Martyrs of Kantara explained

Death Date:May 1231
Death Place:Nicosia, Kingdom of Cyprus
Martyred By:Catholic Church
Means Of Martyrdom:burned alive
Venerated In:Eastern Orthodox Church, Church of Cyprus
Feast Day:19 May

The martyrs of Kantara are thirteen Orthodox monks from the Kantara monastery in Cyprus, persecuted and executed in May 1231 at the request of Pope Gregory IX and under the direction of his emissary, Andrew. After an inquisition trial for refusing the use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist, they were imprisoned, tortured, and then burned alive. One of them died in prison before the execution.

They are venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and more specifically in the Church of Cyprus as martyrs on May 19. The story of their martyrdom is partially recounted in a hagiographic text dating from the 1270s called the Narratio of the Thirteen Martyrs.

History

Sources

The event and the execution of the thirteen monks are known in part through a text written around 1270,[1] called the "Narratio of the Thirteen Martyrs",[2] as well as through letters exchanged between the Patriarch of Constantinople Germanus II and Pope Gregory IX, where they discussed the event. Later Dominican sources also mentioned the events, notably by criticizing the thirteen monks.[3]

Apart from these sources, there are other relatively numerous occurrences in the literature of the period. The event and the martyrdom are considered historical by historians, although hagiographic accounts may sometimes be questioned.[4]

Background

After the conquest of Cyprus by Richard the Lionheart from the hands of the Byzantine usurper Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus,[5] following a series of events, he sold the island to Guy of Lusignan.[6] After the establishment of the Kingdom of Cyprus, a parallel Catholic religious hierarchy was established alongside the pre-existing Orthodox hierarchy. Assisted by royal power and supported by successive popes, they embarked on a campaign of conversions, religious pressures, and power struggles targeting the Orthodox communities on the island.

They were aided by the forced exile of a large majority of Orthodox bishops from the island, usually leaving only the Orthodox monasteries in the forefront, among which the Machairas monastery and the Kantara monastery stood out, to resist against royal and papal authority.

Gregory IX was known as a particularly uncompromising and violent pope; in 1231, the same year as the death of the monks, he issued the bull "Excommunicatus", confirming that the punishment for heretics was death.

Persecution and executions

Pope Gregory IX took measures to convert the island to Catholicism; he ordered that no position be given to anyone who did not recognize Latin practices. Subsequently, he sent a Dominican emissary to the island, Andrew, who engaged in a policy of persecutions targeting the Orthodox population.[7]

Between 1231 and 1233, a series of persecutions befell the Orthodox clergy of Cyprus. In particular, thirteen monks from the Kantara Monastery were persecuted for their refusal to use unleavened bread for the Eucharist.[8] [9] This element indicates that the main point of conflict was the liturgical question, primarily. They underwent an inquisition trial for heresy and were then imprisoned for three years[10] by order of the high-court of the Kingdom, composed of Frankish barons and Catholic clergy.

The monks were subsequently tortured, at least once in public. One of them died during imprisonment and was not executed.

Since they weren't changing their minds,Gregory IX directly instructed[11] the Catholic archbishop of the island, Eustorgus, to consider them as heretics, they were then killed[12] [13] [14] by being burned alive.[15] The execution took place in May 1231. Their bones were then mixed with those of animals to avoid producing relics.

Consequences

The Patriarch of Constantinople, Germanus II, sent a letter to Pope Gregory IX to highlight his and Henry of Cyprus's responsibility in the executions. The pope replied that they were "schismatics" but agreed to backtrack on the issue of the use of unleavened bread.

The death of the martyrs served as a catalyst for popular resentment, which grew in magnitude and sought the rejection of the Latin authorities occupying the island and their Catholic religious hierarchy.[16] [17] [18] In particular, the narrative in the Narratio compares the Catholic inquisitors to the high priests persecuting Jesus, Henry of Cyprus to Pontius Pilate, and the Dominican Andrew to Caiaphas. In reality, this strengthened the Orthodox position, with these martyrs as an example, thus becoming more steadfast in their beliefs.[19]

Monasteries became the centers of Orthodox resistance on the island, and tensions remained violent and strained between the two communities until 1260 when Pope Alexander IV issued the Bulla Cypria. This sought a position of coexistence, although heavily favoring the Catholic Church,[20] and helped alleviate tensions to some extent.

