George III | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus | |
 George in 2024 | |
| Church | Church of Cyprus |
| Diocese | Cyprus |
| Elected | 24 December 2022 |
| Installed | 8 January 2023 |
| Predecessor | Chrysostomos II of Cyprus |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Georgios Papachrysostomou (1949-05-25)25 May 1949 (age 76) |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodox Christianity |
| Residence | Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Occupation | Archbishop |
| Profession | Theologian |
| Alma mater | Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Signature |  |
Archbishop GeorgeIII (Greek:Αρχιεπίσκοπος Γεώργιος,Secular nameGeorgios Papachrysostomou) (b. 25 May 1949,Athienou,British Cyprus) is the currentArchbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus since 8 January 2023.
He had been the Metropolitan of the Diocese of Paphos since 2006 and, from 7 November 2022, thelocum tenens of theChurch of Cyprus.[1][2] On 24 December 2022,he was elected Archbishop of Cyprus.[3] He "formally assumed his new duties" starting Sunday, 8 January 2023, after the enthronement ceremony at Saint Barnabas Cathedral inNicosia,Cyprus.
George was born toGreek Cypriot parents inAthienou in 1949, a village inCyprus. He studied chemistry at theKapodistrian University of Athens between 1968 and 1972, then he took theology courses there between 1976 and 1980. On 23 December 1984, he was ordained deacon in theChurch of Cyprus and 17 May 1985, priest and Archimandrite by ArchbishopChrysostomos I ofCyprus.[4]
In 1994, he became Secretary of theHoly Synod of theChurch of Cyprus. Alongside his ecclesiastical duties, he served as a chemistry teacher in Cypriot high schools. He was arrested and abused by theTurkish occupation troops in Cyprus and lodged an appeal in 1989 againstTurkey at theEuropean Court of Human Rights (n° 15300/891), which resulted in Turkey's first conviction (507/3.2.94) forviolation of human rights in Cyprus.[4][5]
In 1996, he was elected Bishop of Arsinois.
On 29 December 2006, he was unanimously elected to replace ArchbishopChrysostomos II of Cyprus asMetropolitan ofPaphos. In the meantime, he became head of ecumenical affairs for the Church of Cyprus as well as head of its bioethics committee.[4]
On 7 November 2022, following the death of ArchbishopChrysostomos II of Cyprus, he becamelocum tenens of theArcbishporic of Nova Juntiniana and All Cyprus pending the episcopal election which were to determine the next archbishop.[1] He announced the Archbishop's death on Cypriot and Greek television and called on all the faithful to pay their last respects to the late Archbishop.[6]
Chrysostomos II was buried on 12 November 2022 in the Cathedral of the Apostle Barnabas inNicosia, where the Archbishops of Cyprus are buried. The ceremony was presided by George of Paphos and participated, among others, thePresident of Cyprus, Ecumenical PatriarchBartholomew I of Conatantinople, PatriarchTheodore II of Alexandria, the ArchbishopIeronymos II of Athens and thePresident of Greece.[7]
He was responsible for organizing the proper holding of the2022 Cypriot archiepiscopal election.[8]
On 24 December 2022, he was electedArchbishop of Cyprus by the Holy Synod, with 11 votes in favor out of the 16.[3] The Archbishop's enthronement ceremony took place on Sunday, 8 January 2023, at Saint Barnabas Cathedral inNicosia,Cyprus. In his address, he stated that his goal is to "reinvigorate the Christian message in modern spiritual discourse", continue the "Church’s outreach to the poor", and "convey that scientific thought isn’t in conflict with the precepts of Christianity".[9]
| Eastern Orthodox Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Cyprus 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Metropolitan of Paphos 2006–2022 | Succeeded by Tychikos | |