Saint Barnabas Day

Saint Barnabas is traditionally regarded as the patron saint of Cyprus. According to Christian tradition, he was a Cypriot Jewish disciple and an early missionary figure connected with the island’s apostolic Christian heritage. His feast on June 11 therefore has a special place in the religious imagination of Cyprus, beyond its status in any one employment calendar.

The Ministry of Education lists June 11 among school holidays in the 2025–26 school year, illustrating the date’s institutional significance. It is not a universal statutory day off for every worker, however. Churches, schools and communities may give it prominence in different ways, so the page treats it as a clearly labelled observance rather than a nationwide employment closure.

Saint Barnabas Day in Cyprus is listed here for the Republic of Cyprus, not for the separate administration in the northern part of the island, which publishes a different calendar. The Republic's public authorities and regulated institutions publish a stable set of general holidays, but private-sector entitlement is not created by one universal rule for every worker: collective agreements, contracts and sector orders can control paid leave and compensation. Official calendars retain holidays on their stated dates when they fall at a weekend; the Central Bank's 2026 notice, for example, simply records the Saturday dates for August 15 and December 26 rather than moving them to Monday.