Legacy

Scientific research

The fact that certain Western Catholic researchers, such as Louis de Mas Latrie, avoided mentioning the event in their studies on the history of Cyprus, has been criticized in more recent studies, for example, by A. Nicolaou-Konnari.[21]

Religious veneration

The thirteen monks are considered saints and martyrs in the Eastern Orthodox Church,[22] particularly in the Church of Cyprus, where they are celebrated on May 19.[23] [24]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kyriacou, Chrysovalantis . Orthodox Cyprus under the Latins, 1191-1571: society, spirituality, and identities . 2018 . Lexington Books . 978-1-4985-5115-1 . Byzantium . Lanham (Md.).
  2. Kyrris . Costas P. . 1994 . Cypriot identity, Byzantium and the Latins, 1192–1489 . History of European Ideas . en . 19 . 4–6 . 563–573 . 10.1016/0191-6599(94)90037-X . 0191-6599 . 2024-02-02 . 2024-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240202222853/https://www.tandfonline.com/pb/widgets/optimizer?pbContext=%3BsubPage%3Astring%3AStatus%20%3Bwgroup%3Astring%3APublication%20Websites%3Bwebsite%3Awebsite%3ATFOPB%3Bpage%3Astring%3AIP%20blocked%3BpageGroup%3Astring%3AError&widgetId=9298c7a6-6903-4607-8380-4c83e2b7142f . live .
  3. Book: Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241): power and authority . 2023 . Amsterdam University Press . 978-90-485-5460-7 . Smith . Damian J. . Church, faith and culture in the Medieval West . Amsterdam.
  4. Schabel . Chris . 2008-01-01 . Two Small Texts on the Wider Context of the Martyrdom of the Thirteen Monks of Kantara in Cyprus, 1231 . Polyptychon / Πολύπτυχον. Homenaje a Ioannis Hassiotis / Αφιέρωμα στον Ιωάννη Χασιώτη . 2024-02-02 . 2024-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240202222901/https://www.academia.edu/38170813 . live .
  5. Voisin . L. . 2013 . L'" ANCIENNE " OU LA " NOUVELLE ROME " : LES MONASTÈRES GRECS SOUS DOMINATION LATINE ENTRE ROME ET CONSTANTINOPLE (13 e -15 e SIÈCLES) . Chronos . fr . 28 . 7 . 2024-02-02 . 2024-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240202222759/https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03653229 . live .
  6. Web site: Cyprus History: Cyprus under Richard I - cypnet.co.uk . 2024-02-02 . www.cypnet.co.uk . 2017-04-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170405123210/http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/history/17.htm . live .
  7. Schabel . Chris . 2010-01-01 . Martyrs and Heretics, Intolerance of Intolerance: the Execution of Thirteen Monks in Cyprus in 1231 . Greeks, Latins, and the Church in Early Frankish Cyprus . 2024-02-02 . 2023-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230815174434/https://www.academia.edu/38164905/Martyrs_and_Heretics_Intolerance_of_Intolerance_the_Execution_of_Thirteen_Monks_in_Cyprus_in_1231 . live .
  8. Tsougarakis . Nickiphoros I. . Schabel . Christopher . 2015-01-02 . Of burning monks, unidentified churches and the last Cistercian foundation in the East: Our Lady of Camina in the principality of Achaia . Journal of Medieval History . en . 41 . 1 . 60–87 . 10.1080/03044181.2014.979326 . 159557270 . 0304-4181 . 2024-02-02 . 2024-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240202222857/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03044181.2014.979326 . live .
  9. Devaney . Thomas . 2013 . Spectacle, Community and Holy War in Fourteenth-Century Cyprus . Medieval Encounters . 19 . 3 . 300–341 . 10.1163/15700674-12342140 . 1380-7854 . 2024-02-02 . 2024-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240202222908/https://brill.com/view/journals/me/19/3/article-p300_3.xml . live .
  10. Book: 2024-02-02. 1969. Achille Auteur du texte. FR. Emilianidès. Histoire de Chypre (3e édition mise à jour) / par Achille Emilianidès,.... 2024-02-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20240202222905/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3362213w. live.
