Holy Synod officially declares bishop of Kition’s throne vacant

The church’s Holy Synod on Wednesday declared the throne of the Kition metropolitan vacant, after the resignation of bishop Chrysostomos.

Chrysostomos had resigned “because he feels that he is weakening” and he wants to give someone younger the chance to do a more effective job.

Following a lengthy meeting on Wedensday, Paphos Bishop Georgios told reporters that the archbishop had praised Chrysostomos for showing enormous virtue.

The Holy Synod plans to honour the former bishop with the gold medal of Saint Varnavas, the highest award of the Church of Cyprus.

“The throne is declared vacant as of today and the archbishop will be the overseer in line with the charter,” Georgios said.

According to the church charter, elections to replace Chrysostomos must be held within 40 days.

Apart from Chrysostomos’ resignation, the synod also discussed the condition of monuments and churches in the Republic, criticising the antiquities department for delays in carrying out maintenance.

The Paphos bishop said this prompted the synod to create its own special committee of experts that will tackle emergencies.

 

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.