The priest refused to mention the name of the hero Kyriakos Papalazarou in Choletria

 

17 July 2022, “Haravgi’ newspaper

The stand of the village priest towards the hero Kyriakos Papalazarou has provoked upheaval in the village of Choletria by refusing to refer to his name during a memorial service.

The incident was denounced via Twitter by the General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou, who said it was an outrage.

“A disgrace and shameful. The priest in Choletria refused to refer to the name of the hero Kyriakos Papalazarou at the memorial service. Totally unacceptable attitude that enranged to family and those present. I have denounced the incident and will raise the issue with the Archdiocese and the Paphos Metropolis”.

Sotiris and Kyriakos Papalazarou were children of the family of the priest Neofytos Papalazarou in Choletra.

The former, at the age of 20, was killed on July 20, 1974, on the day of Turkey’s invasion.

The second was murdered in cold blood in the Paphos metropolis while he was a boarder there by the guard of the metropolis and a member of EOKA B. He was just 17 years old.

Their memorial service was held today in their village of Choletria. While the “priest” of the church was conducting the memorial service he avoided mentioning Kyriakos’ name and despite the family’s constant reminders he continued in a provocative manner not to mention his name, the General Secretary of AKEL pointed out later in statements.

“It is both a shame and a provocation for a representative of the church to behave in this way and to exercise his duties at will. The church must be held directly accountable whether this behaviour is an isolated incident or whether this is its own policy.”

It is even more provocative for anyone to behave in such a way towards a family that has lost two children defending democracy and for the freedom of this country, he said

“Any attempts by anyone to falsify history will find us confronting them.”