NICOSIA, Cyprus – The largest haul of looted, centuries-old church icons, frescoes and mosaics ever repatriated to Cyprus were officially welcomed Tuesday after a nearly four-decade journey.
A ceremony marked the return of the 173 items that were stolen from Orthodox and Maronite Christian churches in the Turkish Cypriot northern part Cyprus. The island was ethnically split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.
“The Church of Cyprus is joyous that after 40 years, the largest number of stolen treasures is coming back home, to their homeland,” said Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the head of the island’s Orthodox Christian Church. Chrysostomos also thanked retired Pope Benedict XVI for his assistance in the repatriation.