Archbishop of Cyprus urges to exclude public vote for bishops

Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency

Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus called for the exclusion of the people's involvement in the election of the bishops. He stated this in an interview with Phileleftheros.

The Primate pointed out, "There are indeed gaps in the Charter, which we would like to correct." The hierarch included the provisions on the election of bishops among these "gaps".

"Something that concerns us is the involvement of the people in the election of the Archbishops. With the current Charter, extra-ecclesiastical situations intervene and unnecessary fanaticism can be triggered," the archbishop said.

He stated, "We have seen in recent cases that very few believers come to the polls. In the last elections in Paphos, only 14% voted, and in the previous Archbishopric elections, 31% nationwide. Therefore, we are looking for a middle ground."

The hierarch proposed that "the Holy Synod elect the Metropolitans and Bishops and the process of involving the people be done by the Archbishop, who also has an Ethnarchical role, conveying the opinion of the people to the Government"/

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Archbishop of Cyprus called the deposition of Metropolitan Tychikos a healing of fanaticism. 

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