Anthemius (or Anthemios) was the archbishop of Cyprus in the late 5th century.
As archbishop of Cyprus, Anthemius was the metropolitan bishop over the island with his see at Salamis-Constantia. [1]
Anthemius resisted the efforts of the non-Chalcedonian patriarch of Antioch, Peter the Fuller, to restore his patriarchal authority on Cyprus. In the process, he discovered what he claimed were the relics of Saint Barnabas, buried with a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. [1] This served to prove that the church of Cyprus was of apostolic foundation. [2] According to the Laudatio Barnabae, written around 550, Anthemius saw Barnabas in a dream three nights in a row and the saint told him where he lay buried beneath a carob tree. After discovering the saint's body, Anthemius went to Constantinople. [3] He gave the gospel to the Emperor Zeno, who had the patriarch of Constantinople summon a synod to rule in favour of Cyprus against Antioch. [2]
In 488, Zeno confirmed the Cypriot church's autocephaly and financed the construction of a church to hold Barnabas's relics. [1] Many local notables contributed to the construction, which was begun immediately. [4] This first building was a pilgrimage church and probably served as a stopover for many on the way to Jerusalem. [5] The remains of this building are today a part of the monastery of Saint Barnabas. [6]
As the gospel that Anthemius gave to Zeno was a codex, it could not have been an authentic 1st-century copy. [2] There are, however, different interpretations of the fraud. [7] Michael Metcalf sees Anthemius as the deceiver (and Zeno the dupe) in a game of high politics with the patriarch of Antioch. [2] Glen Bowersock, on the other hand, sees Zeno and Anthemius as working together to resolve a dispute the emperor was equally interested in resolving. [8]
The claim that Zeno granted Anthemius regalian privileges is found in nothing earlier than the 16th-century works of Florio Bustron, who may have invented it. [9]