Chrysostomos II of Cyprus

His All Holiness Chrysostomos II
Archbishop of Cyprus
Archbishop Chrysostomos II during a visit in Moscow.
Church	Church of Cyprus
Diocese	Cyprus
Installed	1 October 2006
Term ended	Incumbent
Predecessor	Chysostomos I
Personal details
Birth name	Herodotos Dimitriou
Born	(1941-04-10) 10 April 1941 Tala, Cyprus
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox Church
Residence	Nicosia, Cyprus
Occupation	Archbishop
Profession	Theologian
Alma mater	University of Athens

Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus (Greek: Χρυσόστομος Β΄, born Ηρόδοτος Δημητρίου, Hēródotos Dēmētríou on 10 April 1941) is the incumbent Archbishop of Cyprus.^[1] He was born in Tala village, Paphos.^[2]

Chrysostomos II with the then President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev

Clerical career

At the age of 10 he lost his father and two years later, after finishing his elementary education, he joined the monastery of Ayios Neophytos in Paphos. He also attended Paphos Gymnasium, graduating in 1963.^[2] On 3 November, of the same year, he was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Trimithounda, Georgios.

For five years, he served as trustee of the monastery and also worked on a ranch. In 1968 he enrolled in the Theological School of the University of Athens and graduated in 1972. On 19 October 1972, he was elected as the hegumen (abbot) of the Monastery of St. Neophytos.^[2] On 12 November 1972, he was ordained a presbyter and was elevated to hegumen by Archbishop Makarios III.

During Makarios III's presidency, he stood by the Archbishop against the Junta of Athens and the three metropolitans who led the Ecclesiastical coup.

He was elected Metropolitan (Bishop) of Paphos on 25 February 1978,^[2] and his episcopal consecration took place on 26 February 1978. During his time as a bishop he represented the Autocephalous of the Church of Cyprus in many conferences abroad, dedicated fifty new regional temples and chapels in the Paphos District, and maintained and attended all the churches of his metropolitan periphery. He also founded five Byzantine museums which contain the church treasures of the Paphos District. He played an important role in confronting and correcting irregularities and mismanagement in the Archdiocese, helping to preserve the Ecclesiastical fortune.

When Archbishop Chrysostomos I was removed from office (due to illness), Metropolitan Chrysostomos was elected as locum tenens, and Archiepiscopal elections were set for 24 September 2006. In October 2006, Metropolitan Chrysostomos became the new Archbishop of Cyprus as Chrysostomos II.

Ministry and views

Chrysostomos II is known for his social conservatism. He has opposed illegal immigration into Cyprus, branding illegal immigrants as 'interlopers who do not belong on the island' and shares some views with the Cyprus' National People’s Front (ELAM).^[3][4][5][6] In 2014 he called for politicians to condemn homosexuality and claimed governments demonstrated 'weakening moral integrity' by introducing civil partnerships and same-sex marriage. His comments were attacked by Cypriot MEP Andreas Pitsillides as 'racist and homophobic' and stated 'I emphatically stress these are clearly against the spirit of the Gospel of love of Christ and certainly violate all European and international treaties protecting human rights against any form of discrimination based on race, gender, religion and sexual orientation'. Another MEP, Ulrike Lunacek, claimed the Orthodox Church was 'detached from reality'.^[7]

Chrysostomos II was received in a historic private audience with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican, on 16 June 2007.^[8] Their discussions involved the safety of Christians in the Middle East as a result of an ongoing political tension between warring countries. They had another meeting on 28 March 2011.^[9][10]

On 20 March 2013, it was reported that Chrysostomos II said he would put the Cyprus Orthodox Church's assets at the country's disposal to help pull the country out of its financial crisis. He said the church was willing to mortgage its assets to invest in government bonds.^[11][12]

See also

• List of archbishops of Cyprus

References

Current Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs, Metropolitans and Archbishops
Patriarchates	Pentarchy Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria Patriarch John X of Antioch Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem National Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church Patriarch Neophyte of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Other autocephalous churches	Archbishop Chrysostomos II of the Church of Cyprus Archbishop Ieronymos II of the Church of Greece Archbishop Anastasios of the Orthodox Church of Albania Metropolitan Sawa of the Polish Orthodox Church Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America