Archbishop Demetrios of America sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dated December 30, 2010 bringing to the Secretary’s attention the “disturbing and painful” event which happened on Christmas Day in the small church of Saint Synesios in the town of Rizokarpaso in the northern Turkish occupied territory of Cyprus.
In his letter, he shortly describes the forceful interruption of the Christmas Divine Liturgy by “police officers” of the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime and decries these actions as a blatant violation of religious freedom and human rights of the Orthodox faithful. He states that these actions are in direct opposition to long established agreements of the Third Vienna Agreement of August 1975, of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
He further states: “As always, Madame Secretary, we gratefully count on your effective action, so that international laws on religious freedom and human rights are not violated, and similar incidents do not occur again in Cyprus or in any other part of the world.”
Archbishop Demetrios also has issued the following statement on the New Year’s Day bombing of a Coptic Christian Church in Alexandria, Egypt:
“This barbaric act of religious hatred violates every civilized and human sentiment, as well as any and all spiritual values. All people of faith are obliged to absolutely reject this atrocity and this offense against God and humanity. We extend our deepest sympathies, thought and prayers to our Coptic brothers and sisters in Egypt and around the world. Their noble legacy and traditions will not only survive this act of terror, but they shall also endure and flourish, while these despicable acts of terror will be consigned to the dustbin of history.”
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