THE ORGANISATION OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN THE MIDDLE EAST

St. Barnabas' is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion of churches. There are thirty-two Churches in this body which covers the world, from the Holy Catholic Church of Japan in the east to the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia in the west; from the Anglican Church of Canada to the Church of the Prov~nce of South Africa.

The Province which is the overall organisatfonal body for Saint Barnabas' Church, Limassol, covers an area from Algeria in the west to Iran in the east. It contains the lands of the Bible and the countries in which Judaism, Christianity and Islam were born. It is a meeting place of ancient and modern civilisations and cultures and, throughout the Middle East, apart from Cyprus, the religion of Islam predominates.

The Diocese of Cyprus & the Gulf includes all the Gulf States and covers an area of 3,500,000 square kilometres [more than 25 times larger than England]. It has a population about the same size as the whole of the United Kingdom - 57,000,000.

There are seven Anglican churches in Cyprus, in Ayia Napa, two in Paphos, in Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol and Nicosia where the Bishop has his seat. There is also the church of St. George in the Forest, 6000 feet above sea level on the top of the Troodos mountains. This church, which was built for use by the British military, is open every Sunday evening during the summer months when services are taken by clergy from around the island.