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Religion in Cyprus

An autocephalous church, and the faiths beside it

The Church of Cyprus is one of the oldest self-governing churches in the Christian world — and for long stretches of the island’s history it was also the institution that held Cypriot identity together.

Orthodox Christianity

The overwhelming majority of Greek Cypriots — around 78% of the population — belong to the Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus. It gained independence from the Patriarchate of Antioch in 431 AD at the Council of Ephesus, making it one of the earliest self-governing churches anywhere.

Its role has reached well beyond the spiritual. Through repeated periods of foreign rule the church preserved Greek language, culture and identity, and the Archbishop of Cyprus has historically held political as well as religious authority.

The Church of Saint Lazarus in Larnaca is built over the tomb of Lazarus of Bethany. Tradition holds that after his resurrection he fled to Cyprus, became the first Bishop of Kition, and lived another thirty years; the crypt holds his reputed tomb. In Nicosia, Panagia Faneromeni — ‘the Revealed One’, built in 1872 — carries a marble mausoleum in its courtyard holding four clergy executed by the Ottomans in 1821.

Islam in Cyprus

Muslims are approximately 18% of the population, primarily Turkish Cypriots in the north. Islam arrived during the Ottoman period (1571–1878), when many mosques were built — some converted from existing churches.

Hala Sultan Tekke, believed to hold the tomb of Umm Haram — and, reflected in the salt lake, among the most photographed sites on the island.

The other communities

The Maronites, Eastern Catholics in communion with Rome, have been in Cyprus since the 8th century and maintain both a distinct identity and their own Arabic dialect. Roman Catholics are around 3%, alongside Armenian Apostolic Christians and Anglicans — the latter a legacy of British rule — with Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish communities growing through recent immigration.

The monasteries

Kykkos, founded in the 11th century, is the wealthiest and best known, holding one of three surviving icons attributed to Saint Luke. The Holy Cross Monastery at Omodos dates to 327 AD by tradition — Saint Helena is said to have left a fragment of the True Cross there — though the present building is from 1815. At Kalopanayiotis, Ayios Ioannis Lambadistis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: three churches under one roof, with frescoes spanning the 11th to the 15th century.

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