Eulalius

Saint Eulalius is honoured in Cyprus as a bishop of Lambousa (ancient Lapithos) and commemorated on 22 October (new style, in the Church of Cyprus). The chroniclers Leontios Machairas and Florios Voustronios mention him, but say nothing about his ministry, and it is not known when he lived; what is told rests on two local traditions and on his service.

A widespread tradition says that Eulalius was bishop of Edessa in Syria, where the Holy Mandylion, the image of the Lord not made by hand, said to have been sent to King Abgar, was kept with great reverence. When a pagan successor of the king wished to destroy it, Eulalius took it secretly by night and left the city. He found on the shore a ship bound for Cyprus, and when a storm threatened to sink it he spread the Mandylion on the waves and sat upon it. The sea grew calm and the waves carried him to the shore at Lambousa. The bishop took the image to the monastery that has since been called Acheiropoietos, meaning not made by hand.

Another Cypriot tradition says that Eulalius was the first bishop of Lambousa, born and raised there, and unconnected with the bishop of Edessa. South of the Acheiropoietos Monastery there is a plain chamber cut in rock that the locals call Saint Eulambios, probably from the blending of the names Eulalius and Lambousa. East of the monastery stands a church dedicated to him, built in the sixteenth century in place of an older one.