English-speaking parishioners to get their own Greek Orthodox church

THE ISLAND’S English-speaking Greek Orthodox community are set to get their very own church in Lakatamia.

The English-speaking Greek Orthodox community is currently raising money to participate in the building process, said Father Joseph Coleman, a Greek Orthodox priest originally from Texas who currently provides services in English from the old small church of St Nicholas in Pano Lakatamia. The majority of the money for the construction is being donated by a man who lost his son in 1974.

Pre-existing plans for churches are currently being reviewed to choose the most suitable one for the needs of the parish. In total there are approximately 150 members of the English-speaking Greek Orthodox community on the island.

Most live in the Nicosia area and are from all over the globe.

“Wherever the British Empire went and Cypriots followed,” said Coleman.  “We also have converts, non-Greeks who married Orthodox partners and converted.”

Once construction starts it is estimated that the new church will be completed within 18 months to two years.

It is not yet certain when construction will start. Apart from Father Coleman’s services in Lakatamia, there are currently two other priests performing services in English on the island:

Father Christopher fortnightly on Saturday at Metropolis in Limassol and Father Ioannis with the Archdiocese in Engomi monthly on a Saturday.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.