«Սուրբ Մակարի վանքը» - «Հայկական Կիպրոս» ժողովածուից

The article, dedicated to the Monastery of St. Makar (Makaravank), was published based on materials from the collection "Armenian Cyprus" (Antelias, 1936) in issue No. 5 (44). The material represents a comprehensive historical-regional essay on the fate of one of the significant Armenian monasteries in Cyprus.

Introduction and Source Base

From the outset, the author notes the scarcity of documentary basis: the history of the monastery was not systematically recorded, evidence from hishatakarans (colophons) is fragmentary, and epigraphic monuments are entirely absent. The reconstruction of the history is built on scattered references in manuscripts and testimonies of contemporaries.

Early History and Transition from Copts to Armenians

According to the oldest hishatakarans, the monastery already belonged to Armenians before 1425 (mention of Bishop Levon);
According to the testimony of Fr. Stepan (1572), the monastery had previously been owned by Copts and was located near the village of Platane;
Hujjets (title deeds) of 1642 and 1660 confirm Armenian rights to the monastery and its exemption from taxes;
A key piece of evidence is the memoirs of Patriarch Grigor Daranaghtsi (circa 1616–1618), who personally visited the monastery and described the transfer of the monastery to Armenians following a decline in the number of Coptic monks.

Spiritual Order and Cultural Role

It is noted that Surb Makar did not become a center of intellectual life, unlike other Armenian monasteries: the number of monks was small, and a proper school never fully developed. At the same time:

a number of manuscripts were created in the monastery (copyist Tovmas Balutsi);
later the collection of books was transferred by Bishop Petros to Nicosia;
the monastic rule of life was extremely strict—a prohibition on domestic animals (with the exception of a rooster), severe fasting—which the author links to the legacy of Coptic traditions of ascesis associated with St. Makar.

The Episode with Mkhitar Sebastatsi

Special attention in the article is given to the 1695 visit of the 19-year-old Mkhitar Sebastatsi, who was not warmly received at the monastery. Later, in memory of this visit, the students of Bakuran (Vahan Kyurkchyan) established "Mkhitar's Hill" with a memorial obelisk in 1897.

Natural Surroundings and Current State

The landscape is described in detail—the location of the monastery in the Kyrenia mountains, the scarcity of water resources, and the picturesque surrounding nature. Separately examined is the economic component: land holdings (10,000 donums), livestock breeding, land leasing, and growth in income (from 150 to 700 English pounds), while noting the damage caused to the lands by tenants.

Architectural Description

An extended quotation from architect J. Jeffery (1918) is provided, describing the monastery buildings—the main church, the ruined monks' church, the 1814 building, and the eastern façade. Separately examined is the legend of "St. Makar's Cave," which the author considers unfounded, since the saint himself never visited Cyprus.

Reforms of the Patriarchate

A significant part of the article is devoted to quoting the kondak of the Constantinople Patriarch Poghos Tahtahyan (1866), which contains a detailed plan for the improvement of the monastery: the creation of a Board of Trustees, the recruitment of farmers, tree planting, the appointment of an abbot, and the maintenance of financial records.

Conclusion

The key conclusion of the article is that the Monastery of St. Makar, despite its modest role in the intellectual life of the Armenian diaspora, retained important symbolic and economic significance as a spiritual and memorial center for the Armenians of Cyprus, whose history requires further archival study given the fragmentary nature of the surviving sources.