Cyprus, July 1, 2022
Photo: imlemesou.org
According to the results of a recent nationwide poll, the faithful of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus favor His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol as their next Archbishop and primate.
The current primate, Archbishop Chrysostomos, has had serious health problems for several years now, and there is already much talk in Cyprus about who will replace him. According to the Cypriot Church’s statutes, all Orthodox Christians 18 years and older have the right to vote in the nominating round, choosing three candidates whose names are then sent on to the Holy Synod to determine the winner.
To find out the people’s favorite, Analytica Market Research ran a poll on behalf of the Cyprus Times outlet from June 22 to 24, with the participation of 1,701 people aged 18 or older from all across Cyprus.
The poll showed that the clear favorite is Met. Athanasios of Limassol, who is one of the most respected hierarchs not only in Cyprus, but throughout the entire Orthodox world.
Photo: cyprustimes.com
According to Cyprus Times, His Eminence received 31% of the vote on the question, “Which hierarch would you vote for if we had Archbishop elections next Sunday?”
In second place was His Eminence Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, with 16%; in third was His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos, with 14%.
Metropolitan George of Paphos received 6% of the vote, and Metropolitans Vasilios of Constantia and Nikiforos of Kykkou received 5% each. Other hierarchs received 3% or less.
Met. Athanasios was the favorite in all Cypriot provinces except Famagusta, where Met. Vasilios was first. The Metropolitan of Limassol was also the favorite among both men and women, and in all age groups, except over 60, which favored Met. Vasilios.
It’s also noteworthy that younger respondents, who favored Met. Athanasios overall, also expressed a greater feeling of closeness to the Church.
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