COLLEGE - LIMASSOLBUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

HISTORY OF CYPRUSLECTURE 6

TOPICS

Christianity in CyprusThe introduction of Christianity and its

implications.The development of the Church of Cyprus.The Crusades.

Christianity on CyprusIn 45 A.D., the apostles Paul and Barnabas

arrived on the island, and they were accompanied by Mark the Evangelist.

They arrived in Paphos, which, at that time was the seat of the Roman Proconsul Sergius Paulus who was the first to be converted by Apostle Paul.

The conversion followed a great miracle performed on the magical Elima, who was first blinded and then cured.

Christianity on Cyprus

This miracle and the fact than the proconsul was the first to be baptized into Christianity, encouraged many Cypriots to convert and become Christians.

Apostle Barnavas

Apostle Paul

Marc the Evangelist

Martyrdom by Apostle Barnabas

The two apostles left the island after first organizing the church and appointing bishops.

Apostle Barnabas returned later and became the Bishop of Salamis.

During the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Nero, Barnabas was captured by the Jews

of the city and was then subjected to martyrdom.

Martyrdom by Apostle Barnab

According to the ‘‘Acts of Apostles’’ he was then buried by his nephew Mark the Evangelist, who placed on the chest of Barnabas a manuscript of the Gospel by Mathew.

The remains of Apostle Barnabas, together with the Gospel were discovered by Anthemios, Bishop of Constantia in 485 A.D.

The first bishops

The first bishop was Heraklidios, Bishop of Tamassos.

Bishop Heraklidios ordained Epaphras as Bishop of Paphos.

Tychikos was ordained Bishop of Neapolis, today’s Limassol, and Auxibius was ordained Bishop

of Soloi by St. Mark the Evangelist. Saint Lazarus was ordained Bishop of

Kition.

The first Oecumenical Synod-St. Spyridon

At the first Oecumenical Synod at Necaea in 325 A.D., Cyprus was represented by three

bishops, Cyril of Paphos, Gelasius of Salamis, and Spyridon of Tremithus.

Spyridon was to become the famous saint who was martyred.

Saint Spyridon

Monastic life Saint Hilarion

Monastic life flourished in Cyprus since the fourth century A.D.

Monasteries were established in the valleys of Marathasa like that of St. John Lambadistis

which was founded next to St. Heraklidios monastery.

The trend for monastic life is connected to the arrival of St. Hilarion in the island.

Monastic life Saint Hilarion

Together with Saint Antony, Hilarion had lived for a very long time in the desert.

He organized monastic life on the island and his name is connected with the Castle of Saint Hilarion, in the mountains over Kyrenia.

He died in 371 A.D.

Saint Hilarion

Castle of Saint Hilarion

The Byzantine periodThe Autocephalous Church of Cyprus

Under Emperor Constantine the Great, Cyprus was

administratively placed under the Eastern Administration with Antiochia as the capital.

The patriarchs of Antiochia demanded that the church of Cyprus should also come under them.

The Byzantine periodThe Autocephalus Church of Cyprus

They based their demand on the consularius, or governor of Cyprus, who was appointed by the Count of Antiochia, as well as on a forged canon of the First Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea which stated that the patriarch of Antiochia had the right to nominate the archbishop of Cyprus.

Third Ecumenical Synod of Ephesus

The Antiochia’s demands were presented to Pope Innocent the first Patriarch Alexander who was only attempting to strengthen his own personal position.

The Bishops of Cyprus defied an order from the Pope to comply

Third Ecumenical Synod of Ephesus

They repeated their refusal in 431 A.D., when they ignored instructions from the Count of Antiochia

Flavius Dionysus and elected Reginus to replace the bishop of Constantia Theodoros, and thus rejected any intervention from the Patriarch of Antiochia.

Third Ecumenical Synod of Ephesus

On his election, Reginus,accompanied by three other Bishops proceeded to Ephesus where the Third Ecumenical Synod was meeting, and managed to gain approval of the famous Eight Canon of Ephesus, which gave recognition to

the autocephalus character of the Church of Cyprus.

