The museum and its collections.
The Byzantine museum of the Bishopric of Pafos was created at the initiative of His Grace the Bishop of Pafos Chrysostomos in 1983.
The aim of the museum's creation is the saving, protection, promotion and scientific study of these inestimable treasures of Byzantine art which are scattered throughout the parishes of the Bishopric. The exhibition in the museum gives the opportunity to the visitor to know the Byzantine heritage of Pafos.
Icons
The biggest and most remarkable collection of the museum is that of the icons which total more than a hundred. The museum houses the oldest icon preserved in Cyprus. It is the icon of Saint Marina in the orans position, flanked by scenes of her martyrdom. It can be dated to the 7th or 8th century.
The main collection of the other icons extends basically from the 12th to the 19th century.
Frescos
The frescos come from ruined churches. Their conservation in the museum of the Bishopric was judged necessary so that these murals would not stay exposed to harmful climatic conditions on the walls of unroofed churches.
Wood carvings
The examples of wood-carving exhibited in the museum are basically fragments of iconostases and various crosses for benediction and sanctification.
Metal artworks
The museum possesses a remarkable collection of ecclesiastical metal artworks which cover a chronological and artistic spectrum of four centuries (17th - 20th).
Sacerdotal vestments and embroideries
The collection of sacerdotal vestments and ecclesiastical embroideries contains mainly gold embroidered vestments of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Manuscripts
The collection of manuscripts covers with a few exhibits the chronological period from 1462 until the 19th century.
Old printed books
The old books exhibited in the museum are some Gospels and Music Books.