Head of Cyprus Church: Turks remain uncivilized and uneducated
Archbishop Chrysostomos believes that Turkey has not learned to respect a foreign culture and can only destroy it.
On July 12, 2020, Archbishop Chrysostomos, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, said that by converting the Hagia Sophia temple back into a mosque, the Turks showed that they remained uncivilized and rude, reports the Romfea website.
He noted that although “we are saddened, Hagia Sophia will not lose its value. For 10 centuries, it was at the center of all Christianity ... No power can belittle the value of Hagia Sophia.”
At the same time, the archbishop emphasized that having decided to change the status of the temple, Turkey demonstrated that “it has not learned to respect history. It has not learned to respect culture, because it has not produced culture, nor has it had any respect for culture. It has only learned to destroy it."
In his opinion, Turkey "learned to appropriate another culture and sometimes, when this culture does not suit it, Turkey destroys it."
He emphasized that the Cypriots know Turkey very well, because, "for half a century we have seen the destruction of our own monuments."
Archbishop Chrysostomos recalled that when the Turks "occupied all of Cyprus, our temples, which also have frescoes, were turned into mosques …”
The Primate of the Church of Cyprus noted that “the Turks remained rude, uncivilized and uneducated. As they were, as they will remain!”
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Erdogan vowed to “liberate” Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.