The chapel of Agioi Anargyroi on an east-facing cliff near the sea in Cape Greco is a barrel-vaulted, whitewashed structure the size of a large bedroom. The roof is painted sky blue, and the church has a wide portico running around all four sides to protect visitors from the often fierce summer sun of Cyprus. It is richly decorated with colorful frescoes depiction saints and Biblical themes.
A wooden staircase leading down the cliff towards the water takes you to a cave where, legend has it, two saints lived (“Agioi” means “Saints,” while the singular “Saint” is “Agios.”)
The saints, who were brothers, were called “Anargyroi,” which means “without silver,” because they were physician/healers who never charged for their services. There are actually three sets of physician brothers in the Orthodox tradition. The apparent confusion and similarity between each of the three sets of healers (they were all brothers, they were all named Kosmas and Damianos, they were all doctors, they all served people free of charge, and they were all martyred), could come from their antiquity; they all served around 300 AD.
It’s probable that the cave was inhabited by a hermit or hermits, but not so certain that they were Kosmas and Damianos.
The chapel is also a landmark, and a start/finish point for a number of hiking trails in the nearby national forest and the Cape Greco area.
