Metropolitan Tychikos case to be again considered by Cyprus Church Synod

Representatives of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus gathering for a Synod meeting. Photo: SigmaLive

On January 14, 2026, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus is holding an extraordinary session dedicated to a number of serious institutional issues, particularly the situation with Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos, reports the spokesperson for the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus, Christakis Efstathiou, whose words are cited by sigmalive publication.

According to him, the ecclesiastical-canonical situation is currently "complex", and the case of Metropolitan Tychikos cannot be considered completely closed. As the representative of the Archbishopric explained, this was caused by a new appeal by Bishop Tychikos to the Supreme Court of Cyprus.

Christakis Efstathiou stated that the Holy Synod is awaiting official information from the Court itself about the filing of the appeal to take an "institutional and responsible position". At the same time, according to him, a key condition that the Synod had set for the Bishop's return was the non-recourse to civil courts, which now, if officially confirmed, radically changes the facts.

"If it is officially confirmed that such an appeal has indeed been filed, this fundamentally changes the situation," said Efstathiou.

The Archdiocese spokesman stressed that this is an extremely serious issue, both from a canonical and ecclesiastical perspective, noting that there is a clear sacred rule that prohibits clergy and bishops from resorting to civil courts. IIn this light, any confirmation of the appeal constitutes a matter of disobedience, with possible serious consequences, even at the level of demotion.

Christakis Efstathiou also claims that a more large-scale problem for the Synod is the need to introduce amendments to the Statute of the Church of Cyprus. As he revealed, it is certain that the Archbishop will submit his own comprehensive proposal today, which includes improvements in issues of administering ecclesiastical justice but also clearer regulations where ambiguities or even conflicts between articles are currently observed, which create problems in practice.

As earlier reported, Christakis Efstathiou stated that for the Holy Synod, the issue related to Metropolitan Tychikos is considered closed. He noted that the bishop's appeal to the Supreme Court transfers the case to a different, civil-legal plane, in which the Church does not interfere.

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