The Legacy of Joseph Barnabas in Cyprus

In our first attempt at information gathering, we asked a Cypriot woman what she could tell us about Barnabas. She said “Not much—only what I learned about him in school.” She went on to say that he was not born in Cyprus but that he died here. He also contributed to the Cypriot church’s independence. His remains were buried near Famagusta, along with a Gospel. Because of Barnabas, the Cypriot archbishop was allowed to wear a special hat and ring and robe and was able to sign documents with a special ink. She also said that before 1974, she occasionally went to the Monastery of St. Barnabas near Famagusta, especially for events such as christenings. She has not been back to the monastery since the Turkish occupation began in 1974.

She seemed to have no awareness of what the NT says about Barnabas. Her associations with the apostle stem largely from events in the fifth century. During that time, a patriarch of Antioch named Peter argued that Antioch, a church of apostolic origin, sent missionaries to establish the church in Cyprus. Cyprus should therefore be subject to Antioch.

In 485, the bishops of Cyprus took their case to Emperor Zeno, armed with new evidence of their own apostolic origin. According to them, St. Barnabas had appeared in a vision to Anthemius, the bishop of Constantia, revealing the location of the apostle’s tomb. The following day, Anthemius followed the visionary directions and found the tomb, which contained the remains of Barnabas and also his personal copy of the Gospel of Matthew. It was these relics and the copy of Matthew that Anthemius took to Zeno. The emperor was so impressed that he issued an edict forbidding anyone from interfering with the autonomy (autocephaly) of the Cypriot churches. He also granted certain privileges to the archbishop of Cyprus: to sign documents with a special ink (cinnabar), to wear a purple robe instead of a black one, and to carry an imperial scepter instead of an episcopal staff.

My hunch is that many Cypriots will associate Barnabas primarily with their church’s independent status. We will find out soon.