Cyprus
CYPRUS
A large island in the Mediterranean, situated in the northeast part of that sea between Cilicia and Syria. It is about one hundred and forty miles long, and varies from five to fifty miles in breadth. Its inhabitants were plunged in all manner of luxury and debauchery. Their principal deity was Venus, who had a celebrated temple at Paphos. The island was extremely fertile, and abounded in wine, oil, honey, wool, copper, agate, and a beautiful species of rock crystal. There were also large forests of cypress-trees. Of the cities in the island, Paphos on the western coast, and Salmis at the opposite end, are mentioned in the New Testament. The gospel was preached there at an early day, Mal 11:19 . Barnabas and Mnason, and other eminent Christians, were natives of this island, Mal 11:20 21:16. The apostles Paul and Barnabas made a missionary tour through it, A. D. 44, Mal 13:4-13 . See also Mal 15:39 27:4.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Cyprus
An island in the Eastern Mediterranean, at the entrance of the Gulf of Alexandretta. It was originally inhabited by Phoenicians and Greeks, and was famous for its temples of Aphrodite. Though long autonomous, in the sixth century B.C. dominion over it was disputed by the Egyptians and the Persians, the latter ruling it till the invasion of Alexander the Great. From the Ptolemies of Egypt it passed to the Romans (59 B.C.). Despite Moslem invasions from the seventh to the tenth century, it remained a part of the Eastern Empire until the end of the twelfth. ln 1191 it was conquered by Richard the Lion-Hearted, who gave it to Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem; in 1373 it fell to the Genoese, in 1489 to the Venetians. Finally, in 1571, it became Moslem territory under Sultan Selim II. In 1878 it was occupied by England and is now administered by an English high commissioner, assisted by a board of four English members (Statesman’s Year Book, London, 1908). The island is hilly, with few rivers, and the climate is hot. Its once famous cities have perished; the chief towns are now Larnaca (the best port), Nicosia, and Limasol. Its area is 153,584 square miles. The population in 1901 was 237,000 (51,000 Mussulmans, 1100 Maronites, 850 Latins, 300 Armenians, a few Protestants and Jews, and the rest Greeks). It produces dates, carobs, oranges and other fruits, oil, wine, and corn. It has also sponge fisheries. Gypsum is mined there and copper mines were worked in ancient times. Christianity was successfully preached in Cyprus by St. Paul, St. Barnabas (a native of the island), and St. John Mark. At Paphos the magician Elymas was blinded and the Proconsul Sergius Paulus was converted (Acts 11:13-15). The Byzantine “Synaxaria” mention many saints, bishops, and martyrs of this early period, e.g. St. Lazarus, St. Heraclides, St. Nicanor (one of the first seven deacons), and others. In the fourth century we find two illustrious names, that of St. Spiridion, the shepherd Bishop of Trimithus, present at the Council of Nicaea in 325 with two other Cypriot bishops, whose relics were removed to Corfù in 1460, and that of St. Epiphanius (d. 403), Bishop of Salamis, the zealous adversary of all heresies and author of many valuable theological works. The Bishop of Salamis (later Constantia) was then metropolitan of the whole island, but was himself subject to the Patriarch of Antioch. During the Arian quarrels and the Eustathian schism, the Cypriote Church began to claim its independence. Pope Innocent I stood out for the rights of the Antiochene patriarch, Alexander I. However, it was not long before the Council of Ephesus (431) in its seventh session acknowledged the ecclesiastical independence of Cyprus: the cause was gained by the metropolitan, Rheginus, who was present at Ephesus with three of his suffragans. In 488 Peter the Dyer (Petrus Fullo), the famous Monophysite patriarch, made an effort to recover the ancient Antiochene jurisdiction over the island. During the conflict, however, the Cypriote metropolitan, Anthimus, claimed to have learned by a revelation that the site of the sepulchre of St. Barnabas was quite near his own city of Salamis; he found there the body of the Apostle with a copy of St. Matthew’s Gospel, brought the relics to Constantinople, and presented them to the Emperor Zeno. Acacius of Constantinople decided in favour of Cyprus against Antioch, since which time the ecclesiastical independence (autocephalia) of the island has no more been called in question, the archbishop, known as exarch, ranking immediately after the five great patriarchs.
From the fifth to the twelfth century the following Archbishops of Constantia (Salamis) are worthy of note: Acadius, biographer of St. Symeon Stylites the Younger, and an uncompromising opponent of the Ecthesis of Heraclius (q.v.); Sergius, who condemned this document in a council and sent the pertinent decree to Pope Theodore I, but became afterwards infected with the very error he had formerly condemned; George, a defender of the holy images (icons); Constantine, who played a conspicuous part in their defence at the Second Nicene Council (787); Nicholas Muzalon, appointed Patriarch of Constantinople in 1147. Another remarkable prelate is St. Demetrianus, Bishop of Chytraea (ninth and tenth century). After the conquest of Cyprus by the Arabs, 632-647, the Christian population with its bishops emigrated to the mainland. Justinian II built for them, near the Hellespont, a city which he called Nea Justinianopolis; their archbishop enjoyed there the rights he had in Cyprus, besides exercising jurisdiction over the surrounding country (Quinisext Council, can. xxxix, 692). After the death of Justinian II the Cypriotes returned to their island with their hierarchy. Under Nicephorus Phocas (963-969) Cyprus was freed completely from the Arabs, who had sometimes treated it more kindly than the Byzantine emperors. Christianity, however, gained by the restoration. To this period belongs the foundation of three great monasteries, Our Lady of Pity (Eleusa) of Kykkos, Machaeras, and the Encleistra, the last founded in the twelfth century by the recluse Neophytus, author of several ascetical works. The Frankish rule, though at first accepted rather willingly, was finally the source of profound disturbance. In 1196 King Amaury obtained from Celestine III a Latin hierarchy for his kingdom: a resident archbishop was placed at Nicosia (Leucosia), with three suffragans at Paphos, Limasol (Temessos), and Famagusta (Ammochostos, formerly Arsinoe). Knights Templars, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, Benedictines, Cistercians, Carthusians, Regular Canons, Premonstratensian nuns soon had many flourishing monasteries. Splendid churches were built in the Gothic or ogival style, and many Greek churches were changed into Latin ones. Ecclesiastical revenues were assigned (in part) to the Latin clergy; the Greek clergy and the faithful were subordinated to Latin jurisdiction. In the execution of the decrees of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) Cardinal Pelagius, legate of Innocent III, showed himself utterly intransigent. Thirteen refractory Greek monks were cruelly put to death. The Greek archbishop, Neophytus, was deposed and exiled, the Greek sees reduced to four, the bishops ordered to reside in small villages and obey the Latin archbishop (1220-1222). Innocent IV and Alexander IV were more favourable to the Greeks (Hergenröther-Kirsch, Kirchengesch., 4th ed., 1904, II, 726), and the Government often defended them against the Latins. The ecclesiastical history of Cyprus during this sad period is one of conflict between the two rival communions, the Greeks being always looked on as more or less schismatic both by the Latins and by the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople. An attempted union of the two Churches in 1405 did not succeed, nor was the Union of Florence (1439) more lasting. In 1489, through the abdication of Queen Caterina Cornaro, the island became subject to Venice, whose rule was even more intolerable to the Greeks, so that, as stated, in 1571 they welcomed the Turkish conquerors as true deliverers.
