To "overcome the schism that is brewing in the Orthodox Church of Cyprus," it is necessary to convene the Holy Synod. This opinion was expressed by the chairmen of two lay theologian organizations operating in Cyprus.
Thus, pro-Moscow Cypriot theologians supported 4 out of 18 members of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, who opposed the recognition of the OCU.
The Russian translation from Orthodoxia.info was published by the website "Orthodox Life".
The head of the Society of theologians in Cyprus, Christakis Eustathius, said that a schism is brewing in the Church.
"The common people request the hierarchy of our church, the Holy Synod, to finally gather and touch on this great wound that is emerging," said Christakis Eustathius.
Chairman of the All-Cyprus Association of Greek theologians Georgios Kyriaku believes that the issue of Ukrainian autocephaly can only be resolved by a Pan-Orthodox Council.
"This problem cannot be solved by synodal decisions of local churches, that is, recognition or non-recognition of the canonicity of a non-canonical schismatic Bishop, but by convening a Pan-Orthodox Council. The Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus, or any other Synod of one local church, cannot resolve an issue that concerns all Orthodoxy. We are also concerned about the commemoration of a non-canonical Epifaniy by our Primate and the neglect of the Synod," he said.
One of the four pro-Moscow hierarchs of the Church of Cyprus, Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamas, told The Phileleftheros newspaper that they have stopped concelebrating with Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus and are not attending liturgies with his participation until the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus considers the Ukrainian issue.
Metropolitan Isaiah said that the Church of Cyprus was on the verge of a potential schism, and added that it depends on Archbishop Chrysostomos whether the situation will go back to normal. Metropolitan Isaiah said that the Archbishop of Cyprus could convene a Holy Synod to discuss the problem of mentioning Metropolitan Epifaniy of the OCU.
On November 2, Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus harshly criticized the position of four of the 18 members of the Synod of the Archdiocese of Cyprus - Metropolitans Athanasius of Limassol, Nikephoros of Kykkos, Isaiah of Tamas, as well as Bishop Nicholas of Amat. He opposed the recognition of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the Archbishop and entering into canonical communion with it. Chrysostomos believes that they deserve to be defrocked.