An ongoing embroilment between church and municipality in Paphos flared up Friday after a two-year hiatus, with the municipality waking up to find its funds having been frozen by the bishop.

The core of the matter is an over 40-years-old dispute for which the municipality owes €8 million as compensation to the bishopric over the fact that a section of the church-owned municipal garden grounds lost significant value when it was re-zoned in 1981.

An appeal of the decision by the municipality is pending at the Supreme Court and Mayor Phedonas Phedonos said that the matter had been “put on snooze” by verbal agreement, two years ago, with the outgoing Bishop of Paphos who was since elected to the position of Archbishop Georgios.

It emerged on Friday, however, that the incoming Bishop Tychikos had taken the action of freezing municipal accounts over the matter.

Speaking to the CyBC, Phedonas did not mince his words, saying that the church had a long history of corrupt practices and graft regarding land use and finances.

“Is this the mission of the church? To commercially exploit every metre of land under their control?” asked the mayor, who said that the disputed parcel had been used as a garden by residents since 1915.

Phedonas also accused the current bishop of operating without due course on the issue.

“The [newly appointed] bishop did not inform of the change in political direction or request the money with a 15-day deadline, at which point we could have resorted to the courts for legal protection or arrangements, or to a state loan,” the mayor said.

“We want a legal arrangement, but we are not a private company, we directly and indirectly employ 800 people and these people need their salaries, not to mention all the public works the municipality is in the middle of financing,” he said.

Although the appeal by itself does not automatically grant suspension of the duty to pay, the municipality is in the legal position to request such a suspension in view of its pending status, Phedonas told the state broadcaster.

Complicating the matter is the bishopric’s intention to build a church on the public garden grounds, a project which divided the city’s residents down the middle.

Although the environment department had issued its opinion that the size of the proposed project be reduced from 650m2 to 420m2, the municipal council had approved the building.

“The [outgoing] bishop didn’t want to take on the political risk of starting construction due to elections, and put the matter on snooze, but now they are attacking the municipality without warning with the full force of the law. Such things are not done,” the mayor said.

There are several other brewing land disputes initiated by the new bishop who has barricaded himself in his quarters and is only accepting emails, according to the mayor.

“The church offices are locked for the first time ever, and they won’t answer their phones,” the mayor said.

On Monday the municipality will turn to the courts to secure the freeing-up of monies from special funds, including for pension and payroll, that have been affected by the freeze, and the matter has been taken up with the President and the minister of the interior, Phedonas said.