Among the more conspicuous Latin Archbishops of Nicosia may be mentioned Eustorge de Montaigu (1217-1250) who died at the siege of Damietta, a stern defender of the rights of his Church and a skilful administrator; he increased the splendour of the church services, established schools, built the archiepiscopal palace and the magnificent cathedral of St. Sophia; Ugo di Fagiano (1251-1261), distinguished for his zeal and piety, but a zealous adversary of the Greeks; Gérard de Langres (1274), deposed by Boniface VIII for siding with Philip the Fair; Giovanni del Conte (1312), renowned for his charity; Cardinal Elie de Nabinals (1332), a great reformer; Andreas of Rhodes (1447), present at the Council of Florence; Filippo Mocenigo (1559), who assisted at the closing sessions of the Council of Trent, helped the Venetians against the Turks, and, after the loss of Cyprus, retired to Italy. The Latin bishops of Cyprus showed themselves generally worthy of their mission, by resisting the encroachments of the kings, sometimes also of the Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem, and even of the pontifical legates. The only reproach they deserve is a want of tact in their behaviour towards the Greeks, and also that their clergy at certain times were guilty of moral laxity. Few saints appear in Latin Cyprus; we hear only of the saintly Franciscan, Ugo di Fagiano, and the Dominican, Pierre de La Palu, Patriarch of Jerusalem and administrator of the See of Limasol. Blessed Pierre Thomas, a Carmelite and papal legate, who strove hard to convert the Greeks, died at the siege of Famagusta in 1366.
After frightful massacres, the Turks allowed the Greeks to reorganize their Church as they liked: viz, with an archbishop styled “Most Blessed Archbishop of Nea Justiniana [a blunder for Justinianopolis] and all Cyprus”, and three bishops at Paphos, Citium, and Karpasia. In the seventeenth century the last-named see was suppressed, and its territory given to the archdiocese; on the other hand the ancient See of Kyrenia was re-established. Cyprus, like the other autocephalous orthodox Churches, has its “Holy Synod”, which consists of four bishops and four priests. In the last three centuries there are few events to mention, apart from simoniacal elections and perpetual domestic quarrels. In 1668 Archbishop Nicephorus held a council against the Protestants. In 1821 the four Greek bishops, with many priests, monks, and laymen, were murdered by the Turks. After 1900 strife arose in the ancient Church of St. Barnabas, and it was found impossible to name a successor to the archbishop who died in that year. The Turkish conquest caused the ruin of the Latin Church: two bishops were then killed with many priests and monks, the churches were profaned, and the Latin Catholics left the island. However, as early as 1572, Franciscans could again reside at Larnaca; after a century they had gathered about 2000 Catholics of various rites. Since 1848 Cyprus has been ecclesiastically dependent on the new Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Franciscans have stations at Larnaca, Limasol, and Nicosia, with schools and five churches; Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition conduct schools in these three towns, and have a hospital and an orphanage at Larnaca.
The Maronites were very numerous during the period of Latin rule, but owing to persecutions of Greeks or Turks have mostly all departed or apostatized. The latter are called Linobambaci; some of them returned to Catholicism. Cyprus, with a part of Lebanon, still forms a Maronite diocese, with 30,000 faithful. They have in the island a few churches and four monasteries, but lack good schools (See MARONITES). Among the resident Armenians there is only an insignificant number (12) of Catholics; the rest obey the Gregorian Patriarch of Jerusalem and have two priests and a monastery. Other Christians of Eastern Rites, who lived in Cyprus during the Middle Ages, subject to their own bishops, have now completely disappeared.
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COBHAM, An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus (4th ed.. Nicosia, 1900), about 700 titles; IDEM, A Handbook of Cyprus (London, 1901); MAS-LATRIE, Histoire de l’île de Chypre sous le règne des princes de la maison de Lusignan (Paris, 1861-65); IDEM, Histoire des archevèques latins de l’île de Chypre in Archives de l’Orient latin, II, 207-328; HACKETT, A History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus (London, 1901); PHRANKUDES, Kypris (Athens, 1890); FORTESCUE, The Orthodox Eastern Church (London, 1907).
