Texas Museum Back Wall Orthodox Cyprus

Nicosia, Cyprus (AP) - A Houston museum has a number of rare 13th frescoes, which were looted by Cyprus, more than three decades, agreed to return them, the head of the Orthodox Christian divided island said on Friday .

Archbishop Chrysostomos II said Menil Collection plans to return the Byzantine frescoes early next year after the church insisted that they "let them stay there for even a second longer."

"I welcome this decision by the Menil Collection because initiates a legal battle would honor us or Collection," said the archbishop.

Looted antiquities smugglers murals of the church in Ayios Themomianos northern Cyprus following a Turkish invasion of 1974, which divides the island into a Turkish-speaking north and south of the Greek language.

Menil Collection founder Dominique de Menil in 1983 by the frescoes, and struck with the Church of Cyprus to preserve and expose them to the specially built chapel in Houston.

A decade later, gave the church of Cyprus the museum a loan extension until February 2012 in recognition of his efforts to collect and restore the frescoes fragmented.

But Chrysostom said he has rejected calls to keep cooler, offering instead to send an investigator to recreate the image of the chapel dome and apse, with a donation of ten icons in the late 19 century 20.

The frescoes represent Christ Pantocrator surrounded by a frieze of angels and the throne of preparation attended the Virgin Mary and San Juan Bautista.

The second section describes the Madonna flanked by the archangels Michael and Gabriel.

Department of Antiquities of Cyprus controls the shuttle back to the frescoes in Europe, the head of the Department Hadjicosti Maria said.

Posted in: Art