In the staffs of the main contenders for the Archbishop's Throne, there is a fever of organizational mobilization from house to house, aiming to secure the greatest possible support from the people, who will give them the ticket for the three-person seat, if possible by the largest possible margin. Supporters of Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol, Metropolitan Isaias of Tamassos-Mountain, Metropolitan George of Paphos and Metropolitan Basil of Constantia, who are considered the favourites for election to the tripartite seat by the people, have been engaged in an intense mobilisation of vote collection across Cyprus. This is because they hope that whoever cuts the thread first by a margin over the other two will have a moral advantage in the selection process by the Holy Synod, which can vote for whomever it likes, regardless of their ranking.
The correlations in the Synod
The withdrawal of interest by the Bishop of Karpasia Christophoros diversifies the correlations of forces and favours the Bishops of Paphos and Famagusta, George and Basil, who belong to the group of the so-called "archbishops" because of their relationship with the late Archbishop Chrysostomos. This group also includes Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kyrenia, who is also a candidate for the archbishop's throne, but is considered an outsider. The "archbishops" retain a majority among the 16 prelates of the synod, which will elect the new archbishop. Therefore, based on the current balance of power and with the caveat that there could be an upset, if the 73-year-old Metropolitan of Paphos makes it to the tripartite, he has a good chance of being the new Archbishop. The same is certainly true of 74-year-old Metropolitan Basil of Famagusta, who also enjoys support in the Synod, and 52-year-old Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kyrenia. However, the fragmentation of voters supporting the "archbishops" could potentially prove disastrous and put them out of the tripartite, which certainly favours the Metropolitans of Limassol and Tamassol. In this case, according to estimates, the scales will tip in favour of the 63-year-old Metropolitan of Limassol, because he has more supporters. On the contrary, if the 51-year-old Metropolitan Isaias is elected, then the archbishop's throne will be occupied for at least the next three decades.
Among the outsiders is Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphos, 60 years old, who reportedly does not have much support in the Holy Synod. In any case, however, Limassol and Tamassol prefer him in the tripartite than anyone from the group of "archbishops", who have a majority in the hierarchy.
Changes are not ruled out
The specific correlations of forces create conditions for a thriller election process, which can be decided on points. As a result of this fluid situation, it cannot be ruled out that interventions and pressures will intensify in the coming period, which, if effective, may lead to reversals. In particular, if the "Archbishops" decide to join forces then they will increase their chances of electing the new Archbishop. This does not seem to be an option, at least at this point, but it is something that cannot be ruled out even on the eve of the election process. Developments should be expected in the immediate future, when there will be clearer indications of the electoral influence of the candidates for the archbishop's throne.
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