In the western Mesaoria plain at Morphou (Nicosia district), 4.5 miles (7 km) from the coast (Morphou bay), on the south bank of Serraches. The settlement at Morphou [where medieval occupation is suggested by a 12th-century coin hoard: Metcalf (1991) 238-39] is attested since the 10th century [Papacostas (1999a) 6.C.105] and the monastery on the site since the 16th century [Papacostas (1999a) 6.B.I.53].
Description: A large (partly excavated) timber roofed pier basilica with a semi-circular apse was built over an earlier (5th / 6th-century?) basilica [Dikigoropoulos (1961) 185; MKE 9, 287].
Dating: A late 7th-9th century date (?) may be proposed on account of the architecture (lack of vaults and use of piers).
Later additions / alterations: The pier basilica was replaced in later medieval times by a smaller church of unknown type [Dikigoropoulos (1961) 185; MKE 9, 287]. The three-aisled domed basilica that survives to this day was built on the site in the early 16th century [Enlart/Hunt (1987) 166-70; Stylianou (1996) 1244-45].
Modern repairs: Trial excavations were undertaken within the present church before the installation of a new floor in 1958 revealing the earlier phases [AR 1958, 34].
Plan / section: Dikigoropoulos (1961) pl. 7 [showing excavation trenches and conjectural plans of successive buildings].