Pope Francis, who is paying an official visit to Cyprus, met with the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos, as well as a delegation from the Holy Synod. the need for a peaceful settlement of disputes between peoples, whether religious or otherwise, noting:
“Holy Pope of Rome, Mr. Francis, Welcome to our Cyprus,” to the Disease of Saints and Martyrs “. Welcome to the first Church of the Nations, founded by the” Cypriot, Barnabas, ” δ΄, 36), the Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul and their companion, Mark the Evangelist. Welcome to the sacred lands of our apostolic Church, which was founded with the intervention of the Holy Spirit. The command of the Holy Spirit was to address the Gentiles as well. Thus, when the Apostles went to Paphos, there they were called by the Roman Anthypatos Sergios Pavlos, “a wise man”, according to Luke, “you hear the word of God” (Acts 7: 7), who “believed in amazement at the teaching” of the Lord “. Within us, Your Holiness, we feel an ecclesiastical applause for the fact that Europe’s Christian roots are in Cyprus, and from there its spiritual sources have sprung up. That is why Cyprus is rightly considered as the “Gateway of Christianity to the world of nations”. From 45 AD. Your Holiness, when the Apostles came to our island and taught Christianity, the Church of Cyprus until today, has a timeless and fruitful Christian course. During this long journey, she met many conquerors, passed “by fire and water”, but continues to give her orthodox Christian testimony, fulfilling this coveted mission. For the Church of Cyprus, the word of John of Χρυσοστόμου: “Πολλά τά κύματα και χαλεπόν τό κλυδώνιον · ἀλλ ‘οὐ δεδοίκαμεν μή καταποντισθῶμεν · ἐπί γάρ τῆς πέτρας ἑστήκαμεν. Μαινέσθω ἡ θάλασσα, πέτραν διαλῦσαι οὐ δύναται; But, unfortunately, from 1974 until today, our Cyprus, and its Church, are going through their most difficult historical turning point. Turkey barbarically attacked us and conquered by force of arms 38% of our homeland, and the Christians Keeping it in mind πυ λ ‘ Τὰ δὲ ἁγιαστήρια τοῦ Κυρίου μας “ἐνεπύρισαν ἐν πυρὶ, καὶ ἐβεβήλωσαν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὰ σκηνώματα τοῦ παναγίου ὀνόματός Του”. Since then, it has been implementing a national clarification plan in our Cyprus as well. The 200 thousand Christian inhabitants he expelled from their ancestral homes with incredible barbarity, he replaced with more than double the settlers, whom he transported from the depths of Anatolia, thus destroying our classical civilization formed from the depths of the centuries. This culture in front of which, during the second century BC, the Romans stood with awe and admiration, and not only respected but also assimilated and created the Greco-Roman culture, on which the later culture of Europe was based. In addition, our historic Byzantine temples with their timeless and invaluable ecclesiastical Byzantine mosaics, and their mystical paintings, which constitute our high cultural level, were looted by the priests with incredible and unprecedented barbarity. And based on their abominable plans, they changed all our historical place names, so that nothing Greek or Christian exists. Where our Greek and Christian culture flourished and flourished, now, for almost half a century, everything is covered by the spiritual turmoil of the Asian steppe. Therefore, not only did they imitate the bloodthirsty barbarity of Atticus the Hun, but they also overcame it. τον Κύριο της δικαιοσύνης, πεποιθότες ότι “ἠγάπησε δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἐμίσησε ἀνομίαν” και ταπεινά ψελλίζουμε μαζί με τον ιερό ψαλμωδό: “κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀσεβειῶν αὐτῶν ἔξωσον αὐτούς, ὅτι παρεπίκρανάν σε, In this sacred and just struggle of ours, Your Holiness, which our suffering people carry out under the guidance of their political and ecclesiastical Leadership, we want to have Your own active support. In the past we had the opportunity to express the same request to Pope Benedict, who, in fact, mediated to the German Government and we were able to bring back 500 fragments of our Byzantine culture, which the Turkish archaeologists transported to Munich. We look forward to your help, Your Holiness, for the protection and respect of our cultural heritage and for the supremacy of the timeless values of our Christian culture, which today are brutally violated by Turkey. We, as the Church of Cyprus, faithfully follow the spirit Jesus Christ, we have excellent relations with all the Churches and we seek Dialogue with all. We applaud the ongoing dialogue between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Church and pray for its success. Ο λόγος του Χριστου “καὶ ἄλλα πρόβατα ἔχω, ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς ταύτης · κἀκεῖνά με δεῖ ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούσουσι, καὶ γενήσεται μία ποίμνη, εἷς ποιμήν” (Jn 10:16) of our ecclesiastical visions, which can only be realized through love and honest dialogue. In this context, we started a dialogue, some years ago, even with the Muslims of the Middle East. Unfortunately, the escalation of the passions that cultivated extreme elements did not allow the dialogue to continue, except for the one that took place in Syria. However, we firmly believe in the peaceful settlement of our disputes, whether they are national or religious. And the right path is only through a truly honest dialogue. Your Holiness, As Primate of the Autocephalous Church of Cyprus, we interpret the emotion and joy of the Christian crew of our Church, because we have the Lord’s honor to have in it of our love to You and your honorable Synod. Martyrs “, wishing fervently Your spiritual fruitfulness in the Lord and the” paid joy “given by the Lord” so that the Beloved of His surface “.” Shortly after 10:00 Pope Francis arrived at the St in the presence of thousands of believers, but also representatives of the political and state leadership of Cyprus, while sending messages of brotherhood and unity around the world. “I participate with joy, together with thousands of them, in the great Divine Liturgy that is currently taking place in the GSP. “This is a special moment for Cyprus and for all of us,” said the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis, on Twitter.
It is noted that shortly before the start of the Divine Liturgy, the authorities proceeded to arrest a man, who tried to enter the area with a knife, while a group of Orthodox demanded the removal of the pope from Cyprus.
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