Metr. Tychikos Challenges Synod While Cyprus Plans New Metropolitan
Abp. Georgios warns that Metr. Tychikos’s appeals risk deepening conflict as the Church moves toward reform and new leadership in Paphos.
NICOSIA, CYPRUS — Metr. Tychikos of Paphos has filed a new appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, this time challenging the decision of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus to suspend him from ministry indefinitely. The development was confirmed by Abp. Georgios of Cyprus, who voiced concern over the hierarch’s repeated challenges to ecclesiastical authority.
According to Abp. Georgios, Metr. Tychikos has consistently contested Synodal decisions by appealing both to state courts and church bodies, a practice he said raises serious questions and complicates efforts to resolve the crisis. The Primate stressed that such actions do not contribute to healing tensions within the Church.
Abp. Georgios also announced that a revised Charter of the Church of Cyprus is expected to be finalized within three to four months, after which the Holy Synod will begin the process of electing a new Metropolitan of Paphos. He added that the reforms aim to strengthen unity, prevent future conflicts, and avoid schism, while criticizing delayed responses by the Church of Greece and warning of Russian attempts to inflame divisions in Orthodoxy.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Abp. Georgios said that defrocking is a possibility if Metr. Tychikos persists.
