Archbishop of Cyprus Makarios III

Makarios III of Cyprus, born Michail Christodoulou Mouskos (1913-1977) was Archbishop of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Cyprus since 1950, and the first President of the Republic of Cyprus since 1960. He retained both his pastoral and political position until his death. He was inextricably linked to the struggles of the Greek Cypriots for their liberation from British rule, for the Union of Cyprus with Greece and the establishment of an independent Cypriot State. The full-length brass statue presents Makarios as a humble hierarch. He wears a cassock and officiating stoles, but no high priestly vestments. He also wears a bishop's cross and rests both hands on a simple bishop's crosier rather than on the Archbishop's pastoral staff. The following inscription is engraved in Greek on the granite base of the statue: “Makarios III Archbishop and Founding Father of Cyprus”. Directly below it is written that the work was created with the sponsorship of the Cypriot Kykkos Monastery and under the mayoralty of Dimitrios Avramopoulos, in 2001.