Cyprus Gifts to Georgian Patriarchate about 13,000 Square Meters of Land
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, January 18
Parliament of Georgia has announced that the government of Cyprus, with the consent of Archbishop of the country Chrysostomos II, has made an “unprecedented” decision to gift 12,295 square meters of land to the Georgian Patriarchate.
The official webpage of the Parliament of Georgia claims that the land will be used for building the largest Georgian monastery complex in Europe.
Representatives from the Georgian patriarchate call the decision “historic” and state that the Georgian church will be freed from the property fee for the land.
A dialogue over the issue had been going on for years and Cyprus made the final decision on January 4, 2018, on the birthday of Georgia’s Patriarch Ilia II, the Parliament of Georgia reported.
The Georgian Dream (GD) ruling party lawmaker Zaza Gabunia stated that Georgia and Cyprus have enjoyed very close cultural and religious ties for centuries.
“The decision will strengthen the very positive relationship,” he said.
Metropolitan Saba Gigiberia stated during the meeting in Parliament that the decision was an exception for Georgia made by Cyprus.
A representative of the Georgian Patriarchate to Cyprus, Archpriest Zakaria Peradze said that it will be the first case when the Georgian Patriarchate will have full jurisdiction on the territory.
The Parliament’s press office praised Georgia’s Ambassador to Cyprus Revaz Lominadze for his role in the negotiating process.
