Orthodoxy
This branch of Christianity is the main denomination on the island. Almost all of the 690,000 Greek Cypriots (57% of the population) belong to the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus. There is also the presence of the 2,500 Armenians of Cyprus, 90% of whom are Orthodox (Armenian Apostolic Church). Finally, there are about 200,000 immigrants from the Orthodox Churches of Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.
Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus. It follows the same Byzantine rites and uses the same language (Greek) as all the Greek Orthodox Churches. However, it was granted autocephaly (independence) by the Patriarch of Constantinople as early as 431, making it one of the oldest Christian churches. Its long history dates back to the conversion to Christianity of some of the Jews of Cyprus at the beginning of the first century. The island is mentioned in the Bible with the evangelizing mission of the apostles Paul and Mark, accompanied by the first bishop of Cyprus, Saint Barnabas, around the year 46 or 47, in Salamis and Paphos. Local tradition also holds that Lazarus of Bethany, famous for having been "resurrected" by Christ, was buried in Larnaca. The Church then defended the Byzantine heritage against successive invaders, from the Arabs in 632 to the British in 1878. And it was almost naturally that its leader, Archbishop Makarios III, was elected the first president of the Republic of Cyprus at the time of independence in 1960. In 1974, the Church of Cyprus lost 73% of its patrimony with the Turkish invasion of the northern part, but it remains one of the main landowners in the southern part. As such, it benefits from "rents" paid by the state in the form of salaries to some of the clergy. And while the constitution does not recognize any official religion, the Orthodox Church still has a very influential place in the Republic of Cyprus, particularly in relations with Turkey and in matters of morality.
Differences between Orthodox and Catholics. Orthodoxy is the "right" (orthos) "opinion" (doxa): the most respectful faith of the Christian tradition, as opposed to Catholicism or Protestantism which have deviated from the initial doctrine. For example, the Orthodox follow the decisions of the first Christian ecumenical councils to the letter by recognizing the marriage of priests (celibacy is only required for monks and bishops) and by prohibiting religious orders. They have also preserved the tradition of celebrating the Eucharist with leavened bread and not with unleavened bread (without yeast) as among the Catholics. The Orthodox also worship icons, recognizing their sacred character: these images are considered a manifestation of the holy figures they represent, while for Catholics, frescoes, paintings and stained glass windows in churches have only an illustrative purpose. However, there is only one real theological difference between the two confessions: the Filioque. This Latin term means "and the Son". It deals with the nature of the Holy Spirit. For the early councils, the Holy Spirit "proceeds from God", that is, God is the primary source of divinity. With the Filioque, Catholics say that he proceeds "from God and the Son", placing Christ on a par with God. This concept, considered heretical by the Orthodox, was invented around the year 800 by Charlemagne in order to assert his power over the first capital of Christianity, Constantinople. This is where the rupture between the Eastern and Western Churches came from. The gap then gradually widened with the independence of the Pope of Rome (a patriarch among others for the Orthodox) in 1054, then by the capture of Byzantine territories by the Crusaders, including Constantinople in 1204 and Cyprus in 1291.
Islam
Cyprus has the highest proportion of Muslims in the European Union: about 25%. It is also the only country with one of the great sacred sites of Islam. Most of the 360,000 or so Muslims in Cyprus are Sunnis, of Turkish culture, who live in the northern part
This religion has been present in Cyprus since 632. In 611, near Mecca, the revelation of the prophet Mohammed took place. Twenty-one years later, his Arab followers led the first military expedition to Cyprus. Some traces of Muslim graves from this period remain, notably in Paphos. The island was finally conquered in 649. That year, during the capture of Larnaca, one of the main companions of Mohammed, Umm Harâm, the aunt (or nurse) of the prophet, died. In her honor, a mausoleum was immediately erected near the salt lake of Larnaca. Today integrated into the complex of tekké Hala Sultan, it is considered one of the great holy places of Islam. However, the island is then weakly Islamized. Indeed, from 688, the Byzantines and the Arabs agreed to administer Cyprus together. This unprecedented collaboration between Christians and Muslims lasted for three centuries. But most of the mosques of this period disappeared with the arrival of the crusaders in 1191. Islam returned in force after the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottomans in 1571. To repopulate the island, Turkish soldiers were encouraged to stay. Some Latin Catholics or Armenians, hostile to the powerful Greek Orthodox Church, chose to convert to Islam, while Turkish settlers from Anatolia also came to settle on the island until the arrival of the British in 1878. These soldiers, converts and settlers constitute the ancestors of the Turkish Cypriots. After the Turkish invasion of 1974, the island welcomed new Muslim populations, including about 200,000 Turkish settlers from Anatolia, Bulgaria or the former republics of the southern USSR settled in the northern part. The southern part has attracted a few thousand Muslims, mainly from Pakistan and Syria. The relationship to religion is very different in each community. For example, in the northern part, the Turkish Cypriots do not take kindly to the rigorism of the Turkish settlers who call them to order when they drink alcohol.
