Filenews 21 February 2025 - by Marilena Panayi
The first crematory for cremation in Cyprus is expected to open in the summer of 2026, as officially announced yesterday. The operation of a crematorium did not, of course, fall like a thunderbolt in the sky, since no matter how long the procedures were delayed and how long they lasted more or less 25 years, it was expected that at some point, the law that was passed with obstacles and after fifteen years of discussions, would be implemented.
The crematorium, according to Golden Leaves Cyprus Crematorium Limited, will operate in Paphos, in the area of Agia Varvara and will be available to all funeral homes. The facilities and the way it operates will be based on the legislation passed by the Parliament in 2016. Its facilities will cover an area of approximately 17,575sqm, with a building of 1,012sqm. and construction costs are expected to be around €4 million. It will provide integrated cremation services, with the basic cost estimated at around €900, excluding funeral home fees and additional services. It will be accessible to all funeral homes, ceremonial halls will be available for all religious communities, and columbruses will be available to store urns."
But how far back does the debate on cremation in Cyprus go? Timidly, the first discussions began to take place with the advent of the new century. In 2000. However, the beginning of the intense discussion of the issues and the first voices for the creation of crematoriums and cremation of the dead in Cyprus began in 2001 on the occasion of the death of Plutis Servas, the first general secretary of AKEL. Plutis Servas, when he was alive, had expressed his desire not to have his body buried but to be cremated. He had even included his wish in his will. His family, in their effort to fulfil his wish, entered into a great struggle and eventually his body was transported to Great Britain where he was cremated.
The public debate, of course, had begun and the first bill was submitted to Parliament, almost a year later, in March 2002 by the then DIKO MP, Marios Matsakis. Matsakis' proposed law, as expected, provoked a strong reaction from the Church, which was clearly against cremation, with statements by the then Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostom himself.
Despite the reactions, some preliminary discussions took place in Parliament, however, the draft law was shelved, despite the fact that in 2003 an initiative group had been set up in Cyprus which at that time launched a campaign aimed at allowing cremation. The campaign was entitled "Cremation in Cyprus" and was led mainly by British people who resided permanently on the island. By 2013, however, the number of Greek Cypriots participating had increased significantly.
The effort to legislate the issue began again in 2006 when the Council of Ministers of the Tassos Papadopoulos government decided to set up a special committee, under the then Commissioner for Legislation, Leda Koursoumba, to prepare a bill. The committee was then instructed to prepare a bill that would allow crematoriums to operate and cremation only for non-Cypriots. Three years later, in 2009, the issue returned to the Council of Ministers, this time of the Demetris Christofias government. The bill was then amended and based on it, the law would apply to everyone, including Cypriots. Discussions, delays, objections and controversies followed, and the final text of the bill, as it had been formed until that moment, was submitted to Parliament with most of the debate taking place in 2013. Finally, in the spring of 2016 it was brought to the plenary session of the Parliament and passed into law.
The objections of the Church and the unenforceable law
The Church's objections never stopped, of course, with the Holy Synod issuing a statement stating that "those who do not belong to the Orthodox Church and, therefore, are strangers to our tradition, can adopt cremation both for themselves and for their relatives. The Church cannot prevent its members from this possibility either. However, she advises everyone to stay true to her tradition. Otherwise, she will not be able to perform the exodus service for them, because to do so would be contrary to her beliefs and tradition."
The legislation, of course, had already been passed and was expected to be implemented. From 2016 to 2018, no private initiative had been developed despite occasional publications, and in 2018 and 2019, the law, which until that moment had not been implemented, was again under discussion by Parliament, after funeral home owners asked the state to proceed with the operation of a crematorium. citing the very high costs involved in the construction of such facilities. However, the funeral homeowners' request was rejected by the government, with the two ministries responsible, interior and finance, arguing that it would not be appropriate to simply create another semi-governmental organization.
In 2023, it became known that the first crematory of the dead in Cyprus will be created by a private initiative. Yesterday, almost 25 years after the first discussions began and 9 years after the legislation was passed, it was announced that the crematory will open in the summer of 2026. Exactly ten years after the law was passed.
Cremation since 1880 in Europe
The issue that occupied Cyprus for a quarter of a century in the rest of the world and in most European countries was settled 100 or 200 years ago.
In particular, in France cremation of the dead was permitted by decree from 1789, but was regulated by law in 1887. In Germany, cremation has been guaranteed by a special regulation since 1934. In Spain the matter was regulated in 1945 and in Britain in 1884. In 2007, it was estimated at the time that incineration rates in Britain, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark exceeded 50%. In Australia 49% and in the US 21%. In Greece the issue was first discussed in 1987 and cremation was allowed in 2006, however, the first crematory opened in 2019.
