The Legacy of Joseph Barnabas in Cyprus

Behind the Cathedral of St. John is the Makarios Cultural Center, Byzantine Museum. It contains an impressive collection of more than 100 icons—some quite large. The oldest icon dates to the seventh or eighth century. Most in the collection date from the twelfth through the nineteenth centuries. A number were rescued from destruction in Turkish occupied northern Cyprus.

I was not allowed to take any pictures, but here is a Mother of God icon similar to some in the Byzantine Museum.

Eastern Orthodoxy highly reveres Mary, and many of the icons depict her holding the child Jesus. She is called Theotokos—the God-bearer or Mother of God. She is seen as the ideal saint, one who submitted completely to the will of God.

In the Byzantine Museum collection, icons depicting other saints, such as Peter, Mark and Luke, were somewhat common (Matthew less often). St. Nicholas and St. George (slaying the dragon) appear regularly. But, in this entire collection, there is only one icon of Barnabas. It is modest in size and placed beside a map of Cyprus, in a display showing the two men who brought Christianity to the island. To the left of the map is an icon of Paul, who holds a sword in his right hand and a book in his left. To the right of the map is Barnabas, seated on a throne and holding a book (probably his copy of Matthew’s Gospel) in his left hand.

I am intrigued. Why does Barnabas, the patron saint of Cyprus, get so little attention in the iconography of the island? I will try to determine why.