On Sunday, 25 January 2026, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, solemnly erected a new parish in Cyprus under the patronage of Saint Nicholas.
The newly established parish brings together the faithful of Kyrenia, Famagusta, Nicosia, and Lefke, men and women of diverse languages, cultures, and backgrounds, now gathered as one community in Christ.
At the entrance, a delegation of bishops, clergy, and parishioners welcomed His Beatitude, as young members of the community offered him flowers as a sign of gratitude for his pastoral presence. Upon reaching the church doors, he was vested with the stole and blessed the place with holy water, entrusting the new parish to God’s grace for the good of the Church in Cyprus.
Children presenting flowers in welcome to His Beatitude.
The liturgical celebration, which coincided with the Sunday of the Word of God, was concelebrated by Mgr. Bruno Varriano, Patriarchal Vicar of Cyprus; His Excellency Monsignor Selim Sfeir, Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus; and His Excellency Mgr. Elias Zaidan, Maronite Bishop of Los Angeles, and attended by His Excellency Porphyrios Mahairiotis, Orthodox Bishop of Neapolis; the Most Reverend Monsignor Giorgio Chezza, Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Cyprus; the Reverend Teles Tsinoglou, Pastor of the Evangelical Church of Cyprus; and Ms. Salpy E. Weideruun, Director of the Religious Track in Cyprus, together with numerous priests, religious, and faithful. The Mass was enlivened with the help of two seminarians from the Beit Jala Seminary, Salameh Azar and Fayez Zyadat.
During the Eucharistic celebration, Mgr. Varriano read the official decree of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem formally establishing the new Parish of Saint Nicholas in Nicosia, accompanied by a letter from the Custos of the Holy Land. Then the Patriarch handed the Seal of the New Parish to Fr. Andrew Arhin, OFM, who was entrusted with the pastoral responsibility for the parish supported by two vicar priests.
Mgr. Bruno Varriano reading the official decree aloud to the assembled faithful.
In his homily, Cardinal Pizzaballa addressed the faithful of the newly erected Parish, as he reflected on the mystery of new beginnings, recalling how Jesus inaugurates His ministry at the moment of John the Baptist’s imprisonment. What might appear as failure, he explained, is in fact a handing over for the sake of the Gospel, revealing that “the Church is never born from human triumph, but always from a fidelity that passes through trial.” In this light, the newly erected Parish of Saint Nicholas is not the fruit of an ideal or perfected project, but of a concrete history in which the Gospel continues to generate life within the complexity of human stories.
Focusing on the Gospel’s phrase “Jesus withdrew,” His Beatitude highlighted the discerning and prophetic nature of Christ’s choice to begin His mission in Galilee of the Gentiles. “Here we see the genius of God: He chooses the periphery and makes it the center of His revelation,” choosing not a religious or political hub, but “a crossroads of peoples, languages, cultures, and traditions.” In this sense, Saint Nicholas Parish becomes a “Galilee” of our own time, marked by diversity who come from different origins, languages, cultures, and sensitivities, which the Cardinal described not as a limitation but as a grace: “It is your identity; it is a sign of the times.” The erection of the parish, he stressed, affirms that the Church does not fear plurality but embraces it as the place where the Gospel takes flesh.
The Patriarch handing the seal to Fr. Andrew, the Parish Priest of St. Nicholas Parish in Cyprus
Cardinal Pizzaballa underlined that a parish is not primarily an administrative structure, but “a community convoked by the Word of God,” where each person can feel seen and called by Christ, “by name, with his or her own unique history, language, wound, and gift.” Drawing on Jesus’ call to the first disciples, he invited the community to learn the art of being “fishers of men,” which means patience, working together, and caring deeply for those entrusted to them, becoming a “discreet, faithful, welcoming light,” kindled in the Eucharist and made visible through charity and hope.
Concluding, he recalled that the Gospel ends with Jesus moving throughout Galilee, teaching, healing, and proclaiming the Kingdom, “an unstoppable movement” that defines the life of the Church. “Today, this divine movement of salvation takes flesh here, ” he said, with the establishment of the Parish of Saint Nicholas, entrusted to the Virgin Mary and to the Holy Spirit, “the artisan of communion in diversity,” so that this community may grow into a true House of the Gospel, a place where no one is a stranger, an instrument of communion, learning day by day the art of being, together, fishers of men.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the new parish sang a hymn in honor of Saint Nicholas, the saint of generous charity and the protector of the small and the weak.
