Archbishop of Cyprus warns Met. Tychikos: vacate or face police

Metropolitan Tychikos was expelled from his cell in the Metropolis of Paphos. Photo: open sources

Former Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos claims that Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus threatened to call the police to evict him from the metropolitan territory if he does not leave on his own. This is stated in a press release from the hierarch's legal representation bureau, distributed on June 5, 2026, reports the UOJ in Greece.

According to the statement, in a recent personal letter to the Primate, delivered through an employee of the Paphos Metropolis, Bishop Tychikos outlined the circumstances of the financial issues he faced in the diocese, as well as what he considers the true reason for his removal from the see.

The archbishop's response, according to the hierarch's account, was conveyed to him orally through the same employee: "Has he still not left? If by June 4 he has not packed his belongings and vacated the premises of the Paphos Metropolis where he is living, I will call the police” – that is, to have him removed. “He will receive the benefit check when he leaves."

The statement emphasizes that there are no other witnesses to these words, and the metropolis employee is unlikely to dare confirm them, fearing to lose his job.

In connection with the phrase attributed to the archbishop about calling the police, Metropolitan Tychikos raises questions to the state and justice system of Cyprus: does the principle of Church independence from the state extend only in one direction – when the Church demands inviolability of its actions, but at the same time calls upon secular authorities to use force to execute its own decisions. According to the authors of the statement, this raises the problem of equality before the law in a legal state.

The former Paphos hierarch, as indicated, chose not to "abandon" the metropolis, but quietly left his cell in the metropolis garden on the morning of June 4 around 7 o'clock, saying goodbye to the sexton and leaving the keys on the door. Reports of his departure the night before, as well as publications about residing in some "maisonette" are called false in the statement.

Metropolitan Tychikos himself, according to his representatives, remains in Paphos with an acquainted family and intends to stay there until the decisions of Cypriot courts come into legal force, and if necessary – also of the European Court of Human Rights.

The departure took place several days before the enthronement of the new Metropolitan Gregory (Ioannidis); the celebrations are scheduled for June 10-11, 2026.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Tychikos was evicted from the building of the Paphos Metropolis.

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