Bishop Timotei of Prahova met with Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus
The Romanian delegation accompanying St Cyprian’s relics to Cyprus, led by Timotei of Prahova, Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, was received by His Beatitude Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus, on Tuesday.
His Grace Bishop Timotei of Prahova conveyed Patriarch Daniel’s blessing and spoke about the importance of the Church of Cyprus and its role in early Christianity.
“It is a special land for the whole Orthodox Church”, said His Grace. “We do not forget the role of the Cypriot communities for the Early Church. We also remember that (Lazarus) our Saviour’s friend, for whom the Lord wept, became a bishop here, and this is the highest model of friendship that the Church of Cyprus can offer to others,” added the Romanian bishop.
Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus mentioned the political situation in the region and the hardships faced by the Orthodox Church of Cyprus: “We hope that no other Orthodox Church will experience our drama,” said His Beatitude.
“Cyprus has always been Christian. Apart from this advantage that we have had, of being close to the Holy Places, we have also had a great misfortune: we live between three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa. Because this was also a trade route, we have always had many conquerors and occupiers,” His Beatitude explained.
A call to prayer for Cyprus
“As you know, a large part of our country is under Turkish occupation. We have a lot of churches in the occupied area that are being destroyed, that are being turned into entertainment centres, stadiums and for various other purposes.”
“The Turks do not hide their aim to occupy the whole of Cyprus. Where they occupy, they do not let Christianity survive,” added the Archbishop of Cyprus.
His Beatitude Archbishop Georgios spoke about the insecurity felt by the people of Cyprus and urged Christians to pray for a resolution to their problems.
Details were discussed regarding Archbishop Georgios’ visit to Romania for the feast of St Demetrius the New, patron saint of Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.
After the meeting, the delegates visited the “Holy Apostle Barnabas” Cathedral in Nicosia, where Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova prayed at the tomb of Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus, who passed away in 2022.
Photo credit: Ziarul Lumina / Luigi Ivanciu