S. PÉTRIDÈS. Transcribed by Diane E. Dubrule
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IVCopyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Cyprus
(), the modern Kebris, one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, and next to Sicily in importance. It is about 140 miles in length, and varies in breadth from 50 to 5 miles. The interior of the island is mountainous, a ridge being drawn across the entire length, attaining its highest elevation near the central region anciently called Olympus. It had several names in early ages, mostly poetical. From its numerous headlands and promontories, it was called , Cerastis, or the Horned; and from its exuberant fertility, , Macaria, or the Blessed (Horace, Carm. 3, 26, 9). Its proximity to Asia Minor, Phoenicia, and Egypt, and its numerous havens, made it a general rendezvous for merchants. Corn, wine, and oil, which are so often mentioned in the Old Testament as the choicest productions of Palestine (Deu 12:17; 1Ch 9:29; Neh 10:39; Jer 31:12), were found here in the highest perfection. The forests also furnished large supplies of timber for shipbuilding, which rendered the conquest of the island a favorite project of the Egyptian kings. It was the boast of the Cyprians that they could build and complete their vessels without any aid from foreign countries (Ammian. Marcell. 14:8, 14). Among the mineral products were diamonds, emeralds, and other precious stones, alum, and asbestos; besides iron, lead, zinc, with a portion of silver, and, above all, copper, the far- famed oes Cyprium. The principal mines were in the neighborhood of Tamassus (Strabo, 14:6; 3, 245, ed. Tauchn.). Pliny ascribes the invention of brass to this island (Nat. Hist. 34:2). Cyprus is a famous place in mythological history. The presiding divinity of the island was Venus, who had a celebrated temple at Paphos, and is hence often called the Paphian goddess. The inhabitants were luxurious and effeminate (Herod. 1:199; Athen. 12, p. 516; Clearch. apud Athen. 6, p. 255). Nevertheless, literature and the arts flourished here to a considerable extent, even at an early period, as the name of the Cypria Carmina, ascribed by some to Homer, sufficiently attests (Herod. 2:118; Athen. 15, p. 682). Situated in the extreme eastern corner of the Mediterranean, with the range of Lebanon on the east and that of Taurus on the north distinctly visible, it never became a thoroughly Greek island. Its religious rites were half Oriental, and its political history has almost always been associated with Asia and Africa. Smith’s Dict. of Class. Geog. s.v. SEE PAPHOS.
Cyprus was originally peopled from Phoenicia (Gesenius, Mon. Phoen. p. 122). Amasis I, king of Egypt, subdued the whole island (Herod. 2:182). In the time of Herodotus the population consisted of Athenians, Arcadians, Phoenicians, and Ethiopians (vii. 90); and for a long time the whole island was divided into nine petty sovereignties (Xenoph. Cyrop. 8:6, 21; Pliny, v. 35; Diod. Sic. 16:42). It became a part of the Persian empire (Herod. 3, 19, 91), and furnished ships against Greece in the expedition of Xerxes (ib. 7:90). For a time it was subject to Greek influence, but again became tributary to Persia. After the battle of Issus it joined Alexander, and after his death fell to the share of Ptolemy. In a desperate sea-fight off Salamis (q.v.), at the east end of Cyprus (B.C. 306), the victory was won by Demetrius Poliorcetes; but the island was recovered by his rival, and afterwards it remained in the power of the Ptolemies, and was regarded as one of their most cherished possessions (Livy, 45:12; Josephus, Ant. 13:10, 4; Strabo, 14:684; Diod. Sic. 19:59, 79; 20:21, 47). It became a Roman province (B.C. 58) under circumstances discreditable to Rome (Strabo, 14:684; Flor. 3, 9; Veil. Pat. 2:38; Dion Cass. 38:31; 39:22). At first its administration was joined with that of Cilicia, but after the battle of Actium it was separately governed. In the first division it was made an imperial province (Dion Cass. 53:12). From this passage and from Strabo (xiv, p. 683) it has been supposed by some, as by Baronius, that Luke (Act 13:7) used the word (proconsul, deputy), because the island was still connected with Cilicia; by others, as by Grotius and Hammond, that the evangelist employs the word in a loose and general manner. But, in fact, Dion Cassius himself distinctly tells us (ib. and 54:4) that the emperor afterwards made this island a senatorial province, so that Luke’s language is in the strictest sense correct. Further confirmation is supplied by coins and inscriptions, which mention other proconsuls of Cyprus not very remote from the time of Sergius (q.v.) Paulus.
The governor appears to have resided at Paphos, on the west of the island. Under the Roman empire a road connected the two towns of Paphos and Salamis, as appears from’ the Peut. Table. One of the most remarkable events in this part of the history of Cyprus was a terrible insurrection of the Jews in the reign of Trajan, which led to a massacre, first of the Greek inhabitants, and then of the insurgents themselves (Milman, History of the Jews, 3, 111, 112). When the empire was divided it fell to the share of the Byzantine emperors. Richard I of England conquered it in 1191, and gave it to Guy Lusignan, by whose family it was retained for nearly three centuries. In 1473 the republic of Venice obtained possession of it; but in 1571 it was taken by Selim II, and ever since has been under the dominion of the Turks. Cyprus was famed among the ancients for its beauty and fertility, and all modern travelers agree that in the hands of an industrious race it would be one of the most productive countries in the world, but Turkish tyranny and barbarism have reduced it to a deplorable condition. Through the neglect of drainage, the streams that descend from the mountain range form marshes, and render the island particularly unhealthy. Imperfectly as it is cultivated, however, it still abounds in every production of nature, and bears great quantities of corn, figs, olives, oranges, lemons, dates, and, indeed, of every fruit seen in these climates; it nourishes great numbers of goats, sheep, pigs, and oxen, of the latter of which it has at times exported supplies to Malta. The most valuable product at present is cotton. The majority of the population belong to the Greek Church; the archbishop resides at Leikosia. Penny Cyclopoedia, s.v.; M’Culloch’s Gazetteer, s.v. This island was in early times in close commercial connection with Phoenicia, and there is little doubt that it is referred to in such passages of the O.T. as Eze 27:6. SEE CHITTIM.
Josephus makes this identification in the most express terms (Ant. 1:6, 1; so Epiphan. Haer. 30:25). Possibly Jews may have settled in Cyprus before the time of Alexander. Soon after his time they were numerous in the island, as is distinctly implied in 1Ma 15:23 (comp. Josephus, Ant. 13:10, 4; Philo, Opp. 2:587). The name also occurs 2Ma 10:13; 2Ma 12:2. The copper mines were at one time farmed to Herod the Great (Josephus. Ant. 16:4, 5), and there is a Cyprian inscription (Bockh, No. 2628) which seems to refer to one of the Herods. The first notice of it in the N.T. is in Act 4:36, where it is mentioned as the native place of Barnabas. In Act 11:19-20, it appears prominently in connection with the earliest spreading of Christianity, first as receiving an impulse among its Jewish population from the persecution which drove the disciples from Jerusalem at the death of Stephen, and then as furnishing disciples who preached the Gospel to Gentiles at Antioch. Thus, when Paul was sent with Barnabas from Antioch on his first missionary journey, Cyprus was the first scene of their labors (Act 13:4-13). Again, when Paul and Barnabas separated and took different routes, the latter went to his native island, taking with him his relative Mark, who had also been there on the previous occasion (Act 15:39). Another Christian of Cyprus, Mnason, called an old disciple,’ and therefore probably an early convert, is mentioned Act 21:16. The other notices of the island are purely geographical. On Paul’s return from the third missionary journey, they sighted’ Cyprus, and sailed to the southward of it on the voyage from Patara to Tyre (ib. 3). At the commencement of the voyage to Rome they sailed to the northward of it on leaving Sidon, in order to be under the lee of the land (Act 27:4), and also in order to obtain the advantage of the current, which sets northerly along the coast of Phoenicia, and westerly with considerable force along Cilicia. SEE SHIPWRECK (OF PAUL).
