In the eastern foothills of the Troodos Mountains outside Kato Leukara (Larnaca disctrict), on the east bank of a stream at 450m a.s.l., near a settlement which is attested since the 12th century [Papacostas (1999a) 6.C.47]. There are no traces of monastic buildings, although a monastery is attested on the site since c. 1300 [Papacostas (1999a) 6.B.I.16].
Description: The dome-hall structure with semi-circular apse was built in limestone rubble masonry without external articulation, while brick was used in the dome drum window arches [Wharton (1988) 82; Papageorgiou (1990) 190-94]. The fragmentary fresco decoration is preserved mainly in the dome and the bema. Undated inscriptions mention a priest in the apse (dedicatory: [δέησις] τοῦ δούλου τοῦ θ(εο)ῦ: Μ(ι)χαὴλ: ἱερέως: τοῦ Πιλέα: ἀμήν), and a woman over the south door (funerary) [Papageorgiou (1990) 213 and 223; the latter inscription is not dedicatory as suggested in Wharton (1988) 83].
Dating: A late 12th-century date is suggested by the decoration [later than the Apseudes cycle at the Enkleistra (1183), according to Weyl Carr and Morrocco (1991) 89] and the pointed arches and vaults [Stylianou (1985) 448; Wharton (1988) 83; Papageorgiou (1990) 230; Procopiou (2006a) 167]. If it is to be identified with the church of Archangel Michael for which Neophytos the Recluse, whose birthplace Leukara was, wrote an encomium in 1183/84 [Englezakis (1996) 36-37], then this would provide a secure terminus ante quem.
Later additions / alterations: Fresco panels were added in the late medieval period [Stylianou (1985) 450; MKE 2, 339]. The west wall was pulled down in 1908 when the western extension was built in identical masonry, and a new floor was provided [ARDA 1974, 20; MKE 2, 339; Papageorgiou (1990) 194].
Modern repairs: Work was reported in the 1860s, when an episcopal mitre and other objects were allegedly found under the floor and were sold in Larnaca [Gunnis (1936) 322]. In the mid-1970s the roof tiles were replaced and the roof was repaired, the masonry was treated and the decoration was consolidated and cleaned [ARDA 1974, 20, 1975, 18].
Plan / section: Wharton (1988) 80 [the door on the south wall of the naos is not shown]; Papageorgiou (1990) 191-92 [the drum base line has been omitted from the sections]; Procopiou (2006a) 169-171.