ARCHBISHOP TAKING STEPS ON INTER-FAITH TALKS,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NICOSIA 000282

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR EUR/SE MCLEGG-TRIPP AND EMELLINGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM CY
SUBJECT: ARCHBISHOP TAKING STEPS ON INTER-FAITH TALKS,
CHURCH RE-ORG, AND TIP

REF: A. A) NICOSIA 75


B. B) 06 NICOSIA 2055


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Recent Cyprus developments on inter-faith
dialogue, Church re-organization, and the fight against
trafficking in persons (TIP) dominated discussion at a March
22 meeting between Poloff and Archbishopric official Bishop
Vasilios. In a pleasant surprise, new Archbishop
Chrysostomos was displaying continued willingness, even
initiative, in engaging the Turkish Cypriot religious leader,
Vasilios thought. On Church politics, Chrysostomos was
honoring November commitments that had brought him the
throne, creating new bishoprics and freeing his flock "from
outside interference." TIP, too, was winning the Church's
attention, with Chrysostomos, as the Ambassador had urged in
Ref B, soon to employ the bully pulpit to combat human
trafficking on the island, Vasilios revealed. End summary.

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On Archbishop Meeting the Mufti
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2. (SBU) Bishop Vasilios -- advisor to Archbishop
Chrysostomos II and responsible for international and
ecumenical relations of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus
-- followed up March 22 with PolOff on issues discussed first
in January (Ref A). Vasilios voiced surprise at how
"forward-leaning" the new Archbishop had been in reaching out
to Turkish Cypriot Mufti Ahmet Yonluer, and confirmed that
the religious leaders' February 21 meeting was positive and
fruitful. The Archbishop had pushed for greater inter-faith
dialogue upon assuming the throne in November 2006, Vasilios
claimed, and regretted his missteps at a December press
conference that led to Yonluer postponing their planned
get-together. Their February meeting at Ledra Palace in the
buffer zone, which visiting Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly (PACE) President Rene van der Linden had brokered,
gave both sides the opportunity to try again for dialogue,
Vasilios asserted.


3. (SBU) Of the two religious leaders, Yonluer was in the
more difficult position vis-a-vis inter-communal contacts,
Vasilios opined. The Mufti continued to receive considerable
criticism within the Turkish Cypriot community for meeting
with the Archbishop and "going beyond" his local religious
authority. Vasilios saw signs of resentment and distrust
from everyday Turkish Cypriots to any gestures toward the
Orthodox Church; Greek Cypriots, on the other hand, had
reacted positively to Chrysostomos's T/C outreach.


4. (SBU) The Archbishop had a clear agenda going into the
February 21 meeting, Vasilios explained: push Yonluer to
allow the Church to restore long-neglected (and often
ransacked) village churches and monasteries, and secure the
return of priests to some of these sites in order to conduct
regular services. The leaders did discuss the possible
return of priests to St. Barnabas Monastery, Vasilios noted,
in exchange for the permanent posting of an imam at the Hala
Sultan Tekke mosque in Larnaca. Additionally, Yonluer
promised a plan to protect the churches, but offered no
specifics. Despite the Mufti's interest, Vasilios doubted
quick action on the part of Turkish Cypriots, raising again
their "resentment and distrust" that bound Yonluer's hands.
Chrysostomos and his T/C religious counterpart would reunite
soon, although no fixed date had been discussed.


5. (SBU) The Archbishop wants to meet soon with key
ambassadors in Nicosia, including Ambassador Schlicher,
Vasilios noted. Chrysostomos hoped to pitch a low-key
lobbying campaign to convince Turkish Cypriot authorities to
adopt a practical way to restore Greek Cypriot churches.
"The Church is just interested in saving these holy sites,"
Vasilios stressed. Both sides' antiquities departments had
frustrated pragmatic solutions and compromise, he lamented,
without further elaboration.

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A Truly Self-governing Church
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6. (U) Inter-faith dialogue had taken a back seat to internal
matters in recent days, Vasilios revealed, owing mainly to
commitments the Archbishop had made during his campaign for
the throne. In name "autocephalous," the Church of Cyprus
had not been so since the Frankish occupation of the island

NICOSIA 00000282 002 OF 002


in the 12th century, he contended. Every time the Holy Synod
needed to make key decisions, most recently to remove the
incapacitated Archbishop, Church leaders were forced to
invite "outsiders" to meet the 13-bishop quorum. To correct
this deficiency, Chrysostomos was directing a reorganization
effort that had added six new metropolitans (bishops with
geographic authority) and two assistant bishops to the
ecclesiastical organization chart.


7. (SBU) Three of the six metropolitanates -- Famagusta,
Karpasia, and Trimithus -- fall partially or entirely within
the Turkish Cypriot-administered area. History, not secular
politics, underpinned the decision to establish these
particular jurisdictions, Vasilios argued. "Some existed as
far back as 800 years ago," he explained, adding that the
Church did not aim to provoke ill-will with Turkish Cypriots
by creating "occupied" bishoprics. While too diplomatic to
admit electioneering quid-pro-quo, Vasilios did not refute
the widely-held suspicion that a fourth new district,
Kykko/Tylliria, had come into existence solely as payback to
Kykko Monastery's Bishop Nikiforos, whose votes helped
elevate Chrysostomos to power in November.

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A United Orthodox Front Against TIP
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8. (U) Turning to TIP, Vasilios revealed that, after
receiving the Embassy's January briefing, he raised the
problem with the Archbishop. Chrysostomos had vowed to take
action immediately. The primate began by appointing Father
Isaiah -- a former International Visitors Program grantee now
slated for Trimithus or Kykko -- as coordinator of the
Church's anti-TIP efforts. The Church had already engaged
the International Organization on Migration's Athens office
for ideas on how it might combat the problem most
effectively. The Archbishop intended to fold IOM input into
an action plan, Vasilios noted. In addition, Father Isaiah
soon would accompany a Cypriot delegation, comprised of a
judge, Interior Ministry and National Police officials, and
NGO leaders, to a meeting with IOM officials in Athens. The
session was part a European Public Law Center project that
aimed to align 11 countries' trafficking regulations with the
EU Acquis.


9. (SBU) Vasilios next raised an idea that had seized the
Archbishop's imagination: an anti-TIP conference of all
Orthodox churches to be hosted by the Church of Cyprus.
Vasilios, who had become well-versed on the subject, noted
that the conference would engage religious authorities in TIP
source, transit and destination countries. Chrysostomos
would use this platform to speak out on TIP for the first
time, joined by his counterparts from Central, Southern and
Eastern Europe. Church action against trafficking was an
ethical imperative, Vasilios avowed, as the institution was
the custodian of Cyprus' moral compass and protector of
family values on the island. Vasilios was surprised,
therefore, at mention that some GOC officials publicly
shrugged off TIP's negative effects, and the need for
government commitment to fight trafficking.

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COMMENT
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10. (SBU) Archbishop Chrysostomos has taken praiseworthy baby
steps on matters that interest us, from inter-faith dialogue
to TIP. Having toned down the anti-Turkish rhetoric that
once brought him limelight, at times he appears almost
progressive. Like a clever politician, however, Chrysostomos
has avoided taking stances that expose him to real criticism
or controversy. He will have to leave this comfort zone to
effect real change in the aforementioned areas, however -- a
move we aim to support.

SCHLICHER