoes would be in good hands” said the Archbishop.

He went on to say that the Church would donate ten 20th century pictures to the Foundation and would provide a painter to draw a replica of the two frescoes so that they could be housed in the Menil Foundation in Houston, Texas.

“I hope that this success will be the first of many, so that we witness the return of all the antiquities currently outside of Cyprus” said the Archbishop. “When we are clear with what we want, then we can succeed in our goals.”