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The Archbishops of Cyprus in the Modern Age: The Changing Role of the Archbishop-Ethnarch, their Identities and Politics
Author(s): Michalis N. Michael (Editor), Andrekos Varnava
- Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
- Publication Date: September 5, 2013
- Language: English
- Print length: 365 pages
- ISBN-10: 1443849294
- ISBN-13: 9781443849296
Book Description
Cyprus Historical and Contemporary Studies Since the onset of Ottoman rule, but more especially from the mid-18th Century, the archbishops of the autocephalous Cypriot Orthodox Church have wielded a great deal of political power. Most people of a certain age will remember the bearded monk who became a Greek nationalist politician and the first President of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, Archbishop Makarios III. Indeed his presence at Madame Tussaud’s is a reminder of his stature. But were all Cypriot archbishops such political and powerful Greek nationalists? This study is unique in its exploration of the peculiar role of the archbishop-ethnarch and, as such, offers valuable historical and political insights into the phenomenon. This book offers a political history of religious authorities in the pre-modern, modern, and post-modern eras. It examines how nationalist politics evolved and was co-opted by religious authorities in order to re-establish political hegemony from a secular European colonial power, and the consequences this entailed after the end of the British empire.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Overall this is a very fine, historically nuanced book, which balances in a very refreshing way the religious, cultural, political and historical aspects of the study of Cyprus’ life, seen through the lens of its Church leaders from the eighteenth century to the near present. It is very well presented, replete with first class sources, and useful bibliographies. The editors and authors are all to be highly congratulated on an important and illuminating work.” —John Anthony McGuckin, Ane Marie and Bent Emil Nielsen Professor in Late Antique and Byzantine Christian History; Professor of Byzantine Christian Studies, Columbia University
About the Author
Dr Andrekos Varnava is a Senior Lecturer in Imperial and Military History at Flinders University, Australia, and the author of British Imperialism in Cyprus, 1878-1915: The Inconsequential Possession (Manchester University Press, 2009), as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters. Michalis N. Michael is an Assistant Professor in Ottoman History at the University of Cyprus and the author of a number of publications on the history of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, including the volume Ottoman Cyprus (Harrassowitz Verlag, 2009).