Artemios and the remains of Barnabas

Even after this ruling, those in Antiochia, acting on the basis of some vague wording of the 8th canon, continued to promote their demands.

While this was going on, Bishop Anthemios of Constantia saw a vision of Saint Barnabas, who pointed out to

him the place of his burial.

Artemios and the remains of Barnabas

He found the place with the saint’s remains and the hand-written Gospel by Matthew on his chest, as it was placed there by Mark the Evangelist.

This discovery left no doubt that the Church of Cyprus was indeed an Apostolic Church and that as such, it had every right to be recognized as

autocephalus.

Final recognition and privileges

Anthemios took the saints remains and the Gospel and went to Constantinople.

He requested that Emperor Zenon should put an

end to the dispute with Antioch. Zenon called a special session of the synod in

Constantinople in 448 A.D., which, without any shadow of a doubt, ratified the 8th canon of Ephesus, closing the affair once and for all.

Final recognition and privileges

Before leaving Constantinople, Anthemios presented the Gospel to the Emperor and it

was placed within the chapel of Saint Stephen, which was in the Royal Palace, with instructions that it should be read from during the Easter Services.

Final recognition and privileges

The Emperor granted the following privileges to Anthemios and his successors:

a) to sign in red ink like the emperors b) to carry a royal scepter instead of the

customary Pastoral Staff c) to wear a red claok.

These privileges are enjoyed by the archbishops of Cyprus up to date.

Revolts by governors

There was a part of the governors who aspired to become independent grandies.

The first such revolt took place in 1042 A.D., by Theophilos Erotikos who was appointed the island’s administrator by Emperor Michael the Fourth, two years earlier.

Revolts by governors

After Michael’s death and his succession by Emperor Zoe, Theophilos incited the Cypriots to revolt and placed himself at the head of this act against the throne. The revolt, was suppressed by Zoe’s successor, Constantine the Gladiator one year later.

Rapsomatis revolt 1092 A.D.

The revolt by Rapsomatis broke out in 1092 A.D.

The emperor Alexios Comnenos sent Ioannis Dukas to restore order.

He first suppressed the revolt on the other islands, and then he attacked Cyprus and managed to capture Kyrenia in a surprise attack.

Rapsomatis revolt 1092 A.D.

Rapsomatis, who had massed his forces in Nicosia, hastily fortified the pass at Boghaz in his effort to stop Dukas’ advance under the command of general Emmanouil Voutomitis.

Many of Rapsomatis’s forces deserted to Voutomitis and this forced the renegade administrator to flee in haste to Limassol from where he hoped to escape.

Rapsomatis revolt 1092 A.D.

Voutomitis gave chase and forced Rapsomatis

to take shelter at the Monastery of Stavrovouni, where he was captured.

Fortification of Cyprus

The time when these developments were taking place

were extremely critical for the Byzantine empire because of the Crusades, with which they

coincided.

Thus the island became very essential to the Byzantine

Emperors for obvious and very strategic reasons. Alexios Komnenos resolved to fortify the island and built the castles of Saint Hilarion, Buffavento, and Kantara on the Pentadaktylos range.

Fortification of Cyprus

He appointed commanders of these castles who he could trust implicitly.

Fortification of Cyprus

Bufavento

Kantara castle

The first Crusades

Right from the First Crusade its shores were plundered by crusaders who, however, were defeated by Commander Filokalis when they attempted a large scale landing in 1099 A.D.

Another operation by Prince Renaldo of Antioch, in 1155 A.D., did not have the same fate.

The first Crusades

Under the excuse that the emperor had reneged on some promise, the prince attacked and captured the

island. He also took prisoners both Dukas and Ioannis

Comnenos, a nephew of the emperor Manuel Comnenos. In 1159 A.D. he was forced to abandon the island because he could not face the emperor’s forces

sent against him.

The Crusades

The crusades

References

Cleanthis, P. Georgiades, History of Cyprus, 2nd Edition 1993.