From the inquiries I made in various
dependable quarters, the bishops are not generally beloved either by the
monks, priests, or public; but this absence of appreciation may be due
to the continual demands upon the funds of monasteries and the pockets
of the peasantry, more than to any personal peculiarities of character.
There are stories of neglect of duty and misappropriation of funds
intended for charitable purposes, which I should decline to believe
possible among ecclesiastics of such devout principles and high
position. The Archbishop is much beloved, and is loudly praised by all
classes of the inhabitants, to whom he owes his election as supreme head
of the Church after the following manner:-
In the event of death, the vacant see of Cyprus is represented by the
Bishop of Baffo, and the new archbishop must be elected by the people.
The bishop occupies the position of president of an ecclesiastical
council, to which representatives are sent from every district, charged
with the votes of the inhabitants in favour of the archbishop. Upon his
election, the approval and confirmation of his appointment must be
obtained by an imperial decree before the archbishop can officiate. In
the same manner every bishop is elected by the people of the district,
and their representatives are sent to Nicosia, where the archbishop
presides over his council, or court; but the new bishop must also be
confirmed in his position by an imperial decree.
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