Dozens of residents from Kythrea and surrounding villages attended a liturgy at Ayia Marina church in the occupied village on Saturday.

The service also honoured clergy and people of Kythrea who have dies in addition to saying prayers for missing people from there.

They prayed for a quick “return to their ancestral homes and an end to the illegal occupation regime that continues to divide our homeland in two,” the Kythrea municipality said.

The liturgy was held under the auspices of priests Andreas Zorpas and Thomas Kostis in the presence of Kythrea mayor Marios Zampakidis and other officials.

Built in 1734, the Church of Ayia Marina is currently operated as a cultural centre.

It is the only one of Kythrea’s six parish churches where religious services are still permitted with several icons from its desecrated iconostasis successfully repatriated after years of legal efforts.