EUROPA Nostra, a pan-European federation bringing together more than 200 heritage associations, has asked President Tassos Papadopoulos to call a halt to controversial work on the chapel at the Apostolos Andreas monastery in occupied Karpasia.
In a letter to Papadopoulos, Europa Nostra, which is headed by the Prince Consort of Denmark, urged the cancellation of any work scheduled under plans drawn up by Professor Giorgio Croci under the auspices of the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS).
“This is the unanimous view of the Council of Europe Nostra, which is the main decision making body of our federation,” the letter to Papadopoulos said.
The Europa Nostra decision adds weight to a campaign by a faction opposed to plans that would change the appearance of the monastery’s chapel building.
Part of the plan for renovation of the monastery involves the demolition of a number of upper rooms attached to the chapel, which were not originally part of the structure, and which have been deemed unsafe by Croci and his team.
While a majority on the Holy Synod supports the removal of the additional rooms, the opposing faction within the Church and among residents of the area argues the monastery is a monument to the 30-year occupation of northern Cyprus and should not be altered.
In a move to appease the dissenters, the Cabinet has said the upper rooms could possibly be rebuilt at a later stage, but the dissenters were not convinced.
Neither was Europa Nostra: “We are concerned that the integrity of the intention (to restore the chapel) does not guarantee the quality of the UNOPS proposal or of its execution from the conservation point of view,” the letter said.
“The initial opposition to the UN proposal prepared by Professor Croci might have a greater symbolic significance than a scholarly one. The attitude of the local population should, however, not be ignored given its close attachment to the church both as a place of worship and as a heritage site.”
It added that two outside conservationists, who have in the past been given a Europa Nostra award for the restoration of a monastic church on Mount Athos in Greece, and who visited the north, have drawn up a report on the Apostolos Andreas chapel.
“The report indicates there is no justification for the proposed radical alterations to the 19th century church, whose state of conservation does not require any extensive restoration work,” Europa Nostra said.
“Under those circumstances, in which the views of the experts coincide with those of concerned local inhabitants for whom the Apostolos Andreas Monastery forms an important element of their collective memory and is therefore central to their lives, Europa Nostra urges the cancellation of any work scheduled in accordance with the disputed UNOPS plan.”
In a statement issued yesterday, the Cyprus Architects’ Association said the monastery should be kept in its current form and declared a heritage site.
A spokesman at UNOPS said yesterday they were unaware of the Europa Nostra letter and would wait to be informed by the Presidential Palace.
Asked if the Europa Nostra views would lend more weight to the opposition stance, the spokesman said: “It’s not the first or the last time we will get this kind of reaction. Some people are pleased and some people are not.”