All the ancient notices of Cyprus are collected by Meursius (Opera, vol. 3, Flor. 1744). Comp. Cellarii Notit. 2:266 sq.; see also Engel’s Kypros (Berlin, 1843) and Ross’s Reisen nach der Insel Cypern (Halle, 1852). Further accounts may be found in Mannert, Geographia, VI, 2:422-454. Modern descriptions are given by Pococke, East, 2:210-235; Wilson, Lands of Bible, 2:174-197; Turner, Levant, 2:40, 528; Mariti, Viag. in Cyper. (Flor. 1679); Unger and Kotschy, Die Insel Cypern (Wien, 1865); Cesnola, Cyprus (Lond. 1877).
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Cyprus
one of the largest islands of the Mediterranean, about 148 miles long and 40 broad. It is distant about 60 miles from the Syrian coast. It was the “Chittim” of the Old Testament (Num. 24:24). The Greek colonists gave it the name of Kypros, from the cyprus, i.e., the henna (See CAMPHIRE), which grew on this island. It was originally inhabited by Phoenicians. In B.C. 477 it fell under the dominion of the Greeks; and became a Roman province B.C. 58. In ancient times it was a centre of great commercial activity. Corn and wine and oil were produced here in the greatest perfection. It was rich also in timber and in mineral wealth.
It is first mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 4:36) as the native place of Barnabas. It was the scene of Paul’s first missionary labours (13:4-13), when he and Barnabas and John Mark were sent forth by the church of Antioch. It was afterwards visited by Barnabas and Mark alone (15:39). Mnason, an “old disciple,” probaly one of the converts of the day of Pentecost belonging to this island, is mentioned (21:16). It is also mentioned in connection with the voyages of Paul (Acts 21:3; 27:4). After being under the Turks for three hundred years, it was given up to the British Government in 1878.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Cyprus
The Chittim of Eze 27:6. Citium, one of its towns, is a kindred name. This island in easternmost part of the Mediterranean runs from N.E. to S.W., 148 miles long, about 40 broad for the most part, facing Phoenicia and Lebanon on the E., and Cilicia with the Taurus range on the N.; containing the mountain range of Olympus. Notorious for its licentious worship of Venus, or the Assyrian Astarte. Yet in this unpromising soil Christianity took early root, the Jews having prepared the way. Its copper mines in the mountains were once farmed to Herod the Great; hence, the number of Jews on the island was natural. Barnabas was born there, and “being a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” was keen to impart to his countrymen that gospel which he so much loved (Act 4:36).
Moreover those scattered abroad in the persecution whereby Stephen suffered “traveled as far as Cyprus, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.” Some of the men of Cyprus too preached the Lord Jesus to the Greeks effectually at Antioch (Act 11:19-20). Moreover, when Barnabas and Paul were there “separated for the Lord’s work” by the Holy Spirit (Act 13:1-13), Cyprus was their first destination. With John Mark as their minister they preached in the Jews’ synagogue at Salamis; and then passing by the Roman road to Paphos, the proconsular residence in the W., at his request they preached before Sergius Paulus the “proconsul,” KJV “deputy.” A delicate mark of truth. Cyprus had been an imperial province, and governed by the emperor’s “lieutenants”; but the emperor transferred it to the senate, and so Luke accurately designates its governor, as under the senate, “proconsul,” anthupatos (Dion Cassius, 53:12; 54:4).
Coins and inscriptions confirm this (one on the lintel of a doorway with the name of the very officer referred to by Luke, confuting Beza’s doubt). Elymas or Barjesus, a sorcerer and false prophet, a Jew, withstood Paul and Barnabas, “seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith”; but on his being struck with blindness at Paul’s word the deputy was astonished and believed. Barnabas visited his native island again, with his nephew Mark, when Paul had refused to allow Mark’s attendance because of his former departure from them from Pamphylia, instead of going forward with them to the work (Act 15:36-39). Mnason, “an old disciple” of Cyprus, is mentioned in Act 21:16 as the appointed entertainer of Paul at Jerusalem. In sailing from Rhodes and Patara Paul’s ship “sighted” Cyprus, leaving it on the left in going to Phoenicia (Act 21:3). In sailing from Sidon on their way to Rome they went N. of it, to be under lee of land, and to take advantage of the current, which flows northward along Phoenicia and westward along Cilicia (Act 27:4).
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
CYPRUS
The island of Cyprus was located in the Mediterranean Sea. In former days it was called Kittim and its people were well known as sea traders (Num 24:24; Isa 23:1; Isa 23:12; Jer 2:10; Eze 27:6; Dan 11:30).
Barnabas, a leading man in the early church, came from Cyprus (Act 4:36). When the Jews killed Stephen and drove the Christians from Jerusalem, some of those Christians took the gospel to Cyprus (Act 11:19). Barnabas and Paul further helped the growth of the church in Cyprus by conducting a preaching tour that stretched from one end of the island to the other. A few years later Barnabas and Mark did further work there (Act 13:2-6; Act 15:39). Paul sailed past the island on later journeys, but there is no record that he visited the island again (Act 21:3; Act 27:4).
Under the Roman administration, the capital of Cyprus was Paphos (Act 13:6-7). The island had a large Jewish population and many synagogues (Act 13:5-6). The Jews of Cyprus who became Christians had a much broader outlook than the Jews of Jerusalem, and were sympathetic to the expansion of the gospel among the Gentiles (Act 11:20; Act 13:46; Act 21:16).
