06 — The Founding of the Church of Cyprus
Barnabas as apostle, founder, and patron of the Church of Cyprus, and the tradition by which that Church secured its autocephaly. These files trace the Cypriot mission from Acts through the later tradition of Barnabas’s return and martyrdom, and then the canonical history: the Council of Ephesus (431), whose eighth canon defended the bishops of Cyprus against the claims of Antioch, and the tradition that the finding of Barnabas’s relics under the Emperor Zeno (c. 478/488) clinched the island’s independence and won its archbishop the imperial privileges.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
The Church of Cyprus is the oldest of the autocephalous Churches, and it grounds its independence on Barnabas: an apostolic founder gives an apostolic see, and an apostolic see need answer to no patriarchate. These files set out, first, the tradition of Barnabas as the apostle of Cyprus — beginning with the missionary journeys of Acts 13 and continuing in the later Cypriot tradition of his return, labor, and death on the island — and, second, the dossier on which Cypriot autocephaly rests: the eighth canon of Ephesus, the dispute with Antioch, and the celebrated tradition of the relic-finding under Zeno. Following the methodology, the canonical fact of Ephesus is distinguished from the foundation-legend of the relics, and the modern scholarly assessment of the Zeno tradition is given alongside it.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Apostle of Cyprus | Barnabas as founder and patron of the Cypriot Church: the mission of Acts 13:4–12; the later tradition of his return with John Mark after the parting from Paul (Acts 15:39); his labors and martyrdom on the island; and his standing as the apostolic root from which the Church of Cyprus claims its identity. |
| The Autocephaly of Cyprus | The canonical and legendary charter of Cypriot independence: the Council of Ephesus (431), Canon 8, against the claims of Antioch; the tradition that the finding of the relics under Zeno confirmed autocephaly; the three imperial privileges (cinnabar signature, purple robe, imperial sceptre); and the scholarly assessment. |
See Also
- Cyprus and the Mission — the first apostolic mission to Cyprus in Acts 13
- The Finding of the Relics — the relic-tradition that underwrites the autocephaly
- Autocephaly and Territory — the canonical principle Cyprus exemplifies
- Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem — the Antiochene claims Cyprus resisted
References
- The Council of Ephesus (431), Canon 8. Trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 14 (The Seven Ecumenical Councils).
- Theodorus Lector. Ecclesiastical History (epitome), on the finding of the relics and Zeno. In Patrologia Graeca 86.
- Hackett, John. A History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus. London: Methuen, 1901.
- The Acts of Barnabas. Trans. Alexander Walker, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1886.