LAST UPDATE: 17:40
By a vote of ten in favor and six against, Metropolitan Tychikos was officially removed from the Metropolis of Paphos, with the primary charge against him being that of “apotikisi” (a form of ecclesiastical separation from the hierarchy).
Tychikos himself, as the accused party, did not have the right to vote in the Holy Synod’s decision. According to Philenews, the bishops who supported Metropolitan Tychikos were Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, Bishop Pankratios of Arsinoe, and members of the Metropolitan of Limassol: Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol, Bishop Nikolaos of Amathounta, Bishop Epiphanios of Ledra, and Bishop Porphyrios of Neapolis.
Those who voted for his removal and backed Archbishop Georgios’s proposal included the Archbishop himself, Bishop Gregorios of Mesaoria, Bishop Leontios of Chytron, Bishop Christophoros of Karpasia, Metropolitan Barnabas of Trimithous and Lefkara, Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos and Orinis, Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kyrenia, and Metropolitan Nektarios of Kition.
Although there was a prevailing belief that any penalty should have been imposed under Article 14 of the Charter of the Church of Cyprus, the Synod ultimately acted as an ecclesiastical court, directly addressing the charges and reaching a majority decision. According to reliable sources, the Ecumenical Patriarch was informed in advance and is said to have approved the process, especially as the charges included “apotikisi”, a serious canonical offense. With the Patriarch’s knowledge and apparent consent, Tychikos is unlikely to be able to appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Reportedly, Metropolitan Tychikos offered a defense before the Holy Synod and expressed willingness to change his behavior, but the decision had already been set in motion after repeated warnings from the Archbishop went unheeded.
Despite his removal from the throne, Tychikos remains a bishop and member of the Holy Synod, but he is now permanently ineligible to return to his former post or to run for the archiepiscopal throne in the future.
What is “Apotikisi”?
“Apotikisi” is an act of separation from the hierarchy of the Church, typically on doctrinal grounds. Those who adopt this stance, known as “apotikistes”, often view others in the Church—sometimes even entire hierarchies—as heretical. They present themselves as defenders of the faith, but their uncompromising and confrontational approach is considered extreme and schismatic by the institutional Church. This was the central accusation that led to Tychikos’s removal.
