Agia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa and St Paul's Pillar

Few ruins in Paphos say so much with so little. A few fallen columns, a small stone church and a lone pillar that tradition ties to St Paul. It’s the place to grasp how early Cyprus became Christian, and it sits right in Kato Paphos, a stroll from the harbour. Here’s what the Metropolis of Paphos and Akamas Municipality’s tourism site have to say.

The church and the basilica

According to the Metropolis of Paphos, Agia Kyriaki was built over the ruins of a 5th-century early Christian basilica, uncovered by recent excavations. According to the same source, the local Jewish community’s synagogue may once have stood here, and after the island became Christian the great basilica was built on the spot, seat of the first Metropolis of Paphos.

What you see today is just that, a stone church surrounded by the basilica’s columns and remains. The photos on this page give you the idea.

What is St Paul’s Pillar?

It’s a stone column within the ruins. Tradition holds that Paul was tied to it and given forty lashes save one, as he himself writes in his second letter to the Corinthians. Akamas Municipality’s tourism site puts the episode, as legend has it, in AD 45, before the apostle converted the island’s Roman governor, and recalls that Paul and Barnabas came to Cyprus to preach.

I’d take it for what it is, a tradition. There’s no way of knowing whether it was this particular column, but the setting makes sense, since the basilica was the town’s first episcopal seat. There’s more context in religion in Cyprus.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Pafos on Expedia and filter by area before price.

An Orthodox church for Catholics and Anglicans

What strikes me most about Agia Kyriaki is how it’s used today. The Metropolis of Paphos says that, with the approval of the then Metropolitan Chrysostomos II, the church serves the district’s Catholic and Anglican faithful. I find that a practical and generous gesture.

The Orthodox Church still uses it for its big feast. Every 29 June at 19:30 it holds solemn vespers in the old basilica for Saints Peter and Paul, in memory of Barnabas and Paul’s preaching in Paphos. The Metropolitan presides, and the icon of the two apostles is then carried in procession, with the Police band and military honours.

Getting there

Agia Kyriaki is in Kato Paphos, on Panagias Theoskepastis street according to OpenStreetMap. It’s about 600 m from the entrance to Paphos Archaeological Park and about 800 m from Paphos Castle, so walking is the obvious way. The Agia Solomoni catacomb is about 400 m to the north. I haven’t found opening times or prices from an official source, so ask beforehand if you want to go inside. To stay nearby, see Paphos hotels.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Agia Kyriaki and St Paul's Pillar and pick one that fits your day.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Paphos before you arrive rather than at the desk.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Pafos on Booking.com and filter by area before price.