By Esther Adesulu
Unvaccinated Priests will be suspended from Cyprus Orthodox Church from Tuesday if they continue to go against covid-19 protocols within the Church premises.
Archbishop Chrysostomos II told state broadcaster CyBC on Sunday that he would send the Priests home, as they refused to get vaccinated while also advocating against coronavirus jabs.
He said the number of Priests that remained unvaccinated are 27 out of 123 in his diocese, also 15 who have freedom for medical reasons.
The remaining 12 would be suspended for three months as of Tuesday, and if they continued to go against the Archbishop, the suspension would be extended to six months and could lead to defrocking, Chrysostomos said.
He said it was “unprecedented” to have priests and even theologians disobey their chief bishop.
Chrysostomos, a cancer survivor, said some Priests defied him due to his frail health.
He argued that the priests and theologians refuse to get jabbed, act out of “selfish motives”, and influence churchgoers.
Despite vaccination remaining optional in Cyprus, the Archbishop issued strong guidelines to priests and theologians to get vaccinated.
Last year, Chrysostomos warned he would not tolerate employees who refuse to get vaccinated and priests who don’t wear masks and incite their congregation to reject the jab.