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Cyprus
CYPRUS.An island in the N.E. corner of the Levant, within sight of the Syrian and Cilician coasts. Its greatest length is 140 miles, breadth 60 miles. In configuration it consists of a long plain shut in on the N. and the S.W. by mountain ranges.
In the OT the name Cyprus does not occur, but undoubtedly the island is referred to under the name Kittim, which is the same as the name of the Phnician town Kition, now Larnaka. In Gen 10:4 Kittim is spoken of as a son of Javan, together with Tarshish and Elishah. This probably implies that the earliest population of Cyprus was akin to the pre-Hellenic population of Greece. In Eze 27:6 the isles of Kittim are spoken of as supplying Tyre with boxwood. But the name Kittim is used also of the West generally, as in Dan 11:30 of the Romans (cf. Num 24:24).
The early importance of Cyprus was due to its forests and its copper. Its copper has long ago been exhausted, and owing to neglect its forests have perished. But throughout the bronze age, which for gan countries may roughly be reckoned as b.c. 2000 to b.c. 1000, its copper was exported not only to Syria but to Egypt and to Europe, and, mixed with the tin brought by Phnicians from Cornwall and the West, it provided the metal from which both weapons and ornaments were made. Hence the name copper is derived from Cyprus. When the iron age began, this metal also was obtained from Cyprus.
Doubtless the copper was first exported by Phnicians, who early founded Kition and other towns in Cyprus, and introduced the worship of the Syrian Aphrodite who became known to the Greeks as the Cyprian goddess. But the Greeks themselves were not long behind the Phnicians in the island,the settlers were doubtless Peloponnesians disturbed by the Dorian invasions, and they used what the Greeks called the Arcadian dialect. They brought with them the gan civilization, as relics found in the island prove conclusively. Paphoe, Soli, Salamis were Greek settlements, the last being named from the island off the coast of Attica. But the Greeks soon combined with the Phnicians. They adopted what was probably in origin a Hittite alphabet, in which every syllable is represented by a separate sign, and this lasted till the 4th century.
Cyprus did not develop as an independent power. Before b.c. 1450 it was made tributary to Egypt. About b.c. 1000 it was subject to Tyre, and with Phnicia it passed into the hands of Sargon, the Assyrian, about b.c. 700. Sargon left an inscription at Kition, and later Assyrian kings record tribute received from Cyprus. About b.c. 560 Amasis of Egypt reduced the island, and it passed with Egypt to Cambyses of Persia in b.c. 525. It took part in the Ionian revolt of b.c. 501, but was quickly reduced, and supplied Xerxes with a fleet in b.c. 480. Athens made repeated attempts to secure the island, but the mixed population prevented any strong Hellenic movement, and it only passed definitely into Greek hands by submission to Alexander the Great after the battle of Issus in b.c. 333. On the division of his empire it fell to the Ptolemys of Egypt, until it was annexed by Rome in b.c. 57. It was made a separate province after the battle of Actium in b.c. 31, becoming at first an imperial province, but being afterwards transferred to senatorial government, so that in Act 13:7 St. Luke rightly describes the governor as a proconsul.
Jews first settled in Cyprus under the Ptolemys, and their numbers there were considerable before the time of the Apostles. Barnabas is described as a Cypriot Jew, and when he and St. Paul started from Antioch on the First Missionary Journey, they first of all passed through Cyprus (Act 13:4-12). They landed at Salamis, then a Greek port flourishing with Syrian trade, now desertedwith its harbour silted upthree miles from Famagusta. Here they preached in the synagogue, where their message was probably not entirely new (Act 11:19), and then journeyed through the whole island (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) to New Paphos in the W.a three or four days journey, even if they preached nowhere on the way. New Paphos, like Old Paphos, was the seat of the worship of Aphrodite (see Paphos), and was at this time the Roman capital. (For the incidents connected with the proconsul and the magus, see artt. Sergius Paulus and Bar-jesus.)
Besides Barnabas we have mention of Mnason, an original convert, as coming from Cyprus (Act 21:16), but we have no knowledge of how the Church grew in the island until it included 15 bishoprics. The Jews of Cyprus took part in the great rising of their race which took place in a.d. 117 (when Trajan was busy with Parthia), and they are said to have massacred 240,000 of the Gentile population. The revolt was suppressed without mercy, and all Jews were expelled from the island.
Under the Byzantine emperors Cyprus suffered much from their misrule, and from the Saracens. Seized in 1191 by Richard Cur de Lion, it was sold to the Knights Templars. From 1479 to 1570 it was held by the Venetians. After three centuries of Turkish rule it passed under British rule in 1878, by a convention which still requires it to pay tribute to the Sultan. But it has scarcely recovered prosperity. Various causes have lessened the rainfall, it is troubled with malaria, its mineral resources were long ago worked out and its forests destroyed. There are no good roads, and communication is kept up by bullock-carts and mules. Its best ports (Larnaka and Limasol) are open roadsteads.
A. E. Hillard.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Cyprus
sprus (, Kupros):
1. Name
An island situated near the Northeast corner of the Levant, in an angle formed by the coasts of Cilicia and Syria. In the Old Testament it is called Kittim, after the name of its Phoenician capital Kition. The identification is expressly made by Josephus (Ant., I, vi, 1) and by the Cyprian bishop Epiphanius (Haer., xxx.25). In the tablets from Tell el-Amarna it is referred to as Alashia (E. Meyer, Gesch. des Alterthums, 12, section 499), in Egyptian records as Asi, while in the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions it is named Yavnan.
