Cyriacus of Evrychou

Saint Cyriacus of Evrychou (Kyriakos) was an ascetic and wonderworker of Cyprus, venerated at Evrychou in the Solea region. He was not a martyr, but fell asleep in peace. Little is known of him: he is not mentioned by Cypriot chroniclers or by writers of saints' lives, but tradition and the old church beside the village bear witness to his holy life.

According to his service, from childhood "he was a lover of the Lord". He left the world and became a dweller of the wilderness and a lover of stillness. At his hermitage, where his tomb and church are today, crowds of faithful came to see him, to ask his counsel and his blessing. He received them with love and patience, taught and consoled them, and advised them to put away hatred and malice among themselves and to repent. God gave him the gift of working miracles, and every day in his cell he healed the sick and suffering.

It is not known when he lived, but the faithful today say that for 1,700 years his prayers have been answered. The case with his relics is in the church of Saint Marina in Evrychou, and his skull in the cathedral of Saint George in the town. The paintings of his chapel date from the fifteenth or sixteenth century. His service was composed in the early twentieth century by an unknown author, and a new one was written in 2000 by Dr Haralambos Bousias. The official commemoration on 24 May was inaugurated by the late Metropolitan Chrysanthos of Morphou (+1996). His feast draws many pilgrims, and many in the area bear the name Kyriakos in his honour.