Archbishop Kyprianos of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

() was the head of the Cypriot Orthodox Church in the early 19th century at the time that the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

broke out. Kyprianos was born in (the then village of) Strovolos in 1756. He served as a monk in Machairas monastery until 1783 when he left for

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

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 Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

. In 1818, Kyprianos was initiated into the Friendly Society ( Philiki Etairia) which was preparing the ground for war and liberation from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1820,

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis (12 December 1792 – 31 January 1828) was a Greek nationalist politician who was member of a prominent Phanariot Greeks, Phanariot Greek family, a prince of the Danubian Principalities, a senior officer of the Imperial R ...

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 Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, 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

, while proclamations were distributed in every corner of the island. The local

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

, Küçük Mehmet, reacted with fury, calling in reinforcements, confiscating weapons and arresting several prominent Cypriots. Archbishop Kyprianos was urged (by his friends) to leave the island as the situation worsened but refused to do so. Finally, on 9 July 1821 Küçük Mehmet had the gates to the walled city of Nicosia closed and executed, by beheading or hanging, 470 important Cypriots amongst them Chrysanthos (bishop of Paphos), Meletios (bishop of Kition) and Lavrentios (bishop of Kyrenia). Archbishop Kyprianos was publicly hanged from a tree opposite the former palace of the Lusignan Kings of Cyprus. The events leading up to his execution were documented in an epic poem written in the Cypriot dialect by Vassilis Michaelides. Kyprianos was outspoken on the issue of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

which he condemned.''Declaration of Cyprianus, Archbishop of Cyprus''
. Cyprus, February 2, 1815. (from the Orthodox Research Institute) Archbishop Kyprianos and the bishops Chrysanthos, Meletios and Lavrentios were buried in the crypt of the monument at the Faneromeni Church, Nicosia.

References

{{Authority control 1756 births 1821 deaths Executed priests Archbishops of Cyprus Greek Cypriots Greek people of the Greek War of Independence People from Nicosia Eastern Orthodox Christians from Cyprus Executed Cypriot people People executed by the Ottoman Empire by hanging 19th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Members of the Filiki Eteria

See also

References