Kyrillos III (nicknamed Kyrilloudin "small Kyrillos" to differentiate from Kyrillos II; born Panagiotis Vassiliou; 1859 – 16 November 1933), was the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Kyrenia Kyrenia 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 of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...

and later became the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Cypriot Orthodox Church The Church of Cyprus () is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; ...

Biography

Born in Prastio village of

Mesaoria The Mesaoria (, ) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus. Geography The Mesaoria is the name given to the broad tract of plain which extends across the island from the Bay of Famagusta in the east to ...

Ottoman Cyprus The Eyalet of Cyprus (, ''Eyālet-i Ḳıbrıṣ'') was an eyalet/province of the Ottoman Empire made up of the island of Cyprus, which was annexed into the Empire in 1571. The Ottomans changed the way they administered Cyprus multiple times. It ...

, in 1859 he became monk at the age of 13 at St Panteleimon monastery in

Myrtou Myrtou (, ) is a town in the Kyrenia District of Cyprus, north of the city of Morphou. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Name origin There are several traditions as to how the village got its name. One of them says that ...

village,

Kyrenia District The Kyrenia District, or simply Kyrenia, is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital city is Kyrenia. It is the smallest of Cyprus's districts, and is the only one controlled in its entirety by the unrecognised de facto state of Northern C ...

. He studied philosophy and theology at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. In 1895 he was elected Bishop of Kyrenia and after the Kyrillos II' s death, he was elected

Archbishop of Cyprus The Archbishop of Cyprus (officially the Archbishop of Erdek, Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus) is the head of the Church of Cyprus. The incumbent Archbishop is George of Cyprus (archbishop of Cyprus), George of Cyprus since 2023. History Acco ...

on 11 November 1916. Opponents of him in those elections were the Bishop of

Kition Kition (Ancient Greek: , ; Latin: ; Egyptian: ; Phoenician: , , or , ;) was an ancient Phoenician and Greek city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus (in present-day Larnaca), one of the Ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus. Name The name of the ...

Meletios, the Bishop of Kykkos Kleopas and archimandrite Makarios Myriantheas, later known as Makarios II who became Archbishop of Cyprus years later. He was more moderate than his predecessor Kyrillos II and was accused of being too sympathetic to the British colonial rulers 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 ...

. He was also elected as one of the 6 Christian Legislators in the Legislative Council of Cyprus. Archbishop Kyrillos died on 16 November 1933 of

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

. In March 2010 his grave was vandalised.

References

1859 births 1933 deaths National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Archbishops of Cyprus Cypriot educators Cypriot politicians Greek Cypriots Eastern Orthodox Christians from Cyprus Respiratory disease deaths in Cyprus People from Famagusta District {{Cyprus-politician-stub Members of the Legislative Council of Cyprus