Planned Cathedral will be Slavic not Byzantine
31/3/2010
By Helen Christophi
THE CATHEDRAL the Church plans to build inside Nicosia’s walled city will be Slavic and not Byzantine , which is unacceptable, a committee of university professors under the auspices of the Technical Chamber ETEK said yesterday.
Dr. George Panetsos of the University of Patra in Greece, Dr. Socrates Stratis of the University of Cyprus and Dr. Haris Feraiou, who also teaches in Cyprus, have studied the architectural plans of the proposed cathedral and compiled data supporting their conclusions.
They plan to present them to Archbishop Chrysostomos at a meeting in the coming days in order to explain their conclusions in greater detail.
“The report focuses on some elements we also noted, because we also had the opportunity to relay to the Archbishop our impression that the style of the cathedral is not related to the traditional characteristics of the Walled City,” said Nicosia mayor Eleni Mavrou.
“Of course, the professors are in a better position to support this view but personally I feel the report scientifically supports the remarks we have already relayed to the Archbishop that the characteristics, style and size of the cathedral cannot be accepted in the walled city,” she said.
Archbishop Chrysostomos has not yet responded to the municipality’s comments, said Mavrou.
Municipal engineer Agni Petridou said despite the municipality’s and ETEK’s opinions, “the Church says it is Byzantine.”
Mavrou said that while she does not know why the Church has chosen an allegedly Slavic style for the new cathedral she surmises it has done so because “some people feel it is more elaborate and impressive” than those of the Greek Orthodox tradition.
The issue of building a new cathedral is currently under discussion by the town planning committee of the Municipality of Nicosia.
So far, the committee has heard opinions by several interested parties regarding the design and building of the cathedral and may make a final decision on whether to give it the green light as early as next month, although discussions are likely to last longer, according to Mavrou.
Several organised groups and a plethora of individuals have voiced opposition to the cathedral being built in the Old Town, arguing that it will pervert the character and historicity of the existing architecture, said Mavrou.
Mavrou said she proposed to the Archbishop that the Church instead use one of the historical churches located in the old town, such as Phaneromeni church, as a cathedral instead of building a new one, but the Archbishop has not been receptive to the idea.
