Official launch of church’s new charter

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias asked the Holy Synod of the Cyprus Church yesterday to show a little more trust in the way he is dealing with the national issue.

“The message that I would like to direct towards you is that of more trust between us, more dialogue between us,” he said in a speech to the Holy Synod to mark the inauguration of the church’s new charter at the Archbishopric in Nicosia.

“The dialogue is missing and we need it so that there can be more understanding between us.”

The new charter, that replaces the old one issued in January, allows the church to be completely autocephalous, meaning that the church will be canonically and administratively independent, giving it the right to elect its own prelates and bishops, without the need to call a ‘Greater Synod’ involving the participation of bishops from affiliated Orthodox churches.

The creation of 13 bishoprics, more members and changes to the way the Archbishop and Bishops are elected constitute the main amendments brought on the Charter.

The Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos II highlighted how the church will be returned to its “former glory” under the new charter.

The charter also gives the public the right to elect a bishop by voting for whichever cleric they believe to be qualified and then the Holy Synod will pick their own candidate from amongst the three with the most votes.

Another amendment allows the Synod, by a three-quarters majority vote, to remove the Archbishop or a metropolitan on the grounds of incapacity due to ill health.

Former Attorney General Alekos Markides stated that with the new charter there can be no doubt that the church of Cyprus has made a big step towards unity with the state.

The event was attended by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias as well as senior officials from various political parties, the Attorney-general, Chief of Justice, the House President Marios Karoyian and the Ambassador of Greece, Vassilis Papaioannou.

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