Maronite Cypriots

Maronite Cypriots

Maronite Cypriots in traditional folk costume
Total population
13,170 (2021)[1]
Languages
Cypriot Arabic, Cypriot Greek
Religion
Maronite Church – Catholic Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Maronites, Lebanese people, Lebanese Cypriots, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenian Cypriots

Maronite Cypriots are an ethnoreligious group and are members of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Cyprus whose ancestors migrated from the Levant during the Middle Ages. A percentage of them traditionally speak a variety of Arabic known as Cypriot Arabic, in addition to Greek. People speaking this Arabic dialect originate from one village, specifically Kormakitis. As Eastern Catholics of the West Syriac Rite, they are in full communion with the Catholic Church of Rome.

As of 2018^[update] the Archbishop of Cyprus was Youssef Soueif, born in Chekka, Lebanon on 14 July 1962. He was ordained Archbishop on 6 December 2008 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon-Harissa by the Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. The Mass of Enthronement was held at the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Graces in Nicosia, Cyprus on 21 December 2008. He succeeded the Emeritus Archbishop of Cyprus Boutros Gemayel, who lived in Lebanon until his death in 2021.