Synod to probe priest’s ‘illicit affair’

THE HOLY Synod yesterday decided to launch a probe into allegations that a Limassol clergyman was having an illicit affair with a young woman.

The decision was announced by the Synod secretary, Father Vassilios, following a lengthy meeting yesterday morning.

Vassilios said an investigating committee made up of three Synod members had been tasked to probe "Church matters that have concerned the public over the past few days".

He did not announce what these matters under investigation were or who would make up the investigating committee.

When pressed by journalists, the Synod secretary said the matters under investigation concerned a Limassol Archimandrite who was reported to have had a liaison with a young woman, and complaints to the Synod about Limassol Bishop Athanassios.

According to reports, the Archimandrite has been involved with a woman and has had two illegitimate children with her.

But the Archimandrite is apparently claiming that the Bishop of Limassol is behind the attack on his personal life and is threatening to call a news conference today or tomorrow to make "shocking" revelations about the Church.

It was not clear yesterday what the complaints about Athanassios before the Synod might be, but the Limassol Bishop is known to have many enemies.

The Archimandrite at the centre of the storm is understood to have been close to former Limassol Bishop Chrysanthos, and was ousted from the Limassol bishopric shortly after Athanassios was elected bishop last year.

Chrysanthos is currently awaiting trial on a multi-million dollar fraud charge.

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.