Archbishop of America, His Eminence Elpidophoros, on Friday sent a strong message for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from the occupied areas of Cyprus, and the immediate end of the illegal occupation of one-third of the island republic, speaking during the annual dinner of the Federation of Cypriot-American Organizations, which was held in the New York borough of Queens.
In the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiades, the Archbishop of America stressed that “…we all want justice and peace to prevail in Cyprus…We will never stop our struggle until we achieve our just goal, which is none other than the liberation of our Cyprus and the existence of a united and prosperous Cyprus.”
In a related development, on the occasion of the visit of the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, His Beatitude Nikitas, to the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the resident Archbishop, His Beatitude Chrysostomos beseeched the former not to forget the pleas of an enslaved island, its refugees and the victims of the Turkish invasion of 1974.
His stated that “…We beg you not to forget that the grave of the Apostle Barnabas, the founder and protector of the Church of Cyprus, is located under the illegal occupation of the Turkish invader since 1974. Do not forget that 200,000 Cypriots were turned into refugees, while hundreds or murdered and harmed.”