This Orthodox Church is one of the most important shrines of the entire Christian world. It was founded in the distant 4th century by Helen - the mother of Emperor Constantine. It was she who brought as a gift to the new monastery one of the most revered relics of Orthodoxy - a piece of the cross on which, according to legend, Jesus was crucified.
According to the rules of the monastery, women should not be here. There is an interesting belief that the place of construction of the shrine was chosen by the Lord God himself. In the early spring of 327, a ship belonging to Rome caught in a terrible storm ended up off the coast of southern Cyprus. The sailors leading the ship and the captain tried to keep the ship afloat and sought a secluded refuge along the rocky shores of the island. But no harbor could be seen in the darkness of the storm. A little more, and the ship would be thrown onto the rocks. It was this ship that carried Empress Helen from her pilgrimage to Palestine. Helen began to pray and glorify Jesus and promised that if he leaves them life, she will build a monastery and five churches in his honor in Cyprus. It so happened that at that very moment the helmsman saw a mountain on the bank, which served as a reference point for the ship and led him to the quiet mouth of the river. It's about Mount Olympus. So, according to legend, Elena's visit to Cyprus took place. During her visit to the Holy Land, she directed the excavations at Calvary. Thanks to historical texts and the Bible, she managed to find the burial of Christ and the cross on which he was crucified. She took half of this cross with her to Rome. When the ship was caught in a storm off the coast of Cyprus. Saint Helen also kept the cross of the robber Diaz, who was forgiven by the Lord after repentance on the cross. According to the same legend, it was during a raging storm that Elena had a dream where the Angel conveyed to her the will of the Lord about the foundation of the monastery, in which it was necessary to install a part of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. A little later, the loss of the cross of Diaz was discovered, but what was the surprise of the travelers who found it on the top of Mount Olympus on the ruins of a pagan temple. This is how, according to legend, the Lord God indicated the site for the Stavrovouni monastery (stavros in Greek means "cross"). Mount Olympus has since received another name - Cross Mountain.
