On July 20, 2024, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America held a memorial service for the victims of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus fifty years ago. Immediately after this ceremony, His Holiness traveled to Cyprus for the 102nd Assembly of the AHEPA Supreme Assembly. This was the Assembly's first trip to Cyprus, in solidarity with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Read the coverage of the Convention in this special newsletter.
High priestly Divine Liturgy for the feast of Prophet Elias for the 50th anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Archbishop Elpidophoros Speech at the Memorial for the 50th Black Anniversary of the Illegal Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, 20 July 2024, Limassol, Cyprus – The 102nd Supreme Assembly of AHEPA was inaugurated for the first time in Cyprus, in solidarity to commemorate the 50th dark anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. On July 22, 2024, the official installations took place in Limassol, Cyprus with a musical program that presented traditional Cypriot and Greek music and welcomed the attendees to celebrate Cypriot culture in the spirit of the reunification of Cyprus and envisioning a free future for this beautiful island nation.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America attended the ceremony, which opened with an oratorio entitled "The Bells Will Ring Again" by Mario Ioannou Ilias. This production was organized by the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus for the Official Opening Ceremony of the AHEPA Supreme Session with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cyprus and in collaboration with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation and the "Aris" Choir of Limassol.
Also present were the Honorable President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulidis, His Beatitude Archbishop of Nea Ioustini and all Cyprus George, Supreme President of the Order of AHEPA Savvas Tsivikos and other members of AHEPA.
"I am proud that AHEPA is making a significant contribution, pressuring the powerful of the land to find a just solution and I take this opportunity to repeat that the request of Cyprus for the reunification of the island is a request not only of the Cypriots, but also of the Holy Archdiocese of America and all its My Diaspora Cypriot compatriots we are with you, we love you and we feel you Hand in hand, heart in heart, with you and the brothers of the wider AHEPA family and with every Greek everywhere! on earth, we came here to shout it and let our voice be heard everywhere in the world, that "fifty years, half a century, is too much to find a just solution for the reunification of the martyred island! "Wait a minute!" remarked the Most Reverend Archbishop Elpidophoros.
The 2024 AHEPA Archbishop Iakovos Award was awarded to His Beatitude Archbishop George and the 2024 AHEPA Holy Cross Inaugural Scholarship to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
Archbishop Elpidophoros instituted the creation of a standing committee in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America composed of prominent members of the Cypriot Community to oversee and coordinate education and educational materials for the Greek-American community so that our children and all Americans can learn and love the history and culture of Cyprus. A similar program was recently completed. The Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, under the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MOESY), organized a training program for Greek-American teachers from the community schools of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The program took place from July 9 to July 19, 2024.
His Eminence thanked President Christodoulidis and the AHEPA community for their continued support of educational programs like this one at Holy Cross School of Theology in Massachusetts.
