Paphos Bishop hits back at calls for resignation

THE Bishop of Paphos, Chrysostomos, yesterday hit back at a group of parishioners demanding his resignation on grounds that he is more interested in business than spirituality.

The bishop does have extensive business interests, but he insisted yesterday that he and his Paphos clergy worked tirelessly for good of the faithful.

"We work noiselessly, we do not like to show off, but as quiet as we are, the very stones shout out about it, as the saying goes," Chrysostomos said.

"Wherever you may stand, wherever you may go, wherever you may sit you will find our seal, and indeed our religious seal," the bishop affirmed.

He attacked Dr Andreas Demetriou, head of the pressure group calling for the Bishop’s resignation.

"The man has other motives; he is not a cleric; he has never come down to the Bishopric to make suggestions or recommendations," Chrysostomos said.

Dr Demetriou retorted that every time he went to the Paphos Bishopric he was put off by hearing talk only of "hotels and business" and by Chrysostomos’ constant "bad-mouthing" of his Limassol counterpart, Athanassios.

The Paphos Bishop has made no secret of his dislike for Athanassios, which, says Dr Demetriou, is because Athanassios is the man behind a so-called "spiritual rebirth" of the local church. He said the Paphos Bishop had his eyes on the Archbishop’s throne.

The bishop later said he had no ambitions to become Archbishop and planned to retire in six years’ time, when he hits 65.

Dr Demetriou’s group slates Chrysostomos as the instigator of the gay sex allegations against Athanassios, currently rocking the church.

The Holy Synod is probing allegations that 18 years ago Athanassios had a homosexual affair with a Greek monk who is now a hairdresser.

Athanassios denies the allegations, branding them as part of a plot to destroy him.

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.