Contents of Constantinople Synod’s Letter to Church of Cyprus revealed

Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos. Photo: UOJ

Cypriot journalist Natasa Ioannou spoke about the contents of a letter from the Constantinople Patriarchate to the Church of Cyprus concerning the case of Metropolitan Tychikos (Vrionis) of Paphos.

According to Natasa Ioannou, “in this letter, among other things, the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasizes that either due to excessive zeal, or due to ignorance of the applicable legal framework, or due to omissions in the Charter, the decision of May 22, 2025 has canonical–procedural shortcomings.”

The journalist noted that, according to her information, some hierarchs of the Church of Cyprus are asking whether the Ecumenical Patriarch is thus pointing the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus to the need to repeat the procedure, since there are gaps and omissions – either in the Charter or on the part of the Synod members themselves.

In turn, canon law specialist Anastasios Vavouskos expressed his opinion on this Phanar letter.

According to him, he is “not surprised by the contents of the letter, and especially by the point where procedural deficiencies are indicated. In essence, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate says that [the Church of Cyprus] is violating the Charter of the Church of Cyprus because of excessive zeal. This ‘excessive zeal’ is not reality, but you understand what hint is contained here.”

In the canonist’s view, the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s point is fundamentally important: “He effectively told them: you have completely tangled the situation by violating your Charter. You violated it.”

“Therefore, the hierarchy of the Church of Cyprus must now submit to the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, apply the Charter, and newly initiate the process of canonical legal proceedings against the hierarch. That is, they need to repeat the entire procedure. This is what we have been saying from the very beginning,” Vavouskos emphasized.

According to him, “tomorrow they must either convene a session or appoint a court and start all over again in the case of Metropolitan Tychikos. A commission must be appointed, an investigation conducted, materials examined, and witnesses questioned.”

“According to the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which, note, has an excellent command of the Greek language, a necessary condition for obedience is the existence of a decision. But, as I have said many times, the Holy Synod of Cyprus did not adopt a decision. It issued a communiqué. And it does not even mention deposition,” Vavouskos stated.

He explained: “Out of respect for form, the Ecumenical Patriarchate referred to the communiqué as a ‘decision,’ but if you compare this with its remarks about procedural violations, it becomes clear that the latter nullifies the former.”

For this reason, Vavouskos believes, “it is unclear which decision Tychikos should obey if, in the view of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the procedure itself was erroneous. This is clear to anyone who has elementary logic. No special seminars are required.”

“The Ecumenical Patriarch, in the communiqué, calls him ‘His Eminence’ and indicates that he is a hierarch. He did not deprive him of his title. This is very important – ‘hierarch.’ And ‘deposed’ is a mistake, because he is not deposed,” the canonist emphasized.

In conclusion, Vavouskos noted: “If the Ecumenical Patriarchate points to errors in the procedure, while the decision which, as it is said, Tychikos must obey presupposes that very procedure, it is impossible to rely on a faulty foundation and build on it.”

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Constantinople Synod rejected Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos’ appeal.

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