Ancient Church Turned into Café-Bar in Occupied Cyprus

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus, has been converted into a café-bar. Photo: Orthodoxia News Agency

FAMAGUSTA — On Oct. 8, 2025, Ekklisia Online reported another act of desecration of a Christian holy site in Northern Cyprus, which remains under Turkish occupation. In the city of Famagusta, the ancient Church of St. John the Baptist has been converted into a café-bar.

A video circulating on TikTok shows a bar counter, tables, and modern lighting installed inside the former church. Visitors casually drink coffee and chat in a place Orthodox services once took place. The stonework, arched openings, and elements of Byzantine architecture have survived, but the building has lost its sacred character.

According to Cypriot media, the Church of St. John the Baptist is among the oldest temples in Famagusta. It was built in the late Byzantine period and once served as an important spiritual center of the city. After the events of 1974, when the northern part of the island came under Turkish control, the church – like many other shrines – was abandoned and later repurposed as a commercial establishment.

Residents of Cyprus and members of the Orthodox community have condemned the transformation of the shrine into a café-bar, calling it yet another example of disrespect for Christian heritage. As local media note, in recent decades dozens of churches and monasteries in Northern Cyprus have been looted, destroyed, or misused.

In other news related to the seizure and desecration of Orthodox churches, UOJ reported that an attempted raid took place at the Pochaiv Lavra, one of the most revered monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

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