In the western foothills of the Troodos Mountains at Letymbou (Paphos district), on the north bank of a stream at 400m a.s.l. The village of Letymbou is attested in the early 13th century (properties of Saint Theodosius of Judea) and in later medieval times [Papacostas (1999a) 6.C.44].
Description: The domed pier cross-in-square structure with three apses (the main on a horse-shoe plan) and slightly pointed arches was erected over a rock-cut tomb [MKE 7, 77-78, 9, 36-37] Perhaps only the bema survives from the original church [Stylianou (1996) 1231] and possibly the lower parts of the structure.
Dating: A 12th century date or terminus ante quem is suggested by the fresco panels (Pantokrator and Kykkotissa) on the northwest and southwest piers [Karageorghis (1990) 33; Weyl Carr (1995) 348-49; Sophocleous (1993b) 332 and pl. 9].
Later additions / alterations: The church was largely rebuilt in the 14th century and redecorated in the 15th century [Stylianou (1985) 414-18, Stylianou (1996) 1231]. It was ‘restored’ in 1919 [Gunnis (1936) 325-26].
Modern repairs: The superstructure was repaired and the decoration was consolidated after the earthquake of 1953 [ARDA 1955, 13, 1956, 15], while in the 1980s the fresco decoration was cleaned [ARDA 1981, 21, 1984, 24, 1985, 26-27, 1987, 28, 1989, 32-33, 1990, 32].
Early literature: According to Hogarth in 1888, the frescoes are ‘of truly remarkable beauty’ in the church of Saint Kyriakos (sic) [Hogarth (1889) 29; see also Jeffery (1918) 413 and Gunnis (1936) 325-26].