The Holy Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary Will Arrive in Cyprus

The Holy Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos will be brought to Cyprus for veneration. The relic will arrive at Larnaca Airport on February 5.

President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis, will participate in the solemn ceremony welcoming the relic's arrival. The belt was last in Cyprus 35 years ago.

The Belt of the Virgin Mary will remain on the island for a month: from February 5 to March 4, the faithful can venerate the relic in eight churches and monasteries in Cyprus.

Schedule of the Virgin Mary's Belt stay in Cyprus:

• February 5-11: Cathedral of St. George the Victorious, Paralimni
• February 11-18: Cathedral of Our Lady Pantanassa (Catholics), Limassol
• February 18-21: Church of the Holy Unmercenaries (Agii Anargyri), Kato Paphos
• February 21-23: Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, Dali (near Nicosia)
• February 23-28: Church of St. Andrew the Apostle, Episkopi
• From February 28 to March 1: Church of St. Phoebe, Ayia Anargyri II settlement, Larnaca
• March 1-2: Monastery of Mesa Potamos
• March 2-4: Monastery of Machairas

The Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Christian relic believed to have belonged to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

The initiative to bring the Virgin Mary's belt to Cyprus was initiated by Metropolitan Constantius of Kostantia and Ammochostos. He approached the abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery, Elder Ephraim, with a request to bring the relic to Cyprus and received his blessing.

The Vatopedi Monastery, or Vatopedi, is an Orthodox Greek male monastery on Mount Athos in Greece, second in the hierarchy of Athonite monasteries, and one of the oldest and wealthiest.