Ecumenism" "
A plan to “de-hellenize” Cyprus: that is the accusation made by the head of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Archbishop Christodoulos, against the UN plan for the reunification of the island. He asked the faithful to pray fervently for the failure of the negotiations. During a homily in a church in Athens, Christodoulos affirmed that if the UN plan is adopted “Cypriots would have to forget Greece, forget their language and their flag, in order to submit to the powerful of the world”. In the archbishop’s view, local politicians in Cyprus are being put under pressure “to accept a plan they don’t want”. He also claimed that the Annan plan would create “a dangerous precedent in relations between Greece and Turkey, as regards the frontier zones such as Thrace and the Aegean”. Last December, Christodoulos was at the centre of a furious controversy for having called the Turks “barbarians” and for being firmly opposed to Turkey’s entry into Europe which, in his view, must remain “the family of Christians”. The representatives of the Turkish and Greek zones of Cyprus are negotiating under UN auspices in a bid to achieve the reunification of the island by 1st May, when Cyprus will become a member of the EU.
