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embedded itself on the island. When Richard conquered the island,
30
there were Latin communities, consisting mainly of Venetians, and
some churches with a couple of priests, but it is hardly possible to
refer to an organized ecclesiastical institution on the island. After the
conquest, the properties, churches, and incomes of the Greek clergy
were confiscated, but this was not peculiar to the Orthodox commu-
nity as the new rulers also confiscated property from the Venetians,
granting these to the Latin Church, the military orders and the new
nobility on the island. By refraining from provoking and harming the
local population, the Latin church built up its superiority in a lei-
surely fashion . Contrary to older perspectives, which claimed that
31
the Latin Church absorbed or simply neglected the Orthodox
Church, modern scholarly work indicates that Innocent III adopted
a policy of maintaining amicable relations, avoiding doctrinal conflict
and attempting to keep the Greek bishops in the predominantly
Greek sees. Moreover, the Greek clergy took an oath to the pope and
the Latin Church in the early thirteenth century. Until 1222, the Or-
thodox Church was allowed to maintain fourteen bishoprics on the
island. However, a serious change took place in the political organi-
sation of the island from this date, resulting in the gradual subjuga-
tion of Greek Church .
32

The Establishment of the Latin Church in Cyprus

By the time Richard the Lionheart conquered the island in 1191,
Christendom was in a state of panic and yearned to recover what the
Crusaders had lost to Saladin before and after the fall of Jerusalem in
1187. However, when Latin rule was established in Cyprus, the pop-
ulation was rebellious. Most especially, they had shown their hatred

30 C. Schabel, Religion cit., pp. 171-172; N. Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus cit.,
pp. 252-253.
31 Ibidem.
32 C. Schabel, N. I. Tsougarakis, Pope Innocent III, the Fourth Lateran Council, and
Frankish Greece and Cyprus, «The Journal of Ecclesiastical History», 67-4 (2016), pp.
742-744; Idem, The Status of the Greek Clergy in Early Frankish Cyprus, in idem, (ed.),
Greeks, Latins and the Church in Early Frankish Cyprus, Ashgate, Farnham, Burlington,
2010, I, pp. 168-169. When the Latin Church was established, the Orthodox Church
had maintained fourteen bishoprics. In 1202, Pope Innocent III confirmed Pope Celes-
tine III’s organization on the island. However, the number of Greek bishoprics reduced
to four from fourteen in 1220 and 1222 agreements, under Pope Honorius III. For a
discussion regarding the confusion about the reduction of the Orthodox bishoprics in
primary and secondary literature, see C. Schabel, The Myth of Queen Alice and the Sub-
jugation of the Greek Clergy on Cyprus, in idem, (ed.), Greeks, Latins and the Church in
Early Frankish Cyprus, Ashgate, Farnham, Burlington, 2010, II, pp. 262-264.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XIX - Aprile 2022
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)