textile-less freedom on Aphrodite's island

In July 1999, group of Greek Orthodox Christians in Paphos claimed he was frequenting a luxury hotel sauna where he was seen in his birthday suit. What a crime! We couldn't find any report of whether Chrysostomos actually denied these claims at that time. Instead, when approached by reporters he gave a better answer which was recorded in a Cyprus Mail article: “That's my business, not yours.”

The second newspaper report actually quotes photographical evidence. ekathimerini reports in August 2002 that he “has been snapped in the nude by a paparazzi photographer [..] naked from the waist up by his car”. The paper cites Chrysostomos confirming that “he had been swimming at the same secluded spot for 15 years”. What a scandal! Well, what he also says is that was changing cloths.

A very similar story appears as part of a recent an interview with the archbishop in Politis. His predecessor confronted him with a photo that he had received; it allegedly shows him lying naked on a mattress on the beach. Chrysostomos maintains that the photo is doctored. He says it would not make sense to bring a foam mattress on the beach which would not even fit into the car; also the body shape does not match. We also learn the end of the story: the former archbishop teared the photo apart.