independent Church province in the Orthodox East, that eventually belonged to none of them.
6. Cyprus.
The island of Cyprus at first undoubtedly obeyed Antioch.[1] The Gospel had been brought to the island by St. Paul and St. Barnabas on their first missionary journey. St. Barnabas was counted the first Bishop of Cyprus, his successor at Constantia (the old Salamis) was Metropolitan over three other Cypriote bishops. He went up to Antioch to be ordained just like the other metropolitans of the patriarchate. It was possibly the confusion of the Arian troubles, when heretics reigned even at Antioch, that first made the Metropolitan of Constantia think he would like to be independent and have an "autocephalous" province to himself. From the beginning of the 5th century, at any rate, the Cypriote bishops begin to assert their independence. Pope Innocent I (401–417) stood out for the rights of Antioch.[2] The Council of Ephesus (431) was already ill-disposed towards that see (its occupier John[3] was the chief supporter of Nestorius). The Bishops of Cyprus assured the Fathers of the council that their Metropolitan had always
- ↑ Cyprus was part of the Roman civil diocese of the East, that became the Antiochene Patriarchate.
- ↑ His letter in Jaffe's Reg. Rom. Pont. 310.
- ↑ 428–441.
come, not only from a Patriarch, but from a mighty Pontiff of God equal to the Apostles. On the other hand, whereas from my earliest years till old age I have been taught holy letters (theology) and have always carefully studied them, never from any one did I anywhere hear or learn till to-day that there is a Patriarch of Venice. For there are in all the world by God's grace only five Patriarchs, the Roman, Constantinopolitan, Alexandrine, Antiochene and Hierosolymitan." Peter goes on to say that the Roman and Alexandrine Bishops should be called Pope, those of Constantinople and Jerusalem Archbishop; so that he himself is the only quite real Patriarch. Then: "Now listen to what I say. A man's body is ruled by one head, in it are many members, which are all guided by only five senses, so also the body of Christ," &c. The comparison is a favourite one. George of Trebizond, at about the same time, tells us which each one is. Rome is touch, Constantinople taste, Alexandria sight, Antioch hearing, and Jerusalem smell. His reasons, and the correspondence between Dominic of Venice and Peter of Antioch may be seen in Will: Acta et Scripta de Controv. Eccl. Græcæ et Latinæ.
