The legacies left to us by Archbishop Makarios III are the only ones that will lead us out of the current impasse, Archbishop Georgios said on Sunday.

He was speaking after the annual religious memorial service for Archbishop Makarios III at the Holy Monastery of Kykkos.

Asked if Makarios’ legacies are still alive, he said that “if we honour him every year with such majesty, we must also maintain his legacies. Because they are the only ones that will lead us out of the current impasse.

“So many times we have tried other paths, the path of constant retreats without ending up anywhere. We hope that what he left us with, which is a matter of invasion and occupation, a matter of human rights, will be followed so that we can escape and remain as Hellenists in this land,” the Archbishop concluded.

Sunday marked 48 years since the death of Cyprus’ first president, Archbishop Makarios.

He was one of the leading faces in the early story of the Cyprus republic.

He was the founder of the republic and his name is linked to early struggles for freedom and democracy.

Born in the village of Panayia in 1913, he served as the bishop of Kiti from 1948 to 1950, when he became archbishop.

In 1960, the people of Cyprus elected him as their first president, a role which he served until his death on Augut 3, 1977.