History of Christianity in Cyprus

In our study, the historical process of Christianity on the island of Cyprus will be evaluated. In this context, when we look at the island of Cyprus, we see that it has a very deep-rooted history. The island has opened its doors to more than one civilization throughout history. The civilizations that lived in Cyprus influenced the culture, architecture, understanding of art and belief of the island. One of those who influence the island in this respect are Christians. The activities of Barnabas and Paul are especially important in bringing Christianity to the island. As a result of the work done by these two, Christianity progressed rapidly on the island, with the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus becoming a Christian. In the early periods of Christianity on the island of Cyprus, there was no discrimination between Christians. However, in later periods, with the division of the Roman Empire into east and west, the island of Cyprus became connected to Istanbul and Orthodoxy became widespread on the island. In this respect, in our study, how did the formation of the churches in Cyprus take place? What was the religious situation on the island before the Christians arrived? What happened during the arrival of Christianity to the island of Cyprus? This etc. Answers to the questions will be sought. When we examine the history of Christianity on the island, we see that the most populous group is the Orthodox. In this context, in our study, the Orthodox Church will be considered as an independent department and the time period from its beginning to the present will be evaluated. The biggest rival of the Orthodox on the island is the Catholics. The Catholic Church will be examined under a different heading, just like the Orthodox Church. These two groups mentioned constitute the most important aspects of Christian history on the island. Apart from these, Maronites, Armenians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Linobambakis, Anglicans and Protestants on the island will also be discussed in a separate section. In short, our aim in this study will be to convey, based on historical data, the development of the Christian groups on the island of Cyprus, from their formation to the present day. In doing so, the history of Christianity on the island will be examined chronologically, focusing on the relevant church, and examined from an objective perspective. Our study will be carried out by taking into account the descriptive method of the science of history of religions.