Filenews 20 February 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
The two archimandrites who come from Paphos and served or are serving in the Diocese of Pafos, namely Tychikos Vryonis and Ioannis Ioannou, as well as Bishop Nikolaos of Amathus, are the three-person from which the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus will elect the new Metropolitan of Pafos.
This is the result of the electoral process in the Pafos Metropolitan Region for the new Metropolitan, who will replace Pafos Georgios who was elected Archbishop of Cyprus last December. The count was locked with Archimandrite Tychikos Vryonis receiving exactly half of the votes (50.01%), Archimandrite Ioannis 29.99% and Bishop Amathus 14.57%. Bishop Christoforos of Karpasia received only 5.06% and was excluded from the second stage of election that will be before the Holy Synod. 0.37% of the electorate chose other persons than the aforementioned four.
The percentage of valid ballots was 98.56%, of invalid 1.24% and of blank 0.20%.
Moreover, with its announcement, the support group of Archimandrite Tychikos Vryonis, who secured the most votes, thanks all the people who turned out on Sunday for their nomination and preference for the three-person one. ''We await'', he adds, "with respect, the decision of the Holy Synod."
After these percentages, it is considered almost certain, except for a shocking surprise, that archimandrite Tychikos Vryonis will be the one to light green for the election of the Bishop of Pafos.
Voter turnout in the process was at a low level, which was much lower than both the two Presidential election Sundays and the election of the three-person for the new Archbishop. In particular, the participation of voters in the process just a few minutes before the closing of the ballot boxes amounted to only 25.04%, while in the elections for the new Archbishop it amounted to 34.79%
Yesterday's electoral process throughout the Pafos metropolitan region went smoothly, without observing anything that was not manageable as characteristically mentioned by the General Superintendent of Elections, Yiannos Charilaou. He praised the collaboration with the District Officer of Paphos, Mary Lambrou, whom he described as excellent for carrying out the project in the best possible way.
The Holy Synod is now convened
According to the Charter, after the establishment of the three-person body, the Holy Synod is convened by the primate of the Church and proceeds to the election of the new metropolitan, in accordance with the provisions for the election of the Archbishop. The same applies to the consecration and enthronement of the elected metropolitan. The metropolitan is elected by the three-person who will gather the absolute majority of the members of the Holy Synod. If this is not achieved, the vote is repeated, in the same session of the Holy Synod, between the two who voted by the majority and the metropolitan is the one who will secure the most votes. In the event of a tie, the draw procedure is provided for.
