It Cannot Be Expected That Either
Bishops, Monks, Or Priests Regard This Change With Satisfaction, And In
Their Hearts They
May sigh for the good old times of a Turkish
administration, when the Greek Church of Cyprus was an imperium
In
imperio that could sway both the minds and purses of the multitude,
untouched by laws or equity, and morally supported by the government.
The most important monastery in the island is that of Kykou; this is
situated upon the mountains at an elevation of 3800 feet above the sea,
and it comprises an establishment of sixty monks, with a gross revenue
from various properties in different portions of the country estimated
together with donations at about £5000 per annum. The monastery of
Mahera estimates its revenue at £2000; that of Fameromeni at Nicosia, at
£2000 without any expenditure, as the three monks, together with one
servant, are paid by the extra incomes of the Church. There are many
monasteries throughout the island, and all with the exception of Kykou
and St. Andrea, at the eastern point of Cyprus, pay a certain portion of
their revenue to the bishop of the diocese. The two monasteries I have
excepted are perfectly independent of all ecclesiastical control in
revenue and finance. Considerable caution will be necessary in arranging
the land question with these numerous establishments, which have
hitherto enjoyed a peculiar independence. Up to the present time the
income of the bishops has been derived from the annual payments from
monasteries, by the canonical tax paid by every church; from the alms
(Zitia), which is a tax levied upon all crops; from the dish exposed for
offerings in church while they officiate, and from various ordination
fees and marriage licences. From the inquiries I made in various
dependable quarters, the bishops are not generally beloved either by the
monks, priests, or public; but this absence of appreciation may be due
to the continual demands upon the funds of monasteries and the pockets
of the peasantry, more than to any personal peculiarities of character.
There are stories of neglect of duty and misappropriation of funds
intended for charitable purposes, which I should decline to believe
possible among ecclesiastics of such devout principles and high
position. The Archbishop is much beloved, and is loudly praised by all
classes of the inhabitants, to whom he owes his election as supreme head
of the Church after the following manner:-
In the event of death, the vacant see of Cyprus is represented by the
Bishop of Baffo, and the new archbishop must be elected by the people.
The bishop occupies the position of president of an ecclesiastical
council, to which representatives are sent from every district, charged
with the votes of the inhabitants in favour of the archbishop. Upon his
election, the approval and confirmation of his appointment must be
obtained by an imperial decree before the archbishop can officiate. In
the same manner every bishop is elected by the people of the district,
and their representatives are sent to Nicosia, where the archbishop
presides over his council, or court; but the new bishop must also be
confirmed in his position by an imperial decree.
Should an archbishop be guilty of any crime, either civil or
ecclesiastical, he may be deposed by the head of the Church at
Constantinople, acting in conjunction with the Turkish government, at
the request of the inhabitants of Cyprus.
Bishops may be deposed by the archbishop, who would in such a case
assemble the Synod, composed of the heads of clergy in his presidency.
Before this tribunal a bishop would be summoned to appear in case of an
accusation, and the trial would take place in open court; the power of
punishment or absolution remaining in the hands of the archbishop.
The Turkish government appears to have held a peculiar position in
relation to the Greek Church in Cyprus, as, although acting in
conjunction and in harmony with the customs of the inhabitants, it
reserved the right of supreme authority in special cases; thus at
various epochs the Turkish government deposed the Archbishops
Chrissanthon and Panareton, hanged the Archbishop Kipriano, and banished
the Archbishops Joachim and Damaskino.
From the universal complaints, there can be little doubt that the
schools that should be established from funds specially invested for
that purpose in the hands of certain monasteries, bishops, &c., are
grossly neglected, and it has already been suggested that a commission
should be instituted by the British authorities, under the presidency of
the archbishop, for a rigid investigation of the resources of all
monasteries and the ACTUAL revenue of bishoprics, together with the
disbursement of all sums that should have been expended either for
education or for charitable purposes.
The tithes exacted by the bishops from the peasantry add seriously to
the imposts of ordinary taxation, and there is every probability of a
reform being demanded by the inhabitants at the hands of the British
administration. When under Turkish rule, the Greek Church enjoyed not
only perfect freedom, but an immunity from taxation, as, although they
were legally liable, the law was never enforced upon the clergy. The
English government has determined upon the observance of all laws by all
classes, and the Church has awakened to the fact that there is no
exception.
"From the earliest times the Greek Church of Cyprus has enjoyed an
especial degree of independence; in the reign of the Emperor Zeno, A.D.
473, exceptional privileges were conceded to the Archbishop of Cyprus,
who, although he owns the supremacy of the Patriarch of Constantinople
over the orthodox Greek Church, claims to be entirely independent of him
as regards Church discipline; he wears purple, carries a gold-headed
sceptre, has the title of Beatitude, signs in red as the Greek Emperors
were wont to do, and uses a seal bearing a two-headed imperial eagle. It
is said that these dignities were conferred in consequence of the
fortunate discovery at Salamis of the body of St. Barnabas, with a copy
of the Gospel of St. Matthew, which precious relic was sent to
Constantinople, and in return the Emperor confirmed the Church of Cyprus
in its absolute independence, and gave the archbishop the above
privileges."* (*Savile's Cyprus, p. 142.)
St. Paul and St. Barnabas visited the island A.D. 45, and the conversion
of Sergius Paulus, the proconsul at Paphos, by their preaching, was the
first seed of Christianity implanted in Cyprus at the period when the
inhabitants were steeped in heathenism; but some of the superstitions at
present existing are hardly less degrading than pagan rites, and in the
kissing of the Virgin's cave at Trooditissa for the purpose already
described, we can trace an affinity with the ancient worship of Venus.
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