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Makarios II of Cyprus

His Beatitude Makarios II of Cyprus was Archbishop of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus and the ruling hierarch of the Church of Cyprus from 1947 to 1950. He was an advocate for the union of Cyprus with Greece.

Life

Abp. Makarios II was born Michail Charalambous Papaioannou in the village of Prodromos, Cyprus in 1870. After completing his early education on Cyprus he was ordained a deacon in 1895 and left Cyprus to continue his education. Subsequently he was ordained a priest and received the name Makarios. In Constantinople, he attended the Great School of the Nation in the Phanar district preparatory to entering the Theological School of Halki.

With the commencement of the first Balkan War in 1912, Makarios joined the Greek army and served as a chaplain. After his return to Cyprus, Makarios was elected to the episcopate and was consecrated Bishop of Kyrenia on March 20, 1917.

A nationalist and an advocate of the union of Cyprus with Greece, Bp. Makarios became part of the Enosis movement and the disturbances on the island. As a result of the disturbances of October 1931, the British administration of Cyprus exiled Bp. Makarios from the island. In exile Bp. Makarios moved to the Pangrati district of Athens in Greece.

Following World War II, Bp. Makarios returned to Cyprus on December 22, 1946. On December 24, 1947, Bp. Makarios was elected Archbishop of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus without any opposition. He served as the ruling archbishop of Cyprus for less than three years before his repose on June 28, 1950.

Succession box:
Makarios II of Cyprus
Preceded by:
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Bishop of Kyrenia
1917-1947
Succeeded by:
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Preceded by:
Kyrillos III
Archbishop of Cyprus
1947-1950
Succeeded by:
Makarios III
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