Church of Cyprus to preach Russians against leaving
Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos announced he will hold meetings with Russian entrepreneurs who invest on the island to avert their departure. He added that Cypriots should also learn to live a tighter life.
The leader of the Church of Cyprus said after the Sunday mass in Nicosia that on Thursday he is going to host a dinner with the chiefs of Russian companies that are active in Cyprus to convince them against taking their money away from the island so that the situation does not deteriorate further.
He added that he intends to remind them that their capital has for a long time been growing through interest, they have benefitted from their presence in Cyprus and that had they gone to another country the interest they would have got would have been just above zero.
Chrysostomos reiterated that the previous government, of Demetris Christofias, should stand trial for bringing the country to this dire financial situation. “They should all be punished,” he stated.
He went on to say that Cypriot people have got used to living comfortably, and should now learn to live on tighter budgets as well.
Church of Cyprus is the island’s biggest investor and the major stakeholder in the country’s third bank, Hellenic, which is far healthier than Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank (also known as Laiki).
It has traditionally been involved in Cypriot politics,since Archbishop Makarios led the Greek Cypriot community’s effort for its liberation from British colonial rule in the 1950s and the island’s unification with Greece.
