Chrysostomos I, born Christoforos Aristodimou ( el, Χριστόφορος Αριστοδήμου; 27 September 1927 – 22 December 2007), was the Archbishop of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

from 1977 to 2006.

Biography

He was born in the village of Statos in

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

British Cyprus British Cyprus was the island of Cyprus under the dominion of the British Empire, administered sequentially from 1878 to 1914 as a British protectorate, from 1914 to 1925 as a unilaterally annexed military occupation, and from 1925 to 1960 as a ...

. By the scholarship of

Kykkos Monastery Kykkos Monastery ( el, Ιερά Μονή Κύκκου or [] for short, tr, Cikko Manastırı), which lies 20 km west of Pedoulas, is one of the wealthiest and best-known monastery, monasteries in Cyprus. The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of ...

, where he served as a monk, he finished the

Pancyprian Gymnasium The Pancyprian Gymnasium (Greek: Παγκύπριον Γυμνάσιον) is the oldest still operational high school in Cyprus, founded in 1812. History In the same location as the current school there was an older school established in 1753 kn ...

(High School) in 1950 and he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

in the University of Athens. He then returned to Kykkos Monastery and was ordained deacon in February 1951. In October 1961 he was ordained priest and returned to the Pancyprian Gymnasium where he taught theology for 5 years. In 1968 he was elected bishop of Constantia before becoming Bishop of

in July 1973. On 12 November 1977 he was elected Archbishop of Cyprus in succession to the President and Archbishop of Cyprus,

Makarios III Makarios III ( el, Μακάριος Γ΄; born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος) (13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Cypriot politician, archbishop and primate who served as ...

, who had died the same year. Chrysostomos was known for his vigorous opposition to the

decriminalization of homosexuality Criminalization of homosexuality is the classification of some or all sexual acts between men, and less frequently between women, as a criminal offense. Most of the time, such laws are unenforced with regard to consensual same-sex conduct, but ...

in Cyprus, stating "The Church condemns homosexuality as a sinful and repulsive act because it is contrary to the spirit of Scripture and the law of nature." In April 2000 he suffered a severe head injury when he fell from the staircase of the Archiepiscopal Palace and never recovered. In 2004 it became known that he suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and he fell into a coma the following year. He remained Head of the

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communio ...

due to lack of provision in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

for cases of incapacity. In early 2006 the Cypriot bishops asked the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

to convoke a Panorthodox Synod to decide what was to be done since his condition was irreversible and he was still in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

. A Pan-Orthodox Synod was convoked by

Ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

Bartholomew I of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in Chambésy (

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) in May 2006 and it was decided that Chrysostomos was to be removed from office due to serious health problems, while retaining his honorific titles. Bishop of

Chrysostomos was elected as locum tenens and Archiepiscopal elections were proclaimed for 24 September 2006. Chrysostomos II became the new Archbishop of Cyprus. Chrysostomos I died on 22 December 2007.Cyprus Archbishop Chrysostomos I has died
famagusta-gazette.com, 22 December 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysostomos 01 Of Cyprus 1927 births 2007 deaths Archbishops of Cyprus Cypriot schoolteachers Eastern Orthodox Christians from Cyprus Greek Cypriot people People educated at Pancyprian Gymnasium National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni People from Paphos District

Biography

See also

References