Archbishop Kyprianos of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

( el, Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κύπρου Κυπριανός) was the head of the

Cypriot Orthodox Church The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion ...

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. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

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 (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

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 ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaori ...

. 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, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. In 1820,

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης, Aléxandros Ypsilántis, ; ro, Alexandru Ipsilanti; russian: Александр Константинович Ипсиланти, Aleksandr Konstantinovich Ipsilanti; 12 Dece ...

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,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, had no substantial navy and no tradition of

Klepht Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were kno ...

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, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...

, 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 Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of P ...

), Meletios (bishop of Kition) and Lavrentios (bishop of

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

). 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 or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

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

1756 births 1821 deaths Executed priests Archbishops of Cyprus Greek Cypriot people 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 {{Cyprus-bio-stub

See also

References