The church is located in the town centre of Larnaca and was originally built in 1909 as a small chapel in memory of Adana 's patron saint , Sourp Stepanos ( Saint Stephen ) , by Armenian refugees who fled the Adana massacre . Following a fund-raising in 1912 and 1913 , the church was completed on 1 April 1913 . The first official liturgy took place in May 1914 and the consecration took place in 1918 by Archbishop Taniel Hagopian . According to the commemorative inscription in front of the entrance it was built " in memory of the martyrs of Cilicia , 1 April 1909 " . It is considered to be the first monument in the world for the Armenian massacres , even before the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Sourp Stepanos Church, Larnaca