Church of Cyprus


The Church of Cyprus is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that form part of the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Based in Cyprus, it is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; it claims to have always been independent, although it may have been subject to the Church of Antioch before its autocephaly was recognized in 431 at the Council of Ephesus. The bishop of the ancient capital, Salamis was constituted metropolitan by Emperor Zeno, with the title archbishop.

History

Roman era

According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul the Apostle converted the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus,, making him the first Christian ruler, and thus Cyprus became the first country ruled by a Christian leader.
A few of the bishops who helped spread Christianity on the island were Lazarus, Bishop of Kition, Herakleidios, Bishop of Tamasos, Avxivios, Bishop of Soloi, and Theodotos, Bishop of Kyrenia.
Towards the end of the fourth century, Christianity had spread throughout the island. During this time Epiphanius of Salamis was Archbishop. His seat was in Salamis, which was renamed Constantia.

Byzantine era

This independent position by ancient custom was recognized against the claims of the Patriarch of Antioch, at the Council of Ephesus ; it is unclear if the Church of Cyprus had always been independent or if it had once been part of the Church of Antioch. When the Patriarch of Antioch claimed the Church of Cyprus was under its jurisdiction, the Cypriot clergy denounced this before the Council of Ephesus. The Council ratified the autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus by a resolution which conditionally states: "If, as it is asserted in memorials and orally by the religious men who have come before the Council – it has not been a continuous ancient custom for the bishop of Antioch to hold ordinations in Cyprus, – the prelates of Cyprus shall enjoy, free from molestation and violence, their right to perform by themselves the ordination of bishops ". After the Council of Ephesus, the Church of Antioch never claimed Cyprus was under its jurisdiction. This independence was also recognized by an edict of Emperor Zeno.
In 478, Archbishop Anthemius of Cyprus claimed that following a vision he had found the grave of Barnabas and his relics. On Barnabas's chest was a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. The church was thus able to send a cogent argument on its own behalf to the Emperor; the discovery of the relics of its reputed founder, Barnabas. Zeno confirmed the status of the Church of Cyprus and granted its Archbishop the "three privileges"; to sign his name in an ink made vermilion by the addition of cinnabar; to wear tyrian purple instead of black robes under his vestments; and to hold an imperial sceptre instead of the regular episcopal crosier.
Cyprus suffered greatly from Arab invasions in the following centuries, and during the reign of Justinian II the cities of Constantia, Kourion and Paphos were sacked. At the advice of the Emperor, the Archbishop fled to the Dardanelles along with the survivors, and established the city of Nova Justiniana, named after the Emperor, at Erdek near the city of Cyzicus. In 692 the Quinisext Council reconfirmed the status and privileges of the exiled archbishop and in 698, when the Arabs were driven out of Cyprus, the Archbishop returned but retained the title of "Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus": a custom that, along with the "three privileges", continues to this day.

Crusader era

After the establishment of the Kingdom of Cyprus, the Catholic kings gradually reduced the number of Orthodox bishops from 14 to 4 and forced them away from their towns. The archbishop was moved from Nicosia to the region of Solia, near Morphou, the bishop of Larnaca was moved to the village of Lefkara. Each Orthodox bishop was under the Catholic bishop of the area. The Catholic Church tried on occasion to coax the Orthodox bishops to make concessions on the differences in doctrine and practices between the two churches, sometimes with threats and sometimes using violence and torture, as in the case of the 13 monks at Kantara Monastery. Moreover, the properties of many monasteries were confiscated. The persecutions, especially during the Frankish period, did not succeed in uprooting the faith of the Greek Cypriots.
Despite initial friction, the two churches gradually managed to coexist peacefully. The local Orthodox Christians shared some of the benefits of the economic development of Cyprus and especially of Famagusta at the time. The Orthodox cathedral of St George was almost as tall as the nearby Catholic cathedral of St Nicholas, and is also an example of a fusion of Gothic and Byzantine architecture.
The Franks were succeeded by the Venetians in 1489 without any significant change to the status of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Cypriot independence

