Now that Archbishop Chrysostomos II has passed away the Greek Cypriot electorate will be called to the ballot box by the Church of Cyprus to elect in a complex procedure his replacement.
Archbishop Chrysostomos II died early on Monday at the age of 81.
Bishop Giorgios of Paphos is under Church rules the caretaker until a new election takes place within 40 days after the throne is declared vacant.
Under an amendment to the Church charter instituted in 2010, elections are direct – people vote in their registered parish.
And there are no formal ballots, as in civilian elections; instead, the ballots are a blank piece of paper where parishioners write down whomever they’d like to be archbishop.
All people of the Orthodox faith aged 18 and above, and who have been residing in Cyprus for the past year at least, are eligible to vote.
Once the ballots are counted, those top three clergymen garnering the most votes become official candidates for the throne.
Next, the Holy Synod is convened to elect an archbishop. Currently, the Holy Synod comprises 17 members, including the archbishop. In the latter’s absence, those voting will number 16.
A first round of voting is held, where if one of the three candidates acquires 50 per cent plus one he is named archbishop.
If not, a second round takes place, this time featuring the two of the three candidates who got the most votes in the first round.
Again, the 50 per cent plus one vote applies for the victor and if that still fails to yield a winner, he will be decided by simple lottery.