Maronite Cypriots

Maronite Cypriots

Languages
Cypriot Arabic, Aramaic/Syriac
Religion
Maronite Church of the Roman Catholic Church - Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Maronites, Lebanese people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenian Cypriots,

The Maronites in Cyprus, Maronite Cypriots, or Lebanese Cypriots, are an ethnoreligious group and/or members of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Cyprus whose ancestors migrated from present-day Lebanon during the Middle Ages. A percentage of them traditionally speak a dialect which is a combination of Arabic, Turkish and Greek, recently recognized as a variety of Arabic known as Cypriot Arabic, in addition to Greek. People speaking this Arabic dialect originate from one village, specifically Kormakitis. As Eastern Catholics of the West Syriac Rite, they are in full communion with the Catholic Church of Rome.

As of 2018 the Archbishop of Cyprus was Youssef Soueif, born in Chekka, Lebanon on 14 July 1962. He was ordained Archbishop on 6 December 2008 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon-Harissa by the Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. The Mass of Enthronement was held at the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Graces in Nicosia, Cyprus on 21 December 2008. He succeeded the Emeritus Archbishop of Cyprus Boutros Gemayel, who lives in Lebanon.

Legal status[]

Legally defined in the Constitution of Cyprus as a religious group within the Greek Cypriot community, which they chose to join by vote just before independence alongside their fellow Roman Catholics of the Latin Rite and the Armenians. While Maronites are part of the Greek Cypriot electoral register when voting for president and members of the house of representatives, they also vote for a special representative that is not an MP but corresponds to the now non functioning communal chambers of the Greek and Turkish communities.^[1]

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Maronite Church
Coat of arms of the Syriac Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church
Patriarchate
Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
Religious orders and societies
Antonin Maronite Order Congregation of the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries Lebanese Maronite Order Mariamite Maronite Order Maronite Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Communities
Cyprus Israel Lebanon Syria Lebanese diaspora
Languages
Historical, theological, and liturgical: Aramaic Syriac Vernacular French English Arabic Portuguese Spanish
History
Maron Monastery of Saint Maron John Maron Mardaites County of Tripoli Ottoman rule 1860 conflict Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate Our Lady of Lebanon 1958 Lebanon crisis Greater Lebanon Lebanon Bkerké Lebanese Civil War South Lebanon conflict Taif Agreement
Related politics
National Pact Lebanese politics Lebanese nationalism Phoenicianism Kataeb Party Marada Movement Lebanese Forces Free Patriotic Movement
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Demographics[]

In the 13th century there were about 50,000 Maronites in Cyprus, living in 60 villages, a number that dropped down to 33 before the Ottoman conquest in 1571. The number of Maronites kept declining through the Ottoman rule; 19 Maronite villages were recorded in the 15th century and the number had fallen to 9 by 1661. The 1841 Ottoman census gave a figure of 1,200–1,300 for the Maronite population. In the 1891 census, out of 209,286 Cypriots 1,131 were Maronites, the figure rose to 1,350 in 1921 and 1,704 in 1931.^[2]

Until the Turkish invasion of 1974, the town of Kormakitis was known as a centre of Maronite culture.^{[citation needed]}

According to the 1960 census, there were 2,752 Maronites, mainly in the four northern villages of Kormakitis, Karpaseia, Asomatos, and Agia Marina. Following the hostilities between the Greek and Turkish communities that led to the de facto division of Cyprus, most Maronites dispersed to the south. Only about 150 mostly elderly people remained within Northern Cyprus. As of 2010, the total estimated population is about 5,000–6,000, primarily in the southern area of Nicosia.^[3][4]

75% of Maronites live in Nicosia, 15% in Limassol, and 5% in Larnaca.^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

• Cypriot Maronite Arabic
• Lebanese Arabic
• Lebanese people in Cyprus
• Greek Cypriots
• Maronite Church
• Roman Catholicism in Cyprus
• Human rights in Northern Cyprus

References[]

External links[]

• A Reading in the History of the Maronites of Cyprus From the Eighth Century to the Beginning of British Rule

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