On Monday afternoon, February 11, the Deputy Minister of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Savvas Perdiou visited the Patriarchate, escorted by the representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Tel-Aviv Mrs. Louiza Varakla and Mr. Constantinos Chrysanthos.
The Deputy Minister was received by Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos and Hagiotaphite Fathers.
In this meeting there was an interesting conversation on the close cooperation between the Churches of Jerusalem and Cyprus, and on the current good cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and Israel in favour of the citizens of these two countries and of their neighbouring countries.
Moreover, the mission of the Church of Cyprus as the bonding link of the people of Cyprus was underlined, as well as the project of the renovation and reconstruction of the Exarchy of the Holy Sepulchre in Nicosia, by the approval and help of the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus.
The Patriarch also thanked them for the intervention of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nikos Anastasiadis in favour of matters related to the Patriarchate towards the President of Israel Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, and offered Mr. Perdiou a relief of the Holy City of Jerusalem, an icon of Theotokos of Jerusalem and of the renovated Sacred Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre, and expressed His wish for the solving of the issue of Cyprus, while Mr. Pediou offered Mr Theophilos a plaque with an olive branch.
