Kyprianos of Cyprus
Kyprianos | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Cyprus | |
 Kyprianos' bust in Lefkosia | |
| Church | Orthodox |
| Installed | 1810 |
| Term ended | 1821 |
| Predecessor | Chrysanthos |
| Successor | Ioakim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1756 Strovolos |
| Died | 1821 Nicosia |
Archbishop Kyprianos of Cypriot Orthodox Church in the early 19th century at the time that the Greek War of Independence broke out.
Kyprianos was born in (the then village of)
Machairas monastery until 1783 when he left for Wallachia for further theological studies returning to Cyprus in 1802. He became archbishop of Cyprus in 1810. He founded the Pancyprian Gymnasium (originally called the Hellenic School) in 1812 which was the first secondary school on the island and which is still located opposite the archbishopric in Nicosia
.
In 1818, Kyprianos was initiated into the Friendly Society (
Philiki Etairia) which was preparing the ground for war and liberation from the Ottoman Empire. In 1820, Alexander Ypsilantis contacted the archbishop asking for Cyprus to join in the armed struggle. Kyprianos' reply was pragmatic: He suggested that Cyprus support the upcoming revolution with money and supplies as any armed struggle was bound to end in disaster. Cyprus, being an isolated island far from Greece, had no substantial navy and no tradition of Klepht
warfare like other parts of the Greek world.
However, when the Greek War of Independence broke out on 25 March 1821, Cypriots left in large numbers to fight in
Vassilis Michaelides
.
Kyprianos was outspoken on the issue of Freemasonry which he condemned.[1]
Archbishop Kyprianos and the bishops Chrysanthos, Meletios and Lavrentios were buried in the crypt of the monument at the Faneromeni Church, Nicosia.
See also
- New martyr
References
- ^ Declaration of Cyprianus, Archbishop of Cyprus Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Cyprus, February 2, 1815. (from the Orthodox Research Institute)
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