The financial crisis in Cyprus took a real estate twist when the head of the nation's Orthodox church offered to mortgage church property to help bail out the troubled economy.
CBS News reports that Archbishop Chrysostomos II spoke with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and expressed his willingness to mortgage church assets for investment in government bonds. The church has significant property holdings, as well as ownership stakes in a bank and a brewery, although it is unclear how much the church would put up.
The archbishop's offer of assistance follows a vote by Cypriot lawmakers to reject a bill that would have allowed the cash-strapped government to siphon off funds from consumer bank accounts. The country needs to raise $20.4 billion to bail out its banks and strengthen its government finances in order to avoid bankruptcy.
(Photo courtesy Josephus Flavius)
