World Council of Churches (WCC) president for Eastern Orthodox Churches Metropolitan Vasilios of Ammochostos has three-quarters of his diocese on the island of Cyprus under Turkish occupation, but no Christians are still living in the occupied part.
He was part of the WCC central committee which, at its 21-27 June meeting, expressed ongoing concern about two significant territorial crises in the eastern Mediterranean: those within Palestine and Israel and those within Cyprus.
Metropolitan Vasilios, who studied theology in Athens and Fribourg in Switzerland, spoke to the WCC communications team during the central committee meeting about “the painful past” of his Mediterranean island, of which his part is an independent republic.
“These politically driven conflicts have resulted in illegal occupations that have spanned decades,” read a minute released by the WCC’s governing body.
Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974 and occupied the island’s northern part, which Turkish Cypriots now inhabit.
Regarding Cyprus, the minute notes the destruction of churches, and the government of Türkiye “continues to build additional housing in the occupied parts of Cyprus to move in some of the displaced refugees impacted by the recent earthquake.”
“Our prayers are to find the solution. You know, sometimes, we had the possibility to go into [the Turkish side] to now empty and destroyed churches in our communities, but this is very emotional,” said Vasilios.
“When we organize such liturgies, in the church and the community, for the people who originated from this community, the first thing they want to see is first their church and secondly, their houses.”
UN agreement
Following a United Nations agreement, there is a joint committee in Cyprus working to restore monuments of churches and Muslim mosques, cemeteries, and other monuments.
“So, we try to restore our churches to save the Christian character of the area because, with the Turkish policy, they send Imams from Türkiye.”
Regarding Cyprus, the minute notes the destruction of churches, and the government of Türkiye “continues to build additional housing in the occupied parts of Cyprus to move in some of the displaced refugees impacted by the recent earthquake.”
The central committee minute also reflects that “the visit of the Turkish president to Cyprus asking for international recognition shows a lack of respect for international law and weakens the efforts by the United Nations to negotiate a solution to the dispute.”
Due to what happened in 1973, 142,000 Greek Cypriots and 55,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced, and another 20,000 Greek Cypriots enclaved in the area were gradually forced to leave.
The UN has been involved in talks since 1999 to resolve an impasse between the two sides of the island.
Metropolitan Vasilios has served several terms on the WCC’s central committee and was also a member of the council’s Faith and Order Commission.
He has represented the Church of Cyprus in the theological dialogues between Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches and between Orthodox and Anglican Churches.
He said, as the WCC celebrated 75 years after being formed following World War II, “we see this is not an easy way,” citing not only reasons relating to “the theological understanding of the unity” but due to the general state of societies in the world and rapid secularisation.”
Source: oikoumene.org
