Neophytos of Cyprus, Saint Neophytos, Neophytos the Recluse (Greek: Άγιος Νεόφυτος ο Έγκλειστος; 1134–1214) was a Cypriot Orthodox monk, priest, and sometime hermit, whose writings preserved a history of the early crusades.
Life Neophytos was born in the mountain village of Kato Drys near Pano Lefkara, Cyprus, to farming parents Athanasios and Eudoxia, one of eight children. An arranged marriage planned by his parents ended with him fleeing to the Monastery of Saint John Chrysostomos in Koutsovendis.Galatariotou, Catia (2002) The Making of a Saint: The Life, Times and Sanctification of Neophytos the Recluse Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, page 13, After much ado, the marriage contracts were broken and Neophytos went back to the monastery as a novice, becoming a tonsured monk in 1152.Galatariotou (2002) page 14 During this time he learned to read and write and was eventually appointed as assistant sacristan.Kakoulli, Ioanna and Fischer, Christian (2009) "An innovative noninvasive and nondestructive multidisciplinary approach for the technical study of the Byzantine wall paintings in the Enkleistra of St. Neophytos in Paphos, Cyprus" Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC; archived here by Internet Archive on 24 November 2010 Although Neophytos wanted to be a hermit, his abbot declined to let him go, citing his youth.
In 1158, however, Neophytos was allowed to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While he was there he unsuccessfully sought out hermits who might sponsor him. He returned to Cyprus, but still wanted to pursue the hermitic life. He tried to escape to Mount Latmos in Asia Minor, but was arrested at Paphos upon his attempted embarkation.Kakoulli (2009) indicates that the sources do not state the basis for his arrest. But Galatariotou (2002) indicates that it was because he was mistaken for a fugitive. He was soon released from prison, but the guards had stolen his travel funds, so, in June 1159, he went to the hilly area above Paphos, where he found a cave that had been used by a previous hermit. He enlarged the space, eventually creating three caves known today as the Cell, the Bema and the Naos.The complex also includes the Narthex and the Refectory found adjacent to the principal caves as well as the Skevophylakion, the Ayiastyrion (which is the room for St. Neophytos sanctification and holy attendance) and the New Zion located above the Narthex and the Naos. Kakoulli (2009)
Neophytos wrote a chronicle titled Περὶ τῶν κατὰ χώραν Κύπρον σκαιῶν (On the calamities against the country of Cyprus) dated to 1196, which is one of the few Greek primary sources that record the events of the Third Crusade in Cyprus and the pursuit of the Byzantine ruler of Cyprus, Isaakios Komninos by the English king Richard the Lionheart. Neophytos took a judgmental stance against the crusaders and his chronicle is anti-Latin.
Legacy Saint Neophytos Monastery was named in his honor.
Publication history
Σάθας, K. Νεόφυτου πρότερον μοναχού και Εγκλείστου, περί των κατά την χώραν Κύπρον σκαιών. Μεσαιωνική Βιβλιοθήκη Τόμος Β΄. Χρονογράφοι Βασιλείου Κύρπου. Εν Βενετία: Τύποις του Χρόνου (1873).
See also
Kingdom of Cyprus Leontios Machairas Georgios Boustronios
Notes
Further reading Coureas, Nicholas (2003) The foundation rules of medieval Cypriot monasteries: Makhairas and St. Neophytos Cyprus Research Centre, Nicosia, Cyprus, Englezakis, Benedict (1995) Studies on the History of the Church of Cyprus, 4th–20th Centuries (translated from Modern Greek by Norman Russell) Variorum, Aldershot, Hampshire, England, Epstein, Ann Wharton (1981) "Formulas for Salvation: A Comparison of Two Byzantine Monasteries and their Founders" Church History 50(4): pp. 385–400, Galatariotou, Catia (2002) The Making of a Saint: The Life, Times and Sanctification of Neophytos the Recluse Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, Mango, C. A. and Hawkins, E. J. W. (1966) "The Hermitage of St. Neophytos and Its Wall Paintings" Dumbarton Oaks Papers 20: pp. 119–206 Papageōrgiou, Athanasios (1998) The Monastery of Agios Neophytos: History and Art (a short guide) Holy Royal and Stavropegiac Monastery of Saint Neophytos, Nicosia, Cyprus, Tsiknopoullos, Ioannis P. (1965) The Encleistra and Saint Neophytos Zavallis Press, Leukosia, Cyprus,