Filenews 9 January 2023
Strong messages to many recipients, with emphasis on Education, society, the national issue and the unified defence doctrine, were sent during his enthronement ceremony by George, who yesterday officially assumed the new duties as Archbishop of Nea Justinian and All Cyprus. The enthronement took place in the crowded Cathedral of the Apostle Varnava in Nicosia, where many citizens, state and political leadership of Cyprus as well as representatives of Orthodox Churches, as well as representatives of other denominations, attended.
In his enthronement speech, George III said "for Cyprus and its Archbishop, the cross remains a cross of martyrdom, the chlamyda turns into rags with which it covers the wounds of the people, the crown of thorns becomes a visible sign of the onerous slavery of our country, and the reed the means by which the oxen of bitter slavery is transmitted to our people". He added that the social and charitable work of the Church will continue and extend to those in need, "to those who find it difficult due to the economic recession to cope with the demands of life, to those who are unable to take care of their health, to those who are unable to educate their children. The announcements of measures against the falling birth rate, which is a national problem, and the creation of student dormitories to support the needy students are immediately put into effect."
As Primate of the Church in an unredeemed Greek place, His Beatitude said that he is particularly concerned about the issues of education as an essential element of the life and survival of a people. "We do not ask, nor do we attempt to blackmail, the government of the country in matters of education, nor in other matters. However, we do not give up the right to have an opinion on the main issues of the country and to expose it freely, as the last citizen has today", he stressed.
Also speaking about the national issue, he said that today, when we are more than ever threatened by Turkish bulimia, which does not conceal its aspirations for the conquest and Turkification of the whole of Cyprus, the Church cannot stand in the stands as a mere spectator.
"The Government of the Republic will also be able to count on our support in claiming the rights of our people and in liberating our occupied territories. We will not hesitate, however, to point out and control any diversion and we will fight to prevent solutions that will endanger our survival in the ancestral land", he underlined on the issue.
He added that the Church will actively contribute, coming to an understanding with the competent authorities of the state, to the defensive shielding of Cyprus, while he called for the activation of the doctrine of the unified defence area of Greece - Cyprus, which as he said will satisfy the sense of security of the people, prevent new expansionist moves by Turkey and will maintain and consolidate the desire for liberation.
