The bishop Morphou spoke about Orthodox believers and the risks of buying property in Northern Cyprus

The head of one of the four metropolises located in the northern part of Cyprus, Bishop Morphou Neofit, spoke about the problems faced by Orthodox believers in the TRNC and the risks that may arise when buying property in Northern Cyprus.

The priest shared this in an interview with a correspondent from the Russian news agency TASS.

Answering a question about the difficulties faced by Russian Orthodox believers living in northern Cyprus who would like to attend church services in Orthodox churches in the south of the country, the priest emphasized that the Russian embassy should take the initiative in this matter.

"We, the heads of the occupied metropolises — the Metropolitan of Constantinople and Famagusta, the Metropolitan of Morphou, the Metropolitan of Kyrenia, and the Bishop of Karpasia — are pleased that our Orthodox brothers also live in the north, in need of sacred Orthodox liturgy and visits to free areas of Cyprus for pilgrimage. According to our data, not only Russians live in the northern part, but also about 17 thousand Orthodox Romanians," the bishop said.

At the same time, the head of the metropolis emphasized that this problem is multi-level and concerns not only the fact that Russians living in the northern part of the island have the right to freedom of religion.

"We hear that they are buying land, building houses, and hotels. I have a question: whose land are they buying, who is its rightful owner? A Turk who is an occupier and who illegally sells it?" the priest asked.

The bishop added that Russians living in Northern Cyprus should be very careful about whose land they are buying.

"The day may come when several thousand Russians with homes there suddenly find themselves on land that does not belong to them. This land belongs to Greek Cypriots. Freedom of religion is one of the fundamental human rights. However, there is also the right to private property," Bishop Morphou Neofit concluded.

It is worth recalling that in the same interview, the priest admitted that he "respects" Russian President Vladimir Putin "at every liturgy."