THE news that the Bishop of Morphou is to celebrate the feast of Saint Mamas in his cathedral church in the occupied town of Morphou in September has caused quite a stir in political circles.
As with the controversy over DISY’s visit to the enclaved last week, the Bishop’s invitation to his parishioners to join him for the feast has put government supporters in a quandary. After all, it’s hard not to welcome the fact that the church of Saint Mamas will once again operate as a church, rather than the museum the Turkish side had turned it into. It’s hard not to welcome the fact the people of Morphou will be able to celebrate their feast day in their own cathedral church, albeit still under occupation. When we have spent the past decade condemning the Turkish side for desecrating our churches, it’s hard to criticise a decision that returns a church to its original sacred purpose.
Yet the Bishop’s initiative clearly makes certain people uncomfortable. Governing DIKO deputy Antigone Papadopoulou said that “going back, even for worshiping, by showing our passports, is wrong”. Members of main government backers AKEL have expressed similar sentiments.
The fact is that the Bishop of Morphou has always stood out from his fellow bishops in his desire to reach out to the Turkish Cypriot community and his willingness to compromise certain principles for the greater good as he sees it.
He was among the first to cross the Green Line when restrictions on freedom of movement were relaxed last year, stressing the importance of his presence back in Morphou, however unacceptable the conditions might be.
On Monday, speaking at events to mark the fall of Morphou in 1974, he spoke again of the need to build bridges between the two communities if Cyprus was ever to be reunited. This is not the kind of language we have been accustomed to at invasion memorials, yet it is the only way forward at the present time. Political initiatives are in the deep freeze and likely to stay so, so initiatives like this one are the only way to keep a certain momentum.
For 30 years, our strategy has been to appeal to the international community to condemn the invasion. Yet – rightly or wrongly – we have lost the sympathy of the international community since the referendum. Things are moving in the north, money is coming in, land is being developed. If we just sit back, new faits accomplis will be created, which will be even harder to overturn come the time for a solution.
At such a critical time, the bishop and others like him are fighting to build the bridges that are essential if our heritage, our memories, our scant foothold in our ancestral lands are not to be eradicated forever. Their courage is all the more commendable for the compromises involved in reaching out.
