Nicosia, May 22, 2025
Abp. Georgios (L) was personally offended by the views of Met. Tychikos (R). Photo: philenews.com
At an emergency session today, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus resolved to remove His Eminence Metropolitan Tychikos as ruling hierarch of the Diocese of Paphos.
The Metropolitan, who was consecrated to the episcopacy just over two years ago, was called before the Synod to respond to a number of accusations. Though he has been deposed from the Paphos cathedra, he remains a bishop and a member of the Holy Synod, reports Romfea.
He is now considered a vicar of the Paphos Metropolis and is placed at the disposal of the Church, which will utilize him as it deems fit. Paphos holds a place of honor in the Cypriot Church. The current primate, Archbishop Georgios, and his two predecessors all served as Metropolitans there before ascending to the Archepiscopal throne.
Met. Tychikos previously served as protosyngellos of the diocese of Paphos while Abp. Georgios was the ruling hierarch there. Nevertheless, since being enthroned in March 2023, he has had several disputes with the Archbishop. Initially, he refused to concelebrate with him because he rejects the primate’s stance of communion with the Ukrainian schismatics. Met. Tychikos and His Eminence Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou are the only Cypriot hierarchs who continue to hold a firm Orthodox stance on the matter.
Met. Tychikos also condemned the compulsory sex ed curriculum in Cypriot schools that begins in pre-school, while Abp. Georgios praised it.
More recently, the Archbishop has taken offense at Met. Tychikos for various other issues involving opposing stances on ecumenism. One major issue was the bringing the skull of the Apostle Paul to Paphos from the Vatican. It was agreed to bring the relic years ago, when Abp. Georgios was still Metropolitan of Paphos, but Met. Tychikos refused to allow it to be brought, saying experience shows that such visits inevitably lead to joint prayer with heretics.
Abp. Georgios expressed bewilderment, saying Met. Tychikos had never talked about heretics before. He believes someone must be controlling the Metropolitan, forcing him to take such “outdated” stances.
It has also been reported that Met. Tychikos refuses to allow mixed marriages between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christians, though he says he does allow them, but urges the non-Orthodox spouse to become Orthodox first.
Another issue mentioned in Orthodox media is that the Metropolitan teaches that all converts should be baptized.
For Abp. Georgios, who says the Church of Cyprus must follow the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s course of reconciliation with the Catholic church, such stances are a “return to the Middle Ages.”
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