Disgraced Bishop denies clerical error over luxury residence

THE current Bishop of Limassol, Athanassios, and his disgraced predecessor, Chrysanthos, are reportedly at loggerheads over the luxurious Church home the latter is living in.

Chrysanthos was given the Limassol seaside residence after he resigned as Bishop in the face of allegations he was involved in multi- million pound scams to defraud investors in Cyprus and abroad.

But Athanassios, according to newspaper reports yesterday, has now asked the Holy Synod to let him turn the spacious home into a youth centre.

The Synod has reportedly told Athanassios to raise the matter with Chrysanthos himself, and insisted that alternative — equally comfortable — accommodation would have to be found for the former Bishop.

Phileleftheros newspaper reported that Chrysanthos was having none of it.

“I’m staying here: the house was given to me with the Archbishop’s signature. I won’t leave and I have passed this on to Athanassios,” the paper reported Chrysanthos as saying.

Apart from the home, the Church also promised Chrysanthos a handsome retainer after his ignominious departure from active clerical service.

A police investigation into Chrysanthos’s alleged illegal activities is continuing, and the ex-Bishop may yet find himself in court if the Attorney-general’s office decides to press charges.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.