The path to learning is not an easy one and requires effort, discipline and consistency, Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus said in a message marking the start of the new school year, also warning of the challenges posed by technology and artificial intelligence.

Addressing pupils, the archbishop urged them not to be discouraged by setbacks.

“In your efforts, it is only natural that you will encounter failures. Do not be afraid of them and do not be discouraged. Failures, too, can become lessons in life,” he said.

“What matters is not that we never fall, but that we have the strength to get back up and carry on.”

The archbishop said the beginning of a new school year brought renewed hopes and a willingness to work harder to improve, adding that the Church blessed those efforts and stood ready to offer help whenever asked.

For expectations placed on education to be fulfilled, he said, cooperation was needed between teachers, who impart knowledge and values, and their pupils.

“As a Church, we therefore bless today both teachers and pupils, those who teach and those who are taught, and invoke God’s blessing for the success of the cooperation required between them,” he said.

Georgios also focused on the impact of technology on education, saying modern devices allowed people to access an enormous amount of information within seconds.

“Technology can become an invaluable ally in education and communication. Nevertheless, it often leads to the neglect of cultivating critical thinking, which guides us towards genuine knowledge,” he said.

More recently, he added, artificial intelligence had created the risk of “confusing falsehood with truth and failing to distinguish pretence from authenticity”.

He said these developments made the educational role of schools more important than ever and increased the responsibility placed on teachers.

“Education is called upon to focus its attention and efforts on the balanced development of the material and the spiritual; to lead pupils to understand that what matters is what technology should do, not what technology can do,” he said.

“It must teach that ethics, placing certain limits on development, is a shield protecting life, not an obstacle to progress.”

The archbishop also referred to the Cyprus problem, telling pupils that history was entrusting their generation with responsibility for the island’s liberation.

“Today, history entrusts you with the responsibility of liberating Cyprus from the Turkish occupier. To achieve this, you must first understand who we are; that we come from far back in history and that we must continue our journey further into the future,” he said.

“By equipping yourselves in this way, you will soon be able, when you take the fate of the country into your hands, to create the conditions for its liberation and defend it against every threat.”