The Legacy of Joseph Barnabas in Cyprus

Lynne and me with Bishop Neophytos. Difficult photo to adjust the exposure.

Today we met with Neophytos, Bishop of the Morphou region. Talking with him about Barnabas put my mind at rest regarding my project. He is quite aware of the sometimes contradictory claims made about the saints in the oral and written traditions of the church–vastly more aware than I am.

I was also relieved when he said that Barnabas probably did not write a text called The Epistle of Barnabas. I know that a Gentile Christian in Alexandria wrote this pervasively anti-Semitic document sometime between AD 70-135. The author speaks of “the wretched Jews” (16:2) and in chapter nine claims that circumcision resulted from the deception of an evil angel. Barnabas, a Jew from the tribe of Levi, did not write it (see http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/barnabas-roberts.html for the text).

Barnabas probably died before the Epistle of Barnabas was written, but somehow the belief spread that he wrote the text. For many years, Christian leaders attributed the document to Barnabas. The important, fourth century Codex Sinaiticus includes both the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas at the end of its collection of New Testament texts.

Bishop Neophytos and his spiritual father.

Bishop Neophytos was even comfortable saying that the Acts of Barnabas was probably written in the late 5^th century—not by John Mark as the text claims. What a relief to hear. I worried that, if I explain such historical matters in my future book, I risk offending my Orthodox Christian friends (to read a translation of the text, see http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0817.htm).

In Neophytos, I find a deeply spiritual man who reads many books and is working on a history of the Church of Cyprus. He knows the issues with which I struggle. He also advised me to quit thinking so much like a Protestant if I ever want to understand Orthodox traditions. Part of my book should deal with history, and part with traditions, some of which are fanciful, some of which are historical.

Now I feel more liberated to pursue my analytical task of gathering information about Barnabas. Neophytos said that he places himself at my service to provide help that I need. He even called a historian friend of his and asked him to accompany me to Salamis, so that the man can explain the historical background of the church. Cypriots like the fact that I am so interested in their patron saint. I like the way they are so helpful.