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

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

from 1977 to 2006.

Biography

He was born in the village of Statos in

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

British Cyprus British Cyprus (Modern Greek, Greek: Βρετανική Κύπρος; Turkish language, Turkish: ''Britanya Kıbrısı'') was the island of Cyprus under the dominion of the British Empire, administered sequentially from 1878 to 1914 as a British ...

. By the scholarship of

Kykkos Monastery Kykkos Monastery ( or [] for short, ), 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 Kykkos was founded around the end of the 11th century by ...

, where he served as a monk, he finished the

Pancyprian Gymnasium The Pancyprian Gymnasium (), is the oldest still operational Lyceum, high school in Cyprus, founded in 1812. History In the location of the current school, an older school existed, established in 1753 known as Ellinomouseion (). The ''Pancypri ...

(High School) in 1950 and he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

in the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. 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 The Archbishop of Cyprus (officially the Archbishop of Erdek, Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus) is the head of the Church of Cyprus. The incumbent Archbishop is George of Cyprus (archbishop of Cyprus), George of Cyprus since 2023. History Acco ...

in succession to the President and Archbishop of Cyprus,

Makarios III Makarios III (born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos; 13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot prelate and politician who served as Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977 and as the first president o ...

, who had died the same year. Chrysostomos was known for his vigorous opposition to the decriminalization of homosexuality 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 A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

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 neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and he fell into a

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

the following year. He remained Head of the

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus () is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; ...

due to lack of provision in

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

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

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

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

. A Pan-Orthodox Synod was convoked by

Ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

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

Bartholomew I Bartholomew (born Dimitrios Archontonis, 29 February 1940) is the current Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople since 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) in the Eastern Orthodox ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in Chambésy (

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) 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 A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

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 Cypriots People educated at Pancyprian Gymnasium National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni People from Paphos District

Biography

See also

References