Your Eminence, the time is counting down to the December 18 election process that will determine the Tripartite. From your meetings and contacts throughout this time with the faithful, what have you perceived? What is it that they are asking of the new Archbishop and what hopes do they place in the next ecclesiastical leader of the country?
The Church, with its tragic errors and passions, has been largely discredited in the eyes of Cypriot citizens. The faithful are asking for a new, honest man, who, on the one hand, has a deep faith and, on the other hand, can correctly translate the attitudes of modern society, offering people love and practical modern solutions. Today's society wants an Archbishop with new ideas and education, who can deservedly represent us abroad and in international organizations, who knows other cultures, who loves dialogue, even with people and institutions outside the Church, who is not afraid of the different and the new and, with appetite and method, who takes initiatives in all areas that concern the well-being and progress of people.
There are many who refer to your age, you are the youngest among the candidates for the archbishop's throne. Do you think this fact will work in your favor?
In two days I will be 52 years old, 32 years as a clergyman, including 15 as a Metropolitan. When you are young, you have the appetite, the vision, the program and the fitness to build something that, plus God, will last, you will control it and you will fix it. Therefore, in doing so, you will make a long-term contribution to the place, God permitting. So, if our brethren want to see actions done for the good of the world and the Church, they should take into account both the age and the proposed program we have. I would not want in the Church of Cyprus to experience phenomena of ageism, neither for the young nor for the elderly. What matters is what everyone can offer and how they intend to do it. We fought with fireworks of expediency, that is, for projects that are made for advertising and photography in the newspaper and serve other interests.
Do you think that young people today are close to the Church? Is there really any interest in archbishop elections from younger people?
In the vast majority of our young people, no. They have discredited us, and in their own right, to a large extent. Even we young people of the Church are sometimes discouraged by what we face, but our deep faith and love for man and country sustain us, in the hope that, through our struggle, we will bring about change.
What is it that you want to leave as a personal imprint if you are elected?
What I want to leave behind is genuine Christian love, combined with a new pastoralism that understands contemporary realities and provides solutions, as well as an attitude that respects man and his conquests, without fear of the different and the new, and an attitude that respects man and his conquests, without fear of the different and the new. Respect for family, tradition and history and an unyielding fight for the rights of our people.
The polls published to date give you such percentages as to ensure your entry into the Tripartite. If these polls are verified, what do you then expect from the Holy Synod?
Depending on the percentage I get, I will consult with my Brothers.
Is it true what is being said, that some have already started behind the scenes consultations to "build" alliances within the Holy Synod?
Unfortunately yes. We are already seeing public statements from non-candidates. But this changes with the result at the ballot box, since much can be decided there. Those Bishops who do not take the people's vote into account at all will be discredited by the people and stigmatized because of selfish and not public-spirited behavior. This, I believe, is something the Brethren would not want. I think that what they will support should have, at least, a decent amount of popular legitimacy.
Your Eminence much has been said about your relations with Russia, because of your having studied and lived there. We know that you have already taken a stand on the issue. What are the relations today?
Unfortunately, the invasion and the war make it difficult to communicate with friends and acquaintances both in Russia and in Ukraine. Russian culture and the Russian Orthodox tradition, according to the words of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew recently in his speech at the "15th world policy conference", are a great treasure for us. I personally have to do with this treasure and not with politics. My studies in Russia, America, and Greece, as well as the 34 global humanitarian missions I have participated in, have enabled me to come into contact with and appreciate many other cultures. The people in Russia are being wronged by this war and we should not confuse the decisions of the leadership with history, culture, faith, and the people themselves. We should not demonise the people and their culture because two geopolitical pillars are now clashing. Usually the people are the victims, as is the case now, for example, with the Ukrainian and Russian people. They are the ones who lose their children on the battlefield, not the leaders, who make the decisions. We are all experiencing a human tragedy, with no hope of when it will come to an end.
What messages does your recent visit to the Phanar send in relation to the upcoming elections? Were there any discussions on this?
It was a visit to coordinate and strengthen relations. Many issues were also clarified, about which there was deliberate propaganda in Cyprus and I was pleased to find that the same was not the case in the Phanar, which is always up to date. There was no discussion about the elections, but the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his blessings for all the Archpriests and the wish that the good relations between the Church of Cyprus and the Mother Church continue.
Do you believe that the role of the Archbishop of Cyprus, apart from being ecclesiastical, has another dimension, because of our national issue?
Of course it does, but this should not be remembered whenever we have elections or national commemorations. Every day the Church must strive to instill principles and values in the people, in modern ways, education and support, so that the Church is friendly to the people. When people have morals and feel the Church really close to them, then they become both more pro-patriotic and healthier personalities.
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