THE NEW Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, Rt Revd Michael Lewis, aims to play a part in encouraging Greek and Turkish Cypriots to resolve their differences when he takes up his post in November.
Bishop Lewis, of Middleton in the diocese of Manchester, replaces the Most Revd Clive Handford, who was also presiding bishop of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. He retired in April this year.
The new Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, in an interview with the Church Times to be published later this week, said he did not pretend to be an expert on the politics of the divided island where he will be based. But he would “relish living in it and learning from it”, and developing a relationship with the Greek Orthodox Church.
He added that while some of the bitter pain experienced by the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities still existed, it was a positive sign that the line dividing the island had been opened up.
“The diocese quite impartially covers the whole island,” Bishop Lewis said, “and I shall be moving on both sides of the line. So I shall be doing whatever I can alongside people of goodwill in making things better, in healing.”
Talking about his work in the wider diocese, Bishop Lewis said working for interfaith dialogue would be a top priority, adding that he had been “intimately involved” in Christian-Jewish and Christian-Muslim dialogue in the diocese of Manchester.
While this was in the context of the United Kingdom, the experience would be useful in his new post. “I will certainly bring a keen interest in interfaith dialogue, and I think it is high up on the list of priorities of what I have to do.”
Bishop Lewis’ interest in the Middle East dates back to his time at Oxford University where his degree in oriental studies involved learning Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac. More recently he has led numerous pilgrimages and study tours to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel and Turkey.
The new Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf is aware that he is coming to one of the most turbulent regions in the world, with Iraq one of the countries in his diocese.
Despite the complexity and sensitivity of the political scene in the Middle East, Bishop Lewis takes the view that “involvement is non-negotiable. It’s got to be wise and it’s got to be listening. I want to watch intelligently and listen intelligently, and then I hope I can talk intelligently to anyone who needs talking to.”
From his office at St Paul’s Cathedral in Nicosia, Bishop Lewis will be administering and visiting a vast diocese that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean and includes Iraq. He says that coping with “the great diversity of the diocese and the isolation of congregations and Christian communities” will be one of the biggest challenges of his new job.
Bishop Lewis will be installed at St Paul’s in Nicosia on November24.
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