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==History==
Christianity was originally brought to Cyprus by the [[Apostle]] Barnabas in the first century. The Apostle Mark is considered to be the first bishop of Cyprus. Its autocephaly was established at the [[Council of Ephesus]] in 431, overriding the claims of the [[Patriarch of Antioch]]. This status was confirmed by the Roman Emperor Zeno in 478 who granted its Archbishop “three "three privileges, that is: to sign his name in ’’cinnabar’’''cinnabar'', to wear purple instead of black under his vestments, and to use an imperial scepter instead of the episcopal crosier.
The Arab invasions of the seventh century forced the Archbishop to flee the island to Hellespont, where under the protection of Emperor Justinian II he established a new city called Nova Justinian in honor of the emperor. In 698, the Arabs were driven out of Cyprus and the Archbishop returned to the island, but retained the title of Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus. With the occupation of Cyprus by the Crusades from 1191 to 1571, the Orthodox hierarchy found itself subordinated to the occupying Latin French and Venetian kings, who forced a reduction in the number of Orthodox [[bishop]]s from 14 to 4. Additionally, the Latin bishops attempted to gain concessions on the differences in doctrine and practices between the two churches.
