Greek Media: The Church of Cyprus faces a crisis of synodality

The building of the Archdiocese of the Church of Cyprus. Photo: Vima Orthodoxias

On February 9, 2026, the Greek church-news portal Vima Orthodoxias published an article about a growing crisis of synodality in the Church of Cyprus.

As clergy, theologians, and church observers note, the latest actions of the church leadership go beyond routine administrative decisions and touch the foundations of the Church’s order. Church circles are actively discussing the role of one of the metropolitans who is effectively close to the Archbishop – a development seen as uncharacteristic of the Orthodox Church’s traditional conciliar practice.

In this connection, critics directly cite Apostolic Canon 34, which states that the primate has no right to make key decisions single-handedly, but is obliged to act in agreement with the other bishops through the Synod. In their view, a departure from this principle and the concentration of authority in one set of hands distorts the very model of ecclesiastical governance.

Additional concern is being voiced over a possible change in the Synod’s composition. In church circles it is emphasized that such steps may lead to administrative uncertainty and deepen the crisis of trust in church authority – especially at a time when the faithful expect transparency and a genuinely conciliar approach from the hierarchy.

Sources also point to a broader ecclesial context. In Orthodox circles, it is stressed that any attempts to introduce new, non-synodal models of governance – including those patterned after practices associated with the line of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – meet with serious resistance. Critics argue that such approaches run contrary to Orthodox tradition and only intensify internal divisions within the Church.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that lawyers consider the suspension of Metropolitan Tychikos to be a decision lacking canonical, legal, and institutional legitimacy from the outset.

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