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RELIGION
The freedom of
religion is safeguarded in the Cyprus
constitution. Article 18 states that “every
person has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion%26rdquo; and that
“all religions are equal before the
law%26rdquo;. Furthermore Article 28 says that no
one shall be discriminated against because of his
religion.
The majority of the
population of Cyprus (84,1%) is Greek Cypriot and
Christian Orthodox. Turkish Cypriots, who make up
11,7% of the population, are Sunnite Moslems.
Armenians, Maronites and Latins make up 1% of the
population, while 3,2% are foreign
nationals
The Church of
Cyprus
The Apostles Paul,
Barnabas and Mark (Barnabas%26rsquo; nephew) came
to Cyprus in 45 AD to spread Christianity.
Arriving at Salamis, they travelled across the
island to Paphos, where Sergius Paulus was the
first Roman official to convert to Christianity.
In 50 AD St Barnabas returned to Cyprus
accompanied by St Mark and set up his base in
Salamis. He is considered to be the first
Archbishop of Cyprus. In 57 AD, St Barnabas was
stoned to death by the Jews on the outskirts of
Salamis, where he was also buried. He thus became
one of the first martyrs of
Christianity.
A few of the Bishops
who helped spread Christianity on the island were
Lazarus, the Bishop of Kiti, Herakleidios the
Bishop of Tamasos, Avxivios the Bishop of Soloi,
and Theodotos the Bishop of Kyrenia.
Towards the end of
the 4th century, Christianity had spread
throughout the island. During this time St
Epiphanios was Archbishop. His seat was in
Salamis, which was renamed Constantia.
The Church of Cyprus
is one of the oldest autocephalous churches. When
the Archbishop of Antioch, to whose diocese
Cyprus belonged, tried to abolish the Cyprus
church%26rsquo;s autocephaly, the Cypriot clergy
denounced this before the Third Ecumenical Synod,
which convened in 434 AD in Ephesos. The Synod
ratified the autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus
by its 8th canon.
In 478 AD,
Archbishop Anthemios of Cyprus, following a
vision, found the grave of St Barnabas and his
remains. On St Barnabas%26rsquo;s chest rested a
copy of St Mathew%26rsquo;s Gospel. The
Archbishop offered this Gospel to the Byzantine
Emperor Zenon, who in turn gave the Archbishop of
Cyprus the right to sign in red ink, to wear a
red cloak during religious ceremonies and to hold
an imperial sceptre instead of an Episcopal
staff.
During the Arab
raids in the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries, the
Church of Cyprus went through many trials and
tribulations. Constantia, Curium and Paphos were
destroyed. In order to save his flock from
slaughter, the Archbishop of Cyprus transferred
all survivors to the Greek mainland, a region
that was named Nea Ioustiani after
him.
In 698 AD after the
Arab raids ended, the Archbishop returned with
his flock to Cyprus, bearing the title
”Archbishop of Nea Ioustiniani and All
Cyprus%26rdquo;
The Frankish -
Venetian Period
During the Frankish
Period of Cyprus (1192 – 1489), the Church
of Cyprus was persecuted and oppressed by the
Latin Church. The 14 Orthodox bishoprics were
reduced to four, as many as the Roman Catholic
ones. Moreover the properties of many monasteries
were confiscated. It is characteristic that in
1231, 13 Orthodox monks from the Kantara
Monastery became martyrs.
The Franks were
succeeded by the Venetians in 1489, who reigned
in Cyprus until its occupation by the Ottomans in
1571 AD.
The persecutions,
especially during the Frankish period, did not
succeed in uprooting the faith of the Orthodox
Greek Cypriots.
Ottoman
Period
In 1571, the Franks
were succeeded by the Ottomans, who gave back to
the Church of Cyprus all the privileges they
previously had. They also recognised the
Archbishop not only as Head of the Church but as
ethnic leader of all Cypriots. The first
officially recognised Archbishop was Nikiforos in
1660 AD.
Nevertheless, during
the Ottoman period (1571-1878) Cyprus went
through hard times. People lived in insecurity
and their life and property was constantly at the
disposal of the Ottomans.
The role of the
Church in the preservation of faith, national
identity and traditions was particularly
important. The churches were not mere places of
worship but were transformed to schools and
places of ethnic inspiration.
The revolution in
Greece in 1821, together with information of a
revolutionary movement in Cyprus, resulted in the
death of Archbishop Kyprianos on 9th July 1821
and Bishops Chrysanthos of Paphos, Meletios of
Kitium, Lavrentios of Kyrenia, of the Abbot Josef
of the Kykko Monastery and other notables,
clergymen and common people.
British rule
until today
During the period of
British rule 1878-1960, the people on the island
had a greater sense of security and more freedom
to develop a variety of activities.
