For the first time in history and for only a few hours, at the request of the Archbishop of Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos himself. Chrysostomos, today, Tuesday, May 17, the Holy Cross with the Holy Cannon, i.e. the rope with which Christ was bound during the Holy Passion, from the historic Holy Monastery of the Holy Cross of Omodos, in the Holy Church of the Wisdom of God in Strovolos, Nicosia, on the occasion of its commemoration, during the great despotic feast of Mid-Pentecost.
The faithful of the capital have the great joy and blessing of receiving for this first time of their exodus, these sacred relics, which will be exhibited in the church for veneration until 10 o'clock in the evening and then they will depart for their monastery.
The Holy Cross was carried by the Superior of the parish of Omodos, Fr. Neophytos Zenonos, accompanied by the local authorities of the community, in the evening of Tuesday, May 17, before the beginning of the Vespers of the Mid-Pentecost.
The reception was held outside the Holy Church of God Sophia, by His Grace Bishop Christophoros of Karpasia, in the presence of His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus.
After the prayer was offered, His Beatitude, with emotion, thanked God with emotion, that He deserves him to venerate His Holy Cross, since it was practically difficult to venerate it in his monastery in Omodos.
He cordially thanked Fr. Neophytos and all the Omodites for the love they have always shown to him, both in his capacity as Metropolitan of Paphos for 29 years and now as Archbishop. "My love for Omodos has always been a given, it is the place I wanted to impose and I believe I have succeeded. The love of the Omodians for the Holy Cross is exemplary and they wait with such awe each year to welcome Him into their homes. I feel moved and I invite all of you, here in the largest church in Cyprus, to venerate the Holy Cross of our Lord, because He is our Saviour and He will remain until the end. God Himself became man so that we too might become gods by grace. And we must be grateful to Him, worship Him and believe in Him as the only Redeemer of the world, of all times."
Then, Fr. Neophytos, contradicting His Beatitude, said: "And we, Your Beatitude, in our turn, want to thank you, because, bearing in mind the 29 years you mentioned, as Metropolitan of Paphos, we feel that it was the least we could do, to bring the Holy Cross of Christ near you, so that you could venerate Him. We wish wholeheartedly that it will give you strength and support, so that you too can support all of us. We will never forget what we have been through together. Personally, I owe you, not one, but many big thanks, since I never heard no from you and you have offered our monastery as much as you could. We hope that this visit of the Cross, which for the first time leaves the Monastery and our village, will bring blessing to our land and a peaceful solution to the problem of our homeland, as you always preach and wish".
After the reception of the holy relics, the Solemn Vespers of the Mid-Pentecost followed.
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