On 6 March, women and men came together for a one-hour strike in the Buffer Zone, as a protest against gender inequality in Cyprus, under the banner “The Time is Now” for human rights & equality.
As part of the Home for Cooperation family, the Office of RTCYPP joined the 1-hour strike protesting against women’s inequality in Cyprus, violence against women and girls, gender stereotypes and sexism and called for gender equality in power, decision-making and the workplace as well as legal reform to end inequality and discrimination for all women in Cyprus.

16 Days of Activism for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
25.11.2019

Today 25 November marks the International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, and with that the beginning of the global campaign “16 Days of Activism”, concluding in Human Rights Day 10 December. On these and all other days, the Religious Leaders of Cyprus continue to stand up for women’s rights and the elimination of violence, and reiterate the 2017 Joint Statement Condemning All Forms of Violence against Women and Girls.

Autumn High-Level Meeting of the Religious Leaders of Cyprus
19 November 2019

Religious leaders gather at the Swedish Residence in Nicosia for a High Level Meeting of the RTCYPP under the Auspices of the Embassy of Sweden. Ambassador Hagelberg hosted a very constructive lunch meeting, facilitated by Sweden’s Special Envoy on Religion, Peace-building & Conflict, organized by the Office of RTCYPP.

All five leaders of the faith communities of Cyprus were present. HB Archbishop Chrysostomos II was not able to attend the meeting in person due to health reasons. He was represented by HE Bishop Porfyrios of Neapolis. HE Archbishop Soueif was out of the country and was represented by Father Khita.

The meeting made decisions regarding sensitive and crucial items on the agenda of the dialogue. The religious leaders reiterated their resolve to meet more often and work more closely. Ambassador Hagelberg welcomed the decisions of the leaders and reassured them of his governments continued support and accompaniment to the RTCYPP.

Feast of St Chrysostomos
13.11.19

On the occasion of the feast of St Chrysostomos, also the nameday of the Head of the Greek Orthodox Church Of Cyprus, His Excellency Anders Hagelberg, Ambassador of Sweden is warmly welcomed by His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II to the Holy Liturgy at the Cathedral of St John followed by a private audience at the Synodical Hall of the Archbishopric, where the two had an opportunity to discuss the Religious Track. Ambassador Hagelberg congratulated the Archbishop on his name-day and wished him well. His Beatitude expressed his gratitude to the Swedish government for its sincere and long term support to the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process (RTCYPP) which operates under the Auspices of the Embassy of Sweden since 2009. Ambassador Hagelberg was accompanied by the Executive Director of the Office for RTCYPP. 

Photo credit CNA and Office of RTCYPP. 

Name Day celebration of Archbishop Chrysostomos II
12.11.19

Office of the RTCYPP accompanies the Latin, Armenian Orthodox, Maronite and Greek Evangelical Religious leaders and representatives to evening vespers at the Cathedral of St John at the Archbishopric of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, followed by a gathering to celebrate the feast of St Chrysostomos, Nameday of Archbishop Chrysostomos II.

17th Special Pilgrimage to Hala Sultan Tekke

On 11 November 2019, 415 worshippers attended a special pilgrimage to Hala Sultan Tekke on the occasion of Mevlit Kandili (Mawlid al-Nabi), coordinated and overseen by the Office of RTCYPP.

This is one of the three pilgrimages to Hala Sultan Tekke, organised by the Muftiate of Cyprus, taking place annually for Turkish nationals living on the island who otherwise are not able to visit and pray at the most significant mosque in Cyprus.

The three special pilgrimages are part of an unprecedented agreement reached between Archbishop Chrysostomos II and Mufti Talip Atalay in 2014 within the framework of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process under the Auspices of the Embassy of Sweden (RTCYPP) and supported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus.

The crossings are facilitated by the UN and Cyprus Police forces in cooperation with UNFICYP Civil Affairs.

First Holy Liturgy in Church of Panagia of Lysi since 1974
8 Sep 2019

H.E Bishop Porfyrios Of Neapolis officiated the holy liturgy celebrating the birth of Theotokos, mother of Jesus Christ, at the Church of Panagia of Lysi for the first time ever since 1974.

The Church was packed with a thousand worshippers of all ages. H.E. Bishop Porfyrios expressed the appreciation of the Church Of Cyprus and prayed for all who intervened for today’s church service, in particular, “the Office For the RTCYPP for its continuous support and efforts to advance religious freedom in Cyprus”.

The Church of Panagia of Lysi was built in 1888 by Master builder Yiakoumis from the village of Kontea with heavy influences from the medieval Gothic Cathedrals of St Sophia in Nicosia and St Nicholas in Famagusta.

“It was very emotional to witness one of the priests, a native of Lysi and a valued member of the RTCYPP, assisting the liturgy., said Salpy Eskidjian of the Office for the RTCYPP. Father Savvas was only 12 when he last prayed at this church. After decades he had the opportunity to be part of this historic day in the life of his local community and church as their priest.

The worshippers and clerics expressed their gratitude to all who made this day possible in particular to those who supported and approved their application to pray at their Church on this special occasion. Office for the RTCYPP in its turn extended its appreciation to all who cooperated, facilitated and respected the right to worship.

(Photo credits: Office of Bishop Porfyrios of Neapolis and Mr Pavlos Nacouzi)

16th Special Pilgrimage to Hala Sultan Tekke

RTCYPP coordinated pilgrimage to HalaSultanTekke with 305 pilgrims took place on 13 August 2019 led by the Mufti of Cyprus Prof. Dr Talip Atalay on the occasion of Eid al-Adha/Qurban Bayram 2019.

Executive Director of the Office of RTCYPP who oversaw the crossings and pilgrimage thanked His Excellency the Mufti for the excellent organization and extended the greetings and best wishes of the Christian religious leaders of Cyprus, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II, His Eminence Archbishop Khoren Doghramadjian, His Excellency Archbishop Youssef Soueif and the Reverend Father Jerzy Kraj.

Director of Office of RTCYPP winner of International Award for Religious Freedom

U.S. State Department announces on 16 July 2019 that Salpy Eskidjian, Executive Director of the Office of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process Cyprus, is one of the winners of the International Award for Religious Freedom.

Press Release from the U.S. State Department:

"On July 17, Secretary Pompeo will host the State Department’s first-ever International Religious Freedom Awards ceremony to honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world at 6:00 p.m.

The full biographies of the 2019 awardees can be found here and their names are listed below:

• Mohamed Yosaif Abdalrahan of Sudan has worked tirelessly to defend the rights of Sudan’s religious minorities, both in his legal casework and through public advocacy.
• Imam Abubakar Abdullahi of Nigeria selflessly risked his own life to save members of another religious community, who would have likely been killed without his intervention.
• Ivanir dos Santos of Brazil worked exhaustively to support interfaith dialogue, combat discrimination, and create mechanisms for the protection of vulnerable groups.
• William and Pascale Warda of Iraq have devoted their lives to advancing religious freedom and other human rights causes in Iraq.
• Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud of Cyprus has fully committed herself to working with religious leaders, faith-based organizations, and religious communities on a broad range of issues, including religious freedom. She is also one of the architects and facilitators of an unprecedented peacebuilding initiative in Cyprus known as the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process under the Auspices of the Embassy of Sweden based in Nicosia, Cyprus.

This event will be livestreamed on www.state.gov and a press pool will cover the event.

We invite you to use #IRFAwards to follow along with conversations on this year’s awards and #IRFMinisterial for discussions on the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. For press inquiries, please contact IRFMinisterialPress@state.gov."