Tychikos refuses to sign ‘declaration of faith’ after meeting archbishop

Former Paphos Bishop Tychikos declined to sign a written declaration of faith at a meeting with Archbishop Georgios on Friday, and instead handed over a memorandum setting out his own positions. Archdiocese spokesman Christakis Efstathiou said that the archbishop again offered Tychikos the chance to sign, yet instead Tychikos gave him the memorandum, which the archbishop will place before the Synod so it can decide on further action. The meeting at the archdiocese lasted about 30 minutes, with Tychikos arriving with his lawyer and two of his brothers. He did not accept a proposal from the archbishop to meet in private, and reports said he does not appear to have changed his positions. The declaration requires Tychikos to renounce views he is alleged to hold on the Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholemew and to accept the Orthodox Council held in Crete in 2016. Archbishop Georgios has said Tychikos appeared to hold that the Patriarch Bartholomew was heretical, and his refusal to recognise baptisms performed by other Orthodox churches was another core disagreement. He has also said Tychikos must address allegations of financial irregularities at the Paphos bishopric. The Synod voted in May 2025 to depose Tychikos over ecclesiastical disputes and alleged breaches of church protocol. Tensions have continued beyond the Synod as letters have circulated urging priests to break away from the Church of Cyprus, believed to come from supporters of Tychikos. Georgios has dismissed the possibility of a separate church on the island and said sacraments performed in private homes by a defrocked former priest have no religious validity, and warned that those attending were “placing a further spiritual burden on themselves”.