The Last Church Standing in Occupied Cyprus
How the Christian History was Erased
By
Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Re****ter
Mon, Apr. 28 2008 04:09 PM ET
One lone church struggles to survive in a land where hundreds have been
damaged or destroyed. But this is no ordinary land; it is the very ground
where Apostle Paul took his first missionary journey to proclaim salvation
through Jesus Christ to the Roman Empire.
Now 2,000 years later, the small Mediterranean island of Cyprus is divided
into two with the northern third occupied by Turkey. In the span of three
decades under Turkish control, more than 530 churches and monasteries have
been pillaged, vandalized, or destroyed in the northern area, according to
The Republic of Cyprus.
"I cannot say that it (destruction of churches) is encouraged openly by
the
Turkish government," said Cyprus's Ambassador to the United States,
Andreas
Kakouris, to The Christian Post. "All I can say is that it is taking place
in the area that is under direct control of the Turkish military and I
leave
you to make your own conclusions from that."
Since its 1974 invasion, Turkey has controlled northern Cyprus which it
calls the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." No international nation
has
ever recognized this entity except for Turkey. The United States has only
recognized the Republic of Cyprus.
Starting in 2003, Greek-Cypriots again were allowed to cross the border
between the Republic of Cyprus and the area under Turkish control. It was
around this time that scholars and photographers were able to visit
northern
Cyprus to do***ent the destruction of historic churches and artifacts.
St. Mamas Church in the northwest town of Morphou is the only notable
church
that is known to be semi-active in Turkey-controlled Cyprus, according to
the New York-based Hellenic Times and the Embassy of The Republic of
Cyprus
in the United States. Turkish officials who rule the area re****tedly give
permission twice a year for remaining residents - who were there before
Turkish occupation - to wor****p in the church.
But other churches did not fare so well.
About 133 churches, chapels and monasteries have been converted to
military
storage facilities, stables and night-clubs. Seventy-eight churches have
been converted to mosques, and dozens more are used as military
facilities,
medical storage facilities, or stockyards or hay barns, according to
statistics from The Republic of Cyprus.
Agia Anastasia church in Lapithos was converted into a hotel and casino,
while Sourp Magar Armenian monastery - founded in the medieval period -
was
converted into a cafeteria.
A Neolithic settlement at the Cape of Apostolos Andreas-Kastros in the
occupied area of Rizokapraso - a site declared an ancient monument by the
Republic of Cyprus - was bulldozed by the Turkish Army in order to plant
two
of its flagpoles on top of the historic hill.
"This is not a Muslim-Christian issue," contends Ambassador Kakouris, who
is
a Greek Orthodox Christian.
Turkey, a constitutionally secular country, is made up of more than a 99
percent Muslim population, according to the CIA World Factbook. "I don't
think the Cyprus problem has ever been a religious issue between the Greek
and Turkish Cypriots," said Kakouris.
But he added that if the Turkish government hadn't given the "green light"
on the destruction of churches and artifacts, they have not given the "red
light" either.
"So it is . either directly taking place or with their blind eye or
whatever
you want to call it. But they are responsible for what is taking place
there," says Kakouris.
Furthermore, over 15,000 ****table religious icons were stolen and
auctioned
off around the world.
Relics - which include fine icons, mosaics and frescoes from ancient
Byzantine era - have turned up at auction houses around the world,
including
at the prestigious Sotheby's in New York.
In January 2007, six icons were returned to the Church of Cyprus after
being
smuggled out of the country. They were to be put up for auction at
Sotheby's.
Also, back in 1988, four pieces of an invaluable work of art, dating
between
525 and 530 A.D., were recovered when a Turkish art dealer offered to sell
it to an American antique dealer for $1 million. The American dealer
contacted the Paul Getty Museum in Malibu to resell the mosaics for $20
million. The museum then informed the Cypriot Church about the art work.
In the end, the United States courts ruled that the Cypriot Church was the
legitimate owner of the pieces, and they are now shown in the Byzantine
Museum of Nicosia.
It is estimated that more than 60,000 ancient artifacts have been
illegally
transferred to other countries, according to the Republic of Cyprus.
Sadly,
most of these artifacts were not recovered.
Cyprus has some of the finest collections of Byzantine art in the world,
offering scholars and others the priceless study on the development of
Byzantine wall-painting art from the 8th-9th century until the 18th
century
A.D.
The United States has recognized Cyprus' endangered cultural heritage, and
in 1999 and 2003 the U.S. Treasury Department issued emergency im****t
restrictions on Byzantine Ecclesiastical and Ritual Ethnological Materials
from Cyprus.
Then in 2002, the United States and Cyprus signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) concerning the im****t restrictions on pre-classical
and
classical archeological objects from Cyprus. The MOU was amended and
renewed
in 2006 and 2007 to include additional artifacts.
Kakouris commented that the Cyprus issue has been ignored for decades by
the
United States.
"There is only so much oxygen that exists from a journalistic point of
view," he said. "When one picks up the paper and looks at international
issues what does one see? Either a bombing that took place in the Middle
East or a bombing in Iraq or loss of life in Afghanistan - issues such as
that.
He continued, "Although there are issues that appear to be more im****tant
than the Cyprus issue - because we don't have that immediacy of seeing
deaths or events on a daily basis in Cyprus, and thankfully - that does
not
make the continuing occupation by Turkey of the northern part of Cyprus
any
more acceptable."
There were 20,000 Greek Cypriots in the Turkish-controlled area after
1974,
but today there are about 450 Greek Cypriots remaining.
Over 80 percent of the Republic of Cyprus population is Christian. While
the
island population is only 800,000, it is a major tourist attraction,
drawing
over 2 million tourists each year.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080428/32154_The_Last_Church_Standing_in_North_Cyprus.htm
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