“Gender is determined by the physiology of the human body,” she says in a statement Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus, which met on Monday under the Archbishop of Cyprus George on the occasion of the proposal of a law amending the Criminal Code Law, with the addition of a new article 233B: “Pseudo-conversion therapies…”.

In its announcement, the Holy Synod states that it remains faithful to the teaching of the Holy Bible that “God created two sexes, male and female”.

He also considers that gender in every human being it is a gift given by God, which serves the mystery of life.

Gender, he says, is determined by the physiology of the human body and is not an element of choice, self-determination, or change at will.

“The Church does not and does not wish to have the ability to impose its position on people. However, it retains its right to express an opinion and advise the faithful,” he adds.

He notes that the amendment of the Law and the introduction of the above article into the Criminal Code are equivalent by leveling the right to free religious expression and belief of the Cypriot people, protected by articles 18 and 19 of the Constitution of Cyprus and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Based on these, he notes, the Holy Synod considers that the religious freedom of man is violated and criminalized first, which is guaranteed by article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which clearly provides for the free and unhindered expression of his religious beliefs.

Secondly, the age-old tradition of our country is criminalized, which wants the faithful, who freely trust in the pastoral care of the Church, to resort to it for counseling, he says.

And thirdly, he notes, the inalienable right of man to decide freely, to choose and to seek, within the framework of legality and religious freedom, support and spiritual guidance in matters which are highly personal and sensitive, for which he can, in the finally, to decide himself on their acceptance or not.

The State, he says, should recognize the rights of all citizens of the Republic of Cyprus without exception. “Citizens who practice their faith, which is expressed by the rules and doctrines that have been valid throughout time in our Greek Orthodox tradition, have these rights.”

“The Church cannot be forced into silence for the sake of globalization and the so-called new order of things. The right of the citizen to freely express his opinions and his lifestyle choices is respected by the Constitution and the Laws. But he should , to be seen within the particular characteristics, which reflect the ethos and values ​​of the Church and the social structure of the Cypriot state, which consists in the majority of Orthodox Christians”, it is pointed out.

“Under the guise of protecting human rights, cannot be imposed by a group of people her way of life to others, and neither should the work of protecting human rights serve political or other interests of vote-hunting or public visibility,” the Holy Synod emphasizes.

He mentions that the Church is the mother of all without exception, it does not criticize or condemn and that the Church can work perfectly with people who have no religious faith or metaphysical reference and share with them the respect for human freedom.

“We therefore appeal to our parliamentarians not to destroy what remains healthy in this place. The spiritual degeneration of society is not the best for a people fighting for its national survival,” he concludes.

The answer of Accept LOATI Cyprus

Two days before the passing of the law proposal for the criminalization of universally recognized as torture “pseudo-conversion therapies”, the Holy Synod of the Church convened in an emergency to influence the consciences of parliamentarians and believers with an announcement of a complete perversion of the essence of the law which is to end LGBTI torture it was an attempt by LGBTQI to silence the Church.

In the announcement they put their favorite rhetoric about multiple sexes, the degeneration of society and the “imposition” of the LGBTI lifestyle on everyone. They didn’t forget to put the very catchy “God made male and female” confusing the biological with the social gender and causing even more transphobia among believers.

No mention was made of the harm caused and caused to LGBTQI people by the methods of consulships, hormone therapies, cultivation of self-hatred, haircuts for monks and priestly ordination of many gay people, etc.

The announcement clearly shows the Church’s indirect admission that it commits such torture under the guise of saving man. This is also her official position: homosexuality and transgender identity are deadly passions – that is, diseases – that are cured through the Church.

The Church likes to pretend to be the victim, the witness of faith. But he forgets that behind all the hate crimes, homophobic laws and homophobic hatred that prevails worldwide, over the centuries the moral teachings of the Church have laid their stone. He forgets that in this case he is the aggressor and not the victim.

“I hate homosexuality but I love the homosexual” is the official line of the Church. But behind the schizophrenic line (you can’t love someone and hate their very identity) not only hides a hypocritical attitude of love towards LGBTQI people but also hides “pseudo-conversion therapies” as such. The phrases that the Church is a refuge for the downtrodden and weak no longer convince us. The Church is a refuge for the many and powerful and the social/psychological oppression of LGBTI people.