List of archbishops of Cyprus


The archbishop of Cyprus is the head of the Church of Cyprus. Since 2023 the incumbent archbishop has been George III.

History

According to tradition, the Church of Cyprus was founded by Saint Barnabas in 45 AD. Cyprus was under the jurisdiction of the Church of Jerusalem until 325. The Church of Cyprus was declared autocephalous on 30 July 431 by the Council of Ephesus. Its autocephaly was abolished in 1260 but restored in 1571.

Archbishops of Cyprus

First Autocephalous Period (325 (431) –1260)

  • Gelasios I
  • Epiphanius of Salamis
  • Stavrinos I
  • Troilos
  • Reginos
  • Olympios I
  • Stavrinos II
  • Anthemios
  • Olympios II '
  • Philoxenos '
  • Damianos '
  • Sophronios I '
  • Gregorios '
  • Arkadios '
  • Theophanes I
  • Plutarch
  • Arkadios II
  • Serghios
  • Epiphanios II
  • John I
  • George I
  • Constantine
  • Akakios
  • Gelasios II
  • Theophanes II
  • John II
  • Epiphanios III
  • Basileos
  • Nicholas, later Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
  • John III
  • Barnabas II
  • Sophronios II
  • Isaias
  • Neophytos I
  • George II
  • Germanos I

    Non-autocephalous period (1260–1571)

During the Lusignan and later Venetian rule from 1260 to 1571, the Church of Cyprus ceased to be autocephalous and came under the direct rule of the Papacy; its fourteen dioceses were reduced to four until after the Ottoman conquest in 1571, when the Ottomans, for expedient administrative reasons, restored to the Orthodox Church of Cyprus all its previous privileges and rights.

Second autocephalous period (1571–present)