Cyprus is no stranger to evacuation crises. It has long been the safest staging post for those fleeing from imminent danger
In the last evacuation from Lebanon, the churches played an important role in receiving the refugees, calming them and offering hospitality. Bishop Sean, Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, who travelled through Beirut airport en route from Baghdad to Larnaca on Monday saw for himself the havoc that is being wrought there. He has written to embassies on the Island pledging the Church's full support should the need arise again, and has written to the churches in Cyprus to inform them. The full text of his letter is below
The Diocese has a special relationship with NEST, the Near East School of Theology in West Beirut. The Rev'd Dr Rima Nasrallah writes,
The bombs are coming closer and closer. And the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people are roaming the streets around us. Some are hosted in public schools others are sleeping in their cars in the parking lot across from us. We cannot host at NEST as we have our students and residents, and we are at full capacity. But we are connected to all kinds of initiatives and the students are thinking of ways to help.