Kykkos, Cyprus. A memorial service was held on Sunday for Archbishop Makarios III, the first president of the Republic of Cyprus, 49 years after his death.
Political and church leaders, along with representatives from across society, attended the service at Kykkos monastery, where Makarios was buried.
Tribute to Makarios
Limassol Mayor Yiannis Armeftis said Makarios’ life followed a path from Panayia in Paphos, where he was born in 1913, through Kykkos monastery, the Pancyprian Gymnasium, Athens, Boston, the Metropolis of Kition and the Archdiocese before reaching the Presidential Palace.
Armeftis said Makarios’ career was marked by challenges, responsibilities and historic decisions.
He noted that Makarios was elected Archbishop in 1950 and assumed a role extending beyond the Church. As the last Ethnarch in the primary political-religious sense of the term, he was both a spiritual leader and a political representative of Cypriot Hellenism, Armeftis said.
Message on Cyprus
The mayor opened his address with a phrase from Makarios’ final speech: “The peoples who want to live and struggle to live are not lost”.
He said the words reflected Makarios’ belief that the people of Cyprus had the right to live free.
Armeftis said Makarios chose Kykkos monastery as his burial place so that, in death, his gaze could encompass the whole of Cyprus.
Political legacy
Armeftis said it was impossible to discuss Cyprus’ history without referring to Makarios.
During his presidency, he said, the Republic of Cyprus was consolidated, strengthened its international presence and developed a strong voice in the international community.
Makarios elevated the Cyprus problem into an international political issue and secured recognition of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as broad support for the struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Armeftis said.
He described Makarios as intelligent and charismatic, calm and moderate in speech but firm in his principles.
Armeftis said the legacy of major leaders should not only be honoured in words, but should be applied as a lasting guide for the country’s future.
