The Armenian community of Cyprus is returning to the historic Sourp Magar (St. Makarios) monastery for the fourth time this year as a pilgrimage to one of the holiest shrines of the Armenian Apostolic church.

The medieval monastery, that lies at the top of the Turkish-occupied Kyrenia mountain range, has fallen victim to looters since the war in 1974 and all but the walls remain intact.

The annual pilgrimage, taking place on May 8, 2011, is jointly organized by the Office of the Armenian Representative, Vartkes Mahdessian, and the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus, in close cooperation with the United Nations. Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian will officiate.

Several hundred Armenians from Cyprus and abroad take part in the pilgrimage celebrated on the first Sunday of each May, as had been done for more than a century. The official commemoration mass took place at the Sourp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Church in Nicosia on Sunday, May 1, 2011, The FinancialMirror reported.