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Among Famgusta's many churches, two medieval edifices have an exiting story to tell: the 13th century Templars' church of St. John, and the Hospitallers' church of St. John, built alongside it later during the same century.
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, founded around 1119 as a monastic order for the protection of pilgrims in the Holy Land, quickly rose to legendary wealth and influence for the two centuries to come. Later, with the gradual loss of their possessions in the Holy Land towards the end of the 13th century, they relocated their headquarters to Cyprus which they had acquired from Richard I of England in 1192.
The Hospitallers, founded in the early 12th century and initially only dedicated to the care of the needy in Jerusalem, soon became the other strong armed Christian force in the region, enjoying similar privileges and prosperity to those of the Templars, and, like them, sought refuge in Cyprus in 1291 after the fall of Acre, the crusaders' last Levantine bastion.
After their heyday, the two famous fighting orders of the Crusaders' period met with very contrasting fates: following the failed papal attempt to merge them into one, the Hospitallers were able to establish a lasting rule in Rhodos, while the Templars, persecuted by Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V were dissolved and many of them burned at stake.
The Twin Churches of Famagusta give testemony to the two rivalling orders' sojourn in Cyprus. The restored buildings are currently allocated to the Cyprus Art Society.
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, founded around 1119 as a monastic order for the protection of pilgrims in the Holy Land, quickly rose to legendary wealth and influence for the two centuries to come. Later, with the gradual loss of their possessions in the Holy Land towards the end of the 13th century, they relocated their headquarters to Cyprus which they had acquired from Richard I of England in 1192.
The Hospitallers, founded in the early 12th century and initially only dedicated to the care of the needy in Jerusalem, soon became the other strong armed Christian force in the region, enjoying similar privileges and prosperity to those of the Templars, and, like them, sought refuge in Cyprus in 1291 after the fall of Acre, the crusaders' last Levantine bastion.
After their heyday, the two famous fighting orders of the Crusaders' period met with very contrasting fates: following the failed papal attempt to merge them into one, the Hospitallers were able to establish a lasting rule in Rhodos, while the Templars, persecuted by Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V were dissolved and many of them burned at stake.
The Twin Churches of Famagusta give testemony to the two rivalling orders' sojourn in Cyprus. The restored buildings are currently allocated to the Cyprus Art Society.
