2010

• 6 May 2010 : Visit of Pope Benedict XVI on the island

There were two important ecclesiastical events in Cyprus in the year 2010. The first was the visit of Pope Benedict XVI on the island (06/05/2010). In spite of small groups who protested against the visit, both state and ecclesiastical leadership met and honored the Pope in his visit on the island. Some 4,000 people (mostly Catholics living on the island) attended the Pope’s speech. The Pope also met with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, D. Christofias during his two-day visit.

• 14 September 2010 : New Constitutional Charter of the Church of Cyprus

The other major event was the announcement (on 14/09/2010) of the new Constitutional Charter of the Church of Cyprus (see previous debates, 2009). The new Charter includes several changes in the operation of ecclesiastical affairs. A key provision is a new way of electing bishops and archbishop. While the laity will continue to participate in elections for these posts, power shifts more on the side of the Synod who becomes the principal institution in the appointment of new hierarchs. This change signifies both the attempt to have the Church recover from the bad publicity caused by the full scale competition of the 2006 archiepiscopal elections, as well as, the fact that the Orthodox Church of Cyprus currently has a full Synod consisting of 13 bishops. It is possible therefore for the Church to administer its own affairs without the necessity of calling for higher clergy from other territories to intervene in decision-making. Additional provisions in the new Charter call for the establishment of ecclesiastical courts for clerics. Still, the Church guidelines concerning divorce rules (in which the Church is deeply implicated as a matter of law) in the new Charter maintain the tenor and orientation of the previous Constitutional Charter (1980). Accordingly, divorce is granted after four years of marital separation.