442
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9" s.ix. JUNE 7,1902.
"A proof of some such intention on the p*rt of
the Porte is that it receives very graciously their
arz or petition about taxes, and all complaints they
may make, if so be they be sent to it direct under
ther[sa'c] seals, the Archbishop's name being written
in Turkish with red ink (his seal alone is found
imprinted in the Imperial qayd or register in red
ink, while all the seals which accompany it, in-
cluding those of the Patriarchs, are impressed in
black ink) and those of his three suffragans in
black. So that we may conclude that the Ottoman
Porte was certainly assured after the conquest, the
fact being of course confirmed by the Patriarch,
that the Archbishop of Cyprus enjoyed ab antique
the privilege, given him by the sovereigns on
account of the loyalty and devotion of himself and
his flock, and which he has preserved without a
break up to the present day, to sign and seal with
red ink : and this same vermilion seal is recognized
by the Porte and by all its subjects. And 1 do not
believe that any other red seal will be found in the
registers." Translated from a 'History of Cyprus,'
by Cyprianos, an Archimandrite of the Church of
Cyprus, printed at Venice in 1788.
The extract is from that part of the history which is " A Narrative of an Old Rebellion in Cyprus, which Monsieur Astier, Consul of France, set down on December 20, 1764."
I take the above extracts, the first, of course, excepted, from 'Excerpta Cypria,' translated and transcribed by Claude Delaval Cobham (Nicosia, Herbert E. Clarke, 1895), pp. 117, 315, 257.
On p. 76 is given a letter, dated 13 May, 1806, written in Greek by Chrysanthos, Arch- bishop of Cyprus. The signature is printed in Greek capitals in red ink.
Mr. Cobham is, and has been for many years, Commissioner of Larnaca. He has recently issued some additional 'Excerpta Cypria' in loose sheets, one of which (No. 2) gives the following :
" The Island of Cyprus was in its ecclesiastical government subjected once to the Patriarch of Antioch, but afterwards by the Council of Ephesus as canon the eighth, and the same again confirmed by the grace and favour of Justinian the Emperour (whose mother was a Cypriot by birth) this church was made absolute and independent of any other, and a privilege given to Anthemius, the Archbishop in that age, to subscribe his name to all publick acts in red letters, which was an honour above that of any Patriarch, who writes his name or firm in black characters, the which was afterwards con- firmed by the authority of Zeno the Emperour: this favour and indulgence was granted in honour to the Apostle Barnaby, who primarily governed this diocess, where now his sepulcher remains." " The Present State of the Greek and Armenian Churches, Anno Christi 1678, p. 89 or 90. This book was written, at the command of his Majesty Charles II., by Paul Ricaut, Esquire, late Consul
at Smyrna, and Fellow of the Royal Society
London, 1679."
Mr. (now Sir) Robert Hamilton Lang, K.C.M.G., formerly English Consul in
Cyprus, in his * Cyprus : its History, its
Present Resources, and Future Prospects '
(London, 1878, p. 166), chap, viii., says :
"It was in A.D. 477, when the Bishops of Cyprus were struggling to prevent their subjection to the Patriarch of Antioch, that a shepherd at Salamis discovered the body of St. Barnabas, and with it a copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew, written by the hand of the Cyprian Saints. In gratitude for this precious relic the Emperor Leno* confirmed the Church of Cyprus in its absolute independence, and conferred upon its head peculiar honours which he still enjoys. Amongst these were the assumption by the Archbishop of Cyprus of purple silk robes, a gold-headed sceptre, the title of Beatitude, and the privilege, only customary with the Emperors, of signing in red ink."
In "Cyprus, Historical and Descriptive. Adapted from the German of Franz von Loher. With much Additional Matter by Mrs. A. Batson Joyner. London : 1878," p. 27 (chap, iii.), is the following :
" I afterwards found that the head of the Cyprian Church is a worthy and distinguished man, who well deserves his title of ftaxa/oiwrarof ...... The
orb, and bears a title enumerating his saintly and
lordly attributes."
The writer of the above meant, no doubt, /xa/capiwraTos, i.e., "most beatified." is the word for " beatitude."
The Archbishop is a Ma/capior^s, a " Beati-
tude," in common with the other Patriarchs,
except the Patriarch of Constantinople, who
is a HavayioT^s, a " Holiness."
In addressing the Archbishop you would say, Ma/<a/H(oTaT ; in speaking to him of him- self you would say, C H 'Y/xwv MaKa/mor^s ; in speaking of him to others you would say, 'H AVTOV MaKa/noTTjs. It would appear that the difference between MaKapnurare and 1 H 'Y/zwi/ MaKotpior^s is somewhat analogous to that between " My Lord Archbishop " and " Your Grace."
I had occasion some five years ago to send a telegram from Larnaca to the Archbishop at Nicosia. I well remember using (under advice) the expression " your Beatitude " ; my telegram was in English.
I had the pleasure of calling on Archbishop Sophronios. As I remember him he was a courteous, pleasant old man, living without any appearance of grandeur, such as his privileges might suggest. He also called on me. Unfortunately our conversation had to be carried on through an interpreter. I find in my diary of February, 1896, a reference to an old Greek church in Nicosia, in which
were
- " Leno " should no doubt be Zeno.
