Arhiepiscopul Hrisostom al II-lea al Ciprului – un păstor dinamic și misionar*

Biserica Ortodoxă Română a primit, cu profundă tristeţe, vestea plecării din această lume a preaiubitului nostru frate în Hristos şi coliturghisitor, vrednicul de pomenire Hrisostom al II-lea, Arhiepiscopul Noii Iustiniana și al întregului Cipru.

Dăruit de Dumnezeu cu harisme deosebite pentru împlinirea misiunii sfinte de arhipăstor dinamic, Arhiepiscopul Hrisostom al II-lea s-a preocupat de păstrarea şi promovarea credinţei şi a etosului ortodox, concretizate într-o permanentă grijă pastorală și misionară pentru credincioșii Bisericii Ciprului. Preafericirea Sa a fost, în acelaşi timp, atent la transformările culturale şi de mentalitate din lumea contemporană, afectată de multiple crize, în domeniul social, economic și sanitar, precum și în domeniul spiritual. În timpul păstoririi sale, prin întreaga sa activitate, Arhiepiscopul Hrisostom al II-lea a fost un păstor dinamic și un misionar harnic în viața Bisericii pe care a păstorit-o timp de 16 ani. Astfel, vrednicul de pomenire Arhiepiscop Hrisostom al II-lea a reînnoit Statutul de organizare al Bisericii Ciprului, a înființat o Facultate de Teologie a Bisericii pentru pregătirea clerului, a contribuit la creșterea numărului membrilor Sfântului Sinod prin reactivarea, după 800 de ani, a unor vechi centre episcopale și a înființat un fond pentru asigurarea unor condiții decente de existență a clericilor săraci din Biserica Ciprului.

Credincios următor rugăciunii Domnului „ca toţi să fie una” (Ioan 17, 21), Arhiepiscopul Hrisostom al II-lea al Ciprului s-a remarcat ca fervent apărător şi susţinător atât al unităţii panortodoxe, cât şi al eforturilor de dialog și cooperare practică pe plan intercreştin și interreligios. A fost foarte activ la întâlnirile Sinaxelor Întâistătătorilor Bisericilor Ortodoxe, în vederea pregătirii Sfântului și Marelui Sinod al Bisericii Ortodoxe din Creta (2016).  

Totodată, a manifestat o atitudine frățească și prietenoasă față de  Biserica Ortodoxă Română şi poporul român, în general. De asemenea, a arătat iubire părintească pastorală românilor ortodocși stabiliți în Cipru, în special față de reprezentantul nostru, părintele Matei Petre. În plus, Arhiepiscopul Hrisostom al II-lea a primit cu bucurie mai mulți clerici români, care, cu binecuvântarea noastră, slujesc în parohii ale Bisericii Ciprului, fiind un exemplu concret de cooperare și întrajutorare fraternă ortodoxă.

Pentru tot ceea ce a reprezentat Arhiepiscopul Hrisostom al II-lea, fratele nostru în Hristos, pentru întreaga Ortodoxie şi pentru cooperarea între popoare, aducem un pios omagiu de recunoştinţă și ne rugăm Domnului Iisus Hristos, Arhiereul Veșnic, să odihnească sufletul său în lumina, pacea și iubirea Preasfintei Treimi.

Veşnica lui pomenire din neam în neam!

† Daniel

Patriarhul Bisericii Ortodoxe Române

* Mesajul Preafericitului Părinte Daniel, Patriarhul Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, la slujba de înmormântare a Preafericitului Părinte Hrisostom al II-lea, Arhiepiscopul Noii Iustiniana și al întregului Cipru, 12 noiembrie 2022.

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Ο Μακαριώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κύπρου κ. Χρυσόστομος Β΄– δυναμικός και ιεραποστολικός ποιμενάρχης[*]

Η Ορθόδοξος Εκκλησία της Ρουμανίας δέχθηκε, με βαθιά θλίψη, την είδηση της εκδημίας του αειμνήστου Μακαριωτάτου Αρχιεπισκόπου Νέας Ιουστινιανής και Πάσης Κύπρου κ.κ. Χρυσοστόμου Β΄, πεφιλημένου μας αδελφού εν Χριστώ και συλλειτουργού.

Λαμβάνοντας από τον Θεό εξαιρετικά χαρίσματα για την εκπλήρωση του δυναμικού και ιερού ποιμαντορικού έργου ως αρχιποιμένας, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Χρυσόστομος Β΄ φρόντισε για την διαφύλαξη και την προώθηση της πίστης και του ορθοδόξου ήθους, κατορθώνοντας  να φροντίζει πνευματικά τους πιστούς της Ορθοδόξου Εκκλησίας της Κύπρου.

Ο Μακαριστός Αρχιεπίσκοπος, ταυτοχρόνως, υπήρξε προσεκτικός στις πνευματικές και νοοτροπικές αλλαγές  του σύγχρονου κόσμου, επηρεασμένο από τις πολλαπλές κοινωνικές, οικονομικές, υγειονομικές και πνευματικές κρίσεις. Κατά την περίοδο αρχιποιμαντορίας του, δια μέσου του έργου του, ο Μακαριστός Αρχιεπίσκοπος Χρυσόστομος Β΄ υπήρξε δυναμικός ποιμένας και φιλόπονος ιεραπόστολος  στην ζωή της Εκκλησίας  την οποία ποίμαινε για 16 χρόνια. Τοιούτω τρόπω, ο αείμνηστος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Χρυσόστομος Β΄ ανανέωσε τον Καταστατικό Χάρτη της Εκκλησίας της Κύπρου, ίδρυσε την Θεολογική Σχολή της Εκκλησίας για την μόρφωση του κλήρου, συνέβαλε στην αύξηση του αριθμού των μελών της Ιεράς Συνόδου  με την επανενεργοποίηση, μετά από 800 χρόνια, των παλαιών επισκοπικών κέντρων και ίδρυσε ταμείον για την εξασφάλιση καλύτερων συνθηκών ζωής για τους φτωχούς κληρικούς της Εκκλησίας της Κύπρου.

