Religious Life
Church of Agia Marina
The church of Agia Marina, the main church of the community, is located at the entrance of Potamiou. It is a three-roomed church of byzantine type with an octagonal dome, which was constructed in the middle of the 16th century. In particular, according to an inscription on the south entrance of the church, the church is dated back to 1551.
The church is built with local stone, which, as Karouzis remarks, “has remained intact since the 16th century”. The interior of the church is adorned by a wooden iconostasis, which has been created recently. What is also worth mentioning is that the iconostasis bears some 19th centuries icons. The church is 20 metres long and 12 metres wide.
Sources:
Potamiou Community Council
Giorgos Karouzis, Strolling Around Cyprus, Lemesos, City and District, Lefkosia 2001
Chapel of Timios Prodromos
Chapel of Agios Mnasonas
Located at the western end of the village are the remains of a chapel dedicated to Agios Mnasonas. It is a 300 A.D. chapel which has been deeply marked by time. The efforts for the maintenance and restoration of the chapel began by the Department of Antiquities during 2008. The sources for the maintenance and restoration of the chapel mainly come from sponsorships.
According to tradition, the church was constructed at the location where the Saint used to live during the period that he taught Christianity in Pafos, from the northern to the southern edge of the town. Distinguished among the remains of the church is the double masonry in the interior, three semi-collapsed arches and an underground tunnel with an unexplored, up until today, exit. The residents of the village remark that the tunnel was the runaway exit of the hounded Christians.
Finally, it must be mentioned that one of the underground corridors of the chapel is the place where the holy relic of the left arm of the Saint is kept.
Sources:
Potamiou Community Council
Giorgos Karouzis, Strolling Around Cyprus, Lemesos, City and District, Lefkosia 2001
Other Chapels
Also located in Potamiou are the ruins of three chapels. One of the three chapels was dedicated to Timios Prodromos. A pre-constructed small chapel which was dedicated to Timios Prodromos has been placed at the place where the ruins of the chapel of Timios Prodromos are located.
Sources:
Potamiou Community Council
Giorgos Karouzis, Strolling Around Cyprus, Lemesos, City and District, Lefkosia 2001