The influence of Sufism. Officially, the vast majority of Muslims in Cyprus are Sunni. But there is a small but very influential minority, closer to Shiism: the Sufis. Sufism is the esoteric and mystical branch of Islam, renowned for its spirit of tolerance and for its tekkés, places of meditation and discussion where men and women meet. Its most famous aspect is the famous trance of the whirling dervishes of the mevlevis brotherhood. Moreover, in Nicosia, it is always possible to attend this hypnotic dance classified as intangible heritage by UNESCO. But this is mostly folklore for tourists. In fact, Sufism in Cyprus is present in a less visible and much more diffuse way. Born in Persia, this movement deeply influenced the Ottoman Empire until the 19th century. Its main movement, Bektashism, was very powerful within the janissaries, the elite corps of the Ottoman army. It became firmly established in Cyprus with the first Turkish soldiers who arrived in 1571. For example, it was the bektashi dervishes who watched over the mausoleum of Umm Harâm for two centuries. Perceived as a threat to the sultans, the janissaries were massacred in 1826 and Bektashism was relegated to the margins of the Empire, in Albania. But other brotherhoods took over in Cyprus, notably the Naqshbandi. This rather austere movement has however recently attracted new followers from all over the world, thanks to a Cypriot, Sheikh Nazim (1922-2014). Originally from Larnaka, he was the spiritual leader of the Naqshbandi. Through his messages of love and peace, which he spread even on YouTube, he made his residence in Lefka, near Morphou, one of the main places of pilgrimage on the island, where thousands of curious and converted Turks, Arabs, Americans and Europeans still converge today. The memory of Sheikh Nazim remains also very present among Turkish Cypriots, because according to the old Ottoman tradition, there is not really a border between Sunnism and Sufism: one goes to pray at the mosque on Friday, but one also goes to the tekké to listen to the wise words of the dervishes.
Other religions
From its rich and tumultuous history, Cyprus has inherited small and very diverse religious communities: Catholic Arabs, British Buddhists, and Anglican Turkish Cypriots.
Catholicism. Present mainly in the South, Catholics represent less than 1% of the population. They are structured into four main communities. First of all, there are Catholics of the Eastern rite, mainly Maronites from Cyprus (about 2,500, 10% of whom live in the northern part), an Arab population from Lebanon who arrived on the island from the 6th century onwards. Although they recognize the authority of the Pope, they retain, like the Orthodox, certain old traditions such as the marriage of priests. There are only about a thousand Latins in Cyprus. Roman Catholics, they are the descendants of both French settlers in the Middle Ages and Austrian merchants in the 19th century. The most numerous Catholics are the Filipinos (about 15,000). They too are Roman Catholics, mostly women who arrived in the 1980s to work as domestic servants for wealthy Cypriot families. Finally, the fourth community is the expatriate community (about 5,000), which includes both Italian investors and Argentinean Blue Helmets.
Protestantism. Divided into a multitude of churches, this branch of Christianity comprises about 2% of the population. It is mainly present through the large British community (100,000-150,000 people) living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia as well as in the northern part, but especially in the southern part. Among them, Anglicans constitute the largest group (between 15 and 20%). There are also about 500 Anglican Turkish Cypriots whose ancestors were converted during the British period.
Buddhism. There are about 25,000 followers of this religion/philosophy, slightly more than Catholics. They are mainly Sri Lankan and Indian immigrants who have arrived in the southern part of the country since the 1970s, to which have been added Cypriot and British converts. Since 2005, they have had the Great Cloud Monastery in Nicosia, but also various centres throughout the island, such as in the village of the "English hippies" of Karmi, in the northern part.
Judaism. There are about 3,500 Jews, half of whom are Israelis living in Cyprus. Opened in 2005, the country's only synagogue is in Larnaka. Since 2016, with the support of the Jewish religious authorities in Israel, Jewish educational centres have been established in Nicosia, Limassol and Agia Napa
Sikhism and Hinduism. Originating from the Indian subcontinent (India, Nepal...), these two religions are present almost exclusively in the southern part. The Sikhs of Cyprus are said to number about 500, organised in community with their own clergy, and have two gurdwaras (temples and meeting places) in Nicosia and Larnaka. Often confused with the Buddhists, the Hindus of Cyprus also have a temple in Larnaka.
