E01339: The church of Panagia Angeloktistos at Kiti (southeastern Cyprus) houses a mosaic with depictions of Christ, *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033), and unnamed *Archangels (almost certainly *Michael (S00181) and *Gabriel (S00192)). Probably 6th c.

Four Cypriot churches: Panagia Kanakaria at Lythrankomi (E01338), Panagia Angeloktistos at Kiti, Panagia tes Kyras near Livadia ($E01340), and the episcopal basilica of Kourion ($E01341), house pre-iconoclastic mosaics with depictions of Christ, *Mary, Mother of Christ, *Archangels, *Apostles, and *Evangelists. Arthur Megaw and Ernst Hawkins suppose that the mosaics survived iconoclasm, because Cyprus was exempted, as neutral ground, from direct Byzantine authority after the the treaty of 688 between Justin II and 'Abd al-Malik, and thus the imperial iconoclastic policy was not enforced there.

The church of Panagia Angeloktistos lies in the village of Kiti, 7 miles southwest of Larnaka. It was first surveyed in 1895 by Jakov Smirnov, Russian archaeologist and medievalist art historian, travelling across the Balkans, the Crimea, Palestine, and Armenia. The scholar identified the apse mosaic, preserved in the church, as a rare pre-iconoclastic work. The present structure dates to the 11th c. Beneath it are the remains of a late antique basilica, whose apse still survives. Its conch is decorated with a 6th/7th c. mosaic, showing Mary, Mother of Christ with her Child, flanked by two Archangels, almost certainly Michael and Gabriel.

Mary is standing and holding Christ in her left arm. Her figure is labelled Ἁγία Μαρία/'Holy Mary'. The Archangels approach her with orb and sceptre.

The background is gold and the mosaic is framed by a border with fountains, acanthus, ducks, parrots, and stags.