THE EDUCATION Ministry yesterday confirmed it had been approached by the Bishop of Limassol to put shrines and confessionals in schools.
The proposal from Bishop Athanassios has sparked staunch opposition from teachers’ unions, who warned it smacked of religious intolerance and oppression. The House Education Committee also called for caution, as did parents’ associations, who nevertheless supported the move.
According to the Ministry’s secondary education department head, Andreas Skotinos, the bishop had written to Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades requesting a place on school grounds where students could go to pray, venerate icons and confess their sins. Athanassios is understood to have included plans for the project and said he’d cover all expenses.
Skotinos said: “This idea is currently under scrutiny by the ministry. (But) I also want to stress that public education has always had a good relationship with the Church and we will examine what is needed within those boundaries of good co-operation, without of course being in a position to know what the Minister’s decision will be.”
He added a large number of schools already operated chapels that were built at the initiative of local authorities.
Nevertheless, teachers’ unions yesterday slammed the proposal, saying the state could not force all students to comply Christian Orthodoxy.
OELMEK president Soteris Charalambous said there was a thin line in maintaining a balance between Church and State on such an issue.
“There are gymnasiums where over 50-60 per cent of students not only speak a different language, but also have a different religion. I believe if this proposal develops it contributes towards religious oppression,” he said.
OLTEK president Niki Mattheou told the Cyprus Mail it was wrong to impose “our religion” on students who were from different ethnic and religious backgrounds and that, if implemented, this suggestion could alienate students who were different. She also said it went against the European Union’s promotion of religious freedom.
“Religious instruction is taught in schools, and the Church should leave the matter to educators. The Church can help education in other ways such as helping needy children and improving their situation in schools,” she said.
Mattheou said the state promoted multicultural education and that every student had the human right to follow his or her own belief. “Will we start building separate places of worship for other religions? Besides, I don’t think children are such sinners that they need to go to confession every day,” she added.
She admitted the Church had a role to play, but pointed out there were plenty of churches where people could practice their religion and therefore no need for their presence in schools.
“The European Union promotes the freedom of religion and faith and we cannot impose ours on students. Why make the students who are different feel bad? It’s discriminatory and will cause a lot of problems for the children,” said Mattheou.
House Education Committee chairman, DISY deputy Prodromos Prodromou, also expressed reservations over the issue and called for caution.
“Schools belong to communities and through the board of governors can, within logical frameworks, make some decisions. But if this is to become a state or Education Ministry decision, then problems arise that are best avoided, because in Cyprus we have learned to live within a balance between Church and State. It would therefore be expedient to maintain this balance and not disrupt matters with such political decisions that, in my opinion, not even the Education Ministry can make.”
Only Primary Schools Parents’ Association head, Dinos Ellinas, expressed support for the suggestion. But even he cautioned that a committee of teachers, parents’ organisations, religious and ministry representatives should discuss the matter first, for fear of political consequences.
“It sounds like a good idea,” Ellinas said. “However, because we have foreigners and Turkish Cypriots, a sensitive balance needs to be found. The matter needs to be examined further, without rushing into making any decisions, because this attempt to do something good could work against us, hurting us politically and nationally.
“We might be misinterpreted and accused of imposing Greek Orthodoxy on others, which could label Cyprus as intolerant of other religions.”
