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==History==
Christianity was originally brought to Cyprus by the [[Apostles]] [[Apostle Barnabas|Barnabas]] and [[Apostle Mark|Mark]] in the first century, c. 46AD and was under the jurisdiction of the [[Patriarchate of Jerusalem]] until 325. The Apostle Barnabas 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]]. In 478, the grave of St. Barnabas was found, with a copy of the [[Gospel of Matthew]] on his [[relics]]. The autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus was confirmed later that year by the Roman Emperor Zeno who granted its Archbishop "three privileges," that is: to sign his name in ''cinnabar'', to wear purple instead of black under his [[vestments]], and to use an imperial scepter instead of the episcopal [[crosier]]. So now I would like piously to share with you spiritually this information I have discovered after St. Lazarus left Bethany, and lived on the island of Cyprus, and who eventually became a Bishop of Kition, which is now called Larnaca. The Virgin Mary the Theotokos also visited St. Lazarus while he was on the island on Cyprus. This information is presented at the end of this web site. The Orthodox Church in Cyprus was founded by St. Barnabas the Apostle in 46 A.D., and was under the Jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem up until 325, and then became Autocephalous in 413. The Episcopal Seat is under Archbishop Chrysostom of New Justina and Cyprus. The following are four Metropolitans of the island of Cyprus: Chrysostom of Paphos, Chrysostomos of Kition, and Paulos of Kerinya (occupied part, he is residing in Nicosia), and Chrysanthos of Limassol.
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 Justiniana (now "Nea Justiniana") 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 bishops from 14 to four. Additionally, the Latin bishops attempted to gain concessions on the differences in doctrine and practices between the two churches.