THE LAST CHURCH STANDING IN NORTH CYPRUS
By Michelle A. Vu

Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Apr. 28 2008 04:09 PM ET

How the Christian History was Erased

One lone church struggles to survive in a land where hundreds have
been damaged or destroyed. But this is no ordinary land; it is the
very ground where Apostle Paul took his first missionary journey to
proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ to the Roman Empire.

Now 2,000 years later, the small Mediterranean island of Cyprus is
divided into two with the northern third occupied by Turkey. In the
span of three decades under Turkish control, more than 530 churches
and monasteries have been pillaged, vandalized, or destroyed in the
northern area, according to The Republic of Cyprus.

"I cannot say that it (destruction of churches) is encouraged openly by
the Turkish government," said Cyprus’s Ambassador to the United States,
Andreas Kakouris, to The Christian Post. "All I can say is that it is
taking place in the area that is under direct control of the Turkish
military and I leave you to make your own conclusions from that."

Since its 1974 invasion, Turkey has controlled northern Cyprus which
it calls the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." No international
nation has ever recognized this entity except for Turkey. The United
States has only recognized the Republic of Cyprus.

Starting in 2003, Greek-Cypriots again were allowed to cross the
border between the Republic of Cyprus and the area under Turkish
control. It was around this time that scholars and photographers were
able to visit northern Cyprus to document the destruction of historic
churches and artifacts.

St. Mamas Church in the northwest town of Morphou is the only notable
church that is known to be semi-active in Turkey-controlled Cyprus,
according to the New York-based Hellenic Times and the Embassy of The
Republic of Cyprus in the United States. Turkish officials who rule the
area reportedly give permission twice a year for remaining residents –
who were there before Turkish occupation – to worship in the church.

But other churches did not fare so well.

About 133 churches, chapels and monasteries have been converted to
military storage facilities, stables and night-clubs. Seventy-eight
churches have been converted to mosques, and dozens more are used
as military facilities, medical storage facilities, or stockyards or
hay barns, according to statistics from The Republic of Cyprus.

Agia Anastasia church in Lapithos was converted into a hotel and
casino, while Sourp Magar Armenian monastery – founded in the medieval
period – was converted into a cafeteria.

A Neolithic settlement at the Cape of Apostolos Andreas-Kastros in the
occupied area of Rizokapraso – a site declared an ancient monument by
the Republic of Cyprus – was bulldozed by the Turkish Army in order
to plant two of its flagpoles on top of the historic hill.

"This is not a Muslim-Christian issue," contends Ambassador Kakouris,
who is a Greek Orthodox Christian.

Turkey, a constitutionally secular country, is made up of more than a
99 percent Muslim population, according to the CIA World Factbook. "I
don’t think the Cyprus problem has ever been a religious issue between
the Greek and Turkish Cypriots," said Kakouris.

But he added that if the Turkish government hadn’t given the "green
light" on the destruction of churches and artifacts, they have not
given the "red light" either.

"So it is … either directly taking place or with their blind eye
or whatever you want to call it. But they are responsible for what
is taking place there," says Kakouris.

Furthermore, over 15,000 portable religious icons were stolen and
auctioned off around the world.

Relics – which include fine icons, mosaics and frescoes from ancient
Byzantine era – have turned up at auction houses around the world,
including at the prestigious Sotheby’s in New York.

In January 2007, six icons were returned to the Church of Cyprus
after being smuggled out of the country. They were to be put up for
auction at Sotheby’s.

Also, back in 1988, four pieces of an invaluable work of art, dating
between 525 and 530 A.D., were recovered when a Turkish art dealer
offered to sell it to an American antique dealer for $1 million. The
American dealer contacted the Paul Getty Museum in Malibu to resell
the mosaics for $20 million. The museum then informed the Cypriot
Church about the art work.

In the end, the United States courts ruled that the Cypriot Church
was the legitimate owner of the pieces, and they are now shown in
the Byzantine Museum of Nicosia.

It is estimated that more than 60,000 ancient artifacts have been
illegally transferred to other countries, according to the Republic
of Cyprus. Sadly, most of these artifacts were not recovered.

Cyprus has some of the finest collections of Byzantine art in the
world, offering scholars and others the priceless study on the
development of Byzantine wall-painting art from the 8th-9th century
until the 18th century A.D.

The United States has recognized Cyprus’ endangered cultural heritage,
and in 1999 and 2003 the U.S. Treasury Department issued emergency
import restrictions on Byzantine Ecclesiastical and Ritual Ethnological
Materials from Cyprus.

Then in 2002, the United States and Cyprus signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) concerning the import restrictions on pre-classical
and classical archeological objects from Cyprus. The MOU was amended
and renewed in 2006 and 2007 to include additional artifacts.

Kakouris commented that the Cyprus issue has been ignored for decades
by the United States.

"There is only so much oxygen that exists from a journalistic point of
view," he said. "When one picks up the paper and looks at international
issues what does one see? Either a bombing that took place in the
Middle East or a bombing in Iraq or loss of life in Afghanistan –
issues such as that.

He continued, "Although there are issues that appear to be more
important than the Cyprus issue – because we don’t have that immediacy
of seeing deaths or events on a daily basis in Cyprus, and thankfully –
that does not make the continuing occupation by Turkey of the northern
part of Cyprus any more acceptable."

There were 20,000 Greek Cypriots in the Turkish-controlled area after
1974, but today there are about 450 Greek Cypriots remaining.

Over 80 percent of the Republic of Cyprus population is
Christian. While the island population is only 800,000, it is a major
tourist attraction, drawing over 2 million tourists each year.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress