English Supplement

The passage of a legend

On Friday the 9th of February, at the age of 99, Father Antonios Terzi, the legend Maronite priest from Kormakitis died, shortly after he was rushed to the Nicosia General Hospital suffering from breathing problems. The news of his sudden death brought great sorrow to his fellow Maronites all over Cyprus, especially amongst the people of Kormakiti. Although at the very last stage of his life, Fr Antoun as he was broadly known, was in a very good shape. Until the last days of his life he continued his routine everyday life, which included prayer, careful diet, having guests in the house, everyday update on local and international news and early sleep. His last appearance in St George’s Cathedral in Kormakiti, the cathedral he had served for more than 75 years, was last Christmas.

Fr Antoun, coming from a poor family of Kormakiti, was ordained priest in 1931 at the age of 24 after completing his theological studies in Beirut and in Rome. He served as parish priest in all four Maronite villages in Cyprus. He also served as parish priest in Larnaka and Famagusta.

During his entire life as a priest, Fr Antoun was fully committed to his duty serving God through the church and the people. As he said during an interview with our newspaper in November 2001, “duty requires sacrifices. If you accept responsibility you must be ready to make sacrifices”.

The legend priest of the Maronites will be mostly remembered for his service after the tragic events that happened in Cyprus during 1974. As we all know, Fr Antonios stayed in Kormakiti with a few hundred other villagers. Despite the difficult days of that time, his words were always full of courage and hope. “Never leave your village. Never leave your homes. Never leave our churches, our cemeteries. Never leave our land. St George will help us. St George will protect us. He will never leave Kormakitis alone”.

Fr Antonios Terzi was buried at Kormakitis on Monday February 11, 2007. Hundreds of people, headed by H. B. Archbishop Butros Jemayel Maronite Archbishop in Cyprus, attended the short funeral service in St George’s Cathedral.

09/02/2007