The election of the new Metropolitan of Paphos is scheduled for after Easter

The preparatory process for the election of the new head of the Paphos Metropolitanate of the Cypriot Orthodox Church will begin after the end of the Easter holidays. A key condition for the announcement of the official date of the vote is the finalization of the updated Statute of the Church and its subsequent approval by the Holy Synod.

According to Greek Orthodox publication Romfea.gr, Greek Orthodox spokesman for the Archdiocese of Cyprus Christakis Efstathiou confirmed that the election process will not be launched until after the Feast of the Resurrection. Currently, a special commission consisting of academics and bishops with legal backgrounds is finalizing the editing of the provisions of the Statutes that will govern the election procedure. The finished document is expected to be presented to the Synod in the same period.

According to Mr. Efstathiou, no formal nomination of candidates is possible before the elections are officially announced. Nevertheless, unofficially, several prominent clergymen have shown interest in participating in the elections. Among the potential candidates mentioned are Bishop Christopher of Carpathia, Bishop Nicholas of Amafunta, Bishop Gregory of Mesaoria and Archimandrite John (Ioannou), rector of the monastery of St. Barnabas the Apostle.

It should be recalled that in the previous election, Metropolitan Tihikos was elected to the Paphos Metropolitanate in 2023. In that vote, Archimandrite John came second with 30% of the votes, Chorebishop Nicholas came third (15%), and Chorebishop Christopher was in fourth place with the support of 5% of voters. The upcoming procedure will be an important milestone in the life of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, building on the new legal framework of the renewed Statutes.