Filenews 10 June 2021
The opening of the new Cathedral of the Apostle Barnabas, near the Archdiocese, was held tonight in the presence of the Archbishop of Athens Ieronymos, the President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, the clergy and lay people.
The opening events are over four days and according to the program, on Friday morning there will be the Sanctification of the Holy Bank and there will be an arch-priestly Mass, with heads of the Archbishops of Athens and Cyprus, arresting members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus and other hierarchs.
On Saturday, among other things, the evening of Agios Trifyllis will be held and the Kara of Agios will be exhibited for pilgrimage. An archaic Mass of the feast of Agios Trifyllios is planned on Sunday.
Archbishop Chrysostomos in a short speech said that he had been dreaming of tonight's moment for many years and that he had tried hard enough to convince his predecessor that this is where the Cathedral should be built, close to the Archdiocese and not anywhere else.
He said that thanks to donors this vision became a reality and their help was greatly appreciated, especially at the time of the pandemic.
He said the Church had money, but had reached marginal points, he said, and the Church was not easy to complete. The Archbishop said the pandemic delayed the works and finally tonight it becomes possible to perform the inauguration.
He also referred to the many obstacles the Church had to face and the many denials and reactions, but in the end the permission was granted even in unbearable terms, as he said.
After the Archbishop's speech, the great benefactors and donors of the work were decorated with the Gold Medal of the Apostle Paul and smaller medals were given to the other donors.
On behalf of all donors, Kodros Pilakoutas mentioned that tonight is the opening of a life project for the Archbishop, who envisioned it and made it a reality. This is, he said, a place of spiritual uplift that we all need in these moments and he thanked the Archbishop because as leader of our Church, he is delivering this work tonight. He also said that our country survived thanks to ecclesiastical tradition and spirituality and this will continue in the future.
After the speeches and the decoration, the Archbishop toured the Temple with guests and then performed the evening of the Apostle Barnabas.
The new Temple is prominent
As stated on the website of the Church of Cyprus, the new Church combines the registered cruciform type of temple, the purely Byzantine type, but also the type of rotunda. The large dome will be adorned with a mosaic representation of the Almighty Lord.
The temple is carved and gilded with images at all stops, the pulpit, the Holy Bank as well as the pilgrims.
The candelia, in the shape of a triangle, are in the mix of the equivalents of the old Cathedral of St. John.
The chandeliers were purchased from the Czech Republic, the bells from Poland, the marble decorations and the floors were imported from Greece. The mosaics of the temple (Platytera and Pantokrator) as well as the glass paintings (vitro) placed in the dome of the temple were constructed with elegance in Romania.
The carved Holy Bank was constructed from the three woods used in the Cross of the Lord, namely pine, cypress and cedar.
It should be remembered that a few months ago there was a storm of reactions from the demolition of preserved buildings near the new Temple with the Archdiocese pledging to restore them to their former state.
