.:EPTAKOMI ASSOCIATON (U.K):.
.:EPTAKOMI ASSOCIATON (U.K):.

 
 
 
 
 
 

"Thomas! Thomas!"He opened the parcel and to their joy they saw their beloved book! Hadji Georgis said. "Your Beatitude when you said thos strange words, "Thomas! Thomas!, fear came into my heart. Is it a curse?" "No my son, The Archbishop said gently, they are Christ's words when Thomas did not believe that he had risen from the dead. Go in peace you have served God faithfully." He blessed them and sent them on their way rejoicing. The villagers after some hours of anxious waiting, stood at the gates to welcome the Elders and saw Hadji Georgis & Hadji Loukas holding the book of the Gospels aloft in triumph.
There were great shouts of joy and laughter, many wept in relief , tears of joy. The next day when a service of thanksgiving was held in the church of St Luke the Evangelist the rain came and continued for many days, and the land was green again, the animals watered and the harvest saved. The villagers remembered the Archbishops advise and the Holy Book was never again moved from its case except once a year on St Luke's day, October 18th when the priest stood holding the book in the centre of the nave and the people reverently kissed the open page of St Luke's Gospel."

There have been many attempts to discover the origin of the book of the Gospels. The people of the village were convinced that it was written by St Luke himself. The church had for generations owned several pieces of land and a herd of two hundred goats; the manuscript is on kidskin; St Luke had his materials ready to hand such simple reasoning is naturally rejected by experts.
At one time archaeologists from Nicosia came to try to persuade the villagers to allow them to keep The Holy Book for careful study in their museum with the aid of modern technology equipment and offered to build a beautiful new church in exchange but the villagers to a man refused this proposal.

The book attracted the attention of experts from many countries but none traced its source. All however agree that it was compiled sometime between the 10th century & the 12th century. They also agree from the quality of the workmanship that it must have been written in a monastery. One theory is that with the costal villages near, not then in ruins, it may have been brought by sea, possibly from Byzantium where the art of dressing skins was well developed. The villagers may have given kidskins & lambskins to Byzantine traders in exchange for dressed skins that they needed for the book of Gospels.

It is interesting to note that the ancient name for Eptakomi was Ynaftokomi, (the place of the Fullers). There is one curious note in Greek carelessly written across the top corner of a page and in completely different hand. The date 14th February 1974 with words difficult to decipher.

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