Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia received, on Friday, February 20, in Belgrade, Bishop Grigorios of Mesaoria, President of the Pilgrimage Office of the Church of Cyprus, as well as Kostas Koumis, Deputy Minister of Tourism of Cyprus. The visit took place on the occasion of the International Tourism Fair, at which Cyprus is the guest of honor.
Patriarch Porfirije referred to his ties with the Church and the people of Cyprus and expressed his interest in developments on the island, particularly regarding the impact of the regional political situation on tourism.
The representatives from Cyprus conveyed the greetings of Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus and noted that the meeting with the Primate of the Church of Serbia was an honor for them.
At the same time, they referred to the difficulties that exist, especially regarding the use of churches in the part of the island not under the control of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as to the impact of the situation in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean on tourism and pilgrimage tourism.
The Patriarch of Serbia underlined the need to strengthen cooperation between the pilgrimage offices of the Church of Serbia (“Dobročinstvo”) and the Church of Cyprus, a proposal that was accepted.
Finally, he referred to the conditions faced by the Church of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija, expressing thanks for Cyprus’s stance in favor of preserving the territorial integrity of Serbia, which was also reaffirmed by Koumis.
Those present at the meeting included the Ambassador of Cyprus, Andreas Fotiou; Thaleia Christodoulidou; Pandelis Ioannidis; the Head of the Office of the Patriarch of Serbia, Protopresbyter Djordje Stojisavljević; and Mladen Andrejić.
