Cyprus-Forum.com

by **Chimera** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:45 pm

turkish_cypriot wrote::roll: Why is Turkey still trying to get into the EU?????

Because, like all good aspirants, it wants to be a member of any club that would exclude it. :lol:

by **Pyrpolizer** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:28 pm

zan wrote:
Pyrpolizer wrote:
zan wrote:I think you get the point I am trying to make and it has really been made by the article it self.

Which of course you are unable to even put down in a line or two.

What's your point Zan? Do you still live in the 50s when the TCs would by just hearing "Church" instantly start searching their asses for scorpions?

Does every thread have to be turned into MSN conversation

We are ON TOPIC in case you haven't noticed. We are not talking about rotten milkshakes.

On second thought, when was the last time ANYONE managed to have a meaningful conversation with you?

Forget it man.... just forget it. :shock:

by **zan** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:29 pm

Pyrpolizer wrote:
zan wrote:
Pyrpolizer wrote:
zan wrote:I think you get the point I am trying to make and it has really been made by the article it self.

Which of course you are unable to even put down in a line or two.

What's your point Zan? Do you still live in the 50s when the TCs would by just hearing "Church" instantly start searching their asses for scorpions?

Does every thread have to be turned into MSN conversation

We are ON TOPIC in case you haven't noticed. We are not talking about rotten milkshakes.

On second thought, when was the last time ANYONE managed to have a meaningful conversation with you?

Forget it man.... just forget it.

by **denizaksulu** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:31 pm

This article from the Cyprus Mail brings a smile to my face. Good God, we have created a monster.

Archbishop’s role in politics is outdated

THERE’S NO doubt that the Church of Cyprus is back on centre stage, all guns blazing. Since his consecration as Archbishop, Chrysostomos II has made clear his intent to speak his mind, not only on matters of the Church, but in the political sphere too.

In recent weeks he has come under repeated attack for his forays into the presidential election campaign and his barely disguised support for President Tassos Papadopoulos. Members of the Church hierarchy are understood to be uncomfortable with the degree of his involvement, while the Archbishop is reported to have clashed with Greece’s Mega channel over his desire for Cypriot Mega to promote Papadopoulos over the coming months. Politis newspaper has even claimed that the Archbishop is actively serving Papadopoulos’ campaign, saying things the President feels he himself cannot openly proclaim.

Chrysostomos has done little to dampen the speculation. On Monday, he defended the interference in Mega, saying the station founded by the Church (as Logos) had a duty to follow the Church’s views. And for anyone who hoped he may step back from politics, he had this to say: “The Church will not close its mouth and allow things to develop,” adding he fully intended to express his opinion, since the national issue was at the centre of the campaign and the Church had a very close interest in the matter.

A few years ago, there had been signs that the Church was stepping back from politics. Sadly, the referendum has brought the institution back to centre stage, not without a certain encouragement from President Papadopoulos, who made clear it had a role to play.

Should the Church have an opinion on secular affairs? Yes, to the extent that religion cares how we conduct our lives as human beings. Religions have a duty to their faithful to speak out about morality as it impacts on society.

Should it tell us how to vote? Most certainly not. For to do so is an unacceptable interference in our democracy, an abuse of the confidence of the believer, using its undoubted spiritual influence to interfere in how the state is run.

No Church in Western Europe would dream of getting involved to such a degree, but of course the West has undergone a long transformation to achieve the separation of Church and State. Ironically, Chrysostomos II has the centuries of Ottoman rule to thank for shielding Cyprus from the enlightenment and the revolutions that achieved the process in the West.

It was the Ottomans that raised the Church to the position of interlocutor for their subjugated Christian populations, and the British that maintained that status, preferring an Ethnarch to civilian politicians. As he prepares his next intervention in the public sphere, perhaps the Archbishop should spare a prayer for the sultans and the governors that have made such power possible today.??

??

??

??

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007

by **zan** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:38 pm

denizaksulu wrote:This article from the Cyprus Mail brings a smile to my face. Good God, we have created a monster.

Archbishop’s role in politics is outdated

THERE’S NO doubt that the Church of Cyprus is back on centre stage, all guns blazing. Since his consecration as Archbishop, Chrysostomos II has made clear his intent to speak his mind, not only on matters of the Church, but in the political sphere too.

In recent weeks he has come under repeated attack for his forays into the presidential election campaign and his barely disguised support for President Tassos Papadopoulos. Members of the Church hierarchy are understood to be uncomfortable with the degree of his involvement, while the Archbishop is reported to have clashed with Greece’s Mega channel over his desire for Cypriot Mega to promote Papadopoulos over the coming months. Politis newspaper has even claimed that the Archbishop is actively serving Papadopoulos’ campaign, saying things the President feels he himself cannot openly proclaim.

Chrysostomos has done little to dampen the speculation. On Monday, he defended the interference in Mega, saying the station founded by the Church (as Logos) had a duty to follow the Church’s views. And for anyone who hoped he may step back from politics, he had this to say: “The Church will not close its mouth and allow things to develop,” adding he fully intended to express his opinion, since the national issue was at the centre of the campaign and the Church had a very close interest in the matter.

A few years ago, there had been signs that the Church was stepping back from politics. Sadly, the referendum has brought the institution back to centre stage, not without a certain encouragement from President Papadopoulos, who made clear it had a role to play.

Should the Church have an opinion on secular affairs? Yes, to the extent that religion cares how we conduct our lives as human beings. Religions have a duty to their faithful to speak out about morality as it impacts on society.

Should it tell us how to vote? Most certainly not. For to do so is an unacceptable interference in our democracy, an abuse of the confidence of the believer, using its undoubted spiritual influence to interfere in how the state is run.

No Church in Western Europe would dream of getting involved to such a degree, but of course the West has undergone a long transformation to achieve the separation of Church and State. Ironically, Chrysostomos II has the centuries of Ottoman rule to thank for shielding Cyprus from the enlightenment and the revolutions that achieved the process in the West.

It was the Ottomans that raised the Church to the position of interlocutor for their subjugated Christian populations, and the British that maintained that status, preferring an Ethnarch to civilian politicians. As he prepares his next intervention in the public sphere, perhaps the Archbishop should spare a prayer for the sultans and the governors that have made such power possible today.??

??

??

??

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007