2. Geography
The island is the largest in the Mediterranean with the exception of Sardinia and Sicily, its area being about 3,584 square miles. It lies in 34 degrees 30-35 degrees 41 North latitude and 32 degrees 15-34 degrees 36 East longitude, only 46 miles distant from the nearest point of the Cilician coast and 60 miles from the Syrian. Thus from the northern shore of the island the mainland of Asia Minor is clearly visible and Mt. Lebanon can be seen from Eastern Cyprus. This close proximity to the Cilician and Syrian coasts, as well as its position on the route between Asia Minor and Egypt, proved of great importance for the history and civilization of the island. Its greatest length, including the Northeast promontory, is about 140 miles, its greatest breadth 60 miles. The Southwest portion of Cyprus is formed by a mountain complex, culminating in the peaks of Trodos (6,406 ft.), Mdhari (5,305 ft.), Papotsa (5,124 ft.) and Mchaira (4,674 ft.). To the Northeast of this lies the great plain of the Mesora, nearly 60 miles in length and 10 to 20 in breadth, in which lies the modern capital Nicosia (Lefkosia). It is watered chiefly by the Pediaeus (modern Pedis), and is bounded on the North by a mountain range, which is continued to the East-Northeast in the long, narrow promontory of the Karpass, terminating in Cape Andrea, the ancient Dinaretum. Its highest peaks are Buffavnto (3,135 ft.) and Hagios Elas (3,106 ft.). The shore-plain to the North of these hills is narrow, but remarkably fertile.
3. Products
Cyprus is richly endowed by nature. Its fruits and flowers were famous in antiquity. Strabo, writing under Augustus, speaks of it as producing wine and oil in abundance and corn sufficient for the needs of its inhabitants (XIV, 684). The elder Pliny refers to Cyprian salt, alum, gypsum, mica, unguents, laudanum, storax, resin and precious stones, including agate, jasper, amethyst, lapis lazuli and several species of rock-crystal. His list includes the diamond (xxxvii.58) and the emerald (xxxvii.6, 66), but there is reason to believe that under these names a variety of rock-crystal and the beryl are intended. The chief source of the island’s wealth, however, lay in its mines and forests. Silver is mentioned by Strabo (loc. cit.) among its products; copper, which was called by the Greeks after the name of the island, was extensively mined there from the earliest period down to the Middle Ages; iron too was found in considerable quantities from the 9th century until Roman times. Scarcely less important were the forests, which at an early date are said to have covered almost the whole island. The cypress seems to have been the principal tree, but Pliny tells of a giant cedar, 130 Roman feet in height, felled in Cyprus (xvi.203), and the island supplied timber for shipbuilding to many successive powers.
4. Early History
The original inhabitants of Cyprus appear to have been a race akin to the peoples of Asia Minor. Its vast resources in copper and timber gained for it a considerable importance and wide commercial relations at a very remote period. Its wealth attracted the attention of Babylonia and Egypt, and there is reason to believe that it was conquered by Sargon I, king of Accad, and about a millennium later by Thothmes III, of the 18th Egyptian Dynasty (1501-1447 bc). But the influences which molded its civilization came from other quarters also. Excavation has shown that in Cyprus were several seats of the Minoan culture, and there can be little doubt that it was deeply influenced by Crete. The Minoan writing may well be the source of the curious Cyprian syllabic script, which continued in use for the representation of the Greek language down to the 4th century bc (A. J. Evans, Scripta Minoa, I). But the Minoan origin of the Cyprian syllabary is still doubtful, for it may have been derived from the Hittite hieroglyphs. Phoenician influences too were at work, and the Phoenician settlements – Citium, Amathus, Paphos and others – go back to a very early date. The break-up of the Minoan civilization was followed by a Dark Age, but later the island received a number of Greek settlers from Arcadia and other Hellenic states, as we judge not only from Greek tradition but from the evidence of the Cyprian dialect, which is closely akin to the Arcadian. In 709 bc Sargon II of Assyria made himself master of Cyprus, and tribute was paid by its seven princes to him and to his grandson, Esarhaddon (681-667 bc). The overthrow of the Assyrian Empire probably brought with it the independence of Cyprus, but it was conquered afresh by Aahmes (Amasis) of Egypt (Herod. ii. 182) who retained it till his death in 526 bc; but in the following year the defeat of his son and successor Psamtek III (Psammenitus) by Cambyses brought the island under Persian dominion (Herod. iii.19, 91).
5. Cyprus and the Greeks
In 501 the Greek inhabitants led by Onesilus, brother of the reigning prince of Salamis, rose in revolt against the Persians, but were decisively beaten (Herodotus v.104ff), and in 480 we find 150 Cyprian ships in the navy with which Xerxes attacked Greece (Herod. vii.90). The attempts of Pausanias and of Cimon to win Cyprus for the Hellenic cause met with but poor success, and the withdrawal of the Athenian forces from the Levant after their great naval victory off Salamis in 449 was followed by a strong anti-Hellenic movement throughout the island led by Abdemon, prince of Citium. In 411 Euagoras ascended the throne of Salamis and set to work to assert Hellenic influence and to champion Hellenic civilization. He joined with Pharnabazus the Persian satrap and Conon the Athenian to overthrow the naval power of Sparta at the battle of Cnidus in 394, and in 387 revolted from the Persians. He was followed by his son Nicocles, to whom Isocrates addressed the famous panegyric of Euagoras and who formed the subject of an enThusiastic eulogy by the same writer. Cyprus seems later to have fallen once again under Persian rule, but after the battle of Issus (333 bc) it voluntarily gave in its submission to Alexander the Great and rendered him valuable aid at the siege of Tyre. On his death (323) it fell to the share of Ptolemy of Egypt. It was, however, seized by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who defeated Ptolemy in a hotly contested battle off Salamis in 306. But eleven years later it came into the hands of the Ptolemies and remained a province of Egypt or a separate but dependent kingdom until the intervention of Rome (compare 2 Macc 10:13). We hear of a body of Cyprians, under the command of a certain Crates, serving among the troops of Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria and forming part of the garrison of Jerusalem about 172 bc (2 Macc 4:29). This interpretation of the passage seems preferable to that according to which Crates had been governor of Cyprus under the Ptolemies before entering the service of Antiochus.
