The Bishopric Of Larnaca Or Citium Is Valued At About £900 A Year, But
The Expenditure Is Confined To £200.
That of Kyrenia is about the same
as Citium.
There is no possibility of determining an exact figure, as
these revenues are dependent upon voluntary payments, which cannot be
enforced by any statute; but there is a "Berat" (decree) which invites
the local authorities to render the bishops assistance in the collection
of their revenues, without the absolute enforcement of any payments. No
amounts due to the bishops for either canonical, ecclesiastical, or alms
(Zitia), can be recovered through a court of law. On the other hand, the
all-powerful countenance afforded by the Turkish government represented
by public functionaries (zaphtiehs), who accompanied the bishops during
their diocesan visits upon a tour of collection, was a moral influence
that succeeded in extorting the unwilling fees. In case of a defaulting
village, it is said that a bishop has been known to suspend the
functions of the priest until the necessary payments should be completed
by his parishioners, who, thus temporarily cut off from all ghostly
comfort, hastened to arrive at a pecuniary compromise.
The monasteries are an important institution throughout Cyprus, and
there is a decided difference between the monks of these establishments
and the general priesthood. The monks are supposed to devote their lives
to charitable objects; they are not allowed to marry, and they have a
superior education, as all can read and write. On the other hand, the
priests are grossly ignorant, and it is computed that only a quarter of
their number could even write their own names.
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