Page:Orthodox Eastern Church (Fortescue).djvu/328

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290
THE ORTHODOX EASTERN CHURCH

suaded to resign the more honoured See of Antioch and to become Patriarch of Jerusalem. Photios became Metropolltan of Nazareth. But that city, too, is a great Russian centre, and he was still a thorn in their side, till, in 1899, the old Patriarch of Alexandria, Sophronios, died. We have seen how the Russians then got rid of Photios by helping his candidature to that see, where they have, as long as the English rule there, no interests, and how he has since become an enemy of the Phanar. In 1897 Lord Gerasimos of Jerusalem died, and again there was a great struggle between the Russian and Greek parties. The leader of the Russian side is Euthymios, Archimandrite of the monastery of the Anastasis, This is the person who was responsible for the outrage against the Latin Franciscans in November, 1901. However, the Greek candidate, Damianos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia, was elected, and he is now Patriarch. Lord Damianos has been staying for a long time at Constantinople in the charitable hope of helping to settle some of the disputes that rend the Orthodox Church, the quarrel against Gregory of Antioch, the trouble in Cyprus, and, above all, the great Bulgarian schism. His Holiness has now returned to his see.[1] The quarrel about Mount Sinai (p. 310) also concerns the Church of Jerusalem.

5. The Church of Cyprus.

We have seen that the Cypriote bishops, on the strength of their succession from St. Barnabas, persuaded the Council of Ephesus to recognize their Church as independent of the See of Antioch (p. 47.) Since then this little Church has had many adventures; it was persecuted by the Crusaders and Venice;[2] and after the Turkish conquest the Cypriote

  1. For all this story see Kyriakos, iii. pp. 62–65, and, for the latest developments, the Ech. d'Or. iii. pp. 183–186, and v. p. 247. We may expect at any time to hear that Damianos has been made to resign, and is succeeded by Euthymios.
  2. For the story of Nea Iustiniane, see p. 48. King Richard Lion-heart of England conquered Cyprus in 1191, the Crusaders set up a Latin kingdom and a Latin hierarchy, and treated the Greek bishops badly; Venice became