  11. Coureas . Nicholas . 2021-12-30 . The Greek Church in Latin and Venetian Cyprus 1191–1570 . Perspektywy Kultury . 35 . 4 . 55–86 . 10.35765/pk.2021.3504.05 . 2719-8014 . 2024-02-02 . 2023-10-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231022055004/https://czasopisma.ignatianum.edu.pl/pk/article/view/2044 . live . free .
  12. Φιλίππου . Φίλιππος Κώστα . 2014 . Σχέσεις Ορθοδόξων και Λατίνων στην Κύπρο κατά την περίοδο της Φραγκοκρατίας. . Ιστορικοκανονική θεώρηση . el . 10.26262/HEAL.AUTH.IR.134739 . 2024-02-02 . 2021-12-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211214225502/https://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/134739 . live .
  13. Papacostas . Tassos . Byzantine Nicosia . / . 2024-02-02 . 2023-01-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230129221239/https://www.academia.edu/2248379/Byzantine_Nicosia . live .
  14. Pilides . Despina . 2013 . Excavations at the Hill of Ayios Yeoryios (Nicosia) Area VIII: The churches. . Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes . fr . 43 . 1 . 243–252 . 10.3406/cchyp.2013.1065 . 0761-8271 . 2024-02-02 . 2022-06-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220618201542/https://www.persee.fr/doc/cchyp_0761-8271_2013_num_43_1_1065 . live .
  15. Paschali . Maria . 2014 . Negotiating identities in fourteenth-century Famagusta, Saint George of the Greeks, the liturgy and the Latins . . Identity/Identities in Late Medieval Cyprus . 281–301.
  16. Asdracha . Catherine . 1994-09-29 . Cypriot Culture during the Lusignan Period: Acculturation and ways of Resistance . Byzantina Symmeikta . 9 . 81 . 10.12681/byzsym.761 . 1791-4884 . 2024-02-02 . 2021-09-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210926115858/https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/bz/article/view/3566 . live . free .
  17. Torrance . Alexis . 2018-01-01 . Receiving Palamas: the case of Cyprus, 1345–1371 . Analogia . 2024-02-02 . 2022-11-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221101215337/https://www.academia.edu/36560223/Receiving_Palamas_the_case_of_Cyprus_1345_1371 . live .
  18. Book: Drocourt . Nicolas . A Companion to Byzantium and the West, 900-1204 . Kolditz . Sebastian . 2022-01-01 . BRILL . 978-90-04-49924-9 . 10.1163/9789004499249_008 . 244935894 . 2024-02-02 . 2021-12-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211211105918/https://brill.com/view/title/60880 . live .
  19. Book: Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies: London 21 - 26 August 2006 . 2006 . Ashgate . 978-0-7546-5740-8 . Jeffreys . Elizabeth . Aldershot . Haarer . Fiona K..
  20. Andrews . Justine M. . 1999 . Santa Sophia in Nicosia: the Sculpture of the Western Portals and Its Reception . Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies . 30 . 2024-02-02 . 2015-04-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103832/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/32t6t59w . live .
  21. Nicolaou-Konnari . Angel . 2013 . " La France de Chypre " de Louis de Mas Latrie . Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes . 43 . 1 . 505–521 . 10.3406/cchyp.2013.1082 . 2024-02-02 . 2024-01-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240129085130/https://www.persee.fr/doc/cchyp_0761-8271_2013_num_43_1_1082 . live .
  22. Web site: The 13 Holy Martyrs of Kantara in Cyprus: Defenders of Leavened Bread in the Eucharist . 2024-02-02 . en . 2024-01-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240106090324/https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/05/13-martyrs-of-kantara-defenders-of.html . live .
  23. Web site: Theofanous . Konstantinos . 2020-05-19 . Οι 13 μάρτυρες της Καντάρας . 2024-02-02 . Εκκλησία της Κύπρου . el . 2024-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240202222901/https://churchofcyprus.org.cy/61780 . live .
  24. Web site: Theofanous . Konstantinos . 2023-05-19 . Οι δεκατρείς Οσιομάρτυρες της Ιεράς Μονής Καντάρας . 2024-02-02 . Εκκλησία της Κύπρου . el . 2023-09-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230922173932/https://churchofcyprus.org.cy/70563 . live .

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