However, the then
British Administration interfered, in certain
cases, using restrictive laws on the management
of the Church and other areas of national and
cultural activity. This led to the October 1931
uprise organised by the Church against the
British. As a consequence of this uprise, the
Bishops Nikodemos of Kitium, and Makarios of
Kyrenia were expelled and restrictions were
imposed on the election of the Archbishop. As a
result the filling of the Archbishop%26rsquo;s
throne was pending from 1933 (death of Archbishop
Kyrillos the 3rd) to 1946, when the Bishop of
Paphos Leontios was elected as the new
Archbishop.
In 1950, Makarios
III was elected Archbishop. The newly elected
Archbishop demonstrated intensive intellectual
and national activity. In 1949 he founded the
Seminary ŤApostle Varnavasť and in 1950 he
organised the referendum on the Union between
Cyprus and Greece. He was the political leader of
the EOKA liberation struggle in the years
1955-1959. The British exiled him to the
Seychelles because of his activities.
In 1960, Archbishop
Makarios III was elected President of the newly
established Republic of Cyprus. During his term
as Archbishop, following the dethronement of the
Bishops of Paphos, Kitium and Kyrenia for
conspiring against him, two new Bishoprics were
created: the Bishopric of Limassol which was
detached from the Bishopric of Kitium, and the
Bishopric of Morfou which was detached from the
Bishopric of Kyrenia.
Unfortunately, the
coup d%26rsquo; etat of 15 July 1974 forced
Archbishop Makarios III to abandon the island for
a short period and to return in December
1974.
The coup was
followed by the Turkish invasion of 20th July
1974 with the known results: 35% of
Cyprus%26rsquo; territory came under Turkish
occupation, 20,000 people were enclaved in their
occupied villages living under conditions of
oppression, harassment and deprivation. Now only
421 Greek Cypriots and 155 Maronites remain (May
2001 figures). In addition the ascertainment of
the fate of about 1500 missing is still
pending.
The destruction of
our cultural heritage consistitutes one of the
most tragic consequences of the 1974 Turkish
invasion. Churches containing Byzantine icons,
frescoes and mosaics of incalculable value have
been pillaged by antiquities dealers and sold on
the black market. One of the most characteristic
cases of pillage has been the case of the mosaics
of Panayia of Kanakaria of the 6th century AC,
which were finally returned to the Church of
Cyprus, following a ruling by the Indianapolis
Court. In the occupied areas of Cyprus there are
514 churches, chapels and monasteries.
On 3 August 1977,
Archbishop Makarios passed away and was succeeded
by Chrysostomos, the current Archbishop. In 1979,
the new Statutory Map of the Church of Cyprus was
drawn up and approved replacing the old one of
1914.
Holy
Synod
The Holy Synod of
the Autocephalous 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. It consists of
his Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus as the
Head of the Holy Synod, the Bishops of Paphos,
Kitium, Kyrenia, Limassol and Morphou and the
Suffragan Bishops of Salamis, Trimithous and
Arsinoe as regular members.
The Holy Synod meets
regularly in the first week after Easter and in
the first fortnight of the months of February and
September. It meets in ad hoc sessions when it is
deemed necessary or when two of its members put
forward a request.
Archbishopric and
Bishoprics
Archbishopric
Archbishop: His
Beatitude Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All
Cyprus Chrysostomos
Assistant Bishops:
Suffragan Bishops of Salamis, Varnavas and of
Trimithous Vassilios.
Address: Arch.
Kyprianos Str., 1016 Nicosia, Tel.: 02-430696,
Fax: 02-432470
Bishopric of
Paphos
Metropolitan of
Paphos: Bishop Chrysostomos
Seat:
Paphos
Assistant Bishop:
Suffragan Bishop of Arsinoe Georgios
Address: Saint
Theodoros Str., 8047 Paphos, Tel.: 06-932092,
Fax: 06-943130
Bishopric of
Kitium
Metropolitan of
Kitium: Bishop Chrysostomos
Seat:
Larnaca
Address: Athanasias
Nikomedias Ave., 6050 Larnaca, Tel.: 04-652269,
Fax: 04-655588
Bishopric of
Kyrenia
Metropolitan of
Kyrenia: Bishop Pavlos
Seat: Nicosia. Due
to the Turkish invasion of the district and city
of Kyrenia, the seat has been temporarily
transferred to Nicosia.
Address: 3 Achilleos
Str., 2112 Nicosia, Tel.: 02-338308/9, Fax:
02-338464
Bishopric
of Limassol
Metropolitan of
Limassol: Bishop Athanasios
Address: 306 Saint
Andreas Str., 3304 Limassol, Tel.: 05-362603,
Fax: 05-371548
Email:
imlgram@logos.cy.net.
Bishopric of
Morphou
Metropolitan of
Morphou: Bishop Neophytos
Seat: Evrychou. The
seat has been transferred to the village of
Evrychou due to the Turkish occupation of
Morphou
Tel.: 02-932401,
Fax: 02-933092 |
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