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It is (not only) the will of god»: the king-doms of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia... 165

In 1195, Aimery sent Renier de Giblet as his ambassador to
Henry, who accepted Aimery’s homage. Henry sent two archbishops
from Trani and Brandisi with a royal sceptre, but Aimery’s corona-
tion was to be held later in Syria, where the emperor himself was
going to be present, and was thereafter postponed along with
Henry’s departure for the East . It is possible that Aimery’s brother
48
Guy may have brought ecclesiastics with him when he bought Cy-
prus, but the first donation to the Latin Church, dating to Septem-
ber 29, 1195, is by Aimery . Papal bulls of February 20, 1196, and
49
January 2, 1197 indicate that, after his first donations, Aimery
sought to end the schism by placing the Orthodox Church under
Latin authority, and requested the pope to establish the Latin
Church on the island. He did this by sending his chancellor Alan,
who was to be the first archbishop of the island, along with arch-
deacon B. of Laodicaea, who was to be the future Bishop of Pa-
50
phos, to Rome in 1195 . In the bull of February 10, it can also be
51
seen that Aimery sent a letter (which is now lost) and petitions to
Pope Celestine III. Overjoyed with an ambitious Aimery, the pope
authorized Alan and archdeacon B. to assist Aimery with the estab-
lishment of the Latin Church .
52
Aimery’s request for the establishment of the Latin Church reflects
more than his religious ambitions, since he also proposed to the pope
that the bishops be paid by the kingdom, which would considerably
increase his control over the clergy . In his letter of December 13,
53
1196, Pope Celestine clearly stated that clerics should not transfer
their rights without the knowledge and consent of the archbishop, and
that the churches should be under the officials’ control only for the
latter’s lifetime . He also clarified that the Church’s possessions in
54
Cyprus were conceded to the archbishop and permitted him to use the
pallium . The new Church was organized as one archdiocese, under
55

of Cyprus: to the Conquest of Richard Lion Heart, vol. 2, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1940, p. 314.
48 N. Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus cit., p. 173; T., Gregory, A History of By-
zantium cit., p. 273.
49 Rrh, n. 723; Cartulary, n. 45; Also see N. Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus
cit., p. 4.
50 His name is not clear in the original document.
51 Bullarium, vol. 1, pp. 95,103, n. a-1 and a-3; Cartulary, n. 1 and 3; Synodicum,
n. X.1.
52 Bullarium, vol. 1, p. 95, n. a-1. The full name of the archdeacon is not specified.
53 However, Celestine rejected the offer, believing that it would make the Church
dependent on the crown. The pope probably aimed to preclude proprietary churches as
a general policy in any case. See N. Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus cit., p. 4.
54 Bullarium vol. 1, p. 97, n. a-2.
55 Ibidem; Synodicum, n. X.2.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XIX - Aprile 2022
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