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Cyprus ThoughtsWhen Father Gregory asked me to write an article on the subject of "The spiritual side of my visits to Cyprus", I thought at once 'Ah, I've got to be careful here'. Apart from being a very special place to me personally, Cyprus is a brilliant place to go for holidays. The Cyprus Tourist Board says 'Nobody ever goes to Cyprus just once'. I know for a fact that isn't true; my cousin went once and hated it. So, one man's meat, another's poison. The other thing is the interest factor (or lack of it). Whilst my family and I enjoy doing the usual touristy things, you don't want to hear about them because other people's holidays are insufferably boring - aren't they ? But there is another side to my wish to continue going back to Cyprus. The Orthodox Church is becoming established here in Britain and, whilst our growth may be a gradual process, more and more people are inquisitive about what Orthodoxy has to offer. This sounds like shopping for a religion, searching the supermarket shelves for the one which contains the built-in fabric softener; but it isn't. It's more a question of returning to our roots. When one becomes Orthodox, there is a feeling of closeness to God through timelessness. In the words of the hymn ' A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone'. The dimension of time does not exist in the Kingdom of God and so Orthodox find it strange when some of our Christian brothers and sisters feel there is a need to bring things up to date, so as to attract people into their churches. A great Orthodox theologian once said 'The present day is not the normative period; the Apostolic Age is'. So, living in the UK, where the only Orthodox presence I can feel is in church, a visit to an Orthodox country serves to charge my spiritual batteries, because the all-pervading feeling, particularly at Easter and other religous 'Highs' is that this is the way Christians have worshipped since the time of Jesus. That isn't to say nothing has changed. We read in The Acts of the Apostles that S. Paul journeyed through the island of Cyprus from Salamis to Paphos preaching in all the synagogues. Salamis is under the control of the Turkish army now and he would not be allowed to cross into the Free Areas. There are no synagogues in Cyprus today and Paphos is a thriving holiday resort. But what is re-assuring to see is the number of new churches - some of them still under construction - all of which are embracing the traditional Orthodoxy which has come down to us through the centuries from Paul and the rest of the Apostles. Then again, we can't claim to be living like the apostles in the strict sense of the word. Our churches are lit by electricity for one thing. But surely God would wish us to use those things which, through His grace, mankind has developed sufficient intelligence to invent. It could even be argued that we have a duty to maximise the good things about life in the modern world, to the Glory of God. None of that should necessitate any departure from the basic tenets of our Christian Faith. God is still God. His Son was born for us and died for us. That is thankfully unalterable - the gift of God endures from age to age. It is a moving experience to stand in a village church in Cyprus (or any other Orthodox country) and watch the congregation (albeit many of them elderly) worshipping God in the way that generations before them have done. Preservation of tradition is everything to those people. Many a young priest or cantor has found himself being berated by a four foot six grandmother, dressed from head to foot in black, because he didn't get it quite right. On Sunday mornings, in the stillness among the groves of citrus fruit and low-roofed, whitewalled houses, you hear the sonorous tone of a single bell and shortly afterwards the cantors and choir begin to chant. Then it is time to go to church. I won't say everyone goes; it's high days and holidays for some there as well, bogged down as they are in the cares and pressures of the modern world. But children with their uncomplicated minds and old people who have retired from hubbub, do find peace and a sense of right in Church, just as they do everywhere. One of the first things I do when I get to Cyprus is go to St.Lazarus Cathedral in Larnaca and thank God for bringing me back to the island. One of the last things before I get on the plane homeis to go back there and pray that He will bring me back again soon. John Moore |
