2008 Study Trip to Cyprus

Immediately following the Annual General Meeting in Canterbury, 29 members of the Society traveled to Cyprus to learn about that island and about Anglican ministry there.





We arrived on Monday, November 10th and were welcomed that first evening by the Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, the Right Reverend Michael Lewis.  (For more information on his diocese, see their website:  http://www.cypgulf.org/)  Bishop Lewis and his wife Julia spoke to members about the nature of the diocese and its ministry.  The diocese encompasses a number of countries and Anglicans are a small minority in each of them.  Ministry for Anglicans here takes a variety of forms, dependent upon the circumstances and legal restrictions of each country.  While some ministry takes place within expatriate communities, there are also important outreach ministries such as prison chaplaincies and efforts to improve the conditions in camps for foreign workers.

On Tuesday we travelled into the Troodos Mountains, home to the Kykkos Monastery and a number of Byzantine churches and monasteries that are UNESCO world heritage sites.  Among these, we saw the Ayios Yiannis Lampadistis Monastery and the church at Assinou, which is famous for its painted interior.

Wednesday morning brought a very unique opportunity for Compass Rose members.  We were present at a meeting between Secretary General Kenneth Kearon and Archbishop Chrysostomos at the Archbishop's palace in Nicosia. 
This meeting provided us with insight into how religion and politics intersect on this island, where the Orthodox church traces its leadership back to St. Barnabas.

Free time that afternoon permitted many of us to travel through the UN-patrolled "Green Zone" into the portion of Nicosia controlled by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.  Many of us ended up at the Selimiye Mosque, which was built in the 13th century as St. Sophia's Cathedral and converted to a mosque in 1570. 
This building is a very tangible reminder of how the island of Cyprus has been the scene of political and religious conflict for centuries.

The next day we travelled to the city of Paphos.  Our first stop was the Ayios Neophytos Monastery, where we were joined by the Reverend Tony Jeynes, Anglican chaplain of Paphos. 
Neophytos was a 12th century monk who carved a series of grottoes out of a rock hillside.  These somewhat  cramped spaces, like many holy places in Cyprus, are filled with beautiful painted frescoes, some of which are said to have been painted by Neophytos himself.

We then travelled to Fr. Jeynes' Ayia Kyriaki Church, where Anglican services are held in Paphos.  This is truly one of those unheralded, but very special places that Compass Rose members encounter through mission and study trips.  It was originally built around 1500 AD as a Latin (Catholic) church, on the site where tradition holds that St. Paul was flogged.   As a result, it is known as "The Church by St. Paul's Pillar". 
It later became a Byzantine cathedral.  At the present time, the Orthodox Church has generously made the church available to both the Anglican and Latin Churches, who share use of the building.

On our last evening in Cyprus, the Very Reverend Stephen Collis welcomed us into his cathedral in Nicosia where one of our members celebrated the Eucharist.  Dean Collis and his wife Kath were with us for much of the trip and we were grateful for their hospitality and for their willingness to engage us in conversation and dialogue.

On Friday, November 14th we said farewell to Cyprus, but not before some more remarkable encounters.  The Teke Mosque in Larnaca is the third holiest site in Islam, after the Kaaba in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina.  The mosque is located in a very pleasant setting amongst palm trees on the shore of the Larnaca Salt Lake.  Many of us did not appreciate beforehand how important this site is to Muslims and this visit, along with visits to the Angeloktisti Church in Kiti and the St. Lazarus Church in Larnaca, reinforced for us the depth of history and religious culture on the island of Cyprus. 

We owe our hosts a great many thanks for giving us such a thorough introduction to the island during our time there.  We are also grateful to Lynne Butt, travel manager for the ACO, for her work in helping to organize the trip.

For video on this trip and our Canterbury AGM, please go to http://ca.youtube.com/group/compassrose .