Nicosia, Cyprus, January 16, 2023
The former Metropolitan Georgios of Paphos was formally enthroned as the 76th Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus at the Cathedral of St. Barnabas in Nicosia on January 8.
Abp. Georgios was elected by the Cypriot Holy Synod in late December after receiving the second-most votes from the laity, thus replacing Archbishop Chrysostomos, who reposed in early November.
The enthronement was attended by delegations from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Churches of Greece and Albania, and other Local Churches, as well as the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” which enjoys the support of the new Cypriot primate.
However, one hierarch of the Church of Cyprus abstained from the solemnities: His Eminence Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou.
In a statement published on January 6, the Metropolitan announced that he would not attend the enthronement, preferring instead to “remain in his humble cell, praying, both for His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus, and for the persecuted His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.”
The statement also emphasizes that His Eminence Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl and the brotherhood of the Kiev Caves Lavra are especially facing persecution at this time.
Met. Neophytos is among the few Cypriot hierarchs who continue to take an Orthodox stand in defense of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
