Mr. Panicos Leonidou, head of the Cypriot delegation to the IOA, participated in a visit of the International Secretariat of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy (IOA) to Florence, in the framework of a global campaign of the IOA to raise awareness of the international public opinion to condemn the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. During its visit, the IOA delegation held meetings with state, ecclesiastical and academic authorities of the Tuscan Region.
On Tuesday, 31 May, a presentation of a multilingual IOA publication entitled "Hagia Sophia: The Temples of the Wisdom of God around the World", at the Theological School of Central Italy. The IEA's dedication volume presents 37 iconic churches dedicated to the Holy Wisdom of God, which include the Cathedral of St. Sophia, now the Selimie Mosque, in occupied Nicosia and the Mosque of St. Sophia in Muttalos, Paphos.
This was preceded by a meeting of the Assembly leadership with the rectorial authorities of the Theological School of Central Italy, during which Mr Leonidou pointed out that Cyprus has suffered for 48 years flagrant violations of international law and human rights and freedoms, as a consequence of the invasion and continued occupation of part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey. Leonidou also referred to the foundation of the Church of Cyprus by the Apostle Barnabas, who together with the Apostle Paul preached Christianity in Cyprus in 45 AD, stressing that today in the occupied territories, the churches remain inoperative and that systematic and methodical attempts are being made by the occupying regime to de-Christianize historical cultural and religious monuments and churches.
(The text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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