THOUSANDS of stone-throwing demonstrators fought pitched battles with Cypriot police yesterday outside the Archbishop's Palace in Nicosia during a synod trial of a priest suspended on immorality charges.
Seventy four people were injured as police in riot gear fired tear gas to stop about 3,000 supporters of Archimandrite Pangratios Meraclis from approaching the palace, which had been cordoned off with barbed wire.
Inside, the island's bishops convened a second meeting of the Holy Synod to hear testimonies on the charges against Archimandrite Meraclis (39), whose supporters threaten a revolt in the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus.
The meeting ended without a verdict, and without the testimonies of two witnesses originally expected to attend. Two other men, a taxi driver and a massage parlour owner, testified against Archimandrite Meraclis on Monday.
The crowds waiting for Archimandrite Meraclis to emerge were furious when they heard he had been taken out from a back exit. Demonstrators screamed abuse at the leader of the church, Archbishop Chrysostomos, when he appeared at a window on the first floor: "Tommis, [nickname for the archbishop] you are the Antichrist", they shouted.