PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, the top decision-making body of the Church of Cyprus, backed the move by Archbishop Chrysostomos, the primate of the church, to officially recognize the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), overturning a previous position of neutrality on the issue. The move, made on November 23 at the Holy Synod’s meeting in Nicosia, Cyprus, had 10 out of 17 bishops vote not to contest the archbishop’s decision to recognize the OCU during liturgical commemorations that included Metropolitan Epifaniy as head of the OCU.