THE BISHOP of Morphou indirectly suggested that most of the Cypriot clergy was unchristian when he told a Turkish Cypriot newspaper earlier this week that the ‘no’ vote that the majority of Greek Cypriots gave to the Annan plan was inconsistent with Christian teachings.
“The ‘no’ of the Greek Cypriots is not consistent with the Christian philosophy,” the Morphou bishop said on Monday in an interview with the Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi, which was then reported in the Greek Cypriot Simerini. “I don’t want the Church to commit the same errors, causing the same problems of the past.”
Bishop Neophytos said that he voted ‘yes’ to the Annan Plan “because I believed that in this way I was uniting the world. I would only have said ‘no’ if it [the ‘yes’ vote] were without substance and without gain.”
The Bishop spoke in favour of opening trade between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, as opposed to between the Cyprus Republic and Turkey, suggesting that free trade relations between the two communities would increase support for a future ‘yes’ vote among Greek Cypriots. He also called on the authorities to open the checkpoints at Ledra Street, Pyrgos, Limnitis and Dherynia.
Limited trade relations across the Green Line already exist in Cyprus, although they are primarily north-to-south, with Turkish Cypriots sending fruits and vegetables to Limassol for export to international markets.
Bishop Neophytos also said that Greek Cypriots might be more amenable to a ‘yes’ vote if Turkish Cypriots repaired and returned some of the churches that had been converted to mosques, youth centres, and stables to their original state.
The Bishop spoke of the need for Tassos Papadopoulos to meet with the leader of the breakaway state, Mehmet Ali Talat, noting that similar meetings took place in the past such as between Makarios and Denktash. He added that such dialogue should be taking place on all levels of the society, and that more bicommunal cultural events should be organised.
Bishop of Paphos Chrysostomos, who was one of the most vocal proponent figures in the church of the ‘no’ vote, told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that he had not heard about the statements by the Morphou Bishop and therefore could not comment.
The Bishop did, however, disagree with the effort by the Morphou Bishop to resume services at the Ayios Mamas church in occupied Morphou. The first service since the 1974 invasion took place in September 2004, with the second one taking place earlier this month. The yearly services have been held in commemoration of the saint’s day.
“If all of the churches there were like Ayios Mamas and were respected, then okay, it would not bother me,” Bishop Chrysostomos said. “But all the others are destroyed. Or they have become recreation centres. We are making fun of the Europeans, the Americans, and everyone else when we say that the Turks respect the churches. Obviously, they don’t.”
“Further, when you show your passport or your ID, it means that you recognise the pseudo-state.”
