Church to rewrite statute without the ambiguities

The Holy Synod decided on Wednesday unanimously to rewrite the Church of Cyprus’ statute, after identifying ambiguities and difficulties in its implementation.

Archimandrite Georgios Christodoulou – the Holy Synod’s chief secretary – said a committee would be set up to undertake this task, comprising members of the Holy Synod and specialised lawyers.

It consequently decided to extend the custody of the Paphos bishopric under Archbishop Georgios “in order to provide sufficient time for the drafting and approval of the new statute by the Holy Synod”.

Christodoulou said the committee would also look into the way in which bishops were elected, with one option being having them elected directly by the Holy Synod.

He added that the whole process may take months to complete.

Bishop Tychikos was removed from the Paphos bishopric at an emergency synod session in May 2025, following a series of disputes with Archbishop Georgios over matters of church protocol.

Regarding the Avakoum monastery monks, Christodoulou said “no pardon” was to be granted.

Monks Nektarios and Porfyrios face charges of money laundering and fraud. The Holy Synod has already upheld their defrocking, while they also face criminal proceedings.

Among other unanimous decisions taken on Wednesday were allowing weddings during Christmas advent, up until December 12, as well as composing hymns for the Cyprus problem.