The Encomium on St Barnabas by Alexander the Monk: ecclesiastical and imperial politics in 6th century Byzantium

Abstract

This article explores the wider ecclesiastical and socio-political context of Alexander the Monk's Encomium on St Barnabas and proposes a more precise dating for its composition, based on a re-interpretation of the primary sources and archaeological evidence. Being one of the most significant texts of Early Byzantine Cypriot hagiography, Alexander’s Encomium provides evidence about the cultivation of local traditions concerning St Barnabas and reveals the official Chalcedonianism of the Cypriot Church, despite the presence of non-Chalcedonians on the island and the adoption of non-Chalcedonian traditions by a number of Cypriot Chalcedonians.