6. Cyprus and Rome
In 58 bc the Romans resolved to incorporate Cyprus in their empire and Marcus Porcius Cato was entrusted with the task of its annexation. The reigning prince, a brother of Ptolemy Auletes of Egypt, received the offer of an honorable retirement as high priest of Aphrodite at Paphos, but he preferred to end his life by poison, and treasures amounting to some 7,000 talents passed into Roman hands, together with the island, which was attached to the province of Cilicia. In the partition of the Roman empire between Senate and Emperor, Cyprus was at first (27-22 bc) an imperial province (Dio Cassius liii.12), administered by a legatus Augusti pro praetore or by the imperial legate of Cilicia. In 22 bc, however, it was handed over to the Senate together with southern Gaul in exchange for Dalmatia (Dio Cassius liii. 12; liv.4) and was subsequently governed by ex-praetors bearing the honorary title of proconsul and residing at Paphos. The names of about a score of these governors are known to us from ancient authors, inscriptions and coins and will be found in D. G. Hogarth, Devia Cypria, App. Among them is Sergius Paulus, who was proconsul at the time of Paul’s visit to Paphos in 46 or 47 ad, and we may notice that the title applied to him by the writer of the Acts (Act 13:7) is strictly accurate.
7. Cyprus and the Jews
The proximity of Cyprus to the Syrian coast rendered it easy of access from Palestine, and Jews had probably begun to settle there even before the time of Alexander the Great. Certainly the number of Jewish residents under the Ptolemies was considerable (1 Macc 15:23; 2 Macc 12:2) and it must have been increased later when the copper mines of the island were farmed to Herod the Great (Josephus, Ant, XVI, iv, 5; XIX, xxvi, 28; compare Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, 2628). We shall not be surprised, therefore, to find that at Salamis there was more than one synagogue at the time of Paul’s visit (Act 13:5). In 116 ad the Jews of Cyprus rose in revolt and massacred no fewer than 240,000 Gentiles. Hadrian crushed the rising with great severity and drove all the Jews from the island. Henceforth no Jew might set foot upon it, even under stress of shipwreck, on pain of death (Dio Cassius lxviii.32).
8. The Church in Cyprus
In the life of the early church Cyprus played an important part. Among the Christians who fled from Judea in consequence of the persecution which followed Stephen’s death were some who travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus (Act 11:19) preaching to the Jews only. Certain natives of Cyprus and Cyrene took a further momentous step in preaching at Antioch to the Greeks also (Act 11:20). Even before this time Joseph Barnabas, a Levite born in Cyprus (Act 4:36), was prominent in the early Christian community at Jerns, and it was in his native island that he and Paul, accompanied by Barnabas nephew, John Mark, began their first missionary journey (Act 13:4). After landing at Salamis they passed through the whole island to Paphos (Act 13:6), probably visiting the Jewish synagogues in its cities. The Peutinger Table tells us of two roads from Salamis to Paphos in Roman times, one of which ran inland by way of TremiThus, Tamassus and Soil, a journey of about 4 days, while the other and easier route, occupying some 3 days, ran along the south coast by way of Citium, AmaThus and Curium. Whether the early disciple, Mnason of Cyprus, was one of the converts made at this time or had previously embraced Christianity we cannot determine (Act 21:16). Barnabas and Mark revisited Cyprus later (Act 15:39), but Paul did not again land on the island, though he sighted it when, on his last journey to jerus, he sailed south of it on his way from Patara in Lycia to Tyre (Act 21:3), and again when on his journey to Rome he sailed under the lee of Cyprus, that is, along its northern coast, on the way from Sidon to Myra in Lycia (Act 27:4). In 401 ad the Council of Cyprus was convened, chiefly in consequence of the efforts of Theophilus of Alexandria, the inveterate opponent of Origenism, and took measures to check the reading of Origen’s works. The island, which was divided into 13 bishoprics, was declared autonomous in the 5th century, after the alleged discovery of Matthew’s Gospel in the tomb of Barnabas at Salamis. The bishop of Salamis was made metropolitan by the emperor Zeno with the title archbishop of all Cyprus, and his successor, who now occupies the see of Nicosia, still enjoys the privilege of signing his name in red ink and is primate over the three other bishops of the island, those of Paphos, Kition and Kyrenia, all of whom are of metropolitan rank.
9. Later History
Cyprus remained in the possession of the Roman and then of the Byzantine emperors, though twice overrun and temporarily occupied by the Saracens, until 1184, when its ruler, Isaac Comnenus, broke away from Constantinople and declared himself an independent emperor. From him it was wrested in 1191 by the Crusaders under Richard I of England, who bestowed it on Guy de Lusignan, the titular king of Jerusalem, and his descendants. In 1489 it was ceded to the Venetians by Catherine Cornaro, widow of James II, the last of the Lusignan kings, and remained in their hands until it was captured by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Selim II, who invaded and subjugated the island in 1570 and laid siege to Famagusta, which, after a heroic defense, capitulated on August 1, 1571. Since that time Cyprus has formed part of the Turkish empire, in spite of serious revolts in 1764 and 1823; since 1878, however, it has been occupied and administered by the British government, subject to an annual payment to the Sublime Porte of 92,800 and a large quantity of salt. The High Commissioner, who resides at Nicosia, is assisted by a Legislative Council of 18 members. The estimated population in 1907 was 249,250, of whom rather more than a fifth were Moslems and the remainder chiefly members of the Greek Orthodox church.
Literature
An exhaustive bibliography will be found in C. D. Cobham, An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus, Nicosia, 4th edition, 1900. The following works may be specially mentioned: E. Oberhummer, Aus Cypern, Berlin, 1890-92; Studien zur alten Geographic yon Kypros, Munich 1891; A. Sakellarios, , Athens, 1890-91. References in ancient sources are collected in J. Meursius, Cyprus, Amsterdam, 1675, and W. Engel, Kypros, Berlin, 1841. For Cyprian archaeology see P. Gardner, New Chapters in Greek History, chapter vi, London, 1892; J. L. Myres and M. Ohnefalsch Richter, Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum, Oxford, 1899; M. O. Richter, Kypros, die Bibel und Homer, Berlin, 1893; D.G. Hogarth, Devia Cypria, London, 1889; and J. L. Myres’ article on Cypriote Archaeology in Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, VII, 697ff. For excavations, Journal of Hellenic Studies, IX, XI, XII, XVII, and Excavations in Cyprus, London (British Museum), 1900; for art, G. Perrot and C. Chipiez, Art in Phoenicia and Cyprus, English translation, London, 1885; for coins, B. V. Head, Historia Numorum, Oxford, 1911; for inscriptions, Sammlung der griech. Dialekt-Inschriften, I, Gttingen, 1883; for the Cyprian church, J. Hackett, History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, London, 1901; for authorities on medieval and modern history, CL. D. Cobham, Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition), 11th edition, VII, 701.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Cyprus
Cyprus, the modern Kebris, one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, and next to Sicily in importance. It is about 140 miles in length, and varies in breadth from 50 to 5 miles. From its numerous headlands and promontories, it was called Kerastis, or the Horned; and from its exuberant fertility, Macaria, or the blessed. Its proximity to Asia Minor, Phoenicia, and Egypt, and its numerous havens, made it a general rendezvous for merchants. ‘Corn, wine, and oil,’ which are so often mentioned in the Old Testament as the choicest productions of Palestine (Deu 12:17; 1Ch 9:29; Neh 10:39; Jer 31:12), were found here in the highest perfection. The forests also furnished large supplies of timber for ship-building, which rendered the conquest of the island a favorite project of the Egyptian kings. It was the boast of the Cyprians that they could build and complete their vessels without any aid from foreign countries. Among the mineral products were diamonds, emeralds, and other precious stones, alum, and asbestos; besides iron, lead, zinc, with a portion of silver, and, above all, copper.