In 1950, Makarios III was elected Archbishop. While still Bishop of Kition he had demonstrated strong intellectual and national activity. In 1949 he founded the Apostle Varnavas Seminary, and in 1950 he organised the referendum on the union between Cyprus and Greece. While archbishop he was the political leader of EOKA from 1955 to 1959. The British exiled him to Seychelles because of his activities.
In 1960, Makarios III was elected president of the newly established Republic of Cyprus. Disagreements with the other three bishops led to the 1972–1973 Cypriot ecclesiastical coup attempt. Following the dethronement of the bishops of Paphos, Kitium and Kyrenia for conspiring against Makarios, two new Bishoprics were created: the Bishopric of Limassol which was detached from the Bishopric of Kition, and the Bishopric of Morfou which was detached from the Bishopric of Kyrenia. The coup d'état of 15 July 1974 forced Archbishop Makarios III to leave the island. He returned in December 1974.

Turkish invasion

The coup d'état was followed by the Turkish invasion of 20 July 1974 which significantly affected the church and its members; as 35% of Cyprus's territory came under Turkish occupation, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians were displaced and those that could not or did not want to leave faced oppression. As of May 2001 figures only 421 Greek Orthodox Cypriots and 155 Maronites remain in Northern Cyprus.
The destruction of Christian monuments was another consequence of the invasion. Churches containing Byzantine icons, frescoes and mosaics have been pillaged by antiquities dealers and sold on the black market. One of the most prominent cases of pillage was of the mosaics of Panagia of Kanakaria of the 6th century AD, which were returned to the Church of Cyprus, following rulings by federal courts in Indianapolis and Chicago. In Northern Cyprus, there are 514 churches, chapels and monasteries, many of which were converted to mosques, museums or abandoned.

Recent events

On 3 August 1977, Makarios III died and was succeeded by Archbishop Chrysostomos I. In 1979, the new Statutory Charter of the Church of Cyprus was drawn up and approved replacing the old one from 1914.
In his old age, Archbishop Chrysostomos I suffered from Alzheimer's disease and was unable to carry out his duties for a number of years. In May 2006, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I chaired a broader meeting of church elders which called for Chrysostomos I's "honorary removal".
Chrysostomos II was elected the new archbishop on 5 November 2006, after a long-running election campaign.
After the death of Chrysostomos II, the 2022 Cypriot archiepiscopal election was called to choose his successor, with George III elected.

Administration and Holy Synod

The Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus is the highest church authority in Cyprus. Its task is to examine and provide solutions on all issues concerning the Church of Cyprus. The head of the Holy Synod and of the Church of Cyprus is Archbishop George III. The Holy Synod regularly convenes on the first week after Easter and in the first fortnight of every February and September. It holds sessions whenever deemed necessary, or when two of its members put forward a request.

Metropolises and metropolitans

  • Metropolis of Paphos and Exarchate of Arsinoe and Romaeon: Tychikos
  • Metropolis of Kition and Exarchate of Larnaca and Pano Lefkara: Nectarios Spirou
  • Metropolis of Kyrenia and Exarchate of Lapithos and Karavas: Chrysostomos Kykkotis
  • Metropolis of Limassol, Amathus and Kourion: Athanasios Nikolaou
  • Metropolis of Morphou and Soloi: Neophytos Masouras
  • Metropolis of Constantia and Ammochostos: Vasileios Karayiannis
  • Metropolis of Kykkos and Tillyria: Nikiphoros Kykkotis
  • Metropolis of Tamassos and Oreini: Isaias Kykkotis
  • Metropolis of Trimithous: Varnavas Stavrovouniotis

    Dioceses and bishops

  • Diocese of Karpasia: Christophoros Tsiakas
  • Diocese of Arsinoe: Nektarios Spyrou
  • Diocese of Amathus: Nikolaos Xiouri

    Titular dioceses and bishops

  • Diocese of Ledra: Epiphanios Mahairiotis
  • Diocese of Kytros: Leontios Englistriotis
  • Diocese of Neapolis: Porphyrios Mahairiotis
  • Diocese of Mesaoria: Grigorios Hatziouraniou