Work starts at Apostolos Andreas

By Stefanos Evripidou

THE church of the Apostolos Andreas monastery in the occupied Karpas peninsula closed for visits and worship on Thursday as long-delayed restoration work finally began.

According to a press release by the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage and UNDP Partnership for the Future, preparatory work has been completed and the monastery’s keys were handed over to the technical committee, UNDP and the contracting joint venture tasked with the job of restoring the church complex.

The restoration works are funded by the Church of Cyprus and the Evkaf Administration and are scheduled to be completed by April 30, 2016.

During the restoration period, the church will be closed for both visits and worship.

The Agiasma (Holy water) will remain accessible until October 8 and then will be closed to the public, said the statement.

A temporary chapel has been set up in the vicinity of the monastery.

Progress on the site will be monitored by a technical committee which will visit the site in the near future, said the press release.

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