**Govt Paid €8.86 Million for Priests’ Salaries Last Year**
The government of Cyprus allocated €8.86 million towards the salaries of parish clergy in the previous year, according to recent figures released by the accountant general’s office. This amount reflects a steady increase in state assistance over recent years, with projections indicating that the annual cost of this financial support could approach €10 million by 2029.
The data, made public on Tuesday, shows that state assistance for the clergy rose from €7.6 million in 2023 to €8.3 million in 2024, culminating in the €8.86 million expenditure in 2025. The approved budget for the current year stands at €9.1 million, with planned increases to €9.3 million in 2027 and €9.5 million in 2028.
These payments primarily support the salaries of eligible parish clergy from the Church of Cyprus and several other religious communities. The largest portion of the funds, amounting to €8.57 million, was directed to the synods’ central ecclesiastical fund. Additional allocations included €120,920 for the Maronite archdiocese, €110,843 for the Latin church, €40,306 for the Armenian Church, and €20,153 for Saint Chrysostom’s Monastery, which is currently based in Nicosia.
The current funding arrangement covers approximately 850 eligible priests, with the state contributing €681 per priest each month. This number of beneficiaries is expected to increase by 0.5 percent annually starting this year, while the contribution amount will be adjusted in accordance with general increases granted to state employees.
It is important to note that the payments do not go directly to individual priests. Instead, the accountant general transfers the funds to the payroll body of the central ecclesiastical fund, which is responsible for disbursing salaries to the clergy.
The origins of this funding system can be traced back to a 1971 agreement made during the leadership of Archbishop Makarios, who held both the roles of ethnarch and President at the time. Under this agreement, the state committed to covering part of the salaries for rural parish clergy in exchange for the transfer of 15,564 acres of church land to the government. Although a bill to formalize this agreement was submitted to parliament in 1973, it was later withdrawn. Despite this, the state continued to provide financial assistance for rural clergy salaries, while the transfer of church land was not fully realized until decades later.
In 2019, the House of Representatives approved legislation that formalized the land transfer and revised the state assistance system for clergy. Approximately 73 percent of the land that was bequeathed to the state by the church now lies in the northern part of Cyprus. The 2019 legislation also established a formal count of priests eligible for state assistance, setting the number at 760 until the end of 2020, increasing to 800 between 2021 and 2023, and finally reaching 850 from 2024 onward.
As the government continues to support the clergy through these financial allocations, discussions surrounding the historical context and implications of this funding arrangement remain relevant, particularly in light of the ongoing changes in both the religious and political landscape of Cyprus.