This year the festal Vespers in the occupied monastery of Apostle Barnabas was celebrated in a special way, on the occasion of the memory of the saint. The Vespers service was celebrated outdoors just outside the tomb of Apostle Barnabas, founder and patron of the Church of Cyprus.
Bishop Nicodemus of Nitria concelebrated with the Abbot of the Monastery, Ioannis Ioannou, and a number of clergymen.
During the Vespers, a procession of the icon of the saint was held around the tomb of the saint, and a supplication followed afterwards.
The Bishop of Nitria, in his speech, thanked the Abbot of the Monastery for honouring him by inviting him to lead the procession, which, as he pointed out, was a special experience during both his priestly years and the years of his ministry as an archpriest. The spokesman for the Mufti of the Turkish Cypriots also attended the procession.