The Death of Makarios: Headlines and Documents

On August 3, 1977, Cyprus mourned the death of its Ethnarch, Archbishop Makarios, who passed away from a heart attack. State radio broadcast the news at 6 a.m., announcing that Makarios had died at 5:15 a.m.

Makarios' funeral gathered representatives from 64 countries, while crowds flooded the streets of Cyprus. According to polignosi, the first symptoms of heart failure appeared in 1975. His personal physician, Vasos Lysaridis, diagnosed a myocardial infarction, but Makarios refused to be transferred to a hospital.

In 1977, he suffered another heart attack, and on August 2, he felt chest pain again. Doctors Lysaridis and Salbian diagnosed the critical condition. Cardiology professor Eftychios Voridis found that the cardiogram showed necrosis in the front of the heart.

The autopsy was performed at the Archbishopric by Panos Stavrinos, in the presence of doctors Lysaridis and Kalpian. Stavrinos reported extensive stenosis in the coronary arteries and a scar from an old infarction. Makarios' heart was transported to London for examination and then embalmed. In 2010, the heart was placed in his tomb in Throni.

The following are headlines and articles from Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, and the New York Times regarding the death of Makarios.

Video from the public pilgrimage and funeral:

Image from mixanitouxronou.com.cy