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It is a great honour for me to be here with you tonight for the presentation of the book "Pilgrimages/Iconostats of Cyprus", an event co-organized by the Holy Metropolis of Tamassos and Orini with the Charity Association "Embrace with Love", and part of the proceeds from the sales of the books will be donated to the charity work of the Association. It is important to mention that the publication of the book would not have been possible without the interest and financial support of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nikephoros of Kykkos and Tylliria.
This is a book-project that attempts to protect part of our cultural heritage and for which it took a lot of effort, time, hard work and a lot of passion to prepare the final form of the work as we have it today. It is the result of five years of uninterrupted research by the dear creators Dr Eleftherios Antoniou and Mrs Lygia Christoforou Antoniou, collecting data, information with rich photographic material from shrines and iconostases in our free and occupied Cyprus.
This work is a historical and religious document of our culture and cultural heritage. The creators of the work, through the wealth of photographic material, vividly capture the faith in the divine and the aspects of a collective cultural expression of each era of their creation. Some of them are customary traditions and indicate the religious commitment of the commemoration of the divine, while others capture the melancholy of a loss, a personal story, a drama.
The photographs in the book "Pilgrimages/Iconostases of Cyprus" bring to mind different eras with a descriptive portrayal of Cypriot society, the experiences of Cypriots, and the fundamental foundations and principles of their way of life. This work simultaneously depicts the stone years, the difficulties and the evolution of the situation of our religious heritage in our occupied Cyprus, with the memory of the pain of the tragic historical events of our Cyprus, as a consequence of the brutal Turkish invasion. The photographs of the shrines in the occupied areas from page 160 of the book evoke pain and awe, but at the same time sadness and bitterness at the sight of their indifference, disrespect, devaluation and neglect. Time stood still in the black summer of 1974 for these shrines. But not the faith to continue the struggle and to preserve our religious and cultural heritage.
The publication "Pilgrimages / Iconostats of Cyprus" by Dr. Eleftherios and Mrs. Lygia Antoniou demonstrates our commitment to the principles and values of our origin, our national and religious identity, our tradition, history and culture. The deep religiosity of our Orthodox faith requires the preservation, care and maintenance of our shrines in any way possible. Whether through community care, through personal initiative, through charitable work, or through their preservation in our memory through a great work such as that of Lefteris and Lygia.
Dear Lefteris, dear Lygia,
The treasures of our homeland are not placed in bank lockers or underground safety deposit boxes. The treasures of our homeland are accessible to all and are in plain sight with their security key inextricably linked to our soul, conscience and faith.
These treasures are captured in your publication, which is a legacy to each new generation to learn our history, our religious traditions and values, and our cultural heritage. The protection of cultural heritage is carried out by safeguarding and preserving it by any means, which in this case you are doing with your book and in particular with its publication in three languages. Your work is a tool for every researcher-historian from which important information of the social, economic, cultural and religious history of Cyprus in different periods can be extracted, but at the same time a map for every faithful traveller to find a shrine, light a candle, pray and continue on his way. A path that you too followed from pilgrimage site to pilgrimage site and led to the creation of this remarkable, important and important work that we reverently present today.
(PM/NZ/GS)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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