The tenth Clergy and Lay Assembly of the Holy Metropolis of Constantia and Famagusta took place on the evening of Tuesday, October 29, 2024 in the forecourt of the Metropolis in Paralimni, with particular interest and great participation.
This year's Clergy Assembly which had the general title "50 years of invasion and occupation. Famagusta. Memories and hope", "if these are silent, the stones will cry..." was dedicated to the completion of 50 years since the Turkish invasion of 1974 with the aim of contributing to the preservation of memory and the strengthening of hope. It was also the opening ceremony of the 14th Salaminian Circle of the Free University of Famagusta, which is co-organized by the Holy Metropolis and the University of Cyprus.
The event was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis, who was represented by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Kostas Koumis, His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus, Mr. George and the Ambassador of Greece, Mr. Ioannis Papameletiou.
The event was attended by the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Vostro Mr. Timotheus, Exarch of the Holy Sepulcher in Cyprus, the Theophilist Bishops of Karpasia Mr. Christophoros, Mr. Grigorios of Mesaoria, representatives of parties, bodies, organizations and educational institutions, mayors, vice-mayors, MPs of Famagusta, the Police and Military authorities of the free province, a representative of the University of Cyprus, the clergy, the ecclesiastical committees and the collaborators of the parishes of the Diocese of Constantia and Famagusta, free and occupied.
It was preceded by a prayer from His Beatitude for the liberation of the island and return to our ancestral homes.
In his greeting, the ambassador of Greece, Mr. Papameletiou, emphasized that we do not forget and that the 50th anniversary gives us the opportunity to measure our strength, to look to the future and to reflect on how we will strengthen the position of Hellenism in Cyprus. The struggle will be sealed only through a just, sustainable and functional solution of the Cyprus problem in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. In this struggle, Greece will continue to stand by the Republic of Cyprus, he concluded.
Then the floor was taken by the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Constantia and Famagusta, Mr. Vasilios, who developed the theme "if these keep silent, the stones will crackle".
He first referred to the institution of the Clergy and Lay Assembly and to the efforts undertaken from the beginning by the Diocese of Constantia and Famagusta to preserve the identity and Christian character of our occupied land. He then presented in detail the prevailing situation of the religious monuments of Famagusta and the actions that the Church is constantly taking in cooperation with the competent authorities for their maintenance.
The aggressive protest to the high-ranking members of the European Union, to all the Embassies of foreign countries in Cyprus, to the United Nations and many others for the destruction of the cultural and religious heritage in our occupied homeland fell on deaf ears, which is why I chose this scholar of Christ to apply it to the crucifixion of our homeland, to the crucifixion of Famagusta. Indeed: "If they keep silent, the stones will cry out."
He closed his speech with an apt epilogue which we quote verbatim.
A stone from ancient Alasia, bearing the inscription for the copper of Cyprus, adorns the house of a settler.
A stone from ancient Salamis, inscribed with the name of Teucrus son of Heracles and brother of Aedes, who founded ancient Salamis after the Trojan War, is in the house of a military commander of the occupying troops. The lung the Greek of Cyprus is bleeding under the occupation.
A stone from the tomb of the apostle Barnabas, which emits a divine fragrance, they carry it and want to sell it to the merchants of the Gentiles. The Christian lung of Cyprus and it suffers the brutality of the conqueror.
A stone from the basilica of Saint Epiphanius is circulating in the market of Constantinople with the inscription Angyrotos.
A stone from Pentadaktylos, has engraved on it the names of all the churches and monasteries that have been captured and desecrated.
All these stones are crowded around a tower that continues to be built with exquisite art, many stones from every church, from every chapel, from every pilgrimage site, from every Greek monument, all these stones came alive and roared. "How long, Lord, will you not avenge those who desecrated and destroyed your holy altars"?
The Lord of the universe responds to this cry like the Precursor to the pope from Asia: "I have nothing for you. Let's not be satisfied with the others."
In his keynote speech, His Beatitude made a brief assessment of the situation that the Cypriot people are in until today. "Dead and missing, uprooting and refugees, experiencing injustice and the logic of interests, the hypocrisy of the powerful who proclaim principles and do the opposite, Turkey's continuous effort to consolidate the initial achievements of the invasion and occupation and the attempt to Turkify the entire Cyprus, later. Half a century of occupation and fruitless efforts to solve our problem force us to evaluate the situation and redefine our course."
I will try as much as I can, he added - I have said before that I am neither a politician, nor have I studied political science - to understand Turkey's aspirations and to propose, with common sense and the responsibility placed on my shoulders by the institution I represent, a course of action and way out of dead ends.
We should all, as one human being, proceed to reposition our problem in its correct dimensions, as a problem of invasion and occupation, despite the difficulties that this decision will entail, due to the long period of time that has passed since the invasion, with a request for liberation and not simple reunification, he added.
PtD Nikos Christodoulidis, in his own speech, praised the importance of Clerical Assemblies, noting that such initiatives are of special importance because, political and Church leadership, we know very well that we must give a voice to the citizens, maintain communication with them, share ideas , to look for solutions to problems and, of course, to see each other through a creative and human prism, on the basis of mutual appreciation and respect.
The fifty years that have passed since the Turkish invasion of 1974, he added, are long and decisive. This year, throughout the year, on the occasion of this sad anniversary, Cyprus is reassessing its wounds, recalling the events even more in its memory and experiencing this negative milestone in a special way.
He closed his speech, wishing that the next Clerical Assembly would find us in front of new data, in a Cyprus of peaceful coexistence, free movement, application of all human rights. May he find us all again in the city of Famagusta, in a united Cyprus, where the bells will ring joyfully, and our churches will function normally and without interruption.
The Music School of Famagusta flourished musically with a tribute presentation.
At the end, honorary diplomas were awarded to former members of church committees of occupied and free parishes and communities of the Province of Famagusta.
On the sidelines of the Convention, three commemorative exhibitions were presented, in collaboration with the Cultural Academy "Agios Epiphanios": 1. The exhibition "Euclidean Place". Holy Monastery of Apostle Barnabas. History – Offer – Refugee, which is supported by the Deputy Ministry of Culture and is accompanied by a publication of the same title, 2. The exhibition of photographs and salvaged relics entitled Holy Zone of Varosia. 50 years later, 3. The outdoor photographic exhibition The religious monuments of Varosia. 50 years later, the material of which is drawn from the recent edition of the Metropolis and the Academy entitled The religious monuments of the new city of Famagusta, by Andreas Foulias and Christodoulos Hatzichristodoulou.