The Legacy of Joseph Barnabas in Cyprus

Fr. Gabriel, Fr. Charitan and Mike at the reception at the Church of St. Barnabas

Friday evening Styliana (pronounced Steel-e-AN-a) called to say that Fr. Gabriel (pronounced Gav-REEL) had reserved two seats on a minibus for us. “Be at the Kykkos Monastery complex in Nicosia at 5:45 A.M.” Being tired from a full day on Friday, we groaned, but we readily accepted the invitation. How often do you get a chance to attend a special Orthodox liturgy at the tomb of St. Barnabas, in which the Abbot of the Monastery of Barnabas elevates Fr. Christos, his understudy, to full stature as a monk and confers upon him a new name (Charitan)?

So we got up at 4:30 to make sure we were not late, and we rode in a very old Toyota minibus—as in no seat belts in the four bench seats in the back with to little leg room for folks our height. And it was an adventure.

People standing outside the chapel over the tomb of Barnabas. More continued to come.

At the crossing into Turkish occupied northern Cyprus, the driver of the Land Rover in front of us was ordered to turn back. On a previous occasion, he and his wife were caught cleaning the chapel at the tomb of St. Barnabas without official permission. Evidently such behavior is not tolerated by the Turkish authorities, who jailed the couple and then sent them home. Anyway, we inherited four more passengers. The minibus groaned and sputtered its way to the church.

I don’t know how many people were packed into the little chapel over the tomb of St. Barnabas, but I was thankful that our bus arrived a little late and there was no room left inside. Standing in a small space with all those bodies generating heat—not to mention the accompanying incense. We were content to stand outside and listen to the 2 ½ hour service.

Afterward, we walked from the tomb up to the Church of St. Barnabas for a reception. To my astonishment, I was again asked to sit close to Fr. Gabriel, who has taken a special interest in my research. We understood none of the conversation, but we enjoyed being part of the celebration.

Part of a series of frescos in the Church of Barnabas. This one shows the Emperor Zeno receiving Barnabas's copy of Matthew from Cypriot Bishops.

On the drive back to Nicosia, our driver received a call from Styliana. Fr. Gabriel was worried about us, and he wanted us to join him for lunch. So we again found ourselves at table with a small group in his apartment. I told Fr. Gabriel that we were honored to be at table with him. We feel like he treats us like his children. He smiled and replied that he does consider us his children, and he feels like he has known us for a long time, not just a week.

Toward the end of the meal, I asked Fr. Gabriel if saints like Barnabas mostly serve one function (heal or protect or …), if they serve people mostly in one geographical location, and if their roles evolve after their death so that they take on new functions. I will give you his answers tomorrow–plus some additional, surprising information about the roles of spiritual fathers for Orthodox Christians. But now, bedtime!