Cyprus was originally peopled from Phoenicia [CHITTIM]. Amasis I, king of Egypt, subdued the whole island. In the time of Herodotus the population consisted of Athenians, Arcadians, Phoenicians, and Ethiopians. Under the Persians and Macedonians the whole island was divided into nine petty sovereignties. After the death of Alexander the Great it fell to the share of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus. It was brought under the Roman dominion by Cato. Under the Emperor Augustus it was at first an imperial province, and afterwards, with Gallia Narbonensis, made over to the senate. When the empire was divided it fell to the share of the Byzantine emperors. Richard I of England conquered it in 1191, and gave it to Guy Lusignan, by whose family it was retained for nearly three centuries. In 1473 the republic of Venice obtained possession of it; but in 1571 it was taken by Selim II, and ever since has been under the dominion of the Turks. The majority of the population belong to the Greek church; the archbishop resides at Leikosia. Cyprus was one of the first places out of Palestine in which Christianity was promulgated, though at first to Jews only (Act 11:19), by ‘those who were scattered abroad’ after Stephen’s martyrdom. It was visited by Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary tour (Act 13:4), and subsequently by Barnabas and John Mark (Act 15:39). Paul sailed to the south of the island on his voyage to Rome (Act 27:4). [ELYMAS; PAPHOS; SERGIUS PAULUS; SALAMIS].
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Cyprus
[Cy’prus]
Large island in the east end of the Mediterranean. It is the same as the CHITTIM of the O.T. where its commerce and its relation to Tyre are spoken of. Isa 23:1; Isa 23:12; Eze 27:6; Dan 11:30. It was visited by Paul and Barnabas, the latter of whom, with Mnason, came from thence. Act 4:36; Act 11:19-20; Act 13:4; Act 15:39; Act 21:3; Act 21:16; Act 27:4. It has always been a place of importance and has been owned by the Syrians, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Romans, and latterly is divided between Greece and Turkey.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Cyprus
An island
Act 21:3; Act 27:4
Barnabas born in
Act 4:36
Persecuted Jews preached the gospel at
Act 11:19-20
Visited by Barnabas and Saul
Act 13:4-12
Barnabas and Mark visit
Act 15:39
Mnason, a disciple of
Act 21:16
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Cyprus
Cyprus (s’prus). A large fertile island of the Mediterranean Sea, triangular in form, 150 miles long, and from 50 to 60 miles broad. Venus was its chief goddesshence her name Cypria. It contained two prominent cities, Salamis and Paphos, and 17 towns. Salamis was at the east and Paphos at the west end of the island. Act 13:4-5. Barnabas was a native of Cyprus, and its people are noticed in apostolic history. Act 4:36; Act 13:4; Act 15:39. Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus, was converted by Paul on his first missionary tour, Act 13:7 ff., and thus became the first Christian ruler on record. Cyprus was colonized by the Phnicians at a very early date. It was the Chittim, or Kittim, of the Old Testament. Num 24:24. Copper mining and the production of swords, armor, and other articles in bronze were its principal industries. There was also an extensive commerce. In literature, Cyprus boasted of very early distinction. After belonging to Egypt, Persia, and Greece, it became a Roman possession 58 b.c., and is now under the English government.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Cyprus
Cy’prus. An island of Asia, in the Mediterranean. It is about 140 miles long and 50 miles wide at the widest part. Its two chief cities were Salamis, at the east end of the island, and Paphos, at the west end.
“Cyprus occupies a distinguished place in both sacred and profane history. It, early, belonged to the Phoenicians of the neighboring coast; was, afterwards, colonized by Greeks, passed successively under the power of the Pharaohs, Persians, Ptolemies and Romans, excepting a short period of independence in the fourth century B.C. It was one of the chief seats of the worship of Venus, hence, called Cypria. Recently, the discoveries in Cyprus by Cesnola have excited new interest.” — Appleton’s American Encyclopedia.
It was the native place of Barnabas, Act 4:36, and was visited by Paul. Act 13:4-13; Act 15:39; Act 21:3. See also Act 27:4.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
CYPRUS
an island in the Mediterranean
Act 4:36; Act 11:19; Act 13:4; Act 15:39; Act 21:3; Act 27:4
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Cyprus
a large island in the Mediterranean, situated between Cilicia and Syria. Its inhabitants were plunged in all manner of luxury and debauchery. Their principal deity was Venus. The Apostles Paul and Barnabas landed in the isle of Cyprus, A.D. 44,
Act 13:4. While they continued at Salamis, they preached Jesus Christ in the Jewish synagogues; from thence they visited all the cities of the island, preaching the Gospel. At Paphos, they found Bar-Jesus, a false prophet, with Sergius Paulus, the governor: Paul struck Bar-Jesus with blindness; and the proconsul embraced Christianity. Some time after, Barnabas went again into this island with John, surnamed Mark, Act 15:39. Barnabas is considered as the principal Apostle, and first bishop, of Cyprus; where it is said he was martyred, being stoned to death by the Jews of Salamis.