Dialogos

Church of Cyprus to Revamp its Charter, Election of Bishops Also on the Table

Published January 14, 2026, 13:01
Church of Cyprus to Revamp its Charter, Election of Bishops Also on the Table

The Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus unanimously decided to restructure or rewrite the Church’s Statutory Charter. The decision was made due to the identification of “ambiguities and difficulties in implementation” arising from the existing charter. A Drafting Committee, consisting of members of the Holy Synod and legal experts, will be established to implement the decision. At the same time, it was decided to extend the Locum Tenens of the Holy Metropolis of Paphos under the Archbishop of Cyprus, in order to give sufficient time for the drafting and approval of the new Statutory Charter. One of the issues that the committee will examine is the change in the way bishops are elected, with the possibility of being elected directly by the Holy Synod. The Holy Synod also informed the congregation that the rites performed by the defrocked clergy of the Holy Monastery of St. Abbakum are invalid and non-existent. There has been no new development regarding the appeal of Bishop Tychikos to the civil court. In addition, the Synod decided to allow the celebration of marriages during the Christmas Fast, until December 12th, and approved the drafting of supplication hymns for the Cyprus issue, which will be added to the Lamentations of Good Friday.