Filenews 3 February 2023
By the end of this year, the works for the total restoration of the three listed buildings of the Archdiocese on Isokratous Street are expected to be completed, which were demolished, as many claim, on the instructions of the former Archbishop or collapsed due to failure or weather conditions, as he claimed.
As part of the process of restoring the buildings, the architect and former Director of Urban Planning, Athena Aristotelous, who undertook the supervision of the reconstruction, by mutual consent (Municipality of Nicosia and Archdiocese) will inform the new Archbishop George next week about the progress of the works. At the same time, he will also inform him about the history of the whole case, which has been of great concern to cultural people, the technical world, politicians and public opinion.
Asked about this by "F", she said that according to the contractor's schedule, the works are expected to be completed by the end of 2023. It will take about ten months from the resumption of work in February, Ms Aristotelous said. She clarified that masonry works have already been carried out but because a permit for a change of use was required inside the buildings, and especially of one of them, there was some stagnation.
As she explained, the planning permission concerning the internal modifications to the buildings was already secured by the Nicosia Municipality, before which the plans concerning the issuance of a building permit were submitted along with all the information requested by the local authority, which is already examining them. On the basis of the plans, the new quantity sheets were issued.
The changes concern the stone-built house which will be converted into a small synodal. This is the building located at the southernmost point (compared to the other two) on Patriarch Gregoriou Street, where the house of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios is located.
The second house, which is located in the northern part, i.e. on the side of the Archdiocese, will function as a gallery or even as a small museum.
The middle building, which functioned, partly as a canteen, will serve the small synodal while part of the same building that functioned as a shop, will function as a foyer of the synodicon.
Of course, the roofs and exterior walls will be the same as the three buildings were before they were demolished. In addition, a large number of doors and windows will be maintained and the rest that have been destroyed either due to the wear and tear of time or due to the collapse, new ones will be built.
Mrs. Aristotelous said that although His Beatitude has been briefed on the prevailing situation, he asked for full information on both the current situation and the history of the problem from the demolition of the buildings until today.
The demolition of the three buildings was considered illegal, not only because the buildings were listed buildings but also because in the permit issued in the context of the construction of the cathedral, their preservation and maintenance was set as a condition.
POINT OF VIEW
No to bulldozer politics
What happened with the demolition of the listed buildings was leniently unacceptable and took on dimensions due to the fact that the buildings belonged to the Church. The Catholic reaction also sent the message that whoever is responsible for the demolition of listed buildings will not take it out. It has set a bad precedent for the demolition of such buildings but at the same time a good precedent for the authorities involved, in the sense that they should not backtrack, but remain firm in dealing with arbitrariness.
The Church of Cyprus (and especially the Archdiocese) has listed buildings and must organize a rescue program. I hope that the new Archbishop will not follow in the footsteps of his predecessor in this matter. So far, however, it shows that it will not pursue a bulldozer policy. Time will tell.
Ps.D.
