Paphos, Cyprus, December 16, 2025
Other sections of this image and other pieces are far more disgusting and blasphemous. Photo: ekklisiaonline.gr
The Blue Iris gallery in Paphos canceled an exhibition by artist Giorgos Gavriel on Sunday after the displayed works sparked widespread condemnation for their blasphemous depictions of Christ, the Theotokos, and other sacred Orthodox Christian symbols, reports Cyprus Mail.
Disy MP Efthymios Diplaros denounced the exhibition, stating: “The Blue Iris gallery is exhibiting works that deliberately desecrate Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the most sacred symbols of the Orthodox faith. This is blatant blasphemy, not art.”
“Invoking ‘freedom of expression’ is a cheap excuse for offending the religious conscience of millions of believers. Tolerance of such acts is not neutrality, it is complicity. Our faith is not a sketch, it is not a caricature, it is not an object of ridicule. Enough is enough. Respect now.”
Following the controversy, the gallery announced it would cancel the exhibition, stating that it had “provoked opposition from a section of society” and that there was no intention to offend or show disrespect to religion. “Since its establishment, the gallery has set as its goal the promotion of art and culture and has no desire to become a conduit for further unrest,” the statement read.
House President Annita Demetriou expressed her revulsion at the works, saying: “I express my revulsion at ‘works of art’ that brutally offend the symbols of our people’s faith. Freedom of expression cannot be an excuse for vulgarity.”
Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos also described the works as “unacceptable” and “provocative.”
Archdiocese of Cyprus spokesman Christakis Efstathiou supported the gallery’s decision to cancel the exhibition, stating that the work “brutally provokes the religious feelings of the faithful without any element of respect that should be contained in the concept of art.” He clarified that he was referring to the artwork itself and not to the artist personally.
Efstathiou said the painting constitutes an insult and irreverence, adding: “This work does not constitute art, nor can it be construed as free expression, but moves within the framework of a toxicity which precisely cancels out the notion of culture as a magnitude that precisely adorns humanity.”
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