ST. JOHN AMBULANCE.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17768, 1 October 1927, Page 10

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE.

MODERN' PILGRIMAGE TO THE LEVANT.

CHAPTER X.—CYPRUS. (By W. B. Fisher. Member of the Order of St John). Visitors to Cyprus in the Levant find many remains of a remote antiquity. It is an island with an area of about 3500 square miles, supporting a population of nearly 275,000 people. In contrast to the island of Tasmania, separated from Australia by Bass Strait, its area is approximately smaller by 22,800 square miles, while its population is larger by 8 3,200 inhabitants. Cyprus is mentioned in the classics. Miltiades, we learn, was one of the leaders of the Athenian army against the Persians at Marathon, and he won a great victory over the Persian host, 4 !>0 B.C. He was succeeded by a son named Cymou, who became a famous admiral through delivering Greek colonies from the Asiatic yoke. On one occasion he attacked the Persians near the island of Cyprus with a fleet of 25 0 sail, supported by a powerful army encamped along the shore when the enemy was completely routed. On another occasion he arrived at Cyprus with a fleet of 140 vessels and took 100 ships from the Admiral of Artaxerxes. Subsequently he returned to Cyprus to take part in another siege against the enemies of Greece. Mention is made of Cyprus in the scriptural narrative. Barnabas was of the country of Cyprus, and having land he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles’ feet. Later, in company with Saul, he visited Seleueia (on the shores of the Mediterranean); trom thence they sailed to Cyprus (Acts IV. and XIII). About the end of the XHlth century the ancient members of the Order of St John arrived in their galleys at Cyprus, where their sojourn lasted for two decades. After an interval of G 35 years the modern members of the Order, with an unbroken link of continuity, visited the island in an up-to-date steamship, captured during the Great War by the British Fleet. On arrival at Cyprus, the District Commissioner came on board to welcome the pilgrims on behalf of His Excellency the Governor and presented to each member a copy of a work entitled “Cyprus under an English King in the 12th century.” In the island are salt lakes. Quarts crystals, asbestos, copper, etc., are also found. Its - chief port is Larnaca, 3S miles from Limasol, which is noted for its production of wine. Until the XVlth century the Order of At John held extensive estates in the island, and in the vicinity of Limasol is the Castle of Kolossi. a tremendous fortified stronghold belonging to the Knights of St John in the XlVth century and still partly owned by.the English Branch of the Order. Colonel King stales that among the Grand Commanders of Cyprus two Englishmen are to be found. One of these v. as the Turcopolier Thomas ■ Skipworth, and the other John Langstrother, afterwards Grand Prior of England. Evidently the present members of St John have a very noble ancestry. It is not considered politic in some of the oversea dominions to lay such stress on this aspect, but nevertheless when the present members of the Order of St ■ John ; -.had,-a., peculiar interest in an organisation which scis forth illustrious examples of nobility of sentiment carried out with the utmost self-abnegation in numberless instances. it may perhaps be well to thoroughly investigate its history.

Cyprus is indissolubly linked tip with its splendid past, and so it was natural for the pilgrims to spend some time in exploration owing to the unique opportunity afforded them. Among the places visited was Nicosia (anciently called Ledra), the capital of Cyprus, where the art of hand weaving in silk and cotton is carried on. One of the monuments of a past, age is the Church of St Nicholas, which became the Chapel of the English Order of St Thomas of Canterbury. This Order was instituted by Richard Coenr do Lion, with headquarters in London, but became extinct in the XlVth century. While in the capital the pilgrims were entertained at Government House by His Excellency Sir Malcolm Stevenson, who gave a garden party in their honour. The guests present included His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus, His Eminence the Judge of Cyprus and the leading British and other official? of the place. The following day a visit was paid to Salamis, where the gospel was received from St Paul and St Barnabas, Anno Domini 44. Next the ruins of Famagusta were surveyed which aroused tender feelings reminiscent of the past. It was captured by the Turks in 1571 and it" gallant defender, Marc Anthonv Bragatlino. was flayed alive. His skin was afterwards stuffed with straw and hung on one of the gates of Constantinople. One of the lust acts of the pilgrims was to dispatch a cable to H.R.I-I. the Duke of Connaught with their humble greetings, afterwards embarking on their vessel, which weighed anchor at midnight and left for the island of Rhodes. (Next, Chapter XI. —Rhodes in the Aegean).