Archbishop Chrysostomus II’s failing health prompting election campaigns for highest seat in the church
Cyprus (Commonwealth Union)_ The head of the Church of Cyprus Archbishop Chrysostomos II, whose health has been failing, has prompted a behind the scenes game of thrones by the Holy Synod members, jostling to take control of the main Cypriot church. An election is imminent if the Archbishop passes away and has to be called within ten days of his demise. This is a diktat stated in Article 21 of the Holy Synod.
The Holy Synod has seventeen members is the highest church authority in Cyprus and is headed currently by Archbishop Chrysostomos II, who was elected after a long-running election campaign in 2006. It is the 81-year-old prelate’s seat that is now seeing the foreplay of game of thrones emerging. The position of Archbishop is highly coveted and with the infrequent public appearances by the Archbishop who has cancer, this highly desirable seat may fall vacant sooner rather than later.
In anticipation of this inevitability, campaigning has already begun behind the scenes as the new Archbishop has to be elected by the members of the Holy Synod. It is the Custodian of the Archbishopric Throne, Bishop of Paphos Georgios, who will begin the process. First, he will send out two circulars – one addressed to the vicars instructing them to prepare electoral rolls within fifteen days of the circular, and the second to the entire ecclesiastical body setting out the day for three bishops to be elected.
Once the three bishops are elected, the Holy Synod will elect a new Archbishop from among the three, based on the largest number of votes. Hence, the number of votes is crucial and the campaigning therefore has begun in earnest. The contenders are more than aware of the imperative of relationship building and the correlation to the number of votes each candidate secures from the members of the Holy Synod.
Currently, those bishops in the fray for the initial three positions are the Bishops of Limassol Athanasios, Tamasou’s Isaias, Georgios of Paphos, Vasilios of Constantias and Famagusta.
The Church of Cyprus is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches, having been recognized as an independent church in AD431.
It was Paul of Tarsus who is credited in the Acts of the Apostles of converting the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus to become the first Christian ruler and thus making Cyprus the first country ruled by a Christian leader. In the 4th century when Christianity began spreading throughout Cyprus, Archbishop St. Epiphanius who had been appointed by Emperor Zeno had his seat in Salamis (renamed Constantia by Emperor Constantius II).
