Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL S.Stefanou on the priest’s refusal to mention the name of the hero Kyriakos Papalazarou during the memorial service

 

17 July 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

I want to denounce the attitude of the church priest here in the community of Choletria who stubbornly refused to mention the name of Kyriakos Papalazarou in the memorial service. A hero who fell victim to the terror unleashed by EOKA B in the Paphos metropolis, where he was murdered in cold blood on July 1, 1973. He was murdered to avenge his father Papalazaros who resisted the coup in the Church’s Holy’s Synod against Makarios. We are really enraged that the priest refused to commemorate him.

We angrily denounce this fact and I will say that we are not going to leave the matter at that. I will raise the matter both the Primate of the Church – the Archbishop – and the Bishop of Paphos and ask for explanations as to why the priest did not mention the name of Kyriakos Papalazarou.

I note that until now he was commemorated together with his brother Sotiris who fell defending the homeland. The history of the Papalazarou family is well known for their heroic struggles and resistance to the EOKA B terror and their resistance to the coup. Despite being a student in the Soviet Union and having come to Cyprus for a short holiday, Sotiris ran to defend the Republic of Cyprus against the invasion.

We are outraged by this attitude of a priest who really mustn’t be allowed to stay here.

Question: Do you think this is something organized by the church or an isolated act by this particular cleric?

SS: The priest denied it. Previously both Kyriakos and Sotiris Papalazarou’s names were commemorated. We will raise the matter with the church to find out exactly what happened. We will certainly not rest here.