Newsroom
After a seven-year break, former residents of Lapithos were able to return to the occupied town on Sunday, 8 February, to attend a Divine Liturgy at the church of Agios Theodoros, held on the saint’s feast day.
The service marked the third time the Municipality of Lapithos has managed to secure permission for worship to take place in the historic church, located in what is considered the town’s largest parish in the Kyrenia district. According to local authorities, the latest effort to organize the liturgy was initiated following the push of Mayor Soula Mourettou and the municipal council.
The liturgy was officiated by Father Konstantinos from the parish of Agios Stylianos in Aspres, Strovolos, and Father Georgios from the parish of Apostle Barnabas in Kokkinotrithia, an area under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Kyrenia, led by Metropolitan Chrysostomos.
Around 120 people attended the service, including Lapithos residents and visitors. Organizers reported that the process proceeded without incident. The gathering was described as emotionally charged, with participants reconnecting after many years and one woman returning to her family home to cut a branch of almond blossom, a gesture that brought back memories of life in Lapithos before the 1974 invasion.
