Archbishop Makarios the First

There were three persons bearing the name ‹‹Makarios›› that served as Orthodox Archbishops of Cyprus, known as Makarios the First, Makarios the Second Myrianthefs, and Makarios the Third -the first President of the Republic of Cyprus.
Makarios the First: Archbishop of Cyprus during the Turkish Domination era and more specifically from 1854 until 1865.

Makarios the First descended –as also was Makarios the Second –from Marathasa. Indeed he is mentioned as Makarios Chrisodoulidis “Myrianthefs”. He was born in the village of Prodromos and he died in Nicosia in August of 1865 from cholera, refusing to abandon a city the inhabitants of which were being decimated by the epidemic that had broken out.

In 1854 Makarios was a deacon and when Archbishop Kyrillos died (23.7.1854) he was elected as his successor to the Archbishopric Throne. He was ordained in the Cathedral of Nicosia on the 26th of August 1854 by the Bishops of Pafos Charitonas, of Kition Meletios, and of Kyrineia Meletios. He was one of the most significant Cypriot prelates of the Turkish Domination era and one of those whose «veratia» are extant. The «veratia» were official Ottoman documents through which, one the one hand, the election of prelates was recognized by the authorities and therefore they were able to assume their duties and on the other hand, they included the basic relations between the Church and the State as well as the privileges of the clergy.

Ever since the beginning of his Archbishopric term of Makarios the First, he dealt with the issue of the Bishop of Pafos, Chartion, who was in conflict with his flock and in the position of being accused by the people of Pafos. Amongst other things, he was accused of displaying indifference, disorganizing the Diocese of Pafos, needles expenses, and mismanagement. The issue troubling the Church however ended with Chariton’s death on 1885 and the election of Lavrentios, a competent prelate and a fellow-villager of Archbishop Makarios the First, as his successor.

Archbishop Makarios the First, taking advantage of the opportunities and the privileges that were granted to Cypriots through the reforms issued during his days (in 1856) as a result of the Treaty of Paris (of 1854), he managed to offer good services both to the Church of Cyprus and the Greek population of the island in general.

So, during the days of Archbishop Makarios the First, the use of bells in the churches became possible, something prohibited up until then by an order of the Vizier dating “18th of Sapher 1275”. The first bells to ring in Cyprus -after it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1570-71 –was hanged in 1859 at the Cathedral of St John in Nicosia. Furthermore, through representations that the Archbishop made to the Turkish Authorities in 1856, he managed to ensure that Cypriot Priests were not hindered in the performance of their duties because then they were obliged to also participate in the chase of grasshoppers, abandoning even the liturgies and locking up the churches.

With the 1856 reforms, two councils (Administrative and Judicial) were formed in Nicosia -as well as similar provincial ones –with the prelates having a right to participate in them. The Archbishop and three other Christians participated in the general Administrative Council (Turkish: «Idare Meclis»). Also as a consequence of the reforms, the first municipalities were established in the cities. During the term of Makarios it also became possible to secure various significant rights for the Greeks of the island, such as: a) the right of registering the properties of the deceased Greek-Cypriots under the wing of their religious leaders instead of under the representatives of the Ottoman authorities, who were susceptible to any kind of arbitrariness, embezzlement, and effort for personal gain, and b) the testimonies of Christians to be accepted in courts. Also, during the term of Makarios the First, there was an important administrative change: Cyprus was taken away from the administrative jurisdiction of the Archipelagos prefecture and became an independent «mutesariflik» under the direct command of the Sublime Porte.

In 1860 Makarios the First made representations to the Grand Vizier Mehmed pasha (who was of Cypriot descent), aiming to the reduction of taxes (there is a relevant letter, dating 8.5.1960, through which a request is addressed to the Vizier so that he would look after his fellow-countrymen, the Christians of Cyprus).
In 1859 he had also forwarded a petition regarding the needs and problems of the Cypriot toward the Grand Vizier, Mehmed pasha Kibrisli, via the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The field however in which Makarios the First produced very significant work, considering the era and the circumstances, was that of education. Indeed, from his election and onward his prime concern was the spiritual and intellectual growth of Cyprus’s Greeks. He personally founded the first Girls’ School in 1859, while proceeding with the reorganization and support of the Hellenic School of Nicosia in that same year. He also mobilized all the prelates and monasteries of Cyprus for work and contributions for the benefit of education and the granting of scholarships. In support of education in Cyprus, the Archbishop also sent requests to many places outside Cyprus, especially in areas where Cypriots Priests were serving. Many responded and sent financial aid, such as the Cypriots Ioannikos (of the “Vatopedi” monastery in Mount Athos), Meletios (Bishop of Petra), Filimon (Bishop of Gazi), and others.

The Archbishop himself monitored the progress of education in the capital quite closely, while for Cyprus in general, as F. Georgiou writes, «Makarios the First incited the sense of honor and the zeal for education in many persons in the cities and in the villages, who then established there many “mutual teaching” schools…»
Indeed, the founding –for the first time –of many schools in Cyprus is due to Makarios the First. Letters of his in particular are still extant, which he wrote to the inhabitants of villages (such as the one to those of Athienou), urging them to establish schools.
The founding and operation of schools (even though quite inadequate), in an era characterized by an almost complete and generally spread illiteracy and ignorance, was a difficult task not only of social but also of national value.

The Archbishop however did not avoid dying from the cholera epidemic that broke out in the capital during the summer of 1865. Refusing to leave Nicosia, the Archbishop stayed amongst the people of a city that was being decimated. The result was that he also gets inflicted by the disease too and dies on the 4th of August 1865. He was buried in Pallouriotissa.