For 10 consecutive years, the Ministry of Education and the Pilgrimage Tourism Office of the Church of Cyprus, organized yesterday a visit of students from all over Cyprus to the Monastery of Agios Neophytos in Paphos.
The head of the Office, Bishop Gregory of Mesaoria, told "F" that this program is done by province and children from all levels of education, both from public and private schools, participate in these pilgrimage trips.
The students, together with the teachers who accompany them, he stressed, feel our tradition and culture and then submit their experience and experiences with texts, painting, music and other forms.
The students are guided through our religious monuments, said the Bishop of Mesaoria, and through their actions they also guide us as pilgrims.
Gregory of Mesaoria thanked the Archbishop of Cyprus and the Minister of Education, with whose contribution this program continues successfully for so many years.
For his part, Father Konstantinos from the Diocese of Arsinoe, who represented Bishop Pankratios of Arsinoe, expressed his joy for the program, emphasizing that although he himself visited the famous Monastery of Agios Neophytos many times and officiated there, during the students' tour yesterday he heard for the first time important details from the history of the Monastery. A fact, he pointed out, that demonstrates the importance and usefulness of this program.
The Inspector of Religious Courses at the Ministry of Education, Dr. Andreas Foulias, pointed out that the ministry supports such commendable efforts and cooperates with the Church of Cyprus to carry out these educational religious tours, considering it very important that students, through research, are informed about the history, culture and religious traditions of the island.
