In contrast to many others, this column welcomes Church leaders speaking out about the Cyprus issue and any other topic they wish to address. Their thoughts should be shared, broadcast as the main topic on CyBC (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation), and documented. For many, this is their punishment for what they believe.
Archbishop George, from whom we still expect seriousness in handling internal church matters, told the faithful that “if 50 years of occupation seems like a long time to some, Greeks, who measure three and a half thousand years in this land, have a different sense of time, much longer than a single generation’s lifespan. We have lived through (alas, they lived and suffered) other occupations, longer in duration. The baton we received from Teucros and Agapinoras, Evagoras and Onisilos, Saint Spyridon and Saint Neophytos, Grigoris Afxentiou and Markos Drakos, we will undoubtedly pass on to future generations, no matter how long it takes.”
The author is not religious, but he considers the Archbishop’s words to be very Christian. When we bury a loved one, in our grief, we should also listen to those who tell us that they are now with God and that someday, we will all be reunited in a beautiful, peaceful, justified place. Someday. Sometime. It doesn’t matter when…
When it is their turn to lose a loved one prematurely, they, too, will mourn. How could they not?
Archbishop George likely said something similar during Easter. What are 50 years compared to eternity? And if we consider eternity “with God”, the beneficial time for the long-term struggle increases. As long as there is desire.
It doesn’t matter when the Cyprus issue will be resolved, when the occupation, de facto partition, Turkish threat, and division of the Cypriot people will end. It doesn’t matter if 5-6 first-generation refugees experience some relief. None of it matters because, as the Archbishop says, “we have a different sense of time, much longer than a single generation’s lifespan.” As long as there are generations, do not worry. It doesn’t matter if we die as refugees or with the worry of what future awaits Cyprus and our descendants.
He also told us that ‘as long as half of our homeland remains under occupation and the rest is at risk, we have no right to rest or be negligent. Okay, Your Beatitude. But for us regular people, our sense of time is the standard one. Yesterday, we buried a beloved friend whose time stopped at 48. For us, this is significant. Time (ours) is running out. For everyone. And as it ends, it creates faits accomplis, insurmountable.
Time will also end for you, Archbishop George, and for all of us. Just as it did for your predecessor, who, no matter what he said, was well aware of the standard “unit of time measurement”. That is why he made sure to prepare his spacious final resting place ahead of time, just as the other insightful Archbishop had done before him.
Time will end for the author, too, and for everyone. That is why, when you promise the living that “the baton we received from Teucros and Agapinoras, Evagoras and Onisilos… we will undoubtedly pass on to future generations, no matter how long it takes,” you are merely making promises that you won’t be around to keep.
I find it foolish, Your Beatitude if you believe that everything ends with us. Consider what many modern historians and scholars say about Gregory V, Germanos III of Old Patras, Saint Cyprian, and even Archbishop Makarios. Think about what they might say about others.
Time is ending for us, but it is beginning or will begin for others. Do not burden them with homework and shift responsibilities away from our shoulders.
Who gave you that right? Why are you speaking on their behalf?
