Makarios I

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Makarios I, was Archbishop of Cyprus from 1854 until 1865.^[1] He was born in the village of Prodromos and his original surname was Christodoulides. He started his religious studies at Trooditissa Monastery and was later transferred to Kykkos Monastery. He was ordained Archbishop on August 26, 1854 succeeding Kyrillos I who had died a month earlier.

Makarios was instrumental in the establishment of many schools throughout rural Cyprus to combat illiteracy. In 1857 he founded the Faneromeni School, the first school for girls on the island. He also sought to have the tax burden eased by written requests to the Grand Vizier in Constantinople who was himself a Cypriot.

Makarios died in Nicosia on August 4, 1865 from cholera, after refusing to leave the city when an epidemic broke out.