The Cyprus Orthodox Church on Saturday elected the Bishop of Paphos as its new leader following the death of his predecessor last month.
Archbishop Georgios was appointed with a majority of 11 votes by the 16-member Holy Synod after coming in second place in the popular vote by the Greek Cypriot congregation.
Under the church charter, the three bishops with the largest number of votes from the laypeople progress to the secret ballot held by the Holy Synod.
Georgios was tapped as the likely winner due to his large backing among senior bishops.
“I, first of all, thank God who permitted today’s election,” he said after his appointment.
“I will make every effort not to fall short of my predecessors.”
Archbishop Chrysostomos II died on November 7 after a long battle with cancer.
He was buried in Nicosia on November 12, exactly 16 years after his enthronement in 2006.
The new archbishop studied chemistry and theology in Greece and Britain and was previously a schoolteacher.
He backed the controversial decision to recognise the split of the Ukraine Orthodox Church from Russia.
Source: © Agence France-Presse
