Archbishop of Cyprus: Deposition of Metropolitan Tychikos heals fanaticism

Metropolitan Tikhik and Archbishop Georgiy. Photo: philenews.com

Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus, in an interview with Phileleftheros, summed up 2025 for the Church of Cyprus. The primate described the case of Metropolitan Tychikos as the greatest problem for Orthodoxy on the island.

“The biggest problem was a morbid fanaticism that tried to infiltrate the Church of Cyprus and recognizes no authority in Orthodoxy except itself. That is why the Holy Synod made a painful decision and put a stop to this phenomenon, removing from the metropolitan throne the Metropolitan of Paphos, around whom this phenomenon had developed,” the archbishop said. He also accused Metropolitan Tychikos of ordaining a priest who had committed “canonical offenses”.

As a reminder, on May 22, 2025, the Holy Synod of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, at an extraordinary session, voted by a majority to remove Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos from his episcopal see. The main reason for the deposition, according to the Synod, was an accusation of apostasy – that is, a break in communion with the church hierarchy under the pretext of defending the purity of the faith.

Metropolitan Tychikos appealed to Patriarch Bartholomew. However, the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate rejected the appeal of the Metropolitan of Paphos and recommended that the hierarch “submit to the decisions of the Holy Synod of his Church – for his own spiritual benefit and for the peace and unity of the Church.”

Read also