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With feelings of honour, emotion and pride and true to our historical duty, we honour today the memory and sacrifice of the late Archbishop Kyprianos and those who martyred with him on the 9th of July 1821.
A historically charged date regarding the continuity of Hellenism in Cyprus, the events of which encapsulate the will and the unquenchable desire of its people for freedom.
With their unbreakable ties to the Greek core as a beacon, the Cypriots valued the preparation of the Revolution of 1821 as a milestone in their national consciousness, contributing through their contribution to its conduct.
A prominent figure in this effort was Archbishop Cyprian, who, through his action, his fighting spirit and his subsequent voluntary sacrifice, as a consequence of his unyielding stance, became a photographer of the resistance of the Cypriots against the Ottoman Empire.
His joining from an early age as a novice at the Mahara Monastery and the opportunity he later had to study at the Hellenic School in Nicosia, was of decisive importance in shaping the principles, values and Greek Orthodox conscience that distinguished the course of his life.
Equally important in this direction was his transition in 1783 and his subsequent twenty-year stay in Moldavia.
A twenty-year period that coincided with the resonance of the ideas of the French Revolution, which influenced and defined his political and social thought, but above all his later actions, justifying the characterization that has been attributed to him as an important representative of the Enlightenment in Greece.
Upon his return to Cyprus, he was ordained as a steward by Archbishop Chrysanthos, playing since then an important role in the ecclesiastical and political life of the country.
This is confirmed, among other things, by his administrative and organizational skills, which allowed him to carry out with efficiency a large part of the Archbishop's duties. Equally, his own conciliatory intervention and handling of the uprisings of the Ottoman inhabitants in Nicosia were crucial, preventing, in many cases, violence against Orthodox Christians.
Upon his accession to the archbishop's throne in 1810, he made the protection of the people his main concern. In this context, throughout his action as Archbishop, he succeeded, during this difficult period of slavery, in making the Church the ark of Orthodoxy and Hellenism.
It is no coincidence that one of his first actions as Primate of the Church was the foundation of the Greek School in Nicosia, which became a source of Greek-Christian education and a centre of spiritual and educational activity.
It should be noted that in the founding act of the Hellenic School, a significant document which is among the great sources of Greek enlightenment in Cyprus, Cyprian, fired by unadulterated philanthropy and love for freedom, urges the flock to preserve and defend, as a supreme duty, their faith and their homeland.
Investing in the development of education as a unifying element of the national identity of the people, he also strengthened the newly established Greek School of Limassol.
With his initiation into the Society of Friends, the prudent pastor-archbishop took into consideration the geographic peculiarities of the island and the universal participation of Cyprus in the Revolution.
Because of its proximity to areas where there was a solid Muslim population, as well as the possibility of direct transport of troops to the island, any attempt at rebellion could easily be bloodily suppressed.
In this context, Cyprus was not included in the central revolutionary planning. Through the participation of the Cypriots, however, it made a catalytic contribution to the Struggle, which, in addition to material goods and financial assistance, was enlarged by the participation of more than 1000 volunteers in the Greek national uprising.
Despite the fact that no armed rebellion took place in Cyprus, despite the compromises and prudent concessions made by Archbishop Kyprian, protecting his flock with his actions, the local authorities applied measures manifesting their fury, brutality and atrocity, aiming at weakening the political and ecclesiastical power and intimidating the population.
A few months after the outbreak of the Greek Revolution, the new Ottoman governor of the island, Koutsouk Mehmet, on the occasion of the circulation of revolutionary pamphlets, denounced to the High Gate the danger of an imminent uprising of the Cypriots.
In this connection, under the pretext of preventing any revolutionary action, he succeeded in securing its approval of the request he made for the execution of a number of prominent clergymen and laymen.
The sense of responsibility, self-sacrifice and heroism shown by Archbishop Cyprian in consciously rejecting any proposal for escape, as well as the courage with which he proceeded, proved his courage, self-sacrifice and sincere love for his flock.
At the same time, his sacrifice, together with the Bishops of Pafos, Kition and Karynia, on 9 July 1821, stimulating the indefatigable spirit of the people and contributing catalytically to the preservation of the Greek Orthodox conscience, was raised as a barrier of resistance against the Ottoman yoke.
It was this vengefully heavy toll of blood that Cyprus paid in the summer of 1821, which magnified the will and the unquenchable desire of the Cypriots for freedom.
It was then again the 9th of July that inspired the Greeks of Cyprus in times of trial, giving them the baton to write their own page in the history of our homeland in 1955.
It is this same sacrifice that continues to shine and rise as a symbol, guiding the steps of our own course, so that we can meet the challenges we face in these difficult times, which threaten our physical and national survival.
Today, when our homeland has been tested for 49 years by the Turkish invasion and the ongoing occupation, we must draw lessons from the great moments of our history and proceed with unity and unanimity, with strength and determination.
We must continue our struggle for the liberation and reunification of our homeland, on the basis of a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.
A solution that will free our land from occupying armies, anachronistic guarantee conditions and the interventionist rights of third countries, allowing its people to live in peace, security, prosperity and progress.
As the President of the Republic himself has repeatedly stressed, for the present Government, the prevalence of justice in our country is a priority, while assuring his readiness to come to the negotiating table at any time.
Given the readiness of our side, we hope that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots will soon show the same determination and goodwill in order to achieve the desired result.
The liberation and reunification of the homeland is our debt which we must repay. We owe it to all those who fought and sacrificed for the freedom of our homeland, to all those who lived, grew up and died in exile, to those who still await their return.
This will be the highest vindication of the sacrifice of Archbishop Kyprianos and those who martyred with him.
(ΕΠ)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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