In a secular state the Church cannot relinquish its spiritual role for cheap politicking
I have been led to the conclusion that there is no God by Archbishop Chrysostomos, with his recent incoherent, unacceptable and provocative interference in the Cyprus presidential election campaign. Had God existed, He would have set him on fire and turned him into ashes.
I am referring to the interview given by the archbishop to daily Politis last Sunday, in which he stated he is a “friend” of Nikos Christodoulides, whom he considers to be the leading candidate for president “because he has a ‘popularity rating’ similar to that of Makarios”.
After stressing that he is “close to no one” and he is not involved in politics, the archbishop felt the need to share his opinion on almost all the presidential candidates and cited the very good reasons why the Cypriot people should support Christodoulides.
He justified the impropriety of Christodoulides copying a large part of the speech Ioannis Kasoulides (the current foreign minister) delivered in his election campaign a few years ago by saying: “I told Christodoulides that the communication expert he engaged was not acting for him and, in fact, he was there to trap him. I watched his speech, bro, lasting half an hour; wasn’t 10 minutes enough for him? I told him ‘Be careful from now on and ensure that you are not set in another trap, because you will run the risk of losing the comparative advantage you have, namely your popular appeal.”
When the archbishop was asked if he thought Diko would support Christodoulides, he replied “I think, yes”, adding that, in the past, he had advised party leader Nikolas Papadopoulos “to stop insulting Akel and Disy”. I told him “With whom, on earth, are you going to join forces tomorrow?”
The archbishop then explained the reasons why he rejects all the other presidential candidates. “First I met the son of Lellos [independent Achilleas Demetriades] and I told him ‘I understand that you are a decent guy. If you wish to remain a decent person, you do not stand a chance of becoming an Akel candidate. Akel would want to tie you hand and foot. Where do you live? On the moon? Don’t you reside on this island? Are you not aware that the lefties are agents of the Brits?’
“I also met Mavroyiannis. I told him the same. I warned him: ‘If you think they will let you govern as you wish, forget it. You are a good person, you were a good negotiator, but when it comes to resolving the Cyprus problem, forget it; you will not succeed.’
“Averof Neophytou is a friend of mine but he does not understand that his own party is not supporting him. To get through to the second round, he needs over 25 to 30 per cent. I do not believe that he will get 20 per cent. No, I did not suggest to him that he should retire. It is not for me to say that. But I would definitely tell him that he is following a losing track. You need to have kindness to win.
“In the past, I was under the impression that Elam were educated kids. I don’t think I have given them any money. At first, I liked them but now I keep them at a distance.”
Reverting to Christodoulides, the archbishop reiterated his opinion: “Christodoulides is the first Cypriot politician who has Makarios’ popular appeal. His popularity rating is the result of his correct behaviour. They attempted to criticise him for the fact that his kids are attending a private school but the truth is that all the members of the Cypriot diplomatic corps have been sending their kids there. What was he supposed to do? I am informed that the children of Nicos Anastasiades support Christodoulides.”
Some have been quick to justify this totally unacceptable interference of the Church in the political life of Cyprus on the basis that the archbishop is suffering from an incurable ailment. However, in a secular state such as Cyprus, the Church cannot relinquish its spiritual role and instead engages in cheap politicking or in the commercialisation of its ecclesiastical mission.
The excuse put forward that the primate of the Church is seriously ill and unable to perform his duties in a dignified manner is not acceptable. The Church is an institution and must have adequate mechanisms that would be automatically activated so problems of this kind can be promptly and proactively addressed. The current situation is highly unacceptable and refers to Byzantine practices that led to the disintegration and the downfall of Constantinople and Smyrna.
Another equally serious aspect of his comments is the deification of Makarios and the elevation of Christodoulides as a worthy successor of the work of the Ethnarch and the first president of Cyprus, who essentially ruled the land for 30 years – from 1948 until his death in August 1977 – and, assisted by Georgios Grivas, led Cyprus to destruction.
The fact that Makarios’ political inexperience and vanity led Cyprus to destruction is a position now shared by most serious analysts of modern Cypriot history. This position is explicitly taken and is well documented by Leontios Ierodiaconou, a respected scholar of modern Cypriot history, who in his latest book (Fatal Leadership (1948-2021) – Makarios and his Successors) identifies, with a few positive exceptions, repeated patterns of problematic leadership behaviour, such as making serious decisions without due consideration and planning; an inability to make tough but necessary decisions; and evidence of confused and emotional thinking that ultimately led to political and diplomatic inconsistency and unreliability.
As “the problem behind the problem”, Dr. Alexandros Lordos (introduction to the book) identifies the “culture of the one and only” and the influence of the ethnarchy – which has always had an impact on Greek Cypriots – as the factors which resulted in personal failures, in an inadequate understanding of the problems, and in other deficiencies stemming from the personal limitations of most Greek Cypriot leaders. The aggregate impact of these adverse factors resulted in the catastrophic consequences we experience today.
The irony of the matter is that Archbishop Chrysostomos correctly identified numerous similarities between Makarios and Christodoulides. As Makarios’ close associate Nikos Kranidiotis once said “Makarios always had an extraordinary sensitivity towards those who did not agree with him and he would go out of his way to avoid criticism and neutralise it.” Glafkos Clerides summed it up when he said “I was always fully aware of how much he disliked the idea of undermining his prestige”. In this respect, Christodoulides does look very much like Makarios.
Christos Panayiotides is a regular columnist for the Cyprus Mail, Sunday Mail and Alithia
