© 1999 VNN
|
EUROPE December 29, 1998 VNN2754 The True Treasures Of The Church FROM REUTERS EUROPE, Dec 29 (VNN) — FEATURE - Cyprus church reels from sex, money scandals By Michele Kambas NICOSIA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Barnabas, one of Christ's first companions, would turn in his grave if he could hear the antics of today's guardians of a church he founded in Cyprus almost 2,000 years ago. Forget about spiritual guidance and a bedrock of rich tradition. Sex, lies and scheming in the altars of power is what the Church of Cyprus is in the news for these days, leaving its flock well and truly astonished. Boosting a lineage that can be traced back to Jesus' first disciples, the Greek Orthodox Church is now wobbling to its very foundations amid accusations of monks sexually harassing nuns, the downfall of a bishop allegedly involved in financial scams across the globe and priests ditching their robes for Eastern European night club strippers. Widely credited with preserving the Greek Cypriot community during the dominance of numerous conquerors over the centuries, the institution, an independent branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, is now the butt of crude jokes. "We are ashamed to walk down the street," one Cypriot priest lamented. "Instead of seeing robes that should inspire respect, with all these things going on they are coming and spitting at us." Onlookers say the mud-slinging is a feud pitting the "old order" of bishops running the church like a personal business against monks from a straitlaced order based in Greece whose presence and influence in Cyprus has become all the more prominent over the years. "There is no weak side here. It is a clash of the powerful," said theologist Costis Kyriakides. UNHOLY ROW Just like politics, salvos are flying from all directions ahead of bishop elections in January. But there the similarity ends. The church is hanging out its dirty washing in public, a sight rarely seen in kid-glove Cypriot politics. The church is now reeling from claims that a Cypriot elder from the monastic commune of Mount Athos in northern Greece sexually harassed nuns while he was in Cyprus 17 years ago. The accusations are being levelled by the bishop of the western region of Paphos, a cleric powerful in his own right and said to have significant sway over the island's chief bishop, Chrysostomos -- nicknamed "Tommis" -- who has ruled the Church of Cyprus since 1977. The Paphos bishop, also called Chrysostomos, claims the monk made sexual advances in a convent and sent a love letter to one of the nuns in which he professes his desire to spend the night with her. Excerpts of the letter appeared in daily newspapers. That and more racy details would probably have never come to light if the elder had not publicly supported the bid of an abbot running in the bishop elections next month -- a position onlookers say the Paphos bishop is eyeing for someone else. Supporters of the elder from the respected and powerful Vatopedhio Monastery in Greece have hotly denied the bishop's allegations and have threatened legal action. But Chrysostomos has refused to keep mum and his allegations are being probed by an official commission of the Cypriot church. PROBE AFTER PROBE It is the second official probe this year. Sparing him the humiliation of being defrocked, the church last month accepted the resignation of Chrysanthos, a long-time bishop of the southern coastal town of Limassol. A dapper, unassuming man, Chrysanthos' only claim to fame before this summer was starting late Sunday morning church services for Saturday night revellers. He was catapulted into the headlines after disclosures that British police wanted to question him in a fraud inquiry. The inquiry, which is continuing, centres on claims Chrysanthos was behind a scheme offering investors unrealistically high returns on their investments. The church, which carried out an inquiry of its own, also accused him of damaging relations with Russia's Orthodox Church by using money donated for the construction of a chapel for other purposes. The church may have thought that the controversy was well behind it when it accepted Chrysanthos' resignation. But it merely opened another can of worms -- seven clerics have already declared themselves candidates in the elections. CONTROL OF CHURCH AT STAKE It is a widely held belief that behind the row are attempts to control the church -- an institution with businesses ranging from industry to broadcasting and with real estate worth millions. The church acquired most of its wealth through public donations by the rich but also from peasants in bygone eras. But it now lacks the respect of many people and critics see it as arrogant. "The old guard tasted absolute power," said theologist Kyriakides. "They used it arbitrarily, arrogantly and this must stop." The new monastic order also carries some baggage, he says. "There is a nationalism about them, a conservatism -- a feeling that the whole world should be one big monastery," he said. Although the debacle has subjected the church to ridicule, analysts say it will not turn people away from an institution closely aligned to the national identity of the Greek Cypriot community and active in politics. "The interesting thing with Greek Cypriots is that it is not a matter of faith or personal salvation but a social reality," said Nicos Peristianis, a sociologist. Peristianis said the church had undergone a revival in recent years. "It is a catharsis," said Kyriakides. "It has to go up to the hilt to get rid of the extremist elements and then the true treasures of the church -- its people -- will shine through." VNN Editor's Note: Readers are free to speculate why this news clip may be relevant to Vaishnavas. Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/europe/EU9812/EU29-2754.html
|
