Archbishop Chrysostom II of Cyprus refers to an “Unacceptable behavior that has not taken into account any of the calls of heads of states, religious leaders and international organizations,” in a statement to ANA-MPA.
“We are unimaginably saddened by the decision of the Turkish President to convert the temple of the Wisdom of God in Constantinople into a mosque,” he points out.
“This fact saddens not only us as Orthodox Christians, but all Christians, as well as all people who respect the right to religious freedom and cultural creation,” Chrysostomos said and emphasized: “We, as the Church of Cyprus, respect the believers of Islam as our fellow human beings and images of God. We show in practice our respect for their sacred and holy, which we also ask for our case. This issue, of course, concerns not only the Hagia Sophia, but also all our holy temples, the orthodox shrines and cemeteries in the part of our island occupied by the Turkish troops, which since 1974, have been desecrated, converted into mosques or, worse, have been turned into warehouses and stables.”