Πιστός στην προσευχή του Κυρίου ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν (Κατά Ιωάννην 17, 21), ο Μακαριστός Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κύπρου κ. Χρυσόστομο Β΄ υπήρξε εξαιρετικός προστάτης και υποστηρικτής της πανορθοδόξου ενότης, όπως και των προσπαθειών διαλόγου και συνεργασίας σε διαχριστιανικό και διαθρησκειακό επίπεδο. Ήταν πόλυ δραστήριος στις Συνάξεις των Προκαθημένων των Ορθοδόξων Εκκλησιών  σε ότι αφορά την προετοιμασίαν της Αγίας και Μεγάλης Συνόδου της Ορθοδόξου Εκκλησίας εκ Κρήτης (2016).

Συνάμα, ανέδειξε αδελφική και φιλική στάση προς την Ορθόδοξο Εκκλησία της Ρουμανίας όπως και προς τον Ρουμανικόν λαόν, γενικά. Επίσης, έδειξε ποιμαντορική και πατρική αγάπη προς τους ορθόδοξους Ρουμάνους που εγκαταστάθηκαν στην Κύπρο, ειδικά προς τον εκπρόσωπό μας, τον Πατέρα Πέτρο Ματέι. Υπεράνω, ο Μακαριστός Αρχιεπίσκοπος Χρυσόστομος Β΄ δέχθηκε με μεγάλη χαρά πολλούς Ρουμάνους κληρικούς οι οποίοι, με την ευλογία μας, λειτουργούν σε ενορίες της Εκκλησίας της Κύπρου, και έτσι έγινε αληθινό παράδειγμα συνεργασίας και αδελφικής ορθόδοξης αλληλοβοηθείας.

Για όλα όσα εκπροσώπησε ο Μακαριστός Αρχιεπίσκοπος Χρυσόστομος Β΄, ο εν Χριστώ μας αδελφός, για ολόκληρη την Ορθοδοξία και για την συνεργασία μεταξύ των λαών, αποτινουμε σήμερα ταπεινόν φόρον ευγνωμοσύνης και προσευχόμαστε στον Κύριον μας Ιησούν Χριστον, ο αιώνιος Αρχιερεύς, ίνα αναπαύσει την ψυχή αυτου εν τω φωτί, τη ειρήνη και τη αγάπη της Παναγίας Τριάδος.

Χρυσοστόμου, του Μακαριστού, Αρχιεπισκόπου Κύπρου Αιωνία η μνήμη αυτού!

†ΔΑΝΙΗΛ

Πατριάρχης της Ορθοδόξου Ρουμανικής Εκκλησίας

[*] Το μήνυμα του Μακαριωτάτου Πατριάρχη Ρουμανίας κ.κ. Δανιήλ στην εκδημία του Μακαριωτάτου Αρχιεπισκόπου Νέας Ιουστινιανής και Πάσης Κύπρου, κ.κ. Χρυσοστόμου Β΄,            12 Νοεμβρίου 2022.

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Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus –

a dynamic and missionary shepherd[*]

The Romanian Orthodox Church has received, with deep sadness, the news of the departure from this world of our beloved brother in Christ and concelebrant, the worthy of remembrance Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus.

Gifted by God with special charisms for fulfilling the holy mission of a dynamic archpastor, Archbishop Chrysostomos II was concerned with preserving and promoting the Orthodox faith and ethos, embodied in a permanent pastoral and missionary care for the believers of the Church of Cyprus. His Beatitude was, at the same time, attentive to the cultural and mentality transformations in the contemporary world, affected by multiple crises, in the social, economic and sanitary fields, as well as in the spiritual field. During his service, through his entire activity, Archbishop Chrysostomos II was a dynamic shepherd and a diligent missionary in the life of the Church he pastorally cared for 16 years. Thus, the worthy of remembrance Archbishop Chrysostomos II renewed the Charter of the Church of Cyprus, established a Theological Faculty for the training of the clergy of his Church, contributed to the increasing of the number of the Holy Synod members by reactivating, after 800 years, some old episcopal centres and set up a fund for ensuring decent living conditions for the poor clergy in the Church of Cyprus.

Faithfully following the Lord’s prayer „that all may be one” (John 17: 21), Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus stood out as a fervent defender and supporter of both pan-Orthodox unity, as well as promoter of the efforts for dialogue and practical cooperation at inter-Christian and inter-religious levels. He has been very active at the Synaxes of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches, in preparation of the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, in Crete (2016).

At the same time, he has manifested a fraternal and friendly attitude towards the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian people, in general. He has, also, shown, in particular, pastoral parental love towards the Romanian Orthodox faithful settled in Cyprus, towards our representative, reverend father Matei Petre. Moreover, Archbishop Chrysostomos II gladly received several Romanian clerics, who, with our blessing, serve in parishes of the Church of Cyprus, being a concrete example of Orthodox cooperation and fraternal help.

For everything that our brother in Christ, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, represented for the entire Orthodoxy and for the cooperation between peoples, we offer a pious tribute of gratitude and pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest, to rest his soul in the light, peace and love of the Most Holy Trinity.

May his memory be eternal from generation to generation!

† DANIEL

Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church

[*] Message of His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, at the funeral service of His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus, 12 November 2022.