The Holy Synod Convenes, Tychikos Says "No" to Invitation to Participate—They Wait Until the Last Moment for a Change of Stance and Consider the Next Steps

Although a year and a half has passed since the day the Holy Synod decided to depose Metropolitan Tychikos from the throne of Paphos, with the well-known events that followed in ecclesiastical and civil courts, as well as in public discourse, which led to the scandal of the faithful, nevertheless the saga continues today before the Synodal members.

Although the deposed Metropolitan has been summoned by the Holy Synod to appear at the session beginning at 10:00 in the morning, since despite the fact that he is no longer a metropolitan with duties, he remains a member of it, however according to information from the Archdiocese, he informed them that he will not attend.

Nevertheless, all maintain reservations regarding whether or not he will participate in the Synod, since as they convey, regardless of his response, the Synodal members will wait until the last moment for Tychikos to give his presence, so that he can answer whether he is finally ready to sign a libellus of faith and be assigned duties, and also to inform them about the place where he resides, as well as his ecclesiastical activity.

However, as the same sources report, if Tychikos does not appear, his case may occupy the Synod in his absence, since a long period of time has passed since the day he was given the opportunity to answer how he will proceed.

Some circles of the Archdiocese raise the issue that the one serving in suspension is regularly receiving part of his salary, something that cannot continue indefinitely, since he must clarify, as they maintain, his position.

At the same time, they explain that if he does not appear, no specific procedure is provided for based on the statute in force, since the Synod can make any decision, such as continuation of the suspension, cutting off the salary, or even summoning him again to appear at the next Synod, without additional penalties.

As the same source explained, the deposed Metropolitan, when he informed them that he would not appear, invoked specific reasons, about which the members of the Synod will be informed, so that they have a complete picture before making any decisions.

Therefore, everything depends on the decision of the Synodal members, with the Archdiocese conveying that Tychikos' case will be discussed whether he himself finally decides to appear, or insists on the decision he communicated to them.

It is noted that last summer, after the election of the new Metropolitan of Paphos, Grigorios, Tychikos was called upon to leave the Metropolis, with him issuing an announcement, speaking of threats he received to leave the space he was using for his residence.

In his announcement, he stated that "Metropolitan Tychikos received, orally, from His Beatitude, through the same employee of the Metropolis of Paphos, the following response after his personal letter:

-Has he left? If by June 4 he has not gathered his things to leave the premises of the Metropolis of Paphos, where he resides, I will bring the police (in the sense of throwing him out). He will receive the check with the allowance when he leaves".

He then posed a series of questions regarding the extent to which they could coexist with the Archbishop, noting that "especially when there had previously been the proposal of renting a space which the Metropolitan would pay for, with a deduction from his salary? Why did the Archbishop not leave space and will for the newly elected Metropolitan of Paphos to decide on his relationship with his "Predecessor"? "The door of the Metropolis is open to everyone," except for the (former) Metropolitan of Paphos Tychikos? who served in Paphos for 22 years".

Regarding the reactions recorded recently around issues of schism and the so-called ecumenism, the Archbishop maintained that these were limited. As he said, it is mainly a small group operating at an international level and attempting to create unrest around these specific issues.

"Instead of integrating themselves into the Church, they place themselves outside the Church and project a peculiar understanding of Orthodoxy," as he stated.

Subsequently, a protest was held at the Archdiocese during the ordination of the new Metropolitan of Paphos, Grigorios, by supporters of Tychikos, while tension was also caused in Paphos, during his enthronement, with the protesters shouting slogans such as "Unworthy" and "Disgrace," attempting to disrupt the ceremony.