Limassol. 14 – 16 March 2024. Meeting of the 1st Meeting of the IAO Founding Act Amendment Committee

On Thursday, 14th March 2024, the 1st Meeting of the IAO Founding Act Amendment Committee held in Limassol, hosted by the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus.

At the beginning of the meeting, the IAO Secretary General, dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, emphasized that “We are particularly happy to be in Cyprus, to start the amendment of the IAO Founding Act. This year also marks 50 years since the Turkish invasion and occupation of 37% of Cyprus. Our presence here, once again, demonstrates our firm and timeless support to the Republic of Cyprus, until the achievement of a just solution, based on the UN resolutions, which will include the withdrawal of the occupying troops, the return of all refugees to their properties. We recognize the timeless importance of Cyprus in the Orthodox world”.

In addition to the Secretary General, the meeting was also attended by the head of the Cypriot delegation, Mr. Panikos Leonidou, who is also the chairman of the IAO Founding Act Amendment Committee, the Member of Parliament of Georgia, Mr. Irakli Kadagishvili, the member of the Cypriot delegation to the IAO, Mr. Ilias Myrianthous, the IAO Advisor, dr. Kostas Mygdalis. Moreover, a group of technocrats, who helped in the drafting of the proposals for drafting the Founding Act, was also present. Two members of the Committee, Mr. Athanasios Davakis from the Hellenic Parliament and Mr. Mile Talevski from the Parliament of North Macedonia, in their relevant letters, informed the members of the Committee of their support of the submitted proposals for the amendment of the IAO Founding Act.

The Secretary General in his intervention referred, among other things, to the initiatives undertaken by the IAO for highlighting, and in view of the European elections, the contribution of Christian values to the European way of life. As he mentioned, among the related actions of the next period, an international conference to be organized in Thessaloniki stands out, with the participation of representatives of politics, the church and the academic community from all over Europe.

For his part, the Chairman of the IAO Founding Act Amendment Committee, Mr. Panikos Leonidou in his presentation underlined the need for the IAO and its Founding Act, drawn up thirty years ago, to be adapted to the new circumstances, in order to strengthen and expand the role of the organization in the new conditions. He pointed out that the most important success of the institution is the preservation of its unity in difficult times, and on this line, its multifaceted action should continue. He noted that the final decision will be taken in the context of the IAO General Assembly in Warsaw next June.

As a key point of the ongoing amendment, Mr. Leonidou noted the official renaming of the Organization in its Founding Act from “European Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy” to “Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy”, in order to echo the international scope of the Organization and the redefinition of its role in the contemporary environment of international politics. The Chairman of the Committee also referred to other proposed amendments concerning, inter alia, the right to vote for the amendment procedure of the Founding Act, the composition of the IAO International Secretariat and the responsibilities of each of its institutional organs, as well as the more precise wording of specific provisions of the Founding Act. These amendments aim at improving the organization and operation of the IAO and its more active contribution to international development.

Mr. Myrianthous stated that, “in the era we are in, the proposed changes to the ΙΑΟ Founding Act, including the financial aspect, are imperative, in order to strengthen the presence and action of the ΙΑΟ internationally”.

Finally, Mr. Irakli Kadagishvili reaffirmed Georgia’s absolute support for the ΙΑΟ policies and referred in particular to the European perspective of his country, which at the same time wishes to preserve its own particular Orthodox identity.

On the sidelines of the meeting of the IAO Founding Act Amendment Committee, the Archbishop of Cyprus Georgios received the ΙΑΟ delegation, while meetings were held with the Metropolitan of Limassol, Mr. Athanasios, the Metropolitan of Kykkos and Tellyria, Mr. Nikiforos, and the Exarch of the Holy Sepulcher in Cyprus, Metropolitan of Bostro, Mr. Timotheo. The Metropolitan of Kykkos and Tellyria hosted a lunch in honor of the delegation, in the presence of the President of the House of Representatives, Mr. Annita Dimitriou. A meeting was also held with the President and members of the Committee of the Occupied Municipalities